Warning About Purchasing From TLB Mallorca

[westlachill]

I feel like I just got scammed and I wanted to give a heads up to this community so everyone is aware. I'm not going to go into any details about the shoes, the customer service, etc. All of that was fine, with one glaring exception:

If you choose to return a pair of shoes (not having to do with sizing or quality issues), shipping and duties will be deducted from the final refunded amount.

This is in my view an absolutely outrageous scam. In my case (to and from New Jersey), this worked out to a penalty of 80 euros for the Artista Goya penny loafers in black with lasted shoe trees. The original amount paid for those items was 429.75 euros and I received a refund of 349.75 euros.

Toni's response here was pretty much "tough luck buddy". I'm going to reiterate that I think this is absolutely outrageous and, unsurprisingly, TLB buries this information in their return policy and certainly doesn't allude to the precise hefty toll that will be exacted, should you commit the egregious sin of deciding that shoes you've never seen in person are not what you want after you receive them.

I see this as extremely unprofessional and TLB is clearly not a company that is equipped to do business with US customers.

Buyer beware.

 

[haloitsme]

This is normal, if you declare the package wrong (not as a return shipment with proper paper work) the companies pay vat & duties. Then they need to fill out a lot of paperwork to get maybe some money back.
We do similar. When we pay like 100€ in vat & duties, we deduct from final price and if we later get it back, we iniate a full refund, only sometime we keep 15€ as a service fee, as we give 1:1 documention on how to ship the item back. If the shipping company or something happend but customer followed our instruction we waive the 15€ fee.

To eliminate this, the company can offer free shipping and return for example with DHL so they don’t pay anything. However, internationally the costs kill you, especially in shoes, as the volume weight is not small.

 

[mhip]

I feel like I just got scammed and I wanted to give a heads up to this community so everyone is aware. I'm not going to go into any details about the shoes, the customer service, etc. All of that was fine, with one glaring exception:

If you choose to return a pair of shoes (not having to do with sizing or quality issues), shipping and duties will be deducted from the final refunded amount.

This is in my view an absolutely outrageous scam. In my case (to and from New Jersey), this worked out to a penalty of 80 euros for the Artista Goya penny loafers in black with lasted shoe trees. The original amount paid for those items was 429.75 euros and I received a refund of 349.75 euros.

Toni's response here was pretty much "tough luck buddy". I'm going to reiterate that I think this is absolutely outrageous and, unsurprisingly, TLB buries this information in their return policy and certainly doesn't allude to the precise hefty toll that will be exacted, should you commit the egregious sin of deciding that shoes you've never seen in person are not what you want after you receive them.

I see this as extremely unprofessional and TLB is clearly not a company that is equipped to do business with US customers.

Buyer beware.

Pretty sure this policy is well known here, and not a scam.

 

[breakaway01]

I am not sure what is unclear about their return policy. This seems to be clearly described and I would not call what happened to you any kind of a scam. Note that I have never purchased from this company so I don't really have any skin in the game.

Buying shoes online is always going to be a roll of the dice. Can't see how a company can survive offering free international shipping both ways.

Did you indicate that it was a "return of product" on the box as specified in their instructions?

On the other hand, if the customer requests a return for reasons unrelated to the brand, the customer must take charge of the management and costs arising from the return including the costs from CUSTOMS originated by the return of the order, this amount will automatically be deducted from the refund.
...
For shipments outside the European Union we recommend indicating, both on the outside of the package and on the invoice that you must put inside the box, that it is a "Return of product". In this way you will avoid paying customs charges again.

 

[zippyh]

OP is going to get roasted for not reading returns T/C.

 

[Agent Eternal]

This is pretty much the policy of every company i purchase from.

I would be really surprised if TLB would cover the import duty themselves. Like someone else pointed out previously you should have declared the item as a 'return'.

 

[westlachill]

Pretty sure this policy is well known here, and not a scam.

I'm not sure if the policy is well known, but the fee is certainly exorbitant. For international returns: Meermin is $15, C&J $20, Loake $20. I think people should be aware that testing TLB's shoes (from the eastern US at least) costs 80 euros. I would have liked to have known that before buying.

I am not sure what is unclear about their return policy. This seems to be clearly described and I would not call what happened to you any kind of a scam. Note that I have never purchased from this company so I don't really have any skin in the game.

Buying shoes online is always going to be a roll of the dice. Can't see how a company can survive offering free international shipping both ways.

Did you indicate that it was a "return of product" on the box as specified in their instructions?

Yes. I printed out the label they sent me that indicated it was a return in large print and affixed it to the box along with the shipping label and customs paperwork.

This is pretty much the policy of every company i purchase from.

I would be really surprised if TLB would cover the import duty themselves. Like someone else pointed out previously you should have declared the item as a 'return'.

I did. See above.

 

[LJ1891]

I have purchased 3 pairs of shoes from TLB. All of my dealings with them have been hassle free. They even bent over backwards to do a custom order for me and expedited the process to get them to me by a certain time/date…TLB is great.

(I know this doesn’t address OP. But I’m offering my personal experience with TLB…which has been excellent…repeatedly)

 

[westlachill]

I have purchased 3 pairs of shoes from TLB. All of my dealings with them have been hassle free. They even bent over backwards to do a custom order for me and expedited the process to get them to me by a certain time/date…TLB is great.

(I know this doesn’t address OP. But I’m offering my personal experience with TLB…which has been excellent…repeatedly)

That characterizes the entirety of my experience except the surprise return cost. I would have liked to have known before ever ordering anything from them that it would be as high as 80 euros to return a single pair. I would have liked to have known it even before returning because I probably would have kept the shoes.

 

[notdos]

Common, not a scam.

 

[westlachill]

Common, not a scam.

Not common. "For international returns: Meermin is $15, C&J $20, Loake $20."