Hello beautiful peoples!
TL;DR: We bought two Wisdom electric toothbrushes in Ireland. When I needed replacement heads, the shop did not stock them. The manufacturer suggested Amazon. Around a month later, I had no replacement heads, money tied up in an unsuccessful order, and a refund to wait for. The next suggestion? eBay. In my personal opinion, this is something worth knowing BEFORE buying the toothbrush.
A toothbrush should not require an international shopping expedition!
My wife and I bought two Wisdom Power Pro Clean Plus toothbrushes from our local supermarket. After some use, the head on mine broke. Fair enough – I go ham at it. A replacement head should be a fairly boring purchase. Except for the fact that no shop carries the replacement heads in stock.
So there I was, with an electric toothbrush bought locally and no replacement head available from the shop that sold it to me. I was not looking for an obscure component for a thirty-year-old machine. I wanted the bit of a toothbrush that you are supposed to replace. So on 1 October 2026, I contacted Wisdom and asked where I could buy replacement heads for our two toothbrushes. I explained that I lived in the Republic of Ireland and had an Amazon UK account. The following morning, customer service replied:
Wisdom Power plus heads are available on Amazon. Only Power Plus heads will fit the unit.
I could not find the heads on Amazon Ireland, so I looked on Amazon UK and found a listing. I ordered three packs of two heads. Around €22, with paid shipping because the order did not come with free Prime delivery. I also expected additional import and administration charges. I was not delighted about those, but I accepted that I will have to pay them. The delivery estimate was roughly four weeks. Again, not ideal, but fine. I would use a manual toothbrush while I waited. Some patience. Eventually, a working electric toothbrush again and I would have enough spares to last me some time was what I was thinking.
Before going any further, let me make something clear. The customer service representative was polite and courteous. I am not naming this person, because this is not about them. They did not create the availability problem, and I have no interest in making an individual employee the target of my frustration. My complaint is about being able to buy the toothbrush here, then struggling to obtain the part needed to keep using it, not about contacting customer support.
A month later: So No head?
By 30 October, the heads were supposed to have arrived, or been about to arrive. I checked the order and tracking information on Amazon UK and had my “Huh?” moment. Turns out that the items have been delivered… 4 days ago. In “Haverhill DO,”…
I have then checked the An Post tracking just to find out:
I have contacted An Post customer service through WhatsApp (which I hated by the way as I am NOT using Whatsapp as its owned by Meta a.k.a. Facebook). What’s wrong with a good old e-mail?
Professional, courteous, informative customer service. No time wasting. Thank you!
According to An Post, the parcel failed customs clearance because the required declaration was missing. What I can tell you is the result: time wasted, money tied up, and no replacement items. So No head. No happy ending… I can’t get no satisfaction…
After that, I contacted Amazon. They told me they would contact the seller and request a refund on my behalf. So, after around a month, I had spent the money and received nothing in return… Wasted a lot of time jumping through hoops and as I write this, I am waiting for the refund / reply from the seller…
For someone with money to spare, perhaps that is just an annoying shopping experience. For us, money tied up in an order that produces nothing is a problem.
Back to Wisdom I went…
I wrote back to Wisdom customer service, explained what had happened, and asked again whether there was a better way to buy the correct heads in the Republic of Ireland. Preferably online. I was not willing to turn buying toothbrush heads into a road trip.
The only other way to purchase this product would be via ebay.
That was the alternative I was offered. To be clear, this does not mean every Amazon or eBay order will fail. It means that, after explaining my experience and asking for a better purchasing route, I still did not have a straightforward local or EU option.
This is the part that annoys me. The toothbrush was available in a local shop. The replacement heads were not. The manufacturer confirmed that only one particular type would fit, then directed me to online marketplaces. According to An Post, the sender had not supplied the required customs declaration, so the parcel could not be delivered and would be returned to the sender. For fuck’s sake…
In my personal opinion, replacement heads should not feel like an optional afterthought when selling an electric toothbrush. I am not asking for lifetime supplies delivered by helicopter. I am asking for a reasonably straightforward way to buy the consumable part of a product sold in this country. A toothbrush without an obtainable replacement head is not much of a bargain, whatever it cost at the till.
I have said before that Ireland sometimes feels like a market companies are happy to sell to without thinking particularly hard about what happens afterwards. This experience does nothing to improve that impression.
So if you’re reading this… A word of wisdom (pun absolutely intended) Personally, I would not buy products from this company again without first finding a reliable supply of replacement heads. Good luck with that.
I am waiting for my Amazon.co.uk refund, and I intend to cancel Amazon Prime.
Meanwhile, the manual toothbrush is getting on with the job.
No tracking number. No marketplace treasure hunt. No month-long wait.
Apparently, that is the premium experience now.
I hope this helps!
Catch you on the flip side,
AndrzejL
