Introduction
Online chess stores play an important role in sustaining the global chess community as they enable chess players to access essential chess equipment and learning resources so that both chess players and chess enthusiasts can improve their skills and enjoy the game wherever they reside. Online chess stores also play a key role in promoting chess and providing support for the global chess community which is essential for the future growth and development of the chess community and the chess industry. In this article i will highlight some of the best online chess stores and provide information on the history of their stores, their available products and services, their customers experience, their trustworthiness and reputation and much more. I will also explore their main strengths and weaknesses.
Official Staunton is a UK based family run online chess store that was established in 2001 by chess enthusiast and entrepreneur, Carmelo Miceli. Official Staunton specialises in supplying the highest quality Staunton chess sets, chess boards, Staunton chess pieces, and chess accessories such as chess clocks, chess bags, and chess boxes, and demonstration chess boards at extremely competitive prices. Official Staunton is one of the pioneers of the Uk chess industry with a long track record of supplying the UK chess community with timeless chess sets and an outstanding customer service. Official Staunton has supplied chess sets to some of the most prominent figures in society and has collaborated with some of the most prestigious organisations such as Queen Elisabeth II, the Linley store, the Savoy Hotel, the popular television series The Apprentice, and the English Chess Company which is directed by one of the best chess players in the United Kingdom Malcolm Pein. Official Staunton caters to chess players of all ages and of all levels of experience and strives to provide customers with the highest quality and most beautiful chess sets in the world regardless of their taste or budget so that they can have the best chess playing experience possible.
Store history
Official Staunton is a family run UK based online chess store that was founded by Carmelo Miceli in 2001 and was inspired by his love of chess and his urge to provide chess players with beautiful chess sets whilst providing customers with an outstanding level of customer service, as he discovered that this was something that was missing in many online chess stores. Carmelo Miceli is a passionate chess player and chess enthusiast that’s served the UK chess community with timeless Staunton chess sets for over 20 years. Official Staunton has supplied chess sets to some of the most iconic figures in society and has collaborated with some of the most prestigious organisations such as Queen Elisabeth II, The Linley Store, The Savoy Hotel, the popular television series The Apprentice as well as the English Chess Company that’s directed by one of the most influential chess players in the UK Malcolm Pein who is also the founder of Chess and Bridge. Official Staunton is currently one of the leading chess stores in the world that’s known for supplying the global chess community with the highest quality chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, and chess accessories at incredible prices. Official Staunton believes that a beautiful and well-crafted chess set can enhance the playing experience of chess players and as a result, improve their game.
Product selection and quality
Official Staunton has an extensive catalogue of high quality and competitively priced chess products for chess players of all ages and levels of experience. Although official Staunton specialises in supplying Staunton chess sets and Staunton chess pieces, they also supply chess products from other brands such as Isle of Lewis chess sets. The chess products that are available at Official Staunton includes chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, chess clocks, chess bags, and chess boxes.
Chess sets available at Official Staunton:
Wooden chess sets, value chess sets, luxury chess sets, Isle of Lewis chess sets, school chess sets, travel and magnetic chess sets, Zagreb rosewood walnut chess sets, Zagreb Russian acacia and mahogany chess sets, spirit rosewood, walnut and mahogany chess sets, Russian Zagreb ebony and mahogany chess sets, stallion black walnut chess sets, old English contemporary anegre chess sets, artistic parker and mahogany chess sets, Bobby Fischer acacia and mahogany chess sets, queens gambit supreme anegre contemporary chess sets, Leningrad acacia and mahogany chess sets, Leningrad ebony and walnut chess sets, imperial acacia chess sets, 1972 English anegre chess sets, black Winchester Staunton mahogany chess sets, Leningrad black and mahogany chess sets, black Winchester anegre chess sets, imperial acacia mahogany chess sets, mahogany and classic acacia drawer chess sets, Fischer antique and anegre chess sets, imperial anegre and Birdseye maple chess sets, acacia Winchester and mahogany chess sets, imperial ebonised mahogany and sapele chess sets, stallion acacia and mahogany chess sets, contemporary anegre Winchester and burl chess sets, artistic parker and wenge chess sets, anegre and Birdseye maple chess sets, queens gambit acacia and mahogany chess sets, acacia and walnut Winchester chess sets, imperial ebonised boxwood and acacia chess sets, old English black and mahogany chess sets, old English black and anegre chess sets, 1972 antique English anegre chess sets, Isle of Lewis mahogany chess sets, Isle of Lewis walnut chess sets, Isle of Lewis anegre matt chess sets, Stallion black and mahogany chess sets, artistic parker anegre chess sets, craftsman ebony chess sets, Tristan imperial redwood and anegre chess sets, Tristan imperial ebony and mahogany chess sets, Staunton antique ebony acacia and mahogany chess sets, St Petersburg luxury redwood chess sets, Appaloosa Ezekiel luxury redwood chess sets, antique Paulsen Italian retro mahogany chess sets, 1850 London Italian retro chess sets, and Mark Antony Italian red chess sets.
