Warped
New Member
Having not owned any leather jacket since my motorcycling days in the late 1970's to early 1980's, it was only after considerable research that I settled on an ELC RW 1401P Warhorse jacket. Next decision was what size? I wear a 42 Regular suit and sports jacket but the cut can be a bit restrictive if I need to wear anything more than a thin cotton shirt. After reading numerous posts on various sites and forums, I thought it prudent to order a size 44. I sent my measurements to Gary Eastman and he confirmed that a 44 was far more likely to be the better size option.
I received the new jacket on Tuesday, 22 July 2014. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I noticed was the size tag - a 42:
Further inspection revealed that the pocket label showed a 44!
What to do? I decided to keep it. I had been tracking the progress of the shipment via Parcelforce and was expecting our "friendly" South African customs officials to get themselves into a knot about customs duties and spend a good few weeks deciding about releasing the parcel. I had heard horror stories about goods being held up or interfered with. In addition, I discovered only in the last week that imported clothing attracts a 40% customs duty! This on top of an exchange rate which is punitive, to say the least. I was therefore very pleasantly surprised to find that the parcel was delivered without any duty, only VAT calculated on one-third of the price! On the waybill the contents were described as “1 Leather Jerkin”. I expect the officials could not find a tariff code for a “Jerkin” and released the shipment without question. Quite a relief!
Gary offered to take the jacket back and replace the label but this would risk the duties being imposed. The result is that a replacement label is being sent to me, which I can keep in the unlikely event that I need to sell the jacket. I do not want to risk trying to get one of the local tailors to replace the label as the stitching is a critical part of the authenticity of the repro.
My next post - the jacket.
I received the new jacket on Tuesday, 22 July 2014. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I noticed was the size tag - a 42:
Further inspection revealed that the pocket label showed a 44!
What to do? I decided to keep it. I had been tracking the progress of the shipment via Parcelforce and was expecting our "friendly" South African customs officials to get themselves into a knot about customs duties and spend a good few weeks deciding about releasing the parcel. I had heard horror stories about goods being held up or interfered with. In addition, I discovered only in the last week that imported clothing attracts a 40% customs duty! This on top of an exchange rate which is punitive, to say the least. I was therefore very pleasantly surprised to find that the parcel was delivered without any duty, only VAT calculated on one-third of the price! On the waybill the contents were described as “1 Leather Jerkin”. I expect the officials could not find a tariff code for a “Jerkin” and released the shipment without question. Quite a relief!
Gary offered to take the jacket back and replace the label but this would risk the duties being imposed. The result is that a replacement label is being sent to me, which I can keep in the unlikely event that I need to sell the jacket. I do not want to risk trying to get one of the local tailors to replace the label as the stitching is a critical part of the authenticity of the repro.
My next post - the jacket.
