The Last Shoemaker - A Disappointing Bait & Switch...

I was really excited about placing my first order with this company, and I had very high hopes. Unfortunately, my expectations have led to significant disappointment and, as a result, I cannot recommend this company.

The first image is what I thought I was ordering - because that still comes from a YouTube video on their website showcasing a pair of Navy Blue Jorvik shoes.

The verbiage on their website led me to believe that providing detailed foot measurements would result in a semi-bespoke offering, rather than an off-the-rack offering. I can't currently say which of those options I received, but at this point there is little difference. It also led me to believe that their custom orders came from the York, England workshop while their standard offerings came from their Bangkok workshop.

As you can see, I was promised manufacturing updates, including images, along the way.

The first red flag was a DHL tracking number, indicating an incoming shipment from Bangkok - even though I had received no updates on the progress. Of course, which workshop makes the shoes doesn't really matter that much - as long as the quality is what it should be.

As you can see, the shoes I received look nothing like the showcased shoes. Had I seen an image of these shoes, I would not have ordered them. Second, there is a significant manufacturing defect in the left shoe - which you can clearly see in the final image, but it looks worse in person than in the image. Third, I paid extra for silver toetaps - which, as you can see, were not included. Finally, they replied to my email requesting to initiate a return with a denial, stating that this was a custom order and cannot be returned - even though, as you can see, this was simply an order using available options on their website.

As a result, I have been forced to open a dispute with my credit card company. I will still return the shoes if requested, but I am not paying for unacceptable merchandise. I'm assuming I'm just out of luck with the tariff I paid on top of the cost of the shoes, but that wasn't an extraordinary amount and could be chalked up to the price of a lesson learned.

It's unfortunate because the shoes actually fit me perfectly. It's also unfortunate, for both them and me, because I already had three more orders in mind if this first pair met my expectations. Obviously, I will not be ordering anything else from them...

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The Last Shoemaker - A Disappointing Bait & Switch...