The Microbrand StoreReviews of microbrand.store

Response from The Microbrand StoreJun 28, 2025

Hi David, When you wrote your original review here regarding a delay in delivery, (before editing it,) you never mentioned that tracking was showing the watch as delivered but you hadn't received it. That is why the person looking at your original review checked tracking for you, saw that tracking was showing it had just been delivered, and sent a friendly reply to let you know: "We see that according to the DHL tracking your package was delivered today,"... "and we hope that now you have your new timepiece you enjoy wearing it." As soon as it was clear that you were letting us know that you didn't have your timepiece despite the tracking showing it was delivered, we immediately started a formal inquiry to ascertain the situation, and met with our local postmaster as soon as the shipping office opened on Monday. We're sorry that we could not give you a full refund right away as you initially demanded, or immediately send you a replacement watch the same day without first investigating the situation to find out what had happened. This was because you could still potentially receive your original shipment, which in fact did occur a few days later. We're deeply sorry you had such a bad experience with DHL and had a lot of hassle receiving your timepiece. We've shipped thousands upon thousands of watches and this is probably the absolutely worst experience we've ever encountered, and is totally abnormal, which is why we've issued a partial refund. We're now following up to try and push for a full investigation by DHL, to try and prevent something like this from ever taking place again.

Response from The Microbrand StoreJun 16, 2024

We know as a fact that this watch was shipped to the customer since it was assembled, tested and packaged personally by the store owner and handed off by him to the EMS staff at the shipping center, and he remembers this clearly for various reasons, (such as having to fit the spring bars into the straps was tight work, it was the very last watch we had of this model, and it was also difficult to fit it to the cushion in the presentation box, and he wanted to take care of this repeat customer.) The package weight we recorded shows that the watch was in the package, and the weight was independently confirmed by EMS staff after hand-over and shows on the official shipping label. Once assembled, we also have nowhere to store this watch since we only store this brand in kit form. (Watch head stored in special slots in the brand's padded box separately to the other parts so as to be kept in an air conditioned room.) Watches are tested, assembled and packaged on a single desk that is kept clear of any clutter, so there was no possibility of it being mislaid, and what with a precise member of the watch being packaged and in particular the weights matching and also being independently verified by EMS, we know that this watch was shipped to the customer. The first two watches our customer ordered were very affordable, our cheapest offerings. It may be worth noting that this third watch was a limited edition Swiss Made watch and cost over double the price of the other two, so would be a more lucrative or tempting target for fraud or theft. The customer had the watch delivered to his workplace, a clinic or hospital, which this time was signed for by someone drawing straightish lines instead of a signature, printed name and address rather than giving his/her proper name details as we see with other deliveries. The customer then opened the package and contacted us claiming there was no watch and demanding a refund roughly 36 hours after the package was received. Unfortunately the customer was not able to provide any proof that the watch was not in the package when he opened the package. For example, he stated that he didn't video record the unboxing. Since we know that the watch was shipped, and it was signed for indicating that the package was received in visibly good condition, we have recommended that the customer contact the person who signed for the package, contact anyone who may've handled it during the day and a half since it was received, contact the police, and also contact his local postmaster and the US postal inspections office, who investigate package theft and fraud. We've offered to assist with this. However, as best we can tell from the customer's responses to date, he has declined to do any of this and has instead just demanded a refund off of us. Sadly it's a not uncommon scam for a customers to receive expensive goods then claim they never got them to try and get a refund, so retailers have to be aware of that possibility. In these situations, we do make sure of everything we can on our end, so we know that the correct item was indeed shipped, and that the package was tracked with the correct weight and delivered in good condition and signed for. Our packages are always shipped fully insured for the paid value, and with tracking and a delivery signature required. If we or the delivery service were at fault here then of course we'd issue a refund right away. For this particular situation, we believe that the watch was delivered and signed for, and recommend that the customer investigates what happened after the delivery occurred.

