Gipsy Dharma Reviews 

The website for GypsyDharma is really well put together and the FAQs are substantial with transparency around the fact that returns will not be funded due to the long distances involved in postage (from east Asia) and therefore encouragement to ask any questions pre-sale, and instruction to do so via Facebook for a prompt reply. So far so good: I liked the transparency and the well-written text. I had three questions that were not covered by the FAQs: 1) is 'colophony' (pine/spruce sap commonly used in footwear manufacturing which I happen to be allergic to) present? 2) a request for clarity around width sizing due to conflicting advice on the website & 3) a request for clarity around pricing due to conflicting prices on the website. I asked these questions on 27th Dec and, having received no reply I sent another message on 1st Jan a further chaser on 26th Jan. Finally a response came on 27th Jan stating my questions had gone to the 'Spam' mailbox (if you are going to state on your website that the best way to make contact is through Facebook messenger, then make sure it works) and answering a question I had never asked and, even more frustratingly, none of the ones I had. I pointed this out and received another reply that sort of half answered one of my questions but crucially still made no mention of my allergy (i.e. the 'dealbreaker') question. I repeated this question again and was told by my responder that she doesn't know if the substance I mentioned is used in the glue that she uses. That was it. No effort made to find out. Nothing. This all raises some suspicion: GypsyDharma is marketed very much as one lady's business with a dedication to individually crafted handmade items concerned with supply chain ethics and use of sustainable materials. I find it difficult to believe that someone with these concerns would not know what materials are being used in their products and would not even be able to find out. All very disappointing, but I'm so glad I persevered with my questions and didn't just order without listening to my 'spidey senses' which started tingling when it was taking so long to get a response.