Lack of transparency regarding the total cost of the order
I ordered two T-shirts from The Custom Blanks Co. and unfortunately the overall experience was quite disappointing. The biggest issue for me was the lack of transparency regarding import charges. As a private customer in Germany I was not aware that additional import taxes and customs clearance fees would be charged on delivery. The website mentions that import duties and taxes are covered for “B2B customers” but I believe this wording can easily be misunderstood by private customers who are not familiar with the term B2B. I would have expected the possibility of additional costs to be made much more clearly visible before completing the purchase.
I also found the £13 shipping charge rather high for two T-shirts, especially considering that the Evri label showed a postage cost of £8.79. I know that shipping charges can include handling costs but the overall shipping cost still felt excessive for such a small order. On top of that, I was charged an additional €6.30 clearance/handling fee by the courier which felt particularly frustrating considering that the items arrived packaged in nothing more than a very basic plastic bag.
Overall, the final cost was significantly higher than I expected when placing my order (ended up paying about 80€ for two shirts) and I felt that the potential additional costs were not communicated clearly enough. Unfortunately, there is also no affordable or convenient international return option provided by the company.
The shirts were advertised as 300 GSM but in hand they do not feel noticeably heavier or thicker than Carhartt Chase shirts which are listed at 235 GSM. I cannot verify the actual GSM myself so I can only comment on how the fabric feels compared with other T-shirts I own.