(This post was last modified: 11-19-2023, 12:15 AM by Marko.)
(11-18-2023, 07:15 AM)Dragonsbeard Wrote: (11-18-2023, 06:03 AM)Marko Wrote: (11-17-2023, 10:27 PM)dtownvino Wrote: Frank, you need a more reliable partner in Canada if you can find one. Sorry, they can’t keep missing drops like this.
I don’t know if you can find a more reliable vendor in Canada. Carmine at Top of the Chain is a decent guy and has always given me top service. He also has the widest range of artisan products in the country. I think that might be a bit of a problem for him if you go by how much artisan stuff he has on his discounted sale page. Maybe he’s trying to cut back although I can think of several he could drop before Ethos!!
Marko
I agree Carmine is a very good person and I like him a lot. We’ve had some great conversations in the past and he easy to work with but then something must have happened last year because that’s when this issue with communication started. We usually communicate through WhatsApp and I’d message him about new upcoming releases and he’d message me back saying yes I need to get an order in and I’d send him an order sheet and then I’d not hear back from him so I’d message him agin and eventually he’d respond again saying he needs to get an order in. So that’s how it’s been going since then. In fact the last time I heard from him we had a good conversation and we talked about meeting each other for lunch in Niagra Falls and I said I’ll drive your order there as it’s only about 75 miles from me. So honestly i haven’t given up on him I just think he’s got a lot going on with his full time job and his kids as he’s mentioned a couple of times in our conversations. Since this came up I’m going to reach out to him again and let’s see if I can get him back on track as I get messages from Canadian customers quite often about this topic as they don’t really like paying for the shipping from the US.
I also want to be clear I’m not trying to talk badly about him as I really like him I just need a vendor to be a good steward for the brand which I’m sure you can understand. I’ll report back on this as I know several people have messaged me about the Dragonsbeard release and even more so on the upcoming two. Bay Rum releases and I want him to have them. I know very well what’ it’s like to be overwhelmed and that may be what’s happening to him but I’ll really try my best to get in touch with him.
Best regards
Sorry Frank, I’m not suggesting you’re disparaging Carm. I know he’s got a lot on his plate. I just think Canada is a tough market because it’s so small and it’s expensive. Here in the forums we can get lost in our own little echo chamber. The market for artisan wet shaving products is not huge and Canada hasn’t got a huge population. 36 to 40 million people (depending on irregulars) do a Canadian vendor has to depend on US business and offer the free shipping to US as as Canada because they have to to compete. US vendors don’t offer free shipping outside of US because they don’t have to. What? 360M people? So on that basis alone Canadian vendors are operating at a lower margin. And if you’re dealing with returns it’s even worse then there’s the FX on the dollar. That’s why there’s basically three significant vendors in Canada. Top of the Chain (#1 in my book), Italian Barber and Fendrihan. Neither of the latter two carry the range of artisans that TOTC does. There’s a few smaller vendors like StoneField which carried obscure ( not top tier imo) Canadian soap makers but he’s shutting down. He’s an airline pilot and there’s only so much time. There are a few others that sell only their own product like MacDuff’s (top tier imo) but other than that it’s a barren high cost wasteland
There used to be more vendors but they’ve all shut down over the years. I don’t know, maybe most Canadian guys are Williams soap buyers. Or canned. I rarely raise the subject of wet shaving with guys. You get that look. Whatever. Far be it for me to inject a little joy into people’s miserable lives
So I reckon that Carmine is dealing with the same issues all Canadian vendors have to deal with not the least of which is needing a day job to support your family. I want to see these guys thrive. We all do. Personally, I will pay US shipping for stuff I really want. Like Ethos bay rum! Otherwise I wait to see if stuff turns up at TOTC and if it doesn’t, oh well…