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

[Nickd]

I agree with Zag73, I'd not worry about the heel, but the seam at the back would bug the hell out of me, especially at MTO prices. It's these kind of QC issues that annoy me about Carmina, because they can make a lovely shoe, one of the nicest at their price range.

Zag73 - mine were the same, I put the darker one on a windowsill in the sun for a few days and they evened out. You might have to wait for the summer though if your weather is anything like it is here (snowing). If you do so, check them regularly, they can lighten quicker than you expect.

 

[zag73]

I agree with Zag73, I'd not worry about the heel, but the seam at the back would bug the hell out of me, especially at MTO prices. It's these kind of QC issues that annoy me about Carmina, because they can make a lovely shoe, one of the nicest at their price range.

Zag73 - mine were the same, I put the darker one on a windowsill in the sun for a few days and they evened out. You might have to wait for the summer though if your weather is anything like it is here (snowing). If you do so, check them regularly, they can lighten quicker than you expect.

Oh! Cheers for the tip. I’ll give it a try in the summer. Any idea how long it took? Weather up here in Yorkshire is miserable today.
Agree with your assessment of Carmina. Great value backed up by excellent customer service. But let down by sloppy mistakes. If they ironed out their QC issues , I’d put them above C&J. For me, comfiest shoes bar none. Problem, for me, with British shoemakers is they tend to produce shoes with a lower instep. Carmina shoes are more accommodating in this respect.

 

[NikG]

After all this talk about suede shoes/ boots, another one (I might have gone a bit overboard) of my mto orders just arrived.

These are black suede with black boxcalf strap. This is one of my more subtle orders but it looks stellar on the foot. It came with some scuffing on the suede but i reckon 5 minutes with a suede brush and it'll be perfect, nothing of concern. Not likely going to get much wear as it is hot af in Brisbane, Australia atm.

My returned order sent in August/ September though.... is still stuck in Spanish customs

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Hey mate, I'm an Aussie too, but from Perth. In regards to your returns being stuck in customs you have to get in contact with ADT Postales directly to chase them up on the package otherwise it's not going to move anywhere and will just rot in customs as Carmina doesn't make much effort to claim them. Email them on this email address: [email protected] and insert your tracking number as the subject. This is the email I sent them so something along the lines of this will suffice:

"I’ve been checking my package (tracking #) that I shipped nearly 3 months ago now from Australia via AusPost and it’s status hasn’t changed from August 30 and has been stuck in customs since then with no progress at all. The package is a pair of shoes that didn’t fit and am returning to Carmina Shoemakers for a refund. I’ve contacted Carmina and they’ve stated that they’ve claimed the package and have provided necessary paperwork to clear it. I’d really appreciate if this could be followed on and the package be cleared and delivered so I can receive my refund as soon as possible. "

99% of the time they haven't got the paperwork somehow so you have to forward them the returns forms Carmina sends us such as invoice, etc. After receiving the necessary paperwork they'll release it and it'll be delivered within a week.

 

[zag73]

I agree with Zag73, I'd not worry about the heel, but the seam at the back would bug the hell out of me, especially at MTO prices. It's these kind of QC issues that annoy me about Carmina, because they can make a lovely shoe, one of the nicest at their price range.

Zag73 - mine were the same, I put the darker one on a windowsill in the sun for a few days and they evened out. You might have to wait for the summer though if your weather is anything like it is here (snowing). If you do so, check them regularly, they can lighten quicker than you expect.

Sorry , you did say, a few days ??‍♂️?

 

[Nickd]

Sorry , you did say, a few days ??‍♂️?

Yeah, and that was around the end of summer, in a south facing room.

If you’re in Yorkshire you’re probably not that far away from me! I’m on the North Notts/S Yorkshire border.

 

[zag73]

Yeah, and that was around the end of summer, in a south facing room.

If you’re in Yorkshire you’re probably not that far away from me! I’m on the North Notts/S Yorkshire border.

Fellow northerner! ?
I might give it a try now if the sun comes out. Can get bright days even in winter .

