Scandia Down

I have purchased 6 pillows and 2 down comforters from Scandia over the years and so am well acquainted with their products. I was once even a fan.
I’d always looked at Scandia as an investment. Their products are certainly priced and positioned that way. You can send your comforters and pillows in for servicing and refilling if you are not satisfied or need a refresh.
THIS IS WHAT THEY DON’T TELL YOU:
You will first spend $ 300 to $ 400 (or more) on a single pillow.
When you decide to top up the filling or recondition it, you will spend PER PILLOW:
$ 40 for an «opening fee», just for their service department to open the pillow (before starting any work).
$ 60 for a «cleaning fee». Yes, you may dry clean your pillows but they will insist that their unionized workers have to clean the pillows for hygiene before they start any real work on it.
$ 20 for each ounce of fill. They recommend 5 ounces.
Add tax and shipping.
So just to get your pillows topped up with a few ounces of feathers, you will spend about $ 250 per pillow. If you purchased siberian down feathers, it’s considerably more expensive. If you need to fill a comforter, good luck.
Oh, and the process will take a month.
I’m a believer in paying for premium products (obviously, I already bought a lot of Scandia). But if you take a Rimowa suitcase, a Chanel bag, or a Moncler coat back for a fix, odds are that they will do it for free or for a nominal price.
Scandia’s service pricing is unconscionable. Price gouging a customer who has paid thousands of dollars for a premium product is an insulting way to build a lifelong relationship, but fortunately Unilocal is around to provide reviews, ratings, and transparency for customers.
Before you invest in a set of Scandia down products, consider the true cost of ownership here, because that much touted service is not something that comes with the brand: on the contrary the service prices are not posted anywhere on the site, their service is subcontracted to a 3^rd party, and you will be treated and priced like a human ATM machine rather than a valued customer to the brand.
I will still pay my service fees since I own so many of their products, but I’ve certainly stopped recommending the brand to anyone and believe that the company is outright dishonest and evasive about service.
Finally, you may want to note that there is no corporate office or address for Scandia listed on their website because it is in fact owned and operated by The Hanover Group (Google it), a renowned junk mail marketing operator out of New Jersey and a company that has made a name for itself by creating angry and disappointed customers.

This is a review of the company, not the individual store, where representatives have always bee nice. My experience with Scandia Home office in LaCross WI, while claiming the most prestigious of products, left me feeling that not only did not they not honor warranties, they refused to afford any type of customer courtesy acting like a bad experience with a discount store manager who has the lowest of business practices.
I have outlined some facts, or drop down to the BOTTOM LINE, below.
I purchased pillows many years ago with a lifetime warranty – still saying so right on the tag. This type of warranty is no longer offered. That warranty was honored on other products in other cases in the past. The pillows were leaking down and the fabric was failing. I received an RMA and sent them back.
The most senior person available refused any warranty help. I was advised the warranty only applied to defects and there was no defect. I explained that products had been refurbished under warranty in the past. She confirmed with a former store manager that this had occurred on occasion. She then responded that all stores were individually owned and if a store elected to do something for a customer in the past it did not obligate the company. I asked if instead of arguing over warranty, a customer service accommodation was possible, and she refused. I pulled a quote off the internet from the former general manager that «Because of our lifetime guarantee, you can send it back for refilling and restoration.» showing the company policy to refill and restore. I was then told yes they would do that, but what that warranty language meant was that the work would be done, but charged for at their usual rates. The story changed so now there was a guarantee, but that guarantee didn’t mean that required work didn’t need to be paid for. After some months I again contacted the company after speaking to store representatives who said some alternatives should have been offered by the company. They sought to intercede but said they could accomplish nothing because I had previously been dealing with the home office. They said they would have the company person they had spoken with call me, which never happened. Instead I had to call again and was advised at that time that the pillows and records were only kept for six months and all records and my pillows were gone. As a last effort I again asked for a one time customer courtesy given the circumstances for someone who had bought many products over many years. I was again told they had a «profit margin» to meet. I was told there was an upcoming sale to the public at 20% off and they would replace the pillows at that public sale price. I explained I had seen discounts online of 35% and 50%. She again said the stores were individually owned – I mentioned one specific store and was told they had been directed to take down their sale offers and that if a customer went to purchase that product the system would throw it out. So the stores are individually owned and thus they are not responsible, but they can direct the stores to remove things from their sites. As we spoke I pulled up that same Scandia store site and saw the same offer for pillows at 50% off.
BOTTOM LINE: I had a warranty issue. I was first advised that the warranty applied only to defects not refurbishment. I provided examples and a written statement by their former manager indicating that it did apply to refurbishment. I was then told what that «meant» was I needed to pay for the «warranty» refurbishment at their usual rates. I consider stories I received contradictory, and an effort to tap dance around clear language to avoid honoring their warranty. Warranty aside, for the supposed prestige of the product and the company, some customer courtesy should be possible, which was refused, reportedly because they needed maintain their «profit margin». Generously giving me the upcoming general public sale price of 20% off was all the company would do. The store employees are nice; the product may be good. The company will need to achieve their «profit margin» from others.

I love going into this store. The products are amazing and you can order custom if you like. If I could, I would buy everything in there. Linda, the store manager, is an absolute charm to work with and is very knowledgeable about all of the products.

It was very quite when I arrived so I informed the store clerk that I was just looking so she carried on with what she was doing and let me browse on my own.
I found this to be a really nice store that offers wonder down comforters, down feather beds, down pillows,…well you get the picture. I saw an absolutely lovely little crib size baby down comforter. It really was a sweet little item.
I noticed a small shelf that had some discounted flannel sheets but I actually didn’t really see any prices on stuff, which tells me that things in here are pretty expensive.
There didn’t seem to be a real wide selection of items so my guess is many orders are special orders, but I’m not absolutely positive about that.
What really caught my eye as I was leaving was an incredible wedding cake made out of towels and decorated with ribbon, etc. that was sitting in the store window. It really looked like a wedding cake. This would be a great place to get an out of the ordinary wedding gift wedding cake created with towels and decoration for a special bride and groom. …well all bride and grooms are special in my eyes.