NOVICA Arvostelua 100

I have been purchasing from NOVICA for years. All the items have been of high quality and truly unique. Great care is taken with the packaging when shipping.
The craftsmanship had been amazing.
Love their items!

I used to love Novica, not I am beyond disgusted with them. As well as being a customer and buying their products, I took part in their Novica Loans programme. Lending money to their Artisans. The first time it came to refunding my money for these loans, they sent my money back via Paypal, and I was incorrectly charged for this, which I complained about, and I received a refund.

Recently, multiple loans I had made came to an end, and I again contacted them to have my money refunded. The person who responded to me first did so completely misreading my email and telling me I did not have loan credit, but product credit, when I in fact had loan credit, which is why I had written to them. This wasted time, and forced me to waste yet more time repeating myself writing to them again.

This was to be the least of my worries, since it is now weeks later and I am still writing to them, and STILL asking for my money back. Their customer services states that they will respond within two working days. I have requested my money back, it is my money, over and over again. I made a loan to their Artisans which has been repaid. I did not purchase their products, it is simply my money sitting in their account and needs to be refunded to me. Yet I have emailed them for weeks, and escalated this matter multiple times, and other than the first person who responded to me, who has also assured me they have repeatedly requested someone get back to me, and they have not, NO ONE has got back to me, and my money continues to not be refunded.

I cannot request my money be refunded on their website because this sends a cheque and I do not want a cheque sent by post, to the UK, particularly when we are having postal strikes, and as a disabled person I then have to wait weeks to receive it and then post it again to my bank. But this should not be an issue since Novica usually refunds my money via PayPal.

The issue is that contacting Novica's customer service is currently the equivalent of screaming into a vacuum. They do not appear to even exist. I am literally exhausted from trying and were it not for the fact they continue to withhold my money from me, I would not be bothering to continue.

I am beyond disappointed in Novica. They have turned what was a generous kind act by me into an ongoing nightmare. Moreover, I am trying to get my money refunded because funnily enough there is a cost of living crisis going on and I actually need my own money refunded. Clearly they do not give a toss about this. Yet they expect me and everyone else to care about the things they implore us to care about. Double standards and hypocrisy by companies are not something that impresses me.

I really LOVE Novica! I discovered their website while shopping for an upcoming Caribbean cruise. I've ordered jewelry, beautiful clothing and an incredible beaded handbag. All of the sequin dresses, batik blouses and sequined and fringed silk jackets are by the very talented Vijay Singh. I feel like he designs just for me. My evening style is dressy casual and Mr. Singh will provide me with many compliments on my solo cruise. The only item I've returned was a ring damaged in shipping. The return was simple and the replacement was received promptly. The silver and amethyst jewelry I've purchased always exceeded expectations. It's always the 'good' .925 silver and the amethysts have been much larger than the pictures. Customer service has always exceeded expectations. Every order was received prior to the delivery date. I am a very appreciative and happy customer. Keep up the great service to the world Novica!!! Kathy from Massachusetts.

I purchased a pearl sterling silver ring at the end of June, 2022 and the pearl fell out. I have the order #, etc. How do I get in touch with someone?

Ordered a beautiful wall cross, but it arrived much lighter in color than site pictures, looking unfinished, and with a notable uncolored portion on the right arm. Definitely disappointing the more I look at it, especially for the price and wait.

Thin silver, loose stones, and- as others have noted- very small product compared with the photographs. Deceptive advertising which never shows the jewelry worn by a model to scale the size of the item. Don't waste your time- or your money here. Highly over priced! I will not be returning.

I have purchased multiple items of batik clothing from Unicef/Novica as I know that this a place where I can find truly unique items and support a good cause at the same time. I have had one item delayed in shipment and they were very good about advising me on status until delivery. Each item that I have received has been a very high quality and is exceptionally comfortable. The size recommendations on the web site are an accurate guide. I get many positive comments on my Novica attire and enjoy looking for new items.

NOVICA customer care was prompt to respond back to my replacement request for one of the pearl earrings which had a blemish. Once I sent a picture of the blemish, NOVICA was prompt to offer me free replacement for the earrings. I didn't even need to send the blemished one back. Great products and matching customer service. I will continue to shop at NOVICA and highly recommend them.

Beware: if you register on novica.com you will be spammed endlessly, without any real possibility to unsubscribe from their mailing lists. They offer an unsubscribe link, but that link doesn't work. You can also write an email to novica, asking to be unsubscribed. They will answer that you will be unsubscribed within a few business days, but that doesn't happen either. After many attempts to be unsubscribed I have my email client consider emails from novica as spam and wrote this review.

So I ordered a few pretty stone flowerpots from Mexico for my container garden. They looked bigger in the photo and I don’t recall Novica giving the exact dimensions in the product descriptions. I was hoping they would be big enough for herbs like parsley and oregano.

When the pots arrived, they were not only far too small—only about 2” by 2 1/2”—but I was vexed to find that the stone was porous, so it sucked water out of the soil. This left them unsuitable for anything but succulents, which I don’t grow.

Here’s where things get really bad.

I left a 3-star review (max is 5 stars) on Novica’s site, saying that while the flowerpots were nice-looking and well-crafted, they were impractical for the reasons described above and had not been accurately described on the site. I blamed Novica for this rather than the artisans.

