Wool & OakReviews of woolandoak.com

I requested to return an expensive, unused gift — with all original tags and packaging intact — just four days past their (suspiciously short) 14-day return window. Over the course of more than four weeks, I sent multiple polite follow-ups while awaiting a decision. Responses were delayed, vague, and ultimately led to a flat refusal to accommodate the situation. Despite marketing themselves as a brand built on craftsmanship, trust, and customer connection, Wool & Oak showed none of these values when it mattered most. They rigidly adhered to policy over basic decency, loyalty, or understanding — even when the return request was reasonable and the item was in perfect condition. I will not be purchasing from Wool & Oak again, and I will be actively advising others to avoid them as well. When you buy from a premium brand, you expect not just a quality product, but quality service — Wool & Oak failed on the latter.

I’ve supported their kickstarter. It was a long journey with some difficulties. But eventually my bag arrived. With extra import fees, but it is what it is. I expected higher and better quality. Especially for their asking price. It’s not ‘premium’. The inseams is crooked the inside zippers are crooked. The “gold” zippers outside is crackled - their alloy finish is imperfect. I’ve got waaay cheaper bags with a better finish. I’ve tried contacting them through their support but they haven’t responded yet here several months after. Cannot recommend.

European customers, BE AWARE. I ordered a Nova Large bag, and it arrived 2 months late. However it arrived! However they never told me that I would have to pay for import taxes and VAT, and I needed to pay this to FedEx before delivery. (I know, sounds like a scam, luckily it wasn't.) Bottomline, you should count in an extra €150 on top of the price of the Nova Large bag. I was willing to pay the advertised price of the bag. However if I knew it is an extra €150, I wouldn't have bought it.

The delivery took a long time, but the bag arrived and it seemed quite nice. But then a week later an extra bill of 90 euros arrives for import duties, after which my kickstarter early bird bonus vanishes completely. I'm sure the info was somewhere hidden in small print, but if I had known I would not have invested. So I have been waiting forever, and in the end I would have been better off if I had simply bought it once available. And now I have used it.. And it loses a star again, and it is lucky it doesn't loose two. It's not worth the money. The zippers are crap. You need a lot of wiggling and force to get the bag in shape. And when i tried to close the top the zipper broke.. You can't carry a laptop if the bag is slightly full. You will simply bend your precious technology. The wheels are so close together the bag easily topples and the handle feels flimsy when you are using it with a full bag. I doubt it will last more than four journeys. And lastly my suit came out of the bag as wrinkled as with my normal bag.. I wish I had not bought this one.

I would rate the Nova bag 3 stars, but withdrew a star and gave WoolAndOak a 2-star rating because of the delays and insufficient communication. As many others have experienced, I also had trouble with the delays and communication with WoolAndOak. I pre-ordered the Nova bag back in August 2023 from their website and was supposed to receive it in January 2024. I received it in June 2024. It's a Kickstarter, so you decide whether or not that is acceptable. As far as the bag goes, I would rate it 3 out of 5 for value for money. New buyers should be aware of two knobs on the outside of the shoe compartment. These are meant to protect the bag when used as a suitcase, but they do look a bit odd. These knobs are not shown in the pictures on their website. The leather is full-grain but feels a bit plasticky, and the zippers are a bit rough. However, I think both of these things would improve with use. The bag I received had some scratches in multiple places. It's a cosmetic issue that hasn't damaged the leather, but it's quite annoying to see on a new bag at this price point. I would expect a discount for this, but let's see what WoolAndOak will say about that. If I had to buy the Nova bag today (looking past the shipping delays), I probably wouldn't. I like the many features it has, but at this price point ($505 including shipping), I would rather buy a higher quality duffle bag with a shoe compartment and do without the other features. If you are thinking of buying the bag today, you should buy it for its many features and not the quality of the bag. For that, you can find better value-for-money leather duffle bags at the same price point. PS: If you pre-order the bag, you can't get a refund or return it. And if you live outside the US, you can expect to pay taxes on top of the price on their website, but WoolAndOak do make this clear. Answer to WoolAndOak comment: Thank you for clarifying what i already clarifyed. If you look at the the end of my review, I write "but WoolAndOak do make this clear"

I am only posting this for the benefit of those that need some hope. Large Nova bag ordered in December, estimated delivery was April. Same issues, shipping delays, customs hold ups, working with legal to get shipment released. I received my bag today. I can only say it looks like what I purchased, haven’t zipped it or pulled it together yet.. but it’s here. So there is hope. My experience was a December purchase and June 14 delivery.. can’t speak for delays longer than that and I did complain too. I was losing hope but wanted to share that it arrived finally.

I place a pre-order for a Nova bag and was charged shipping despite their website stating that shipping was free in the US. I emailed twice and got no response except the automated email promising a response 1-2 business days. I can’t cancel the order because it’s a pre-order. It seems that their customer service is non-existence. Based on other reviews, I wonder if I will get the bag. UPDATE: Without responding to my original email about shipping charges, Wool & Oak canceled my pre-order. There’s still an outstanding question of whether they will charge for shipping even though their website advertises free shipping within the continental US for all products except ALl Day Bag Pre-Order.

The only reason why I'm not giving 1 star is because the bag itself is good quality and is functional. The zippers are very stiff but I'm hoping they will loosen up once it's used more. The delivery experience and customer service can only be described as atrocious. I specifically ordered the carry-on bag on 22nd September because it was in stock and was conscious that international delivery could take up to 30 days. I had not heard anything 2 weeks later and when I reached out to customer service, I was told that it was out of stock and it would be shipped in mid October. When that didn't happen, I followed up again on 21st October, only to be told that they had just received new inventory and I should be getting my tracking number soon. 3 follow up emails from me later, I eventually received a tracking number at mid November. The bag was then stuck in customs for more than 2 weeks (something I was not aware of) so I followed up again, was told that they would chase their logistics team and give me an update which they again did not do. A further 3 follow up emails from me without getting any information on my order, I finally received a letter from Parcelforce that I had an order stuck in customs coming from Germany (???) without any more information to tell me that it was from Wool & Oak. Thankfully, Parcelforce was very helpful when I called them, I paid the customs charge and the bag was delivered 2 days later on 7th December, 2.5 months after placing the order. I do not care about customer service putting smiley faces in their replies, if anything it's condescending getting this response "You should get a tracking number soon. :)" and then hearing nothing back for weeks. I only care about getting helpful information which they repeatedly failed to do. Honestly, as good and unique as this bag is, I would never have bought it if I knew how painful getting it delivered would be. [Edit post their response]: Their reply to my review only proves my point. They made it sound as if this was DHL's fault but it was not so much the time that it took for the bag to be delivered, but the lack of communication on their part throughout the process: the bag suddenly becoming "out of stock", delay after delay in the order being shipped after restocking, and failure to provide an update at multiple points in the process even when they promised to. The bag is nice and can even considered a luxury item. The customer service however is severely lacking.