TL;DR: This is simple. Do not buy from Beckett Simonon. Competitors like Meermin make better (and Goodyear-welted) shoes, and you don’t have to wait 16 weeks for a pair of $200 loafers, or more than six months if you need to exchange them.
On February 3, I ordered a pair of derbies. I received them on May 24. They were too big, so I started a return. Beckett Simonon’s policy is to steer you toward an exchange or store credit rather than a full refund, so I agreed to an exchange. The next day, I emailed and asked if I could exchange for a different style. They said yes, so I instructed them, clearly and in writing, to exchange for a specific style in a specific size and a specific color. I received a confirmation email the next day.
On August 18, I received the exact pair of shoes I had returned, in the exact size that was too big. Because it was too late to open a PayPal dispute (more than six months), I wrote a strongly worded email complaining about their service. I pointed out that because they take so long to deliver shoes, if you make one exchange and then need to return again, and Beckett Simonon refuses to uphold its end of the bargain, you are SOL, because you’ll be past the six-month dispute window. I also asked Beckett Simonon to immediately cancel all pending orders (I had three outstanding).
I guess I got their attention, because I received a call from a man named Cesar asking me not to cancel and even offering discounts on the remaining unfulfilled orders. I accepted, which was my second mistake.
On September 21, I received the new style I had requested back in May. But the color was off, way darker than in the pictures, so I requested a return. According to BS’s exchange and return page, once you initiate the first return, further returns through the site are closed, so you have to write directly to customer service. I did, and I got a response the next day. I wanted a full refund but was persuaded to exchange for another pair of loafers that was in stock, plus a free belt. I accepted. Third mistake.
The replacement shoes were far too small. So on October 6, 245 days after my initial order, I initiated a return and requested a full refund, because 245 days and counting is far too long to wait for a pair of $200 blake-stitched loafers. That was accepted, and my return slip even specified a full refund. Fourth mistake.
Today I received an email from Beckett Simonon saying this order was already resolved, and if I don’t see any money in my account, I need to take it up with PayPal or my credit card company. PayPal won’t open a dispute if the original transaction is more than six months old, and neither will the credit card company. So now I don’t even have a pair I can sell at a loss on eBay. I have no shoes, and Beckett Simonon has my money.
Lesson: Don’t be stupid like me. Just say no to Beckett Simonon.
