House of Staunton 3.75" Weighted Plastic Collector Chess Set - Black & Natural

This review is mostly about the service, not the product. So if you're one of those people who just want to know about the product, don't read it.The product is very good, it would be unfair not to give it at least 4 stars. When you think about chess, you think House of Staunton, so it's cool to have a product from them. It's tradition after all...But I was totally disappointed by the service provided. While the price is okay for the product, the shipment fee is way TOO HIGH, specially if you don't live in the USA, which is my case. But for the amount you pay for the shipment, the least they could do is to deliver it in time. BUT NO! Mine was delivered with a 5-day delay from the last possible day of delivery. Instead of sending it via FedEX or DHL, no, they just sent it via normal post. When I sent an email asking for an explanation and advice, they gave me only the tracking number, no explanation.The worst: when I sent an email suggesting that I should be entitled to a refund on the shipment fee, I got no reply. They simply ignored me.So, I'm still happy to own a House of Staunton product, for I am a chess nerd, but their disregard for you as a customer was a real turn-off.

House of Staunton "Collector Series" Chess SetPROS: An affordable and decent chess set for club/tournament play. The pieces are heavy - the rook design is especially nice and is quite hefty. The red corduroy drawstring bag (piece bag) is of decent quality.CONS: The tips on the queens coronets are a bit sharp -the black king's crown (top of the king)was busted off (* The seller sent me another king right away) - the base of the king and queen are a little large (looks a little disproportioned but not bad). The felt on the bottoms of the pieces are pretty thin and are applied a little sloppy on the pieces - The vinyl board is of mediocre quality.Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

These chessmen were my son's (now a USCF Expert) first tournament set, and they took the abuse of hundreds of blitz and bughouse games before being retired 18 months ago. The only problems he had with this pieces were that over time several weights became loose, which I was able to repair using epoxy. I also re-glued the king's finial when it broke off due to rough handling. I measured the King's base diameter at 1.719", close to the listed dimension of 1.75". These pieces are therefore properly matched to a chessboard having 2.25" squares. Using a digital postal scale, I measured the total set weight (excluding the extra queens) at 48.4 oz, a figure 7% less than the listed weight of 52 oz.Pros: Longevity, StylingCons: Weights are not molded into plastic.