Major chess vendor sent me a desaster, horrable set of chessmen...HELP!

I ordered a set of chessmen for $400.00 that were actually on sale from $500.00! I received them TODAY and I actually felt SICK just looking at them!!!! I'm trying to find the words to describe them but can't! I'll add photos at the end of my rant.

Last year I bought an AWESOME set from RCM  of 1849-50 Leuchars Cook Staunton Chess Set but later noticed the knight was TOO short and it annoyed me so bad I sought out another set that was very close but had a knight that BETTER fit to the rest of the set.

I engaged with CHAT with sales and begged them to OPEN and INSPECT the items for cracks and quality before shipping. The person told me.

"We are the best and largest chess company in the world, our products are the highest quality"!

The Antiqued Boxwood looked DISGUSTINGLY UGLY, SHOE POLISH BROWN UGLY! Nothing like the photos on their website!

Second issue, if that wasn't bad enough, is the pieces DON'T match, they are not the same size! It was so noticeable I could just see it right away... the two bishops have different sized bases, a big difference!

This is NOT a $400.00 value set of chessmen!

See photos please and please chime in and tell me if I'm crazy! For reference I put a few of my first 1849 set for comparison on the left side. I won't even tell you which ones I'm pissed about, you'll see straight off. Also you can see the size difference of the bishops...the BOTH are from the set I received today. I'm REASONABLE with most things...but this is S---! for spending $400,

I opened an email thread with their support today around 4pm EST, they told me they will get back to me tomorrow. I don't know the rules on this forum with regards to naming names, but If they will not resolve this with a REFUND or a replacement lite side WITHOUT the brown shoe polish and also THE CORRECT size....i would like to post the name of the vendor here to warn others...

Please let me know if I have a valid complaint....

thanks everyone...

The state of the set is obviously a problem, but I would have given them a chance to make it right before posting.

Yep, it’s valid but I’m with @beachero in giving people/organiations a chance to right wrongs. 
In no way am I excusing whoever the manufacturer is … rather just give them 24-48 hrs (a reasonable time) to review and respond.

I've noted before that I think chess manufacturers and their production/distribution/QC processes and systems flux with demand and the better ones adapt and grow the others have continual problems. With the Xmas/new year sales, I am sure their processes are stretched and poor processes get found out in outcomes like yours. Awful but hopefully you get an appropriate response and replacement or refund. 
As a side note, I nearly purchased a set from a large and reputable manufacturer but I asked - via their chat and email - if they could ensure my set would be inspected before it left the distribution facility. They were honest and said no - that only occurs with premium sets but assured me the quality would be great. I declined the purchase - I am pretty sure the pieces would have been ok but I didn’t want the hassle of not. Another manufacturer has confirmed they will and the pieces remain in my basket as I consider the purchase. 
As DKW often says - purchasing through third parties like Amazon can help … it’s not something I do (yet) but I get why people do. 
Good luck with your issue and I believe it will be sorted in your favour. 🤞

I AM giving them a chance. Please notice no name was mentioned....correct?

Again, no name was mentioned...yet.

What should I expect from them at this point. In my email to them I suggested replacing the light side only with plane boxwood but NOW I don't trust them to do anything correct because the size doesn't even match....how are they going to even get that right not having the black side...they couldn't even do that when they had all pieces there....

If they start complaining about shipping cost and all that...what is my argument?

This is clearly an issue with size and indeed, the colour. I imagine (hope) they will send you a replacement and not expect you to pay anything for postage or indeed, pay to return the dodgy pieces - if they want them returned they could send a return bag with the next pieces. It won’t hurt to mention (link) this thread to your email and note that you’re being reasonable in not naming them - rather waiting for their position/resolution. For what its’s worth, my experience is that suppliers like HoS, Staunton Castle and Chess Bazaar eventually sort things out - they all have replaced pieces for me that had quality issues and in one case - a whole set, where the gloss finish was a disaster.It’s just a pity that it needs to be sorted in the first place; really frustrating and I am sure puts some people off buying.
I’d note too that I have only ordered one set from RCM and it was great 👍 and then when I dropped and broke a king - the king’s finial broke-m - and I sent RCM a note and they kindly sent me a replacement piece to which I was happy to pay for. Great service.

PS - as DKW and others note - naming them is also an option and let’s everyone know … and you can still close out the story with updates. As the saying goes - whatever floats your boat - personally like the whole story at once but I get that it can be a serial too and we all get updates as the saga progresses. 👍

PPS - here’s one of my threads where the saga of a replacement set played out…Shera Series… so while I now try to tell the story on one review - I do at times provide a series of posts. 🤦‍♂️😊

You are exactly correct when saying that any natural wood that is modified is disgusting looking. The problem I'm having is finding a set that "I HOPE should be produced by someone" that is a 1849-50 Staunton that is close to 4.5" king. I will say the original Cook/Staunton design was the absolute best looking! I just cant find it anywhere that doesn't have some obvious idiotic issue.

