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.
ChessBazaar is an Indian based online chess store that was founded in 2007 by Vikramjit Singh in order to offer uniquely designed handmade chess products to the chess community both in India and around the world. ChessBazaar specialises in supplying high quality wooden chess products such as chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, and chess accessories as well as other traditional games like backgammon and checkers. ChessBazaar sources their chess products from the Indian city of Amritsar which is home to some of the best chess artisans in the world and which also enables ChessBazaar to supply high quality chess products that are competitively priced at retail and wholesale prices. ChessBazaar has grown considerably since it’s founding in 2007 and today ChessBazaar is one of the most popular online chess stores in the world with online stores in Germany, India, and the United States. ChessBazaar is environmentally conscious and strives to do all that they can to preserve the natural environment by ensuring that all their woods are sourced from sustainably managed forests that are managed by Government of India certified vendors that plant a tree every time a tree is cut down to prevent the harmful effects of deforestation, by conserving water, and by only using electricity when it is absolutely necessary.
Store history
ChessBazaar was founded in 2007 by Vikramjit Singh, a serial entrepreneur as well as a chess enthusiast. The founding of ChessBazaar was fuelled by Vikramjit Singh’s desire to provide the highest quality handmade and unique chess products to the worldwide chess community at the most affordable prices. ChessBazaar works directly with highly skilled chess artisans from the Indian city of Amritsar, home to some of the best artists in the world, which enables them to acquire handmade chess products that are unique, of the highest quality and competitively priced and often cheaper than many of the chess products that are currently on the market. ChessBazaar supplies chess products at wholesale and retail prices, and they have a wide range of chess products that cater to chess players, chess clubs as well as chess collectors. All of the chess products that are available at ChessBazaar are stored in their large warehouse facility in the Indian city of Mohali which enables them to dispatch their chess products anywhere in the world the same day orders are placed. ChessBazaar has grown significantly since it’s founding in 2007 and today it is one of the most popular online chess stores in the world that supplies chess products to multiple countries around the world such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Russia as well as many others.
Product selection and quality
ChessBazaar has a wide range of high-quality chess products that cater to the tastes and budgets of chess players of all ages and levels of experience, and which are also handmade, unique, and competitively priced. The chess products that are available at ChessBazaar include chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, chess accessories as well as other traditional wooden games such as checkers and backgammon.
Chess sets available at ChessBazaar:
Chess sets under 100 dollars, chess sets under 300 dollars, wooden chess sets, analysis chess sets, DGT chess sets, tournament chess sets, Staunton chess set combos, handcrafted luxury chess sets, metal chess sets, plastic chess sets, chess pieces with chess boards, and Dubrovnik chess sets.
Chess boards available at ChessBazaar:
Chess boards under 100 dollars, chess boards under 200 dollars. Spanish veneer chess boards, luxury chess boards in ebony wood, Indian rosewood chess boards, bud rosewood chess boards, sheesham wood chess boards, leather chess boards, PVC plastic chess boards, printed chess boards, mouse pad chess boards, silicone chess boards, vinyl roll up chess boards, and tournament chess boards with coordinates.
Chess pieces available at ChessBazaar:
Chess pieces under 100 dollars, chess pieces under 200 dollars, economy tournament chess pieces, mid-range Staunton chess pieces, luxury chess pieces, reproduced Jaques vintage collection chess pieces, reproduced antique chess pieces sets, reproduced Russian/Soviet collection chess pieces, reproduced European timeless collection chess pieces, plastic chess pieces, bone chess pieces, painted chess pieces, and metal chess pieces.
Chess accessories available at ChessBazaar:
Storage chess boxes, chess books, chess paper weights, chess clocks, and smoking pipes.
Wooden games available at ChessBazaar:
Checkers and backgammon sets.
