Carmina Shoes - Definitive Thread (reviews, advice, sizing, etc...) - official thread.

[bespoken4me]



Thank you - but all I did was point and click - I can take no credit for anything other than good taste. This exact model is still available on the webstore site - clicky clicky! And if you want a matchy matchy green shell belt I can hook you up with that as well.
Yes the rain last. I also have a pair of Carmina shells on the Simpson last in the same size. The Simpson pair ran so tight in the toes that they hurt at first although are fine now. The Rain last runs just a tiny bit wide on me. but just a tiny bit.

Appreciate it, but have exhausted searches on the site and never see 12 outside of black, which for me is a waste of shell. I will hope against hope on this and will then beg Betty. Thanks again

 

[bespoken4me]

Damnit! size 11. I imagine some old security guard, doubling as an IT guy sitting in a back office, off the shop floor, who tends to the e-store. I will now resort to "My dearest Betty....." email to grab that pair. If not, I will opt for an MTO loafer, and with the 50% upcharge, well, that's why she left me. Wouldn't and couldn't compete with the closet

 

[Gdot]

All Carmina roads lead back to the lovely Bettina!

 

[NAMOR]

Here, here

 

[SloopyNoob]

Perhaps the boots are similarly priced. But shoes are 3400 sek which equals 518 dollars from Skoaktiebolaget, Including VAT. Deduct VAT and you get about 425 USD. Direct from Carmina 275 Euro excluding VAT = 362.00 dollars. Thus the difference is about 63 dollars or 18% more. I don't call that insubstantial in that $63 worth of extra customer service would equal an hour or two of time per pair of shoes (including overhead).
Now, I will be the FIRST person to go to a store to try on shoes. And if I am going to make use of the retailer's services I feel absolutely obligated to purchase through them. Not interested in ripping anyone off.
But, if I have no local retailer and can save that much on a mid range shoe by dealing with the factory direct I'm happy to assume a little more effort on my part might be required. And that minor compromises might be required. Afterall, one presumes that there is both value and cost to the services of the retailer, no?
I'll admit to being a little overly sensitive to the manufacturer's side of the equation. As I am in the business of custom design. I cannot tell you how often I encounter clients who expect to first negotiate a rock bottom price and then insist on receiving nothing but the highest quality of services and perfect end products. Needless to say, those who insist on the lowest price, do not, in fact, get the same service as those who pay for it. Business people don't stay in business for long if they are stupid enough to fall into that trap.
So - for me - when buying middling quality shoes direct from the factory in little old Inca Majorca I'm willing to accept the charmingly lax attention to time and a few little imperfections here and there (after all - they'll be imperfect after a dozen wearings anyway. Conversely, when buying G&Gs from Bespoke England I expect nothing less than elegant service and immaculate end product (which I receive).
To each their own. Given the description Moo gave of the 'problems' with the shoes I'm pretty sure I would have pulled out the plastic and happily proceeded on with my new shoes. I would have thought hmmmmmmmm.......I just got paid 64 dollars to pull a little plasitc out of a shoe. Cool. Some things in life are just not worth getting unhappy about, IMO.
To each their own.........
BTW - Carmina should have refunded 100% of Mr. Moo's costs - that part I don't understand, at all. Better to take that hit than ruin one's reputation.

Wow, I had no idea the price of buying directly from Carmina is that low. I'll have to look into this since from what I've seen online it's between EUR 400-500. Is the best way to do this emailing the infamous Betty? Can someone give me her email address? I've been looking to add a pair of suede to my rotation and looks like Carmina have some nice options.

 

[Gdot]



Wow, I had no idea the price of buying directly from Carmina is that low. I'll have to look into this since from what I've seen online it's between EUR 400-500. Is the best way to do this emailing the infamous Betty? Can someone give me her email address? I've been looking to add a pair of suede to my rotation and looks like Carmina have some nice options.

The quickest and easiest way is to order from the webstore. Although the selection here is limited:

http://www.carmina.telemaco.es/index.asp?nididioma=0

 

[dddrees]

The quickest and easiest way is to order from the webstore. Although the selection here is limited:
http://www.carmina.telemaco.es/index.asp?nididioma=0

This is all I need, another website to buy shoes from. LOL


Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gdot]



This is all I need, another website to buy shoes from. LOL


Thanks for sharing.

I feel ya bro. I fell ya.

 

[haci79]

I apologize for being slow this morning. Is Betty able find in-stock shoes that don't require the mto charge and do not show up on their web store? Thanks

 

[david123]

Does Carmina ever have full boots in stock to order online? I've never seen anything except the short boots on their web site.

 

[bespoken4me]

No, they aren't on the boot wave, and what you see on site is generally what their stores have, though only a subset of inventory stores carry. There are boots available, at certain stores but not e-store, and definitely nothing like G&G, Alden, AS, and others who have been quick to market what has been a rather recent demand. Go back 10 years, and see what was available in the dress boot world. I try not to bother Betty, as her responsibilities are far greater than that of an order clerk. Gdot posted earlier the link to Carmina. If you email at info@Carminashoemaker and request MTO information for a specific boot makeup, they will be more than happy to assist.

 

[mymil]

Doesn't the info@ email address just go to Betty?

 

[bespoken4me]



Doesn't the info@ email address just go to Betty?

shhhhhh!

( there is another personal email, but that secret aint ever getting out.)

