Since the beginning of this year I tried to find a new tent for us, a family of 3. I was looking for a policotton tent and I was just about to order a Vango Illusion TC 500XL when I first laid my eyes on a De Waard Albatros. I was hooked.
Albatros is too big for us but a Stormvogel is just fine. The more I looked into and learned about De Waard tents the more I wanted one. I also looked at other dutch brands like Karsten, Esvo and Atomatent. I even went to see a Karsten and Esvo display, here in UK.
So long story short I decided to pay De Waard a visit before committing to such a purchase.
Last Thursday I called De Waard and spoke with a very nice gentleman if a Stormvogel is available and if I can pay with my debit or credit card. To my shame I completely forgot this gentleman's name. He told me that he won't be there next day as he has to attend his kid graduation ceremony, but not to worry he will make sure a Stormvogel will be ready for pick up the very next day. Also called my bank to let them know that I'll be making a visit to Netherlands so they don't decline my payments if they find it suspicious. I did everything by the book
.
He also told that I can only use my debit card which it was fine with me and I decided to reserve one for the next day, Friday 12.04.2019. Booked my self with P&O Ferries and off I was to Molenweg 12, 8181 BJ Heerde a 1400 km round trip
When I arrived my Stormvogel was waiting for me by the door entrance just like the gentleman from De Waard shop said that will be. What I saw in the De Waard shop is beyond words. The beauty, quality and craftsmanship of this tents is well above anything else out there. Once you see a De Waard is hard to go back. Absolutely stunning. Worth every penny and more.
There was a Stormvogel prototype in display, made out of 220 cotton, looks exactly the same as the 340 cotton but in beige\green combo.
https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipPAYzg6LZg9_lxlV3C15HyQuhtNj5fNTdBFUF0HI found the Kuifmees really nice and spacious and after I saw it, the Vergrote Kuifmees is now the 2nd on my list after Stormvogel.
Anyway after spending some time looking at all the tents it was time for me to pay for my tent and go home. But surprise, neither my
VISA credit or my
VISA debit card was working
. I was shocked. Yes, De Waard store doesn't accept
VISA debit cards. How can this be? I've used my VISA debit and credit cards all over Europe, N to S and E to W. I even used it to pay acces in a Shell petrol station in Amsterdam. You can imagine how I felt, after spending time and money with this trip.
I asked if they accept PayPal payment, they said that they don't have a PayPal account; a bank transfer will take a few days before they can check to see if it went through. So yeah... quite a disappointment to say the least.
Returned home last night at 01:00 AM and still feeling the pain
.
I will try to get in touch again over the phone with De Waard and see if we can make it work with a bank transfer and if they are kind enough to cover the delivery costs to UK.
PS:
This morning I found an ex-demo Vergrote Kuifmees at a very good price on marktplaats, sold by a company called Voluva. So I called them this morning and it went something like this:
Me: 'Morning, I'm calling from UK. Do you speak english?
He: A little.
Me: Will you be willing to deliver to UK?
He: No.
Me: Ok, ...what If I make a down payment will you reserve the tent for me?
He: No. ...and hang up
I kid you not!
Every effort on my part to purchase a De Waard seems to be doomed to failure. What I'm doing wrong here?
