And many offer free shipping cost / How is it on the import tax sound67  ?

As buying stuff from the USA with shipping & import tax is a whole different story .

That is the HoS Morphy 4.0” in Rosewood.  I got it in 2004 just after Shawn bought and took over HoS from Frank.  I had been eyeing that set, but even without the box, they lowered the price with that gone, the set still retailed for $849.  
As you might remember me saying, Frank never gave more than a 10% discount, and I was an inaugural member of his buying club which gave me that anyway.  Well, I called and asked for the new owner, Shawn.  I simply asked what my price for that set would be, and said no more.  Shawn told me that I was a valued customer because I bought so many sets and stuff from them.  He gave me a whopping discount, which I took.  It wasn’t too much later that he must have talked with Frank or something and that wholesale discount disappeared for me.

Of course they have those big sales now that I always take advantage of if I am looking to buy something from them.

By the way, I sold my original HoS Marshall Series set and another board and set to pay for that Morphy.

Thanks! It is my favorite. Similar to the SC Morphy set, I like almost all variations of this set. Other companies make it too.

@Audioq I agree with you that the extra costs probably goes those other areas you mentioned. However, there are price differences from manufacturers who make identical sets. My CB 3.75" 1849 is almost the same as the SC 3.75" 1849 (Nathaniel). I asked Mandeep for the size of his version and it is almost the same as the CB version I have. The SC specs are slightly more proportional than CB's version. CB's version is $300 after a 20% discount while SC's version is $210 all day long. They're both in India. They both produce the sets themselves. One is more expensive than the other. Why? I have no idea.

@Eyechess Is your Morphy this version?

QC is very much lacking. They don't check anything before they send it out. I always ask "Why did you (HoS) send me this?" every time I open a box from HoS. But like you said they never fuss over replacements. Replacements are very smooth. Send some photos and the replacements are in my mailbox within a week or os.

This is what mine looks like.

Yes good point. Also it would be useful to know what the manufacturer got when these were sold wholesale as opposed to direct. We will never know but as I suggested before it must have been a significant difference, otherwise they would never have taken on the hassle of selling to individual customers.

Would love to see a side by side comparison of CB 3.75" 1849 to the SC version but I doubt if anyone has both.

That's beautiful. The blood rosewood looks like black from the photo. I've never handled blood rosewood or rosewood for that matter so perhaps it is reddish brown in real life. The board also looks beautiful. Is that from HOS as well?

I like this one ! it a POA  still really nice & from

Jaques Staunton Club Chessmen & Box
Circa 1855-1862 ,

Your Morphy set is beautiful! I wish my Collectors had the bishop from your set. Is the list you provided in order of favorites?

@Audioq I really pondered buying the SC set too but the specifications were not different enough to justify buying the SC set and selling my CB set. I'm still on the fence on this one though.

Thanks! The BR looks a little dark in the photos. I have never had a Rosewood set, so I can't really compare. My Players Series is in East Indian Rosewood. I think it is not the same as regular Rosewood. Here is a photo of East Indian Rosewood on the left vs Blood Rosewood on the right.

As for the board, it is from Dovetail Artistry on Etsy. The guy I bought it from is super nice but the finish on the board was not so good. It had bubbles in the finish. It looks nice until you see it up close.

It’s almost 2021. Shouldn’t consumers be able to dictate the pieces that they want in their sets a la cart without breaking the bank? I know that NOJ offers this option To some extent with theIr BCE offering. Which Knight? Which Rook? Want additional Bishops? Eastern or Western? Stage 1, 2 or 3 for the additional pieces?

@Lighthouse That set is super nice! The knight reminds me of the 9 cm set made by Oleg. I really love that knight. I still wouldn't buy an original because I couldn't get replacements. But that does not change how beautiful that set is.

@Chessroboto That would be awesome. It would be like buffet style.

@sound67 - I enjoyed the series of review you did, covering most of the major tournament sized plastic pieces. If I am correct, you praised the Legend Alegria as the best among them. Unfortunately, their shipping cost is outrageous. I still cannot justisfy myself paying more than 100 USD for plastic pieces. Might as well get a wooden set at such price range.

@MCH818 - Thanks for the closeup photo of blood rosewood and East Indian rosewood. They both look wonderful with beautiful grain. Sorry to hear about the bubbles on your board. If I were you, I would sand them down and spray with clear lacquer.

$100USD for a plastic set is really hard to justify.

@Eyechess - Your HoS Morphy 4.0” in Rosewood is stunning. If you ever get bored with it, let me know. I can put together a few sets which you don't have for trade. Come over to the dark side ;-)