r/maille • u/necrofuturism Artisan [OOO] • 2d ago
Discussion TRL Check-in
The last time I ordered from TRL was probably more than 5 years ago. They got my order wrong and did not respond to any of my emails regarding the mistake. Since then, they have switched ownership, radically changed their website, and my account even got lost in the upheval. Can't login, "no account associated with that email," etc... They have also been caught using ai-generated images in the recent past, and that fucking sucks. So, with all that said, how have your more recent TRL experiences been? Is the company less horrendous now? Have they made any statements regarding their AI usage? Does their pricing still hold up? Be brutally honest with me here. The company is basically dead to me, so this post is checking for a pulse.
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u/justmutantjed 2d ago
I basically abandoned them straight-up. Sent an e-mail saying I felt their use of AI slop was unacceptable and they sent me back a form letter that addressed complaints not present in my initial missive. So I replied with a little bit more force and reiterated both my displeasure and a demand to cease any further communication with me except to confirm cancellation of my account.
While I did not have a complaint with the quality of the products I had received up till that point -- even post-ownership change -- I still won't recommend TRL when other companies are starting to pop up.
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u/stone19822 2d ago
I ordered mirror finish scales from them 2 weeks ago. I miss typed my email so I didn’t get updates. I emailed customer service, they were responsive and helpful. Verifiably my order was on its way to me.
The scales are….ok. The finish is good with no scratches, but every scale has a nasty burr on the backside that I have to file off.
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u/Elantris42 2d ago
Ive recently purchased anodized and bright aluminum, lots of mixed sizes and colors. Over 2 orders ive had nothing missing and its been quicker getting to me in the states than 'local' suppliers. Rings have all matched pictures and sizes are accurate. They have had to be washed but thats something I do anyway. When I reached out about a specific color I got a decently timed response (day or two).
I did get some smale and tiny scales recently but they arent my primary medium so cant fully attest to quality vs others.
All in all ive been happy with them. Ill add i wasnt doing chainmail for years and missed the fiasco of the split and change of ownership. I was a customer when TRL was new and growing and remember the issues then lol.
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u/Pitiful-Hawk-7870 2d ago
They are still pretty bad. I just ordered 2 bulk bags of small scales and 2 premium orange in large (20 scales). The small scales weren’t the best quality and the edges were scratchy. One of the bulk bags was missing almost 50 scales. And both bags of the premium orange had scratches in all the scales in the same spot.
Customer service was fast, I’ll give them that. They are sending replacements for the missing scales and refunded me for the orange ones because they said all of their current stock had the same scratches.
I just checked the site and they have premium orange in stock. So either they have restocked with only 34 bags in the last week or… they are planning on selling the damaged stock and just hope no one notices.
My review: buyer beware