Concepts

This is one of the worst stores around period end of story. Well, not end of story more like hmmmm where to start. Let’s start with the barely good, they provide some adequate exclusive products. I mean if you want to spend above retail on most of their products if they even have any left. That’s a big if see it doesn’t help that most of the exclusive product is back doored and forget about ever ordering online unless you want your payment to be held for a month. I ordered a pair of shoes here after calling the store and making sure they had the item in stock. I was told yes and proceeded to order online. About 3 days later I receive an email stating an error occurred and you won’t be receiving the product. Now it’s been 3 weeks and still haven’t received my payment back. Customer service at Concepts is hot garbage. The employees here act like they do you a favor, like you’re a bother to them. They love to give attitude and give dirty looks and act like their above everyone because they work here. Seriously you work at a retail clothing store, which like all stores need customers. Without the customer you would be nothing. It seems like common sense but not for them, sadly. Do yourself a favor and don’t bother with this place ever. Now if you’re a masochist or something of the sort then all power to you.

Great service and the place to get sneakers! Designer and unique all very cool!

The selection was pretty mediocre and limited. Not sure if I would go back.

Funny little joint this.
Ok so got all your standard sneakers that would appeal to your (primarily) student customer base… then tucked away in the corner is a decent collection of Margiela sneakers (including futures.)
So I’m left thinking, who buys a pair of $ ⁸⁰⁰⁄₉₀₀ designer sneakers in a small university town? Could it be possibly there are some serious trust fund ‘ballers’ enjoying likely one of the most expensive educations in the world with spare change to throw nearly a G on a pair of sneakers???
How the .01% of the 1% live.

Me and a crew took a trip down here from NYC, and had a phenomenal time. Tarek (owner) and Deon (GM) were welcoming and hospitable. We ended up grabbing a Diadora N9000 collaboration that Concepts had done, and they were everything I had hoped. A gorgeous, exclusive sneaker. This shop has a tier zero account with almost every brand of sneakers and street wear, so you can always find what you need (and a lot of it you can’t find other than a handful of places in the US). Le Coq Sportif, for instance, doesn’t have an account with almost any other North American boutique besides Concepts.
It’s a very different sneaker and street wear community than NYC, and that’s a good thing. The people lined up for the sneakers were generally good, solid dudes and not as cutthroat as the guys I’m used to encountering at home. Glad I took a trip out, and would go back.

Worst service ever. I bought the new balance «grand tourers» on December 26^th, on december 30^th i go to twitter and see that everybody has their shoes. I had to call them 106 literally for them to pick up. When i asked them what happened to my order they just told me that they forgot to send it. When they speak to you on the phone, they talk like they are been forced to talk you with you. Worst experience ever.
If you want everything to go perfect, never go or order from this store. They are only happy before they swipe your card, after they have charged you, they dont care about you.

Oh no, please don’t trouble yourselves by getting up, I only wanted to buy a pair of shoes.
The whole time the staff didn’t acknowledge us. After the store emptied out and I tried reaching for a shoe that was CLEARLY to high for me, my friend had to help me because the staff stayed behind the counter and carried on with their conversation. Giving an extra star because there was some variety in the clothes and cool shoe styles.

There are not many shoe stores like this one. High end clothing that is geared towards the sneakers and accessories that is carried in the store. I love the name because when you walk in it looks like a concept to me. Exceptional customer service and great atmosphere. I will return again. I recommend people to just experience the concept

Garbage customer service. I returned a pair of shoes on my own dime per the request of their customer service (who never picks up btw). Never got a notification that they were received, never got my exchange, refused a refund, and refused to take responsibility for anything. More to the point their clerks were extremely disrespectful and addressed me as if I was trying to hustle them out of money. I know how a retail business is run and this is NOT how. Especially when you treat paying customers like thieves. If you’re dumb enough to buy from these assholes be sure to just be content with what you’re shipped as they’re not going to exchange it.

Possibly the worst of all international sneaker stores. Botches literarily every single release and refuses refunds and threatens customers. DO NOT buy from them and of you do. Enjoy the the weeks you will spend trying to contact them. My advise. Call MA dept of consumer services.

I bought two pairs of great sneakers here last week. I’m surprised to see such negative reviews for this place. I went in because I am recovering from an injury and there’s no way I can wear anything but sneakers for the next couple of months, and I know these guys have a great selection of unique stuff. The employees were super nice and helpful when I asked to see sizes or had questions but otherwise left me alone to browse which in my opinion is perfect customer service.

Great kicks, horrible selection of employees. These guys act like they’re Gods. I don’t understand why they act like they’re doing you a favor. Listen… you sell shoes. You make $ 8.00/hr. You’re not big time. So don’t act like you’re big time. You might have first dibs on a release but that’s about it. You’re all just a bunch of Deions minions. He’s doing big things while you guys get paid dirt to watch his shop. Smarten up and learn some customer service. You’ll get more people in the shop and do more business.

