Dear wonderful Chess.com community,

I was shopping a couple weeks ago on Wholesale Chess's site, and I  bought their "Quality Club Chess Pieces" (Plastic), and I was amazed at the amount of scratching that is on them... is this normal?  These are the worst pieces, although the others are all scratched as well.  (Pictures of white pieces wash out.)

Also, my mousepad board has some terrible white lines running through the dark squares on three files...  I'm guessing this was just a bad order, but anyone experienced in buying plastic sets or mousepad boards have these issues?

Thanks in advance.  I'm working on figuring out if I should seek a return/replacement.  Hopefully I just got a "bad batch."

If they're in crappy condition like they appear to be, get them replaced.

Thanks for your input.  I've just never ordered online before and I wasn't sure what to expect...  Anyone else's experienced opinion is welcomed as well.

this is pretty normal for plastic sets. they are for quick, fun play. if you want a NICE set, get wood!

I had ordered the quality club set as well. I sent it back and upgraded to the executive tournament set. I am happy I did that. Don't know about the mousepad board as I only have the vinyl.

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

@forkU -- Question: did your executive set still have the scratches, or what was the problem that you experienced with the quality club set that was better with executive?

@Erik -- Thanks for the input.  I wondered if some scratching was to be expected... it just seemed like a lot.  I'm not looking for a really nice set, just something I can use in tournament play and also for fun.  I have a wood set.  Regardless, I think the board should be replaced.  I hear good things about Wholesale Chess in general, so I'm expecting they'll at least handle that.

I bought these (suitable for tournaments, price today 8,-€ that ist 10 US $) about 20 years ago an used them quite a lot. They even spent seven years in the toy boxes of my daughters and do still look like new.

But Eric is right. Wood is the real thing.

Thanks, Metal-Gerd.  Looks like a fine set.

I heard back from Wholesale:

1) The pieces are to be expected that way, so I might pick up a nicer set.  Seems I was just ignorant of the norm in this respect.

2) To their credit, while the board is defective they've offered to return my money or give me a free one that's not messed up on my next order.  I'm thinking to buy a nicer set of plastic pieces and get the free board, so then I could have a nicer board/pieces set, and a not-so-nice one for the club I'm starting.

Mouse Pad Boards are the only way to go. They don't crinkle. Is crinkle a word?

I did have some scratching, but they were also very light. The plastic felt cheap comparing the two. The scratching was not on the executive set. The tournament bag was also better in my opinion. Once I felt the weight of the executive set, I knew I made the right choice for me. It's just my personal preference, but if you like to play lots of blitz, you may want to look at something a little heavier. In the end it's worth it. I've had my set for 3 years and my kids play with it and I used it at the school's chess club and throw in the trunk of my car and still looks good. I was happy enough to buy another set that I keep in my wife's trunk cuz I never know when I'll meet someone that is ready to play.   

I've gone with the Premier plastic set, and I've had my customer serviceman upgrade the replacement board they're giving me to a 22" (they offered to do it for free!).  I have to say, Wholesale Chess does offer exceptional customer service!  I think I will be shopping there again in the future for the club we're starting in town.

Are you kidding?  It looks like Freddy Krueger was using them.  This is NOT normal for plastic sets.  This IS normal for plastic sets that cost $4.99. 

Basically, this falls into the catagory of "you get what you pay for".  I don't own that chess set, but it looks like it is supposed to be for casual play or for stocking up a club; affordable and pratical.

For a well molded and smooth plastic chess set, you should expect to pay a bare minimum of $20.

Well, I'm receiving my new set today, and I paid $20.99 for it.  The only thing is I just noticed that they dropped the price on a sale to $16.49--does anyone know if they will give back the difference when they have a price drop like that?

Well I dont't know the prices in the USA but the 10$ set from here is good enough for better players than me.