Anyone familiar with the direct to consumer (D2C) space has probably heard of Bombas. Whether you learned about the company watching their pitch on Shark Tank or heard about their mission. If you haven’t heard yet, Bombas gives away a pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair you purchase. Bombas is one of the best known D2C brands on the market so we wanted to test them out right away.
Company History
Randy Goldberg and David Heath launched Bombas in 2013 after learning that socks are the most needed item of clothing for the homeless. From day one they decided to donate a pair of socks for every pair sold. They have continued on with that mission and have donated over 35 million pairs of socks. Regardless of what you think of the pricing, it’s hard to argue with their mission. In June 2020 they extended their mission by launching a sock campaign for Pride month. For every pair sold they are donating a pair to the LGBTQ+ community through The Ally Coalition.
I know that many Shark Tank fans will remember seeing Bombas on the show. They presented to the sharks and snagged a deal with Daymond John. That was in the Fall of 2014. The company has come a long way since then with over $100 million in sales in 2018. By April 2020 they had donated 35 million pairs of socks to homeless shelters and were preparing for the launch of their Pride collection.
Bombas Pricing and Shipping
To get a good feel for Bombas, we decided to order a wide variety of products. We started with a few pairs of women’s socks, a pair of men’s socks., and a merino wool t-shirt. At the time we ordered, Bombas was offering 20% off the first order plus free shipping for orders over $50 in the United States. Since socks range from $12 to $18 and the merino shirt was $58, our order was eligible for free shipping.
We were somewhat surprised to see our order ship via USPS. The socks and shirt were all sent together and were shipped the day after we placed the order. The initial tracking showed that it would take a week or so for our items to arrive. This was disappointing since we’ve been spoiled by Amazon Prime. Fortunately our order arrived well head of schedule. The items arrived four days after our order was placed.
Product Quality and Fit
The reaction to our Bambas socks and shirt were mixed. The men’s quarter socks fit well and were quite comfortable. The women’s socks were not a good fit for our tester. She typically wears a 7-7.5 size shoe. Bombas sizes their socks from 4-7.5 for small and 8-10.5 for medium for the styles we purchased. We ordered small women’s ankle socks in a variety of styles along with a pair of merino ankle socks. All of them were a tight fit. For this reason you might consider moving up a size if you are on the borderline.
The men’s merino crew neck t-shirt was the most expensive item we ordered. At $58 it is by far the most we’ve ever paid for a t-shirt. Was it worth the price? It is certainly comfortable. While I won’t likely order more of them given the price, the shirt looks and feels great. It should be noted that merino wool socks and shirts need to be washed properly. Stick to the gentle cycle with warm or cool water. Avoid using fabric softener or bleach. You can either tumble dry on low or lay them flat to dry.
Customer Service
When it comes to D2C brands, customer service is an area where they can really stand out. Bombas certainly falls into the exceptional service category. After trying the socks for a couple weeks we decided to return the portion of our order that wasn’t a good fit. Since our tester is right on the border between the small and medium sizes we decided to ask for a refund as the next size up may very well of been too large.
I started a support ticket on the Bombas website during my lunch break and almost immediately received a response. The follow up email directed me to a web page where I could easily select the items from my order that needed replaced or refunded. I marked the socks in question and requested a refund. Bombas sent a follow up email the same day letting me know that they approved my request. Not only did they send the refund via PayPal, they told me to pass the socks along to a family member, friend, or charity.
Needless to say we were quite impressed by the timely response and the thoughtfulness of Bombas. I should note that the company had no idea we were writing a review of the products in question. I used a personal email address for the order and never mentioned it in my support ticket. This is truly a level of service above our expectations. We would have been happy to ship the socks back, but instead we passed them along to a family member. It’s too early to share her reaction but Bombas will likely gain a new customer.
