Questions on chess bazaar.

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maik1988

I think Chessbazaar is hit or miss. I don't buy from them, mostly because I dislike their designs for their lack of harmony and their propensity for ostentatious knights. However, the idea that CB offers mid-range quality at low prices is dated, people. I remember when their first iteration of the dubrovnik pieces was close to 50-60 euro, unless I'm sorely mistaken. That was about 4-5 years ago. Today, you pay 3 times as much for the exact same pieces, no difference whatsoever. That, plus their occasional customer support antics makes me avoid this company. 

If you do intend to buy from these people, do your research. Look up some old threads under the words "CB" or "Chess Bazaar" and see what comes up. I made up my mind about them long ago.

Drawgood
maik1988 wrote:

I think Chessbazaar is hit or miss. I don't buy from them, mostly because I dislike their designs for their lack of harmony and their propensity for ostentatious knights. However, the idea that CB offers mid-range quality at low prices is dated, people. I remember when their first iteration of the dubrovnik pieces was close to 50-60 euro, unless I'm sorely mistaken. That was about 4-5 years ago. Today, you pay 3 times as much for the exact same pieces, no difference whatsoever. That, plus their occasional customer support antics makes me avoid this company. 

If you do intend to buy from these people, do your research. Look up some old threads under the words "CB" or "Chess Bazaar" and see what comes up. I made up my mind about them long ago.

 

Is there any online site you recommend that sells the same weight and quality pieces for less?

RussBell

A few chess.com forum threads relating Chessbazaar.com problems.....

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/my-experience-with-chess-bazaar

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/poor-quality-and-service-from-chess-bazaar

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chessbazaar-boards-which-are-cracking

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chess-bazaar-backorder

 

loubalch
Drawgood wrote:
loubalch wrote:

Since ebony is no longer the dark black color of times past (unless it's stained), why not get a dark rosewood instead? You'll get more consistent coloring, with a lot less likelihood of splitting or cracking.

 

Below: My Mechanics Institute set in boxwood and dark rosewood. The googly-eyes were my idea.

 

 

I had a chance to play one game in a tournament I was in using the Mechanic's Institute original Mechanics' set. I really did like the knights actually. One important thing I remember is that either the king or the queen, most likely the queen had a long pointy spire on top. I am not seeing that particular detail in the HoS set. Unfortunately I cannot find photos of an original Mechanics' set to confirm this.

The story, as I heard it, was that over time pieces would eventually chip and crack, etc. When the numbers dwindled and they realized that they only had enough pieces to make a single complete set, it was withdrawn from club use and put on display. House of Staunton expressed an interest in making a copy, remitting a certain percentage of the sale back to the Institute.

MaximumAbdul

How did your replacements end up looking? 

forked_again

forked_again

The lovely lady above is from my chess Bazaar Sinquefield Cup set.  The Rosewood is beautiful!

Eyechess

That is a nice looking wood.  It looks just like a set I bought from The House of Chess.  The woods look identical along with the finish.

forked_again
Eyechess wrote:

That is a nice looking wood.  It looks just like a set I bought from The House of Chess.  The woods look identical along with the finish.

Thank you eyechess.  It probably should not be a surprise that your pieces look similar.  I understand that a lot of these Indian manufacturers are located near each other and must have some of the same suppliers 

jjupiter6

if you try hard enough, you could find a multitude of threads about poor service from any business.

Eyechess
sound67 wrote:

There are also several threads on House of Staunton pieces cracking - much more expensive pieces IIRC. You people should really grow up.

Actually, history shows The House of Staunton and Official Staunton as both having the best records when it comes to quality and service.  Of course Noj has been and is perfect, and no one has ever argued that point.

Chess Bazaar has improved quite a bit in the last year.  Yes, they have the worst history of those mentioned here, and you cannot erase that.  Their recent record is good.

forked_again
ghost_of_pushwood wrote:

At last I have a goal!

You are supposed to be dead.

Mohan_Kumar_Chess
sound67 wrote:

Well, I did some shopping around, and maybe I was just lucky, but I got these boards for €65 each. New. Can you imagine what the wholesale prices of these are?

And that's my point: It's the import/export game companies have to play, in either direction.  Essentially, you pay for the import tax, income tax, energy costs, staff cost, advertising budget, rent, and margin of every single party in between.

It's not excessive. It's not fraud. It's how economy works!

And the same applies to Indian chess pieces being exported to the UK or the US. 100% to 150% markup by the party in the sales chain. It could never work  any other way. Nothing wrong with that: You have a seller in your own country, with domestic rules concerning warranty and returns - that's a great comfort.  

But actually Chess pieces and even boards made in India are relatively inexpensive including shipping. Even if you bought the Ebony, Sheesham, Rosewood, Bloodrosewood boards from chessbazaar, RCM, chessbyIndia you get them for cheap including free shipping. But I can't imagine importing from House of Staunton or chessUSA or Wholesalechess. The shipping alone would cost $60+ for which I will buy 2 German Knight sets from  chessbazaar. Shipping charges $ŪČK$.

Mohan_Kumar_Chess

@sound67
Is this Red Ash burl? This looks reddish.


The board sold by Chessbazaar looks brownish compared to this. 


Was this because of the background? It don't seems so. Or chessbazaar selling Brown Ash burl as red one? 

Mohan_Kumar_Chess
sound67 wrote:

The boards are all made by Ferrer in Spain, http://www.rechapadosferrer.com/en/tableros.html. Individual color contrasts on photos may vary, but they're obviously the same boards. 

Are these green, red and blue colours natural wood? I wonder what kind of trees have such colour!

forked_again
Mohan_Kumar_Chess wrote:

@sound67
Is this Red Ash burl? This looks reddish.


The board sold by Chessbazaar looks brownish compared to this. 


Was this because of the background? It don't seems so. Or chessbazaar selling Brown Ash burl as red one? 

I'm tending to think the opposite. The Chess Bazaar wood looks like a natural color.  The other board looks too red, like its been stained.  

But maybe they are both red ash.  Trees can vary a lot naturally.  

Mohan_Kumar_Chess

@forked_again
So, the green and blue colours are stained?
http://www.rechapadosferrer.com/en/tableros-de-ajedrez/rechapados_ferrer_1.html

http://www.rechapadosferrer.com/en/tableros-de-ajedrez/rechapados_ferrer_5.html

forked_again

I am no wood expert, but I know of no other explanation for wood colors like that, other than staining.

Eyechess
forked_again wrote:

I am no wood expert, but I know of no other explanation for wood colors like that, other than staining.

 

Well,...

There is the blue grass of Kentucky.  Maybe the blue wood comes from the grass fed trees in Kentucky?!?

And of course there are trees in Greenland...

Mohan_Kumar_Chess
Eyechess wrote:

 

Well,...

There is the blue grass of Kentucky.  Maybe the blue wood comes from the grass fed trees in Kentucky?!?

And of course there are trees in Greenland...

🤣😂🤣