Response from The Microbrand StoreDec 11, 2023

We're sorry that you didn't pay attention to the emphasized text right next to the check out button that you used, which clearly stated that your shipment was coming from overseas. We're transparent and very up-front about that, so no, it isn't hidden information. We even explain where we ship from and why on our FAQ page. If you wanted the timepiece quickly within a few days when ordering during a long holiday weekend, which happens to be the one time of year when all shipping services tend to get flooded with a deluge of orders so delays can occur, no matter if it's national or international, we're nonplussed that you only opted for the free shipping instead of expedited shipping, and that you didn't check with us first before ordering to check if you could receive your order within just a few days, since we could've pointed out how unrealistic that would be, or even ask where we ship from. For the record, we're a US corporation that pays US taxes, we're 100% owned by a US citizen, who maintains a residence in the US, and also pays US taxes, and your payments are made in US dollars that directly go in to our US bank account via the Shopify service we use to host our web site, so no, you are not paying to a different economy, and you also didn't pay top dollar here either. The price you paid for your timepiece happens to be the lowest price it was and currently is available at anywhere. Normally our US customers can expect to receive their watches within 5 to 7 days door to door. It's 2 weeks exactly since we shipped to you, and the watch cleared US customs at the end of last week, so it looks like there was a delay there between international shipping and customs processing. However, we're glad to see that you have your package now since it was delivered and signed for today.

Response from The Microbrand StoreSep 19, 2021

Hi Kund, We see you placed your order on the 3rd, but we never stated we would ship your order the same day or next business day, since you ordered an item that was clearly listed as on back order and not in stock. The titling on the page where you placed your order says "Back Order" at the top of the page, and a section on the same page explains what a back order is as follows: Back Order "We're currently out of stock on this item. Rather than have customers wait until we restock and then have to come back and order, as a convenience, we're allowing customers to order against our next shipment which we've already pre-paid for. As with all back orders and pre-orders, customers can of course cancel their order and get a full refund at any time up until we have the watches in stock, ready to ship." Right beneath that you can also see an update that shows that the goods are on the way to us and when we expect to receive them. Given that you ordered an item that wasn't in stock, and that was clearly marked as a back order and also had an explanation to help clarify the situation for those unfamiliar with back orders, we do feel that your 1 star review is very unfair. When you placed your order you were sent an email automatically with your order details as a confirmation and that email does explain that we do generally ship in stock items within one business day. Once your watch is in stock, we do intend to test it for you and will ship it on to you within one business day. Thank you!

Response from The Microbrand StoreSep 8, 2021

Hi Huw, Your watch was tested and shipped within 8 hours of you placing your order and quickly arrived within the UK within 5 days. It is currently being held at your local depot (since the end of August) pending your outstanding tax payment, which your local tax office wrote to you about on the 1st September, and which you can pay online with a credit card if you wish to. If you no longer have the notice then you can contact your local post office or ParcelForce, who can assist you. You are always welcome to contact us via our online chat or email if you need us to provide you with the tracking information again. Given that you have never made any attempt to contact us for assistance before posting this 1 star review, and the watch was shipped to you incredibly quickly, and is being held at your regional depot because you have not paid taxes on it yet, we feel that this one star review is very unfair since it doesn't reflect on the quality of our service in any way. We therefore hope that you'll reconsider your rating. Best Wishes, The Microbrand Store Team. Update: Hi Huw, Thank you for your update. You can use the tracking details from the email we sent to you when the watch was shipped. Please do contact us via email or better yet via our online chat so we can assist you since we are not permitted to share your personal details here. If you've paid the import taxes already and it was online on the 3rd then it sounds like UK customs may have dropped the ball. Although that is out of our control, we can easily provide the necessary information to you as the importer so you can show ParcelForce or your local postmaster to hopefully quickly clear things up if you also show them the details of your tax payment, such as a receipt.