This is the worst web store I have ever seen. I spent three hours trying to get a pair of shoes today and got charged twice and never got a confirmation email. Tried to call and email them, phone was disconnected and emails wouldn’t go through. I noticed on their Twitter page that they said refunds had been issued, but I haven’t received anything yet. I guess I should consider myself lucky, there are tons of people on Twitter and Instagram saying they were charged more times than I was. Ridiculous store, and I will NEVER use them again.

led me to Concepts, according to their website, they had my size on a pair of kicks I have been looking for in my area to no avail. I called the store to make sure it was in stock, guy picked up and confirmed both size, style, color and availability. I paid online, it shipped 48 hours later, got the tracking number and received my kicks 6 days later (Boston to Cali), opened the box and it is exactly as described. Needless to say, I am happy with my purchase. I was nervous for a bit because I didn’t read all the bad reviews until after I ordered, I’m glad my experience turned out to be a good, smooth transaction. As for the Customer Service, I would say it was good. I called 3 times (they picked up the phone all 3 times) I asked questions and the guy answered all of my questions clearly. Your best bet is to check with the store before you order online!
Thank you, Concepts!

The In-​store costumer service is terrible; I’ve gone in a few times with the intention of buying stuff yet every time the sales person acts like they are doing me a favor whenever I ask something about a particular product. Pretentious snobs.

*BUYER BEWARE, SCAM ARTISTS*
*THIS COMPANY IS A BUNCH OF CROOKS*
this review is also for their online store… though doubt their retail presence is any better since when you call their number it just goes to a voicemail full mailbox and you cant ever talk to anyone live.
not sure HTF they are still in business though.
ordered a pair of shoes that sold out in an hour
shipped out within an hour of purchase, that was dope
waited a week to get the shoes, opened them up and they were the wrong color, bummed
emailed them asking what to do since it was the wrong color and the shoes were sold out
waited 24 hours with no email reply
went the twitter and instagram and they started tweeting me back saying they never got my emails
after a couple days of tweeting back and forth they acknowledge their email system is not working right and gave me a different email to use
they said theyd send me a return label to return the shoes and refund me the purchase since the shoe was sold out
then they said their return label system wasnt working, so they told me to pay for the return shipping and that they would refund my return shipping and the shoes once i returned them
returned the shoes on my dime expecting refund on the shoe and return shipping
instead they ship out the correct shoe now even though that wasnt the arrangement and i had gone out and bought the shoes somewhere else instead. i get a tracking notification email the same day they received my shoes
reached out to them via email and now their new email isnt working again
tweeted back and forth and they tweeted me that they processed my return on the shoes and the return shipping already, bull shit
refused the delivery from ups this time, god knows it was probably also the wrong color shoe
2 weeks later and still no refund on my shoes or return shipping
i called my credit card company and they told me no refund on the shoes had been processed and that they cant even refund me more than the original purchase of the shoes so its possible for them to refund me the shipping from my card
their online operation is a scam and a bunch of crooks. i have my entire experience documented with them on twitter, instagram and emails.
im sorry if anyone has to deal with their customer service. honestly the worst customer experience ive EVER had. theyve got to be crooks. even a toddler could run this operation smoother. good luck also trying to call them and actually talking to someone.

Terrible customer service and online store. Saw a pair of shoes on their website and called the store to see if they could make sure a size was in stock before I placed the order. The clerk that answered the phone sounded bothered to have to talk to someone. When I asked about the shoe, I was told all the inventory on the site was up to date. I placed the order online only to get a cancellation notice saying they didn’t have inventory to fulfill the order. WACK!
Don’t waste your time, avoid this place.

First time ordering with Concepts. I ordered Crocodile Dunkees on the day they were released. I was sent the wrong sneaker. Eventually when they did respond, they asked for me to return the sneakers. No mention about getting the correct sneaker. After many emails, they no longer had my size. I returned the sneakers asking for a refund. Never heard from them again. 2 phone #s lead to mailboxes that a full. I got ripped off

*This is for their online store only*
Absolutely garbage customer service.
Ordered a pair of shoes, looked around a little more on the site and saw another pair I wanted so I ordered them as well. First pair was $ 99, second pair was $ 40, shipping was $ 18 each. Sent them an email saying that I placed 2 orders and if they could combine them for shipping to reduce the cost that would be nice. No response.
Received an automated shipping notification email for only the 1^st pair’s order number, so I assumed they had sent them together.
Roughly 2 weeks later the 1^st pair arrived alone, and with $ 42 of brokerage COD charges (in addition to taxes/​duty).
Sent them an email asking about the brokerage charges (why did I pay for shipping in the first place if this was going to happen?) and telling them to ship the 2^nd pair.
What a coincidence, the second pair shipped the next day. So clearly someone is reading their emails, they just don’t care enough to communicate with customers.

What impressed me about Concepts is their emphasis on quality streetwear with, oftentimes, a New England/​outdoorsy twist to it, which you witness in brands such as Arc’teryx, Sorel, and Blck Pine that they carry and are difficult to find elsewhere. I am however surprised they don’t seem to carry Ever, Highland or Topo Designs which are brands that would fit in with their aesthetic perfectly.
They do have a Nike SB account and no, they’re not a skate shop. .. which isn’t suppposed to happen, exactly: Nike SB is only supposed to retail through bona fide skate shops but I guess they make some exceptions for streetwear boutiques that they know can move the product? I have to agree somewhat with Morgen B though that I’d rather buy my SB dunks from a real skate shop.
Are they overpriced? Maybe on somethings, but their prices on current-​issue SB dunks match up with what online retailers like CCS and Tactics are asking, too.
Four stars though for the unique brands and diversity of product – brands, mind you, that I feel really represent New England (and Canada) instead of trying to bring a fake California or NYC vibe to Boston.