Chess boards available at Official Staunton:
Mahogany and maple chess boards, walnut and maple chess boards, walnut folding chess boards. Standard anegre chess boards, mahogany and maple folding chess boards, mahogany and maple inlaid chess boards, European walnut and maple chess boards, contemporary anegre chess boards, handmade acacia and boxwood chess boards, Spanish walnut and maple chess boards, handmade acacia round edged chess boards, standard wenge and maple chess boards, standard anegre and maple chess boards, birds eye maple and anegre chess boards, mahogany frame draw chess boards, elm and briarwood luxury Italian chess boards, Italian prestige walnut chess boards, Italian framed elm and briarwood chess boards, gloss elm and briarwood luxury Italian chess boards, handmade solid acacia, boxwood and ebony chess boards, Italian walnut lid chess cabinets, Italian blue erable Briarwood chess boards, Italian elmwood and briarwood chess boards, and Italian Drueke walnut chess boards.
Chess pieces available at Official Staunton:
Staunton chess pieces, luxury chess pieces, unique chess pieces, ebonised chess pieces, acacia chess pieces, acacia and boxwood chess pieces, British boxwood and ebonised chess pieces, Russian Zagreb ebonised chess pieces, Russian Zagreb acacia chess pieces, 1972 boxwood and black English chess pieces, elite player series chess pieces, stallion acacia and boxwood Staunton chess pieces, Stallion black and boxwood Staunton chess pieces, old English ebonised chess pieces, Fischer black and boxwood chess pieces, artistic parker chess pieces, spirit rosewood and boxwood chess pieces, collectors series acacia and boxwood chess pieces, 1972 Reykjavik Fischer antique chess pieces, Leningrad Staunton boxwood and black chess pieces, Staunton Leningrad acacia chess pieces, 1972 antique and black English chess pieces, artistic burnt Russian chess pieces, collectors series black and boxwood chess pieces, Winchester Staunton boxwood and ebonised chess pieces, Staunton Winchester acacia and boxwood chess pieces, imperial black and boxwood chess pieces, imperial acacia boxwood chess pieces, Staunton antique 1849 collectors collector’s series chess pieces, artistic grazing knight ebony chess pieces, emperor series ebony chess pieces, Tristan imperial padauk chess pieces, King Charles padauk and boxwood luxury chess pieces, Leuchars Cooke antiqued chess pieces, Staunton ebony boxwood craftsman chess pieces, Tristan imperial ebony chess pieces, King Charles ebony and boxwood luxury chess pieces, 1850 London boxwood and ebony 3.5 inch replica chess pieces, and Andalusian luxury chess pieces.
Chess clocks available at Official Staunton:
Master quartz chess clocks, DGT 1001 digital chess timers, Garde mechanical chess clocks, and DGT easy beyond digital chess clocks.
Chess bags available at Official Staunton:
Chess board storage fabric bags and drawstring bags for chess pieces.