 

[Leaves]



Well said, now carry some damn size 12UK!!! Love your store and know you have a few 12UK's as you kindly responded previously to an email. Are Europeans really that much smaller in stature that NOT ONE end retailer generally carries any real stock and variety of that size? Alden, AE ( I'll take Carmina every day) are always flush with every model in that size. I will never get it. You have great models and styles, and as much an eye for the more handsome Carmina as Armoury, maybe better. Yes, I am a kiss ass when suits my purpose

I'm a UK 12 myself, so I hear ya, but we get very few Carmina requests for UK 12. Northern Europeans are actually the tallest people in the world (statistically). Sweden comes in second place (average height for men: 5’11.5”), followed by Danes, Norwegians, Estonians, Finns and Germans. The tallest people on the planet are actually the Dutch. For some reason we have a much larger demand for EG and G&G in larger sizes than Carmina. Send me a PM with your e-mail if you want me to put you on the waiting list for 12's. I think we actually have some UK 12 in stock, and a few models coming in (i.e. 80092 Brown Calf/Snuff Suede, 922 Brown Calf, 923 Burgundy Cord.).

Perhaps the boots are similarly priced. But shoes are 3400 sek which equals 518 dollars from Skoaktiebolaget, Including VAT. Deduct VAT and you get about 425 USD. Direct from Carmina 275 Euro excluding VAT = 362.00 dollars. Thus the difference is about 63 dollars or 18% more.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I don't call that insubstantial in that $63 worth of extra customer service would equal an hour or two of time per pair of shoes (including overhead).
Now, I will be the FIRST person to go to a store to try on shoes. And if I am going to make use of the retailer's services I feel absolutely obligated to purchase through them. Not interested in ripping anyone off.
But, if I have no local retailer and can save that much on a mid range shoe by dealing with the factory direct I'm happy to assume a little more effort on my part might be required. And that minor compromises might be required. Afterall, one presumes that there is both value and cost to the services of the retailer, no?
I'll admit to being a little overly sensitive to the manufacturer's side of the equation. As I am in the business of custom design. I cannot tell you how often I encounter clients who expect to first negotiate a rock bottom price and then insist on receiving nothing but the highest quality of services and perfect end products. Needless to say, those who insist on the lowest price, do not, in fact, get the same service as those who pay for it. Business people don't stay in business for long if they are stupid enough to fall into that trap.
So - for me - when buying middling quality shoes direct from the factory in little old Inca Majorca I'm willing to accept the charmingly lax attention to time and a few little imperfections here and there (after all - they'll be imperfect after a dozen wearings anyway. Conversely, when buying G&Gs from Bespoke England I expect nothing less than elegant service and immaculate end product (which I receive).
To each their own. Given the description Moo gave of the 'problems' with the shoes I'm pretty sure I would have pulled out the plastic and happily proceeded on with my new shoes. I would have thought hmmmmmmmm.......I just got paid 64 dollars to pull a little plasitc out of a shoe. Cool. Some things in life are just not worth getting unhappy about, IMO.
To each their own.........
BTW - Carmina should have refunded 100% of Mr. Moo's costs - that part I don't understand, at all. Better to take that hit than ruin one's reputation

With today's dollar exchange rate a pair of oxfords at Skoaktiebolaget are about $490 ($392 ex VAT). That's about 10%, not 18%. And in my opinion we have a better selection of models. The US Dollar exchange rate is very bad to the Swedish Krona now, so I'm confident prices will improve for our US clients over time.

Our short boots are 3600 SEK while Carmina charge about 3750 SEK, so we are actually less expensive than Carmina on these. At this point, we charge 3600 SEK for high boots as well, and Carmina does not carry these, but they would be about 4000 SEK if they did.

Carmina charges a 50% surcharge for MTO, we charge 40%.


Mr.Moo, I was not referring to your post when I mentioned that Carmina should not be compared to EG or G&G , and I did not quote you either. I was referring to another member. I should have been more clear.

 

[kayjaybee]

I am of the opinion that Carmina are very good value for money.
But let’s be very clear, Carmina are not up to standards with Edward Green or Gaziano & Girling, and have never claimed to be so. On the contrary, they emphasize themselves that you should not compare them to these makers. As mentioned above, you pay half the price, if not less, for a pair of Carmina compared to EG or G&G. You can’t buy an Audi and expect it to perform like a Porsche. If you want to compare them do it with Crockett & Jones Benchgrade, Alden or other brands in the $500 segment.
Mr. Moo had a bad customer experience. That is unfortunate. There is a perfectly good explanation for this, although I’m not saying it makes it right; Carmina are not used to dealing with end consumers. There is also the language barrier. This is why some people will find the experience dealing directly with them discouraging. Carmina is still a very good maker, they have to improve on their end customer handling if they want to be successful with their direct sales, but there’s a bunch of earnest independent retailers offering Carmina, so you’ll be fine either way. Carmina shoes are great and maybe the best bang for the buck in the shoemaking industry (yes, I am biased, but it is my honest opinion) so if you don’t like dealing directly with Carmina, go to your local Carmina retailer or Skoaktiebolaget, The Armoury, Epaulet or some other store with a good selection and a mail order service.

I'm up to 9 pairs from Carmina...value is fantastic and while the ordering process can be a problem at times, especially when you have issues with sizing, etc, I've always been happy with the product I received and love wearing them every day. For my money I'm completely satisfied and will continue to purchase from Carmina as long as they keep the level of quality and craftsmanship that most of us have experienced from them.