stauntoncastle.com Reviews 2

A dreadful experience from start to finish.
I ordered a board and a premium chess set. It arrived well packed and in good time but when I opened the board I noticed immediately that it was very poor quality. Instead of being wood it was made from a wood looking transfer that was then over varnished. The website wording deliberately doesn't tell you that. Not only that, the board was scratched on all edges and had surfaced scuffs. No way in hell it could've passed QC check. The pieces themselves looked good (more on that later). The process of getting this company to engage was tortuous. When they did they would not refund me. I had to get Paypal involved who managed to arrange a refund for the board but the company demanded that I pay the return shipping to Canada (£60). Paypal said they were only responsible for cost of the goods not shipping.
I bought a very nice board elsewhere and thought I'd just write it off as a scumbag company since the pieces were the important bit.
I am now 8 months in and all of the pieces are starting to split. The wood is shrinking and large cracks in the pieces have appeared. I obviously sent messages but this time the company has not even bothered to respond. Avoid this company at all costs. The workmanship is very poor and their customer service is as bad as it can get.
Do yourself a huge favour and buy from a proper shop.

My experience with Staunton Castle was a disaster from start to finish. My "premium" chess set arrived with obvious defects, despite me repeatedly asking them to double-check the quality before shipping.

And then there's their absurd return policy: even if you receive a defective item, you're expected to pay both the return shipping and their original shipping cost. Completely unacceptable.

Getting permission to return my defective chess set required endless back-and-forth and constant threats to involve my bank. And when I finally got approval, they told me to declare a much lower value on the customs form than what I actually paid — a massive red flag.

They also promised to reimburse my tracked and insured return shipping, only to drop that promise the moment the return arrived, after which they went silent. I was refunded for the set itself, but not the shipping.

I've never dealt with a seller who worked harder to avoid responsibility. Even if some polished AI-generated reply appears under this review, it won't change what actually happened. Everything is thoroughly documented on my end, and I've already opened a formal case with my bank to recover what they still owe me.

If you actually want a premium chess set, buy from House of Staunton or literally anywhere else. I wish someone had warned me about Staunton Castle.