ChessBazaar customer service and customer experience
The ChessBazaar customer service team can be contacted via mail, email and WhatsApp, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm (Indian Standard Time). The ChessBazaar customer service team are happy to help customers with any issues or queries they may have such as product related questions, assisting with returns and exchanges, assisting with website navigation issues or any other issues that customers may have, ChessBazaar also offers customers 8 hours of live support for tasks such as selecting suitable products based on customer requirements. ChessBazaar has received numerous reviews online on sites such as trustpilot.com and on their website by customers that have purchased from their store in the past and the majority of the reviews they have received are positive. Customers that have shopped with ChessBazaar and left positive reviews have expressed their satisfaction with their fast delivery times, the quality and craftsmanship of their chess sets, their secure packaging, their competitive pricing, their professionalism in handling customer disputes, the helpfulness of their customer service team, and their free worldwide shipping capabilities. Customers that have left negative reviews after shopping with ChessBazaar have expressed their disappointment with the poor quality of their chess products, the poor condition of their chess products upon arrival, the unhelpfulness and poor response times of their customer service team, and their inability to handle customer disputes in a professional manner. Overall, most of the customers that have shopped with ChessBazaar were pleased with both the quality of the products they received and the standard of customer service they received however there are also several customers that have had a less than satisfactory experience whilst shopping with ChessBazaar.
Trustworthiness and reputation
ChessBazaar ranks highly on the scale of trustworthiness which can be verified by observing the numerous positive reviews that customers have left online on their website as well as on sites such as trustpilot.com. Some of the main factors that contribute to ChessBazaar’s trustworthiness include their transparency as their terms of services policy outlines exactly what customers can expect when shopping in their store, their high ratio of positive to negative reviews, their dedication to ensuring that their customers receive the highest quality products and a high standard of customer service, and their ability to cater to the tastes and budgets of chess players of all ages and levels of experience by offering products at various price ranges. ChessBazaar has a close relationship with the most skilled chess artisans in the city of Amritsar who are responsible for manufacturing their chess products which enables them to acquire and offer chess products at competitive prices that are also of the highest quality. ChessBazaar has grown significantly since its founding in 2007 and today it is one of the most popular online chess stores in the world which can be attributed to ChessBazaar’s ability to meet and exceed the expectations of their customers. ChessBazaar has developed a strong reputation for being one of the only online chess stores in India and possibly in the world that supplies extremely high quality chess products that are reasonably priced and handmade by local artists.
Pricing and affordability
ChessBazaar has an extensive range of high quality and unique chess products that cater to the tastes and budgets of chess players of all ages and experience levels. ChessBazaar also has a layaway program which enables customers to pay for items in instalments. The chess products that are available at ChessBazaar include chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, chess accessories, and other traditional wooden games such as checkers and backgammon sets. The chess sets that are available at ChessBazaar are priced as low as 39.95 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 1,091.98 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess boards are priced as low as 31.52 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 319.63 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess pieces are priced as low as 34.67 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 638.32 on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess accessories are priced as low as 3.93 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 214.60 on the higher end of the spectrum. And lastly the other traditional wooden games are priced as low as 37.83 pounds on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 188.50 pounds on the higher end of the spectrum.
Available Payment methods
ChessBazaar accepts numerous payment methods which includes Visa, American Express, Mastercard, and PayPal.