The review was never posted and I was never told why. Novica says that defamatory reviews are not allowed. I thought that since my review hadn’t included any abusive, profane, obscene, racist, bullying, enraged or other offensive language and was written in a generally levelheaded tone, I was in the clear. I realize now that Novica’s definition of “defamatory” is extremely broad; it effectively means you can’t say *anything* bad about any of its products. No complaints or criticism allowed, no matter how civil. Sure enough, when I looked around the site, I saw only fawning 4- and 5-star reviews on all the products. Nothing even remotely negative. This is deceitful and doesn’t allow buyers to get an accurate idea of the quality of the product.

In addition, their stuff is pretty overpriced and takes an eternity to ship. There’s a mom-and-pop Mexican import store near me that sells better-quality merchandise at lower prices and gets their stock in much more quickly, so what’s Novica’s excuse? I wonder whether the high prices really go to the artisans in question or just line Novica’s pockets.

I’m not doing business with this company again. They offer subpar value for money and because they censor all critical reviews you can’t learn whether the item you’re buying is really any good. I can’t stomach that kind of dishonesty. They’ve lost me forever.

UPDATE: Less than 48 hours after I left this TrustPilot review, Novica has, after many months, emailed me in a rather contrite way. I can’t tell whether they’re being sincere or just covering their butts, but here it is:

“Greetings,

“Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback in the recent Product Review for the Heart-Shaped Reclaimed Stone Flower Pots (Pair), "Heartfelt Planters" from NOVICA. Please accept our most sincere apology for the delay in responding to your review.

“We truly value hearing what our customers have to say, as it allows us to improve our products and customer service. Our artisans also benefit from such customer feedback, as it ultimately helps them succeed in their enterprise.

“We noticed from your survey comments that you were not completely satisfied with your purchase. You have mentioned that the size were not as advertised as we as the quality of the pots. I have reached out to our region to team to confirm the size and also the quality concerns you had. We have sold over 100 units with no return. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from our team.

“At NOVICA, we want you to be completely satisfied with each and every purchase. We believe that the creation of a bridge between consumers and world artists depends on high quality products and extraordinary customer service and we would welcome the opportunity to correct the issue you are having with your item. Please let us know if you would like me to set up your return for a refund. We will be happy to help set things right.

“Thank you again for your feedback and thank you for shopping with us.

“Best Regards,

“Tiali
“NOVICA Customer Care”

UPDATE #2: To their credit, Novica has handled this debacle by issuing me a refund on 2/8/22–several months after the purchase, but shortly after this review—without my even asking for it. They also tried to call me on the same day, but I was unable to take the call due to more pressing issues. They said they’d call me back. I have become more cautiously optimistic about them and will keep you lot posted.

RECEIVED Baby Alpaca Geometric Pattern Scarf in Slate Grey from Peru, "Slate Eyes"
byWilder Yauri: as a Christmas gift.

Superb material. Excellent weave and design. My new "treasured keeper".

once you purchase a product from them it's non stop emails. tried unsubscribing 10 times but they just keep coming

An item I ordered was broken when I received it. I reported it immediately requesting an exchange and Laura responded promptly and placed the exchange order for me quickly, making the process painless and easy. I can’t recommend Novica enough, both for their quality and quantity of items but also for their excellent customer service.

This is the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. The ordered goods could not be delivered by fedex because I was on vacation. After that I have not received any message whether the bracelet will be delivered, despite multiple inquiries. The money has long since been debited. I can only warn against these people and will probably file a complaint.

Das ist der schlechteste Kundenservice, mit dem ich jemals zu tun hatte. Die bestellte Ware konnte von fedex nicht geliefert werden, weil ich im Urlaub war. Danach habe ich trotz mehrfacher Rückfragen keine Nachricht erhalten, ob das Armband geliefert wird. Das Geld ist längst abgebucht. Ich kann nur vor diesen Leuten warnen und werde vermutlich Anzeige erstatten.

The craftmanship of the Maya Maske ist totally outstanding. The Features of the mask are very similar to the type and style of maske in the Maya culture. Mucho Gracias Senor Ceron.

I was so very happy to have found this company Novica through a friend in Facebook. I ordered the Quitapena Love Cotton Wreath and was jumping with joy when I got it. It was so beautiful and nicely made that my daughter loved it for Mother’s Day present. The worry dolls were so exquisite!!! I want to thank Lucia which was the artisan that made it. I immediately went to order another one for my sister that fell in love with it. I will keep ordering from Novica cause it came super fast and the product is amazing!!!!! Thank you NOVICA!!!

My purchase was quite an experience. At first I was concerned bc the arrival time was more than 2 weeks. I reached out to Novica. Same day I received a response and support to track the package and was given an arrival date about a week more. The following day I received a tracking notice stating my package would arrive the following day & IT DID! The packaging is like nothing I have seen before- how meticulously presented. I appreciated the Alpaca postcard, the artist's note, and the materials it arrived in-- even the invoice was thoroughly descriptive - no searching for ANY info on a website- for return instructions or customer care. All materials were biodegradable & truly for recycle. Very professional. I can see the care. Oh, and of course the Obsidian Ring! So elegant & hip!! I am very excited about my next purchase (adventure).
PypParrilla

This is the worst customer service ever. The first order I placed on December 3 never arrived, they told me it was lost in transit. I reordered which came after Christmas. Then, the mystery "lost" order appeared the second week in January. I returned that item February 1 2021 and still don't have a refund.
I have emailed at least twice and had no help.

The 3 outfits I bought from Novia are gorgeous! The quality of the fabric is exquisite. I love the dresses and LOVE wearing them. The package is packed so nicely also. It was really nice opening it. I will be ordering more clothing from this company.

Very pleased with the ring I ordered. Looks and feels like good quality, plus very fast shipping!