Response from The Microbrand StoreApr 28, 2020

Hi Patrick, Your back-ordered watch was shipped to you ahead of the original estimate shown in the product listing where you placed your order, so it was shipped earlier than expected. When you kindly asked about that via our web site, our staff responded quickly, within a few hours, to let you know the status. We also emailed a tracking link at the time of shipping so you can follow the progress of your delivery, as we do with all of our orders. We're not sure what you mean by "mailing code did not work", since you've never contacted us about that or to let us know you have not received the watch. However, the tracking link we emailed to you from the store does work, and we've used that to check on the progress of the delivery for you just now, after reading your comment here. The tracking is showing that your package is delayed on route. Before COVID-19, our packages would typically be delivered within 4 business days to most addresses worldwide. However, delays are now more and more common during shipping and unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that. The number of flights have been reduced by over 80%, staffing is an issue with some regional centers closed or staff out, and the quantity of packages shipped via express airmail services has drastically increased due to folks social distancing and staying at home as much as possible, and needing supplies that are hard to find. Given that we shipped ahead of schedule, responded to you in a timely manner when you contacted us via our web site, you've not tried contacting us to inquire further since, and that your shipment is delayed en route through no fault of ours, and is delayed as a result of this emergency situation in common with a great many other shipments, we hope that you would consider this one star review which we feel under the circumstances, is rather unfair. We hope that your watch arrives soon. Please stay safe and wear it in good health. Best Wishes, The Microbrand Store Team.

Response from The Microbrand StoreMar 2, 2020

Mr. Marques did not purchase his watch from an Italian microbrand. Instead he purchased this watch from our store, which is based outside of the EU, a fact he is well aware of as he pretty much told us so in an early communication. He was unable to purchase it from the microbrand in question, as only our store had any remaining stock. He placed his order at 8:10am, before we were open, and requested a cancellation at 10:20pm, well after our normal hours, when his timepiece had already been tested, had the warranty card written, packaged, and gone out of the door, handed off to our shipper on what is always the busiest day of the year for shipments. We are always happy to give a full refund, no fuss and no questions asked, if a customer contacts us before we've handled their order. It happens, folks change their minds, and we have immediately refunded other folks who contacted us in a timely manner, and indeed we had issued refunds like this during the week of his order without any issue. Mr. Marques was unhappy that he contacted us too late, and immediately started trying to troll the store, even trying to charge us for every email reply we sent in response to his enquiries into this matter. He also deliberately let the package that was shipped to him languish in customs for almost two months with the duty unpaid while trying to dispute the charge, presumably so he could score a free watch. Had he been more genuine, he could've contacted customs to explicitly decline the delivery at any time but it appears he did not. Instead he first tried to claim thrugh PayPal that he didn't place the original order while the watch was still in customs. PayPal of course found in our favor. Then he tried disputing again saying that he'd not received the watch while still deliberately leaving it in limbo in customs where he could pay the import duty to receive it at any time. PayPal have also agreed with us that since this customer has acted in bad faith, once the watch is returned to us, (we hope to get it back this week,) then the PayPal dispute will be closed and they will find in our favor. We'll be pleased when this package does come back as that will stop us being potentially scammed for what would've effectively been a free watch. With regard to the import duties, we have several points here: 1. If Mr. Marques had instead purchased from a UK-based watch store he would've had to have paid the 20% VAT (sales tax) charged in the UK anyway. The only difference here is the extra 2.7% import duty, which is more than covered typically by the aggressive discounts that we give, not to mention the free shipping too. So we're talking about an approximate 2.7% difference, not 25%. 2. Mr. Marques already knew he was importing from outside the EU as he pretty much told us so in an early communication, and it is common/public knowledge that customers typically have to pay import duties when purchasing luxury goods from overseas from a country that is not in a customs union with their own country so we are not buying Mr. Marques's story of surprise at having to pay import duties. In fact Mr. Marques has emailed us that he recently made a couple of watch purchases from the U.S. over the last few months, so he clearly knows the situation regarding import duties. 3. We provide many references on our web site to help our customers understand the situation regarding taxes and import duties too. For example: * Our FAQ page explains in detail about where we ship from and any import duties and even has helpful links so customers can work out what they'll likely be paying on receipt, if indeed they have to pay. This varies from country to country. * Our invoices include our mailing address and a clear simple statement that the customer is responsible for paying any import duties. * All of our shopping cart and checkout pages give prices in US dollars, and customers are charged in US dollars. * We have our US corporate name (an Inc., not a UK-style Ltd. or PLC.) on every page in our store. * We publish our mailing address on many pages on our web site, including on our contact us page, and also on our terms and conditions and policy pages, which are made available to every customer on each page of their checkout, and which also, by the way, explain about the fact that the customer is responsible for paying any import duties.

