No more CJs from P. LAL

[Tomboys]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

Crap! Wanted to buy a pair of suede belgraves soon. There close to $600.00 on pediwear and i doubt they will price match now that this news has broke.

The cost from Plal (with shipping) works out to @ $470.00 USD. If you look further, you'll see that Pediwear is only charging @ 326.10 GBP because since the shoes are leaving the country (theirs), you get to subtract off the VAT which is @ 13.04% of the price. So, the net is @ 326.10 GBP (@ $521.76 USD)

Originally Posted by aj_del

^^ Belgrave in both suede and calf is 319 GBP (~507 USD) including worldwide shipping from Bodiley's

This is probably the best price I've seen because it includes shipping. Most places (including the C&J retail stores) charge @ 30.00 GBP to ship it (@ $48.00 USD) internationally.

 

[Chris - NZ]

I don't want to ruffle a few feathers since I know P.Lal is highly rated here but I've recently received my newly purchased pair of black Selbourne and the insole of the left shoe has come unstuck. It was as if that particular area did not have enough glue in it. Also, there were some minor marks which made the whole experience less than memorable - I wonder if any members have experienced similar issues. Sorry if I'm off topic.

 

[ccffm1]

I have this feeling that Bodiley´s, Pediwear et al. will keep their C&J distribution. P.Lal must have cost some online distributors quite a bit of money, e.g. Pediwear with their price matching pledge. I could easily imagine they were starting to get pretty miffed and complained to C&J.

 

[ccffm1]

Originally Posted by srivats

Bad news ...

next dist - EG perhaps?

If memory serves they have tried to get an EG dist before, with little (i.e. no) success.

 

[Wrigglez]

so should i buy the brown belgraves i've been umming and arring over right now or are we all waiting for this to blow over. C&J sent me a booklet with all their styles to order directly from their store.

 

[upnorth]

Originally Posted by Chris - NZ

I don't want to ruffle a few feathers since I know P.Lal is highly rated here but I've recently received my newly purchased pair of black Selbourne and the insole of the left shoe has come unstuck. It was as if that particular area did not have enough glue in it. Also, there were some minor marks which made the whole experience less than memorable - I wonder if any members have experienced similar issues. Sorry if I'm off topic.

Don't know what you mean by marks but C&J has been known to let shoes that considered seconds be sold as first rate quality. I know several people who have had minor problems with their C&J purchases, and to be fair, not just from PLAL.

I'm sure many would be upset by this move but it probably means that they will be merging their catalogs and with the new store opening, it would mean selections similar to the French shops will now be available in NY. I'm sure that there will put a more conscientious effort in ensuring quality is right now that they don't have to rush orders to fulfil discounted internet purchases. Whether or not cutting off distributorships is shooting themselves in the foot remains to be seen.

 

[Wes Bourne]

Originally Posted by ccffm1

If memory serves they have tried to get an EG dist before, with little (i.e. no) success.

I think they had posted the exchanges they had with EG re opening an account with them. As for losing C&J, it is very unfortunate; the Doshis are good peeps and I had a great experience purchasing from them. Perhaps they should look into Alfred Sargent's eventual new offerings...

 

[Tarmac]

Honestly, it makes sense. There's no reason for CJ to allow a single stockist to sell shoes about $100 cheaper than anyone else. All the other dealers would complain, and I am sure they did.

Sad for us, though.

 

[Wes Bourne]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

Honestly, it makes sense. There's no reason for CJ to allow a single stockist to sell shoes about $100 cheaper than anyone else. All the other dealers would complain, and I am sure they did.

Sad for us, though.

It does make sense, but I think P.Lal deserves props for passing along savings to their customers. The Doshis had explained that they were able to price C&Js lower than UK and North American retailers because Malaysia does not have hefty duty fees on the import of leather goods. As such, they pay less for the shoes, are probably able to maintain the same profit as other retailers all while selling at a reduced price to the end consumer. C&J moved some shoes thanks to them, P.Lal made money and we paid less. It was all good for everyone except other retailers.

Keep in mind that some members still preferred to order from Pediwear since they price match. So you can't say that they lost all C&J sales to P.Lal, but certainly that they made less money on more than a few pairs sold.