1) the knights are smaller than the rook....
2) the cut in the bishop is too thin and angled too much
3) the rook castle is too tall and small diameter
4) the king has very sharp edges on the crown...

Royal Chess Mall has the "almost" perfect set, but the knight is TOO short!

Mistakes do happen. The real test is how the seller acts when this is the case. I recently ordered three chessboards that was slightly damaged when they arrived. The seller promptly sent three more boards and let me keep the damaged ones (that I´ve fixed and use...). Maybe I´ve just been lucky but other than the above incidnt I´ve had no issues with the sets, pieces and boards I´ve ordered from different vendors in Sweden, Denmark, India, Italy, Poland and USA. One time DHL messed up a delivery but that time the seller (RCM) was very helpful.

More photos for comparison....

On the left, natural boxwood very nice set $150.00
In the center, antiqued boxwood, very nice set $249.00
On the left, shoe polish set $400.00

I had some issues with a set from RCM, I think 3 pieces had small cracks at the base. I sent ONE email with a few pictures. The very next morning I received an email from;

Manwinder
Customer Success Manager

They stated that they had already began the process of making the replacements, will ship ASAP. I received everything in PERFECT condition, exactly matching the other pieces.

I'm very loyal to vendors who do the right thing, RCM is awesome and sent me an awesome set! So far I highly endorse them. The reason for choosing another vendor this time was the style of set I thought would work...

Of course noone should buy anything he finds disgusting but this is down to personal preferences and taste. And, as we all know, there´s no accounting för taste. Personally I have no problems with stained or otherwise finished wooden pieces. But, hey, I like plastic pieces too...

These chessmen look like an imperfect one and the vendor might have underestimated the buyer’s prudence and perception thinking they could get away with it. I had bad experience with RoyalChessMall and Chessbazaar in the past too. Usually when they put their items on big sales specially on other platforms they have issues. I hope they will not play up again and mess you around and issue you a refund.

@choppie3 It looks like RCM sells your new set in a 'brownish' antique color which looks like what you received. So did you order the 'brownish' set and just don't like it? Or did you order a 'yellowish' set and got the 'brownish' set?

Also, looking at the following picture, it looks like the 'brownish' bishop is the "CORRECT" size and you need a replacement of the ebony pieces...but you have the pieces so just measure them and compare it to the site specs to see which are "CORRECT".

I could understand the difficulty with quality control being that they're wooden, but for that much money it should be dang near perfect.

the yellowish one is from RCM and it's exactly what their listing shows, i have no issues with that. The vendor the shoe polish one came from had it listed and looking exactly like it would have been the yellowish one. I do see RCM listing one of the 1849 sets that shows similar to the shoe polish set. The listing of the set in question has very limited spec info, only lists the king size and diameter.... And you're correct in pointing out that its the black pieces that are the incorrect size, too small. I'll compare the rest of the pieces tonight... Also, the pictures are very different from what I received, wouldn't you think they would get that correct before taking 400 dollars and shipping something half around the planet.....seems really stupid to me..

ALSO....with THAT much difference in color... wouldn't you get a idea that HEY...MAYBE we could call them DIFFERENT names!!!!!! Let me suggest shoe polish set and antiqued set...

just a suggestion....looks more like walnut or mahogany....

how about call it THAT...

@choppie3 I absolutely agree you, in that if we pay American prices, then we should have American expectations and should get what's advertised. And I consider $400 an American price, so push back with the seller and get what you want and expect.

However, after spending some months in China, Egypt, Brazil, Ireland, Canada, and even Alaska, Chicago, New York city, and California .... I can honestly say that mindsets differ greatly between various countries and even cities. I've never been to India (the most probable origin of your chess set) but after watching 'Slumdog Millionaire' , one can garner some sense of their way of life. Some consideration may be required when dealing directly with companies overseas.

I hope you get your issue resolved.

People advocating that this "mistake" should be allowed to be fixed etc... are missing that this was no mistake. No one sends a box of garbage pieces (probably the defectives from a tropical sweat shop that mass produces "antique" chess pieces) for $400 by mistake. I'd just check on line to see if any other complaints against the company have been received and then try to get $400 worth of satisfaction from engaging in daily humiliations on line. I doubt you'll get anything back, but I am willing to be pleasantly surprised. Let us know how the ongoing travails resolve themselves.

They did that on purpose to take your money. That is junk. My collectors edition sets that are plastic are better quality than that,