The Vermont Country Store is a catalog and online retailer specializing in specialty foods, gifts, home goods, and regional merchandise. This page aggregates ratings and authentic shopper reviews to help you understand what to expect from the company, including recurring praise and documented complaints about product quality, customer service, and return policies.
The Vermont Country Store Reviews
What Shoppers Say About The Vermont Country Store
The Vermont Country Store receives mixed reviews that reveal a stark divide between shoppers. Some customers praise the company's customer service responsiveness, particularly when handling damaged items, refunds, and fraud issues, with several noting that representatives went above and beyond to resolve problems fairly. However, half of all reviewers report serious quality and fulfillment issues: specialty food items like potica arrived in inedible condition, books were shipped with defective bindings and marketed incorrectly as collectors' editions, and return policies are applied inconsistently despite the company's stated bill of rights. Additional frustrations include aggressive marketing emails that cannot be unsubscribed from, and return shipping costs that contradict advertised hassle-free policies.
The inconsistency between what the company promises and what customers actually experience emerges as the central complaint. While some shoppers have positive interactions with customer service teams willing to make things right, others encounter resistance to returns or discover that advertised policies are not uniformly honored. The core issues appear to stem from product quality control for perishable and specialty items, inventory management, and a customer service approach that varies by representative rather than following clear, standardized procedures.
Customer Reviews (8)
Sorted by: Most recentBought two loaves of Potica for $36 each and was really disappointed with what showed up. The product felt more like walnut paste than actual bread, so I ended up tossing half of the first loaf and freezing the second one since it wasn't edible. I really enjoy potica normally, but this was completely inedible. I sent feedback and comments to the company but never got any response back. It's strange because a lot of the positive reviews on here seem like they might be computer-generated, especially given how bad the actual quality of the product turned out to be.
Got a book from here as a gift that they marketed as a collectors' edition, but it came all wrong. The binding was messed up with the back cover on the front and everything upside down. When I tried to return it, they wanted me to pay for shipping. Marketing factory mistakes as collectors' editions feels like false advertising to me. Interestingly, once I posted this feedback, someone from the store reached out and offered to cover the return shipping. Would have been nice if they offered that from the start.
Looking at their return policy and what they promise customers. The company's bill of rights says items can be refunded with no hassle. But the reality seems to be that whoever's working customer service gets to decide whether they'll actually let you return something. I had a food item I wanted to return and one agent had no problem with it, while another one said she'd do it just this once and make a note about it. The company never mentions anywhere that food products are excluded from their return policy. Customers should be aware of this before buying.
I ordered a couple of plum puddings and unfortunately one came in damaged. When I reached out via email, the response took a while since it was right around Christmas, but they did get back to me about a week later. They refunded the full amount for both puddings plus the shipping cost, so I ended up really satisfied with how they handled it.
Someone gained access to my card and used it to make unauthorized purchases through this website. I contacted customer service and explained what happened, and they stopped the transaction and got my money back to me right away. Really appreciate the quick help.
These folks keep emailing me their marketing stuff even though I have no idea who they are. I've tried unsubscribing multiple times but it doesn't work, so I've just blocked them as spam at this point. Not exactly the kind of thing that makes you want to do business with a company.
Their selection of bath and body products is fantastic. I'm a regular buyer of the lemon verbena soap and I give it to my brother and sister-in-law every Christmas. Plus their food offerings are excellent too. Great place to shop for gifts.
The company doesn't seem set up well for online shopping. I wanted to send gloves as a gift to my mom, but the website flagged my order since my billing address and delivery address were different. This verification step set me back about a week. When I called, the customer service rep was great and went ahead and submitted it, but then it took another week just to get it shipped out. When UPS picked it up, they said the address was incomplete or wrong, but I checked with the company and everything looked fine to me. I had to hop on the UPS website myself to add more details just to try to get it delivered. Three weeks later and I still don't have the gloves, even though I paid extra for 2-day express shipping. Really frustrated with the whole process.
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