 

[Elderidge]

Hey mate, I'm an Aussie too, but from Perth. In regards to your returns being stuck in customs you have to get in contact with ADT Postales directly to chase them up on the package otherwise it's not going to move anywhere and will just rot in customs as Carmina doesn't make much effort to claim them. Email them on this email address: [email protected] and insert your tracking number as the subject. This is the email I sent them so something along the lines of this will suffice:

"I’ve been checking my package (tracking #) that I shipped nearly 3 months ago now from Australia via AusPost and it’s status hasn’t changed from August 30 and has been stuck in customs since then with no progress at all. The package is a pair of shoes that didn’t fit and am returning to Carmina Shoemakers for a refund. I’ve contacted Carmina and they’ve stated that they’ve claimed the package and have provided necessary paperwork to clear it. I’d really appreciate if this could be followed on and the package be cleared and delivered so I can receive my refund as soon as possible. "

99% of the time they haven't got the paperwork somehow so you have to forward them the returns forms Carmina sends us such as invoice, etc. After receiving the necessary paperwork they'll release it and it'll be delivered within a week.

thanks mate, I'll give that a go! It's been months and I've never experienced customs taking that long ever. I'll email them tonight and we'll see where it goes!

 

[Elderidge]

Welcome to the Carmina lottery. ? The heel wouldn’t bother me but the seam at the back most definitely would. It should be pretty perpendicular to the floor. I’ve just re-inspected my order from yesterday and it looks like not only have they used different hides but also , one shoe is slightly lighter than the other. Only really noticeable when the shoes are side by side. I’ll decided to grin and bare it. ??‍♂️?

Thank you my friend, I reached out to Carmina and they are offering a remake. I guess since it is summer time here and i wont be wearing these until April/ May, i'll take them up on the remake offer.

Custom orders/ remake are blowing out to 60 days lead time now!

 

[zag73]

Thank you my friend, I reached out to Carmina and they are offering a remake. I guess since it is summer time here and i wont be wearing these until April/ May, i'll take them up on the remake offer.

Custom orders/ remake are blowing out to 60 days lead time now!

Waiting for a remake is annoying . But at least they’ve owned the problem and offered to remake. My experience of their customer service is excellent. Up there with the best of them.

 

[Schweino]

as Carmina doesn't make much effort to claim them.

That would annoy the hell out of me

 

[NikG]

That would annoy the hell out of me

I've only returned 2 pairs so my experience is limited, but both times took about 3 months to be returned and was definitely due to Carmina not claiming the parcel and not providing the correct paperwork as the shoes were in Spanish Customs within 2 weeks of me shipping them. However, when I emailed Carmina they assured they did in fact claim them and that Customs is just backed up and takes time. So I took their word and waited, but still no progress after several weeks so I just contacted Customs directly and their response was that Carmina hadn't provided any paperwork to clear the package. As soon as I sent through the returns forms Carmina originally send us they released the package and was delivered later in the week. Now I'm not sure if this is Carmina's fault, Custom's laziness or just an Aussie thing, but it was bloody frustrating. Carmina customer service were great though and replied within 24h whenever emailed and were very apologetic throughout.

 

[Patrick1053]

I am glad that in the US you just have to send it to their NYC location, and not all the way back to Spain.

 

[NYCTechNerd]

I hate to add on to the complaints about different colored shoes but these arrived today. I can get past the fact that they came with creased vamps and obvious wear on the soles from being tried on in the NYC store where they shipped from since I got them on sale, but the obvious color difference makes me sad.

Waiting on the return label...

 

[zag73]

I hate to add on to the complaints about different colored shoes but these arrived today. I can get past the fact that they came with creased vamps and obvious wear on the soles from being tried on in the NYC store where they shipped from since I got them on sale, but the obvious color difference makes me sad.

Waiting on the return label...

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? that’s worse than mine. I feel better about mine now. The one on the left is way way darker. How the hell did these even leave the factory? ??‍♂️

 

[Nickd]

I’d make a bet that the lighter one was in the shop window all the way through the summer.