Chess boxes available at Official Staunton:
Economy standard chess boxes, beech chess boxes, mahogany stained slide lid chess boxes, Rexene chess boxes, sapele euro chess boxes, large burl root wood chess boxes, luxury chrome lock presentation chess boxes, and luxury twin tier presentation chess boxes.
Official Staunton customer service and customer experience
The Official Staunton customer service team can be reached by email, mail, Facebook messenger and Instagram direct message any day of the week and any time of the day and they aim to respond to customer queries within 24 to 48 hours. Customers can also contact the customer service team by utilising the live chat features that located at the bottom right corner of the website and clicking on the brown rectangular icon. Official Staunton strives to provide customers with the highest level of customer service possible and they are happy to assist customers with any queries or issues they may have such as product related questions, assisting with returns and exchanges, assisting with website navigation issues and any other problems that customers may have. Official Staunton is rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on trustpilot.com and the majority of the reviews that have been left by customers that have shopped with them in the past are of a positive nature. Customers that have left positive reviews online regarding their experience shopping with Official Staunton have expressed their satisfaction with the quality, detail, authenticity, beauty and craftmanship of the chess pieces and chess sets as well as the pricing of Official Staunton chess products, the careful and considerate packaging of orders and fast delivery, the outstanding level of customer service they received, their ability to easily navigate on the website, the generosity of the Official Staunton customer service team, and the overall professionalism of the company. However, the customers that have left negative reviews after shopping with Official Staunton have expressed their disappointment with shipping costs that are not clearly stated, the inadequate condition of the products they have received, their disappointment in their orders not being delivered at all, receiving the wrong product, and Official Staunton’s inability to respond to their messages in a timely manner. Overall, most of the customers that have shopped with Official Staunton, according to the number of positive reviews online compared to the number of negative reviews online, have been impressed by their customer service, the price and quality of their products and their generosity when dealing with and solving their customers problems.
Trustworthiness and reputation
Official Staunton is one of the pioneers of the UK chess industry and is highly regarded in the Uk chess community. Official Staunton ranks highly on the scale of trustworthiness as they have consistently demonstrated their willingness to deliver the highest level of customer service to their customers. Official Staunton has supplied chess sets to some of the most prominent figures in society and has worked with some of the most prestigious and respected organisations such as Queen Elisabeth II, The Linley store, The Savoy Hotel, the popular tv show The Apprentice and the English Chess Company which is directed by one of the best and most influential chess players in the UK, Malcolm Pein. According to the reviews of Official Staunton that have been left online, the large majority of customers have been impressed by their quality of products, their customer service, and their reliability as a company as they have consistently delivered and over delivered on their promises in many cases. Official Staunton has developed a reputation for prioritising the satisfaction of customers to their best ability, although in some cases, according to the negative reviews that customers have left online regarding their experience shopping with them, they have not always been able to do so which is normal for even the biggest of companies. Whilst there may be some areas where improvements could be made according to the negative reviews of their past customers such as in communication speed, and transparency in shipping costs and delivery times, most customers will agree that the quality of their products are excellent.
Pricing and affordability
The pricing of the products at Official Staunton are extremely competitive as their chess products caters to the tastes and budgets of chess players of all ages and levels of experience. The chess sets that are available at Official Staunton are priced as low as 134.95 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 699 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess pieces are priced as low as 49.95 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 549 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess boards are priced as low as 49.95 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 349 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess boxes are priced as low as 24 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 179 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess clocks are priced as low as 26.96 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 89.96 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. Lastly their chess bags are priced as low as 9.95 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 54.95 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum.
Available Payment methods
Official Staunton accepts numerous payment methods which includes American Express, Diners Club, Discover, Maestro, Mastercard, PayPal, Union Pay, and Visa.
