PSA Re New King Cobra, Customer Service, Grooming Network, Inc. Classic Shaving

A bit of background: I have usually received nothing but EXCELLENT service from shaving vendors. I won't list them all, for fear of leaving someone out. There is rarely an issue, but when there is, they have always been rectified quickly and easily.

I have, and have been very happy with for years, a King Cobra and a Classic Cobra razor.

When they announced that there was a new release of these earlier this year, I ordered promptly, as I wanted backups.

I ordered the Classic Cobra on March 17. No communication, nada. It was only after I had a problem with the King Cobra and had to ask that they told me it was further delayed. So, they've held my money for 5 months, no communication.

But that's not the really bad part.

I ordered a backup King Cobra on July 5. Received it on August 7. Fine.

It came wrapped in brown paper with some bubble wrap around that. Whatever.

When I opened the razor, the first thing that struck me was how difficult it was to open the latch on the razor. Again, I have an original King Cobra, and there's a little resistance, but it's not difficult to open.

This one required CONSIDERABLE force to open. I'm not talking about a little tight, I'm talking white-knuckle force to get open.

When I did get it open, the finish on the inside was not great. When I stood the razor up to take pictures of the finish, the head was slanted.

I let them know about it, and the response I got was to send pictures of the finish, etc., but the latch was DESIGNED to be harder to open than the original because they had complaints about the original being too loose.

Fair enough, but the one I got was ridiculously difficult to open, and if the Feather Artist Club blade is in there and you're needing to force the latch open, there's a danger of getting a serious cut.

After going back and forth with them, sending pics, etc., here's the response I got:

Michael,
As stated in the previous email, we did design the latch to be more difficult, as we received too many complaints with the last batch that they were too easy to open. It was meant to be tighter. That being said, you can send the Cobra razor in for a full inspection for us to be sure that it is fully functional. However, if the latch is normal and is designed as intended, we will be sending is back, as we do not accept returns on personal care items.
Thank you for understanding,
…

Breanna Buchmiller
Customer Service
The Grooming Network

Seriously? If it's 'designed as intended'? It's designed in a way that's, at least on the one I've gotten, a DANGEROUS design.

I'm pursuing my remedies with PayPal-bless them-because I'm extremely disappointed with the response I've gotten from the Grooming Network, Classic Shaving et al

I've also requested PayPal to refund the money I paid for the Classic Cobra because it's been 5 months, there was no communication received, and I really would rather not deal with this company again.

So, just a heads up to you gentlemen if you're thinking of dealing with them on the Cobras: Caveat Emptor.

Good luck to you, I hope you get your money back. Additionally, I appreciate the information. I've never been able to order a Cobra of any sort, my timing always seems to be bad but I'll probably just continue to dodge them. Horrible customer service according to your use case.

All I can say boy have they given you the runaround. I had a Cobra Classic. Beautiful razor but I didn't find it to have much functional design value beyond how pleasing it was to the eye. I actually found it to be very uncomfortable to hold in my hand. Hope you get both your refunds.

I will never ever pre-order anything. I learned my lesson a few years ago and nothing I want is worth it to me to give anyone my money unless they have what I am paying for ready to ship.

I don't care what they call it. If they are asking for money before they start shipping I don't bite. Anything can happen.

I think PayPal will take care of you. Best of luck to you. Luckily you didn't wait too long. I believe that PayPal has extended their coverage timeframe. Using it in conjunction with a credit card that also offers some level of buyer protection is another level of insulation that may be worth looking at also.

Editing to say, there's certain situations like commission of a custom item that I'm not lumping into my statement above. Crowd funding and pre-orders are what I'm talking about.

I am sorry that this is your experience. I've never even seen a Cobra or King Cobra in real life. Never really been interested aside from the name and my fascination with all things Serpente. Naja is just another genus that fascinates me, but I digress...

Your original post is precisely why I don't do the pre-buy, kickstarter, pay me now-get product later games with vendors. When it comes to shaving supplies, I live by a simple caveat: If I have to jump through hoops to get it, it will never be worth the effort. Even wait-lists are off the books for me. I just can;t be bothered to play silly games just to get a piece of gear...

I sure hope everything works out for you. I hate very much to see a fellow shaver get the shaft from a company in our hobby. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth...

I didn't even know that they were still making these. I haven't heard anyone talk about these for quite some time. It seems like the crowd has moved on to the the GEM razors. That being said, they look really nice. I'd get your $500 back that you paid for the 2 razors and invest in the $50 stainless steel hawk.

I've been using the Stainless Hawk almost exclusively since the first release in the middle of February. I like it so much that I bought a second to keep at the cottage. Its the first razor to get a permanent spot out there. At home I can use just about any blade comfortably but Schick Prolines are the first choice. I am on shave 25 with the same blade and I'm a guy with thick course stubble. At the cottage I use the Kai guarded blades so that I can shave quickly without worrying about getting a nick or cut.

I didn't even know that they were still making these.  I haven't heard anyone talk about these for quite some time.  It seems like the crowd has moved on to the the GEM razors.  That being said, they look really nice.  I'd get your $500 back that you paid for the 2 razors and invest in the $50 stainless steel hawk.

I've been using the Stainless Hawk almost exclusively since the first release in the middle of February.  I like it so much that I bought a second to keep at the cottage.  Its the first razor to get a permanent spot out there.  At home I can use just about any blade comfortably but Schick Prolines are the first choice.  I am on shave 25 with the same blade and I'm a guy with thick course stubble.  At the cottage I use the Kai guarded blades so that I can shave quickly without worrying about getting a nick or cut.

agree the ss hawk is awesome and price is amazing

Thanks, gentlemen, for the kind words of support.

I'm not worried about the financial end of it. Pay Pal will make it right, and even if they didn't, it's not a life changer. However, I wanted my shave brethren to know  the kind of treatment I got with this company so they could make a more informed decision before doing business with them.

By the way, I wasn't kidding about the package-this is exactly what they sent.





And this email I received from them today-well, they probably shouldn't have sent... I wonder if they edit reviews. We'll see and I'll report back.

Complaints going back 5 years now. Thank God for PayPal Michael. Their just an awful vendor.

Thanks, gentlemen, for the kind words of support.

I'm not worried about the financial end of it. Pay Pal will make it right, and even if they didn't, it's not a life changer. However, I wanted my shave brethren to know  the kind of treatment I got with this company so they could make a more informed decision before doing business with them.

By the way, I wasn't kidding about the package-this is exactly what they sent.





And this email I received from them today-well, they probably shouldn't have sent... I wonder if they edit reviews. We'll see and I'll report back.

Who wraps something like that? I dont ship out often, and it has been quite a while since I sold any of my shaving gear but when I do, you could run over it with Uncle Rico's van and it would not damage the product I'm sending. How does a VENDOR ship out something like that then?