Forums >Gears and Wears>Retailers & E-tailers: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Dick's Sporting Goods near us is a large place with a lot of running gear in stock at decent prices. But the shopping experience is just like going to a warehouse.
We get most of our shoes from the local specialty store - Potomac River Running.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
I got the $50 for $25 Groupon for the Greater Boston Running Company recently and, when I went to get some shoes, discovered they had size size 12.5 in everything I wanted to try/buy. This never happens.
Etailers,
(1) Another Zappos supporter here.
I've ordered from them several times. The last two times - the shoes arrived in 2 days, even though I chose the cheapest shipping. Also had a return a while back and that went smoothly also. Great selection, quick shipping, and a good website. They may not have the lowet prices on the web though, so make use of their price guarantee (I will, now that I read that earlier post).
(2) I can also give a good rating to Kelly's running warehouse. Ordered from them a while back though.
Retailers,
Dicks Sports - I've gotten some steals on their clearance rack - the best was a pair of Mizuno WRs for less than $30 that I put like 700+ miles on. Often, I use big-box stores to check sizing and then buy on-line.
Local stores,
I've only bought from a local running store1 time in nearly 10 years of running, a Fleet Feet. They were real nice, helpful and knowledgeable, but quite frankly, I do my own research and prefer to be left alone when I shop. Individual attention is not a big plus for me. I'm anti-social
2014 - Get 5k back under 20:00. Stay healthy!
For online shopping I am a huge runningwarehouse.com fan, very addictive. Great prices, fast shipping, fast free return, never had a problem. A lot of clubs even offer additional discounts. I just can't resist not recommending them since I am such a fan.
PS. I think Zappos just gives everyone the fast shipping to make you feel good...just my suspicion.
Holabird sports has been wonderful to me!
One more for runningwarehouse.com. Good pricing, quick shipping, easy site to navigate. Local Fleet feet for shoes though. Since I am a bit new to all this, shoe fit is important and they take the time to do it right.
Feeling the growl again
I've given up on local retailers. Besides all of them being a significant drive for me, none of them carry racers I would want or my trainers (Mizuno Wave Precisions). By the time I drive there to find they don't have them (even if I have a gift cert from a race), order them, and drive back to pick them up, the gas and time is worth shipping.
Online, I did the roadrunner VIP thing ONCE. It paid for itself...just...for a year's worth of shoes. However I can get better deals elsewhere and not have to worry about buying enough to make the VIP pay off. Kellysrunningwarehouse.com has been good to me and delivered the best to-the-door pricing (price+shipping) I have found. No experience with exchanges as I order what I already know will fit when going online.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
rectumdamnnearkilledem
I'm with ya', Spaniel...at least for running shoes. Too many trips of an hour to find that they had nothing in my size. So I'd end up buying online and getting free shipping and free returns if the shoes didn't work. But I still like to buy running clothes and other gear and cycling stuff locally when I can.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
I *love* Holabird.
SMART Approach
I am not sure where I heard this but I believe Roadrunnersports and Runningwarehouse are the same company but the warehouse is "online just shoes".
I think Kellysrunningwarehouse has the best prices but not necessarily to best selections. I believe Zappos service is second to none. Their listed prices are higher but with their match, they are great.
Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery
Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training
Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique
www.smartapproachtraining.com
Heh. This comes up from time to time.
No. Running Warehouse (located in San Luis Obispo) and RRS (HQed in San Diego) are two different things.
HOWEVER... Kelly's Running Warehouse IS part of RRS.
http://www.kellysrunningwarehouse.com/
vs
http://runningwarehouse.com/
FWIW, RRS will price-match on shoes, offers free shipping and the 60-day run-in-'em-and-return-em-if-they-don't-work guarantee. The VIP membership is $1.99, which easily pays for itself with the first order.
Long ago, I had one experience where I already knew the shoe make/model/size I took, but the pair I actually got (without trying on) were slightly shorter or something. I had to argue -- hard -- with a store manager to have them exchanged. I really like a policy that lets me wear shoes outside, preferably to run in, and still return them if there's a problem that doesn't rise to the level of an obvious manufacturing defect.
[NFI in RRS.]
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
My favourite will be the one that will ship to Canada, without a huge fee....
Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022
Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)
Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022
Back on topic, not a running store, per say, but DSW Shoes is Erie, PA is hard to beat price-wise. Although you have to know what you want and know what works for you, since the staff are clueless when it comes to running shoes...I've paid anywhere from $90 to $120 for Saucony Progrids up here, and I got them for $60 at DSW.