Shipping, cancellations, returns, exchanges, and delivery performance
Official Staunton ships both nationally and internationally to over 150 countries around the world. Domestic customers can choose between to methods of shipping, free standard UK mainland delivery which takes up to five business days, and 48 Parcelforce UK mainland delivery which takes up to two working days and costs 6.95 pounds however the cut off time is at 1pm. Official Staunton does not have a collection on Fridays. Domestic orders and international orders need to meet a certain price threshold in order to qualify for free shipping. Orders are processed one business day from the date of receipt and delivery times will vary depending on the destination and the chosen shipping method. Shipping costs will also vary depending on the weight of the product and the destination. International orders will also be subject to additional shipping costs which are the responsibility of the customer due to fees such as taxes and customs duties fees that are required to facilitate international deliveries. Orders must be in pristine and resaleable condition and in it’s original packaging in order to qualify for a refund. In order to return an order the Official Staunton must be notified with 14 days with an additional 16 days from the date of receipt and the return package must include the name of the customer, address, phone number and order number and ideally the packing slip to assist with the processing of the return. If all requirements are met refunds should be processed within 2 to 6 working days and issued to the customers original payment method. In order to exchange an item a return must be initiated and upon receipt of the return and refund a new order should be placed.
Website navigation and mobile friendliness
The Official Staunton website is fast and responsive, easy to navigate, intuitively designed and mobile friendly with easily identifiable product categories, a search bar that’s located at the top left corner of the website which customers can utilise to find specific products and a footer menu that’s located at the bottom of the website which customers can use to find additional information about the store such as the contact us page, the about us page, the delivery page, the returns page, the privacy page and much more. Customers can also choose their native currency to shop with in the footer menu of the Official Staunton website. Hovering over the product categories at the top of the website will display a list of subcategories which enables customers to easily find products within a specific set of criteria. The Official Staunton website is easy to navigate on all devices whether mobile, tablet or desktop and features clear and vivid product photos and comprehensive product descriptions so that customers can make well informed purchasing decisions. The Official Staunton website also has a live chat feature which is depicted as a rectangular brown icon and that’s located at the bottom right corner of the website. The official Staunton website utilises TSL/SSL encryption to secure customers sensitive data such as passwords and credit card numbers in order to protect them from malicious entities online. Overall, the Official Staunton website is easy to navigate, mobile friendly, designed with the customer in mind and stocked with high quality chess products.
Official Staunton strengths and weaknesses
Official Staunton’s main strengths are it’s intuitively designed website, its outstanding customer service, it’s live chat feature and it’s extensive catalogue of high-quality and competitively priced chess products. Official Staunton has a long history of over 20 years of serving the chess community which also adds to the strength of the store as it has enabled them, among other things, to build partnerships with some of the most reputable suppliers of high-quality chess products and as a result it has enabled them to offer customers the best value for their money. Some of Official Staunton’s main weaknesses, which if addressed will improve the store as well customer’s shopping experience, are it’s communication speed with customers as several customers have expressed their disappointment with the time it has taken them to receive responses to their queries, the lack of variety of the chess set materials that are available in their stores as all of their chess sets are wooden, the poor quality of some of their products upon delivery as customers have complained about their products arriving damaged and their relationship and communication with couriers as customers have also complained that their orders have not been delivered in some instances or have been delivered late. Overall, Official Staunton is a reputable online chess store and the negative experience that some of their customers have expressed make up a small percentage of the experience that the majority of their customers have had whilst shopping with them.
Conclusion
Online chess stores are an essential part of the chess industry, and they play a crucial role in sustaining the global chess community as they enable chess players to access essential equipment and resources that will enable them to improve their skills in chess however not all online chess stores are made the same as some are clearly better than others. In this article i have highlighted 25 of the most prominent online chess stores, each having defining characteristics. Some online chess stores specialise in supplying high end chess products, some specialise in supplying chess products for professional chess players, and some specialise in supplying chess products for chess players for all ages, tastes, budgets, and experience levels. Whether you’re a professional chess player in search of a chess set that’s suitable for practice sessions, a chess set collector in search of unique chess products, or a chess enthusiast in search of a high-quality chess set, this catalogue of online chess stores will enable you to find the perfect online chess store.
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