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Bronson D-1

Greg Gale

Well-Known Member
Anyone seen this?

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.1-c-s.w4004-18296377087.51.146b7d73pzziQo&id=582894747013

I'm no D-1 expert, but it goes for 580 GBP

O1CN01xaF0dC1TkOxQ3VlM6_!!1795832420.jpg
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Damn!! Looks good in the photos.
But as in most cases, it’s going to be the 1st guy who’s willing to take the risk and throw down his cash , who’s going to give the rest of us the real info on the jacket.
 

colekwok

Active Member
From my TB account, the actual price is ¥2899.00 which translates to roughly 300GBP.

Thankfully I am now back to the UK, otherwise I would probably become the '1st guy'.
 

johnwayne

Well-Known Member
Really, £300? Looks pretty impressive for that although neither am I a D-1 expert and never been a shearling fan either but it is one I'd consider being lighter and less bulky than its other more famous cousins. Again however, there's the import taxes and VAT to add which always puts me off plus the sizing issue which has been discussed more times here than I care to remember!!
 

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
Woah!

Does not look that shabby ...

Anyway - keeping those size-constraints in mind i would not order ...

Im not sure whether the sizes run true and never ordered leather gear from BRONSON or "The Dong" before.

I think it was also BRONSON who had A1's in their Portfolio but only for a limited time and they where sold out pretty fast. From the piccies they look pretty decent and never heard / saw any Reviews about the actual Quality.
 

colekwok

Active Member
When I buy my Bronson's and Dong's, I usually for for one size up for jackets and 2 sizes for any other things. They should have a conversion table for sizes (unfortunately in metric.....) underneath the pages and they are pretty accurate.

Ordering at the Taobao website is not a straight forward process, including Hong Kong (yes... part of China, or not?). It is usually posted to a local hub where there is a reply courier to ship the goods outside of China. So returning is probably a big 'NO' for overseas buyer.
 

Obscurator

Active Member
Anyone bought direct from Bronson?

I've established what I think is the right place (much examination of site credentials and veracity, plus an impeccable email correspondence) and I'm about to leap. Chinese New Year has supervened a bit.
 

Obscurator

Active Member
I ran across this site which appears to accept PayPal, and is showing the D-1 in-stock for $669.00 USD. I have not personally purchased anything from there, but the site 'looks' legit IMO, and perhaps is worth checking into further:

https://bronsonshop.com/collections...military-flight-jacket?variant=20247058677819

EDIT: The brand 'Non Stock' is offered there also with a large selection...

That's the place I've been corresponding with by email. Immediate and clear answers to every question I've asked, including some very specific details. Certain items weren't listed on the site, but when asked about it, the site proprietor emailed back to say that updates were still pending due to Chinese New Year holidays, but he'd update. They were, within hours.

I guess it's a case of "take a deep breath" and do the sums to calculate the extras required to pay the massive screws charged by UK bodies.
 

johnwayne

Well-Known Member
Hmm, thought £300 sounded cheap so nearly double that it seems before import taxes etc added! Looks good I must admit but I'm out!
 

s4rmark

Well-Known Member
I agree , with import duty and vat it will probably end up costing more than a Aero D-1. And you will have difficulty sending it back if it doesn’t fit.
 

Obscurator

Active Member
I agree , with import duty and vat it will probably end up costing more than a Aero D-1. And you will have difficulty sending it back if it doesn’t fit.

Even with a concession on price, my workings bring it out at somewhere in the £600-£650 area.

That's not out of court for what I'd expect to pay, but I detest the delays, uncertainty and so forth which trying to buy anything from anywhere, especially outside the UK (and UK is bad enough) seems to involve.

I was impressed to have a prompt answer back on precise garment measurements, and I like the idea of doing business with this outfit direct.

I wouldn't move until after their New Year hols anyway, by which time Suffolk will probably be in the grip of shearling-unsuitable weather; if not a prolonged heatwave.
 

stanier

Well-Known Member
It does look nice, both in the pics above and on their website. Something must have gone past me though, is Spanish sheepskin something special? When I think of Spain I must admit sheep and sheepskin is not what comes to mind?

I think when all’s said and done if you want a D-1, and you’re in the UK or EU go Aero. Lovely jacket and a known supplier and parcel farce and hmrc are out of the picture!
 

Obscurator

Active Member
It does look nice, both in the pics above and on their website. Something must have gone past me though, is Spanish sheepskin something special? When I think of Spain I must admit sheep and sheepskin is not what comes to mind?

I think when all’s said and done if you want a D-1, and you’re in the UK or EU go Aero. Lovely jacket and a known supplier and parcel farce and hmrc are out of the picture!
I've got an Eastman D-1, which I bought new from them in the days when they cost a mere £649.99, which is £300 less than today.

It's OK, but I'm not fond of the Kwik zips on it, and a couple of other things. It's always felt a bit like the legendary "Friday afternoon" Ford cars from Dagenham i.e. not the finest piece of workmanship.

I've done all my sums again on the Bronson, and it still works out somewhere, in cash terms, between £600 and £675. I couldn't say at what figure to monetise the chasing, waiting and worrying and general import hassle, but I'm pretty certain it's another hundred quid or so.

As you say, I think Aero is the way to go. I'm kicking myself because they had a really nice redskin in my size in the Sale section a little while ago, but someone beat me to it.
 

taiAtari

Active Member
It is possible to get the Bronson gear far cheaper through a Chinese agent that gets it directly from their Taobao shop. I've used Superbuy for example several times and they have been very trustworthy so far, communicate in understandable English and refund if there are any problems with stock etc. I think Greg has done the same a few times.

Shops like Bronson often have discounts that you can see if you paste the taobao product page into the Superbuy search function. The D1 is now 2899,- RMB for example and shipping to the Superbuy warehouse is very cheap or even free sometimes. You can collect various other items in your storage and ship them together. I've used DHL which is expensive, but quick and safe (2/3 days to Europe) and if you are brave you can declare a low amount (below 23 euros or so) to try and avoid customs. So far I have done this two times and haven't been hit.

If you're lucky and just buy the D1 I guess you have a very good chance of it working out at around 475-500 euro all in. Looks like they have sold out of the L and XXL already by the way. I think returning an item is probably not easy or even possible.
 
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