 

[Spark]

Wow...makes me feel very lucky I got off ****** and snagged those brown Audleys a few weeks ago. Great service, great shoes, quick shipping and, at $445 total to my front door, makes me wonder if I shouldn't try to order some more before the doors close...

 

[Wes Bourne]

^ Yes.

 

[aj_del]

Originally Posted by Spark

Wow...makes me feel very lucky I got off ****** and snagged those brown Audleys a few weeks ago. Great service, great shoes, quick shipping and, at $445 total to my front door, makes me wonder if I shouldn't try to order some more before the doors close...

Could you tell me how much did they charge for shipping ? Currently the Audley is 1500 MYR and I think it is 175 MYR shipping so a total of 1675 MYR which works to be 487 USD. At the current exchange rates the Audley costs 436 without shipping.

 

[Spark]

Sure... Here is what they e-mailed me regarding shipping options:

"we provide free shipping to USA via airmail parcel post and it takes 8-12 days to reach. A faster EMS Poslaju Courier costs a subsidized M$100-00 and takes 5-6 days. Please note that some credit card issuers may charge 3% - 4% on top of that amount."

I wasn't in a rush, so I went with the free option - took about a week to reach the West Coast.

Other points to note:

"Insurance: As a safeguard, there is now a sum of M$10-00 to M$23-00 payable to insure each pair of shoes."

"Duty-free: Duty-free means that our low prices are based on our duty-free cost as the importing of leather shoes into our country is exempted from duty.."

So, with the insurance + free shipping, the total nut was $445 for a pair of handgrades...or $100 more than a pair of Peal/CJ benchgrades on sale at Brooks.


Hope this helps...

 

[teddieriley]

Originally Posted by Chris - NZ

I don't want to ruffle a few feathers since I know P.Lal is highly rated here but I've recently received my newly purchased pair of black Selbourne and the insole of the left shoe has come unstuck. It was as if that particular area did not have enough glue in it. Also, there were some minor marks which made the whole experience less than memorable - I wonder if any members have experienced similar issues. Sorry if I'm off topic.

Originally Posted by upnorth

Don't know what you mean by marks but C&J has been known to let shoes that considered seconds be sold as first rate quality. I know several people who have had minor problems with their C&J purchases, and to be fair, not just from PLAL.

I'm sure many would be upset by this move but it probably means that they will be merging their catalogs and with the new store opening, it would mean selections similar to the French shops will now be available in NY. I'm sure that there will put a more conscientious effort in ensuring quality is right now that they don't have to rush orders to fulfil discounted internet purchases. Whether or not cutting off distributorships is shooting themselves in the foot remains to be seen.

I bought a pair of Tan Cliffords from P.Lal a couple of years ago. Great cutomer service, but I recall when I received them, the edges of the sole were scuffed noticeably that I had to dress them myself so they look new. I don't think it was P.Lal's fault, but a cursory inspection before they shipped would have revealed they did not look "brand new," and I informed them of the issue. Of course all I could really do was accept the sincere apologies. But it's going to happen when you're ordering from halfway around the world and at a considerable discount.

 

[indesertum]

Originally Posted by aj_del

I had enquired from C & J about their distributors in Asia as I am from India and travel regularly in Asia. This is the reply I got from C & J on Sept 14 Dear Mr Jain Thank you for your e-mail, do made for United Arrows, Isitan, Trading post in Japan but have no stockists in Asia. We can dispatch shoes to you directly and send to you our new Mail Order Catalogue, please forward your full postal address. If however you know the styles that you would like you may e-mail, fax or phone your order and credit card details to our Royal Exchange store. Please be sure to include the credit card expiry date, billing address and the last three digits form the number on the back of the card. This will help us to promptly forward your order to you. Any questions you have can be e-mailed, phoned 020 7929 2111 or faxed 020 7929 0110 to myself at Royal Exchange. Thank you. HUQSTABLE MANAGER (Crockett & Jones, 25 Royal Exchange) I was a little surprised with the reply but did not think much of it. I have not purchased from P.lal but have purchased from Bodiley's and wonder what will be the fate of Bodiley's.
I know for sure that the original shinsaegae department store in south korea stocks crockett and jones. At **** prices sure, but i've seen the shoes in person. they definitely have them and there's been no word that the distribution is about to be shut down. not sure what's going on.