Response from The Microbrand StoreNov 18, 2019

Mr. Talbot is in the UK and contacted us to complain that he thought we were based in the UK when he placed his orders with us. Prior to having his order shipped, at no time did Mr. Talbot ever try to check where we're based, be it checking on our site or asking us, despite communicating with us via email and Facebook Messenger. We're not sure why Mr. Talbot was under the impression we are UK based since: 1. Throughout the checkout screens, Mr. Talbot saw all prices in US dollars and paid his bill in US dollars. 2. Our shopping cart also states that all charges are in US dollars. 3. We didn't charge Mr. Talbot 20% VAT (UK sales tax) which we'd have been legally obliged to do if we were based in the UK. (A universally known fact among UK residents.) 4. Our domain name is not a .co.uk address, and most web sites are not based in the UK, only a small fraction are with most businesses having a co.uk address. (Also common knowledge.) 5. Every single page on our web site includes our incorporated name, TimeApps.com, Inc. British companies do not end in an Inc. They end in Ltd. or PLC. 6. Every invoice has our address, shows all pricing in US dollars, and we also include clear wording that customers are responsible for paying any import duties and taxes. 7. Our Contact Us page on our web site has our address, the first place someone would go if wanted to see where we're based. 8. Our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page clearly explains our location, where we ship from and in simple language covers import duties and taxes. We even provide a helpful link there for customers to work out if they will have any import duties and what they're likely to be. 9. Our Terms of Service page on our web site has our address. It's also made available to customers on every page of the check-out process. 10. Our Privacy Policy page on our web site also has our address. It's also made available to customers on every page of the check-out process. After politely pointing out all the above to Mr. Talbot, he changed his complaint to say we'd advertised that we ship from Germany and that we had shipped to him from China. Please note that we have never shipped any goods to any customers from either locale and do not have any facility in either country. Neither have we ever stated or even implied anywhere that we ship from Germany. We're again at a loss as to why Mr. Talbot might think that, as well as why Mr. Talbot's story has now changed from he thought we were shipping from within the UK to he thought we were shipping from Germany. Perhaps Mr. Talbot might be trying to see if he can get us to further discount his purchase for the amount of import duty he paid, which is ONLY 2% on top of the 20% VAT he would have had to pay regardless? The timepiece that Mr. Talbot purchased was assembled in Germany by a German microbrand, and indeed our store carries timepieces from a wide range of microbands from all over the planet, from Albania to New Zealand. Perhaps Mr. Talbot forgot that he was complaining initially that he thought we were based in the UK and is now confusing where our products are made with where we're located? While we can empathize with that kind of mistake, categorically at no point have we ever "misinformed" Mr. Talbot, as he claims. Please also note that we've taken good care of this customer including via online chat and approximately 20 emails. For example, Mr. Talbot placed two separate orders with us within 24 hours, (both going through our US dollar checkout) and without being asked, we refunded what amounted to the shipping portion of the charge on one as a courtesy and arranged to ship both packages together for Mr. Talbot to save him some money. He also wanted a replacement pair of straps and rather than having him return the original pair, we sent him a new pair via an express airmail service so he could get them as soon as possible and with the least amount of hassle. All of our communications have been timely and we've been very responsive and polite throughout.