Shipping, cancellations, returns, exchanges, and delivery performance
ChessBazaar ships both nationally and internationally to over 200 countries around the world and provides free worldwide shipping on all of their products aside from chess books and some chess accessories. Orders to remote areas within India will be shipped via Indian Standard Post and can take from 4 to 6 days to arrive, orders to North America, UK, Australia, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain will be shipped via DHL or FedEx, and customers within these countries can also expect their orders to arrive within 4 to 6 days, and orders to New Zealand, Asia, Africa, South America, and the rest of the world will be shipped via Standard Post Parcel Airmail, which can take from 15 to 25 days to arrive. ChessBazaar’s shipping prices are all inclusive and customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand are exempt from additional shipping charges such as tax and customs duties as ChessBazaar absorbs these costs however customers in countries that have not been mentioned may be subject to additional charges such as VAT and taxes depending on the specific laws of their countries and ChessBazaar will not be responsible for paying any additional shipping fees on orders to such countries. Customers can also contact the ChessBazaar customer service team using their live chat feature or via email for accurate delivery information. Customers that wish to return an item must contact the ChessBazaar customer service team within 15 days of receiving their orders and make a request for a Return Authorisation Number before proceeding to return any unwanted items as returns without a Return Authorisation Number will not be accepted by ChessBazaar. All returns must be shipped using a trackable shipping method, in its original factory sealed packaging, include the order number/original invoice, include on the top of the parcel “return, no customs please” and be in the same condition it was delivered in for refunds to be approved by ChessBazaar and the initial cost of shipping will be deducted from the amount refunded to customers. Refused items and undeliverable items will be subject to a restocking fee of up to 60% Items that are incorrect, incomplete, defective, or received in a damaged condition will be replaced by ChessBazaar at their expense however customers must inform ChessBazaar within 48 hours of receiving items in any of these conditions. Customers can cancel orders if their orders have not been shipped and a full refund will be issued to customers in such cases however orders that have already been shipped cannot be cancelled and in such cases, customers must follow the procedure for initiating returns. Backorders can be cancelled at any time before items are restocked and processed however pre orders and custom orders cannot be cancelled once they have been paid for. Refunds will be issued to customer original payment methods and processed within 7 business days from the date returned items have been received by ChessBazaar however refunds may take up to two weeks during busy holidays periods.
Website navigation and mobile friendliness
The ChessBazaar website is easy to navigate, intuitively designed and mobile friendly with easy to identify product categories, a search bar that’s located at the top centre of the website which enables customers to search for specific products, WhatsApp messenger that’s located at the bottom right corner of the website which enables customers to speak with members of the ChessBazaar customer service team in real time and a footer menu that’s located at the bottom of the website which customers can use to find additional information such as the contact us page, the about us page, the blog page, customer reviews, the frequently asked questions page, the payment information page, the shipping policy page, the returns and cancellations page, the privacy policy page, the terms of service page and much more as well as links to ChessBazaar’s social media pages. On mobile and tablet devices clicking on the hamburger menu that’s located at the top left corner of the screen will display the different product categories. On desktop devices hovering over the different product categories will display the different subcategories within each main category. The ChessBazaar website is as easy to navigate on mobile and tablet devices as it is on desktop devices and features clear and vivid product photos and comprehensive product descriptions which enables customers to gain all the information that’s needed to make well informed purchasing decisions. The ChessBazaar website is also secured with TSL/SSL encryption which protects users’ sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers from malicious entities whilst interacting with the website. Overall, the Chessbazaar website is intuitively designed with the customers convenience in mind, easy to navigate, mobile friendly, secure, and well stocked with a wide range of high-quality chess products.
ChessBazaar strengths and weaknesses
ChessBazaar’s main strengths are their intuitively designed and easy to navigate website, their extensive range of high quality and uniquely made chess products, their ability to supply products at retail and wholesale prices, their free worldwide shipping capabilities, their helpful customer service team, their fast dispatching times, their layaway program which enables customers to pay for products in instalments, their affiliate program which enables individuals and businesses to earn commissions on product referrals and their competitively priced products. Whilst ChessBazaar is strong in many areas it also has some weaknesses which if addressed would greatly improve the shopping experience for both existing and future customers. ChessBazaar’s main weaknesses according to customer reviews and personal observation are their poor response times and their inability to address customer disputes in a professional manner which may deter customers from shopping with them after having such an experience, and the poor quality and poor condition of some of their chess products upon arrival which may also deter customers from frequenting their store as well as cause past customer to view their store in a negative light. Overall, ChessBazaar is a reputable online chess store with a reputation for supplying high quality chess products and speedy dispatching times. Although ChessBazaar has received some negative online reviews from customers that have shopped with them in the past the vast majority of their reviews are positive which reflects their dedication to ensuring that the chess products that they offer are of the highest quality and their dedication to ensuring that their customers are always satisfied.
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.
