Uggs Stores: Warmbat
Ugg boot brands available at
Warmbat:
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Warmbat Australia offers a nice selection of
sheepskin footwear for both men and women, and it's getting better all the time. Their website, Warmbatdirect.com, lets you peruse their entire line of cozy ugg products for the upcoming season, said product line being both extensive and mouthwatering in its stylishness. The site's best feature is its simplicity: the basic template includes all the basic links, from Customer Service to footwear, and they're on every page.
Available Brands and Styles
Warmbat's site is strictly a showcase for its own proprietary styles of sheepskin footwear. Until recently, their product line was quite limited, but no longer: with the 2007 line, they've has expanded their selection with 37 new styles of uggs. The only problem is, not all their ugg boots are available for online purchase at this time, some new models are being released only next year. This is understandable, however, since most of the new styles haven't been officially introduced yet. At the moment, only their cold-weather boots and house slippers are available for purchase. It's clear that Warmbat is working to add online purchase options for their other types of ugg footwear as quickly as possible, and by the time you read this, this option may well be available for anything that strikes your fancy. In any case, while the world eagerly awaits styles like the Tas-Mania (due to debut in February 2007) and the Koz (hitting the shelves in September 2007), we can make do with existing ugg boots like the
Warmbat Gecko Grip Flurry and the
Kangaroo Classic, short and tall versions.
Ordering Process
Warmbat's online ordering process seems to be in a state of flux. You can get most Warmbat footwear online (when it's available -- and it isn't always), and you can order it from either Warmbatdirect.com or
Amazon.com. This is easy to do, since there's a simple pictorial link for each product that you can click to go to the appropriate product-specific page. Once there, you can either click the link that lets you go straight to the Amazon page for that product, or add the product to your Warmbatdirect.com shopping cart for purchase directly from Warmbat.
Warmbatdirect.com's ordering process is pretty much standard, though oddly enough it won't let you checkout without requiring you to purchase some water and stain repellent for your new footwear -- at a cost of $8.95 a pop. This is annoying, but not as annoying as the fact that it won't notice that you've already put a bottle of stain repellent in your cart, no matter how many you put in, and won't let you check out using the Checkout button on the right side of the page. Try, and you'll get an irritating pop-up telling you that you still need to buy repellent. Hopefully, this bug will soon be fixed. Meanwhile, you have to use the Checkout link on the left side of the page under "Shopping Support," or the one in the menu bar at the top of the page. Once you manage to access the checkout process, you're presented with a summary where you enter your shipping address and email address. You can also log in here, if you've already created an account. Click "Next" when you're done to move on the page, where you specify your preferred shipping method, and then click "Next" again to go on to pay and complete the ordering process.
Payment Options & Gift Certificates
Warmbatdirect.com only accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and their own gift certificates for payment. Those gift certificates are available in amounts of $100, $150, $200, and $250, and are email only at this time.
Shipping
Warmbatdirect.com offers two shipping options for your uggs: Standard and International. Standard shipping costs $7.00, and applies only to the Lower 48 states. The International delivery option is for any country outside the U.S., but also applies to Alaska, Hawaii, and APO/FPO addresses. It costs $29.
Return Policy
Warmbatdirect.com offers a full refund on your purchase price for any sheepskin uggs returned to them in unworn condition in 30 days or less, but they require that you include a return authorization number with the return. This means that you have to call them first and get permission to send the item back. You have to pay the shipping, too, unless it's their fault you're returning your uggs. If you're making an exchange, you may be charged a nominal shipping fee.
Customer Service
Warmbat's customer service is minimal, but it really doesn't need much. Warmbatdirect.com offers a few informative FAQ pages, and a Customer Service page that provides their postal address, an email address, and various phone and fax numbers. You can also track your order from the Customer Service page. Their primary info number, 1-888-WARMBAT, is included at the top of every page. Be forewarned, however: their customer service hours are basically limited to M-F 9-5, CST.