Bernard Hats / Bernardhats.com in Calgary

[nvilletele]

Hi there. I'm new here, but a big hat fan. We can get into that another time. I am here today looking for info/advice or perhaps just plain commiseration.

I recently purchased a new Canada made (old stock, I suppose) Biltmore Pork Pie from Berardhats.com. I paid via PayPal and got an auto email saying order is being processed. Since then, nothing further, and I have called multiple times, leaving a message each time on the voicemail, and have sent two or three follow up of emails.

When I tried to access the website again yesterday, it was not operational, due to "too many redirects" which can happen if there are redirects back and forth creating a loop. In any case, the website can still not be reached, by me at least as of today.

I contacted the Facebook page, leaving a message, getting an auto reply saying they'd be in touch quickly. Tried this a few times. No response.

I worried that the Bernardhats.com site might be a fake site to scam folks, though it seemed legit. I searched here and found that others have bought from this place in the past, but I noted this in one of the threads:

"For the most part, Bernard hats has terrible prices and even worse customer service. They don't return calls nor emails."
"Apperantly it is one guy who sells hats in his spare time. As for the prices, i had assumed that they were in CAD as they are in Calgary. Unfortunatly i found out they are in USD, which does makes things too expensive."

So maybe the problem is just that this guy Bernard is a terrible business person, taking money but not communicating with his customers. Maybe he is away for a few weeks and isn't bothering to monitor his orders. Or maybe he or just the website is now purely out to scam people?

I found an alternate phone number for him, but when that is called it answers with a recorded survey asking you to participate for a chance to win a cruise or something like that. This makes the place seem more on the scammish side, to me at least.

I noted the prior post indicating the prices were high, but I had ordered a fur felt pork pie of Biltmore "Royal" level for $119. Seemed a decent deal to me. Not amazing, but for new old-stock Canada made I saw it as reasonable.

I finally opened up a claim with PayPal but the initial stage involves trying to work it out with the seller. I would love to get this hat rather than a refund, but I have no way to do that other than wait for either the hat or a response, neither of which seems likely to show up in any reasonable time frame.

Does anyone here have any experience with Bernardhats.com or Bernard Hats in Calgary? Any info/experience/thoughts you can share?

 

[Woodtroll]

I have nothing to offer you on this particular company, but wish you luck with this transaction. Hopefully this seller is just sloppy or busy and you will eventually get your hat. I'm not a big fan of Paypal in general, but a couple of times when the seller was unresponsive I did indeed have my payment refunded in relatively short time. So, I think since you paid with Paypal, worst case you might have to wait a while to get your cash back (unless you paid with "Friends and Family", which is a whole different story).

Just curious, how long ago was the payment made?

Good luck,
Regan

 

[nvilletele]

I paid a week and a half ago I guess. So not like a month or anything, but long enough to be worried, due to the complete non responsiveness.

No, it wasn’t friends and family so I’m safe there.

I would rather get the hat than get a refund, but not going to wait forever.

Oddly, I was happy when I saw the old post here saying he never answers calls or emails. Assuming he actually sends out orders eventually, that’s a good sign.

But not gonna hold my breath either.

 

[nvilletele]

The end of the story: Nothing was ever heard from Bernard (or Adam) in response to this matter. PayPal refunded my money today. Unclear what the issue was, or even if the guy is still in business or is even still alive.

I would not recommend trying to buy a hat from this site, to say the least.

 

[Woodtroll]

That's too bad; I know how frustrating a deal like that can be. Even though you get your money back, it is still time wasted and leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Hopefully, your next purchase (elsewhere) will go better!

 

[Qrowin]

He is still in business. Everything automated and you will not get a response to anything. But you will receive you're hat eventually. I ordered one a few months ago and it showed up about a week later with no notice. Apparently selling hats is a side business. The guy seams to own or be head of a web site design company, or something to that effect. Its frustrating, but it will show up.

 

[nvilletele]

I don’t know that it will show up after I got a refund from PayPal, though. They got no response from him either. If the hat shows up, I’ll be quite surprised.

 

[Qrowin]

Good to know about the refund. Even though i got my hat, the lack of communication thing makes me not want to buy another hat from him. Its unfortunate that he has many nice ones. We need more hat dealers in Canada. Especially vintage ones.

 

[Moviehats]

He bought a hat from me and then upped the price to sell it on his page. Still for sale as far as I know, it was too much for a used hat.

 

[nvilletele]

Though I got a refund from paypal back in June, I was surprised to today get an email from Bernard’s Hats.

“Your order on Bernard Hats has been refunded. There are more details below for your reference:”

And after the order details they say:
“We hope to see you again soon.”

HAH!
(And no, there was no additional refund)