RunningAHEAD - Topic: Retailers & E-tailers: the good, the bad, and the ugly (page 2)

mikeymike

posted: 11/14/2007 at 2:14 PM
modified: 11/14/2007 at 2:15 PM

Holabrid is good if they have what you're looking for--they have great prices on the things they do have. After several weeks of wrangling with my sister who works for a running specialty store, I just placed an order on Road Runner. My everyday trainers had close to 500 miles on them when I first tried to order shoes through her...5 or 6 phone calls and 3-4 weeks later, they have over 600 miles on them and I had no shoes on their way to me...so I broke down. They (RRS) were one of only a handful of places where I could find the shoe I was looking for and their price was the best with VIP discount, plus free shipping. Yes I am one of the suckers who joined their VIP program for $39.95 a long time ago. I have more than made up for it in free shipping and discounts. Still.

Runners run

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 12/30/2007 at 5:54 PM

BAD: New Balance Tampa Twice I have ordered shoes from them that had to be "special ordered." They do not show actual stock when one places the order and only notify buyers after the fact that they will have to wait for their order. My MIL has ordered once from them and also had to have her shoes special-ordered. She wears narrows, I wear wides. WTF is with a NB retailer that only seems to carry mediums...the #1 reason I wear NB is that I have very wide feet that are hard to fit. Also, and this is the big one, they have been running a "gift with purchase" deal...spend $100 and get a free women's jacket or hoody. When I placed my order the order screen asked which model and size I wanted. But when my order arrived my selected top was not included (this is after waiting 2 weeks for my order). I contacted them TWICE to find out the whereabouts of my top and have received no reply. I will not be shopping with them again. k

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

Dustin

posted: 12/30/2007 at 6:27 PM

I've ordered from RunningWarehouse.com several times and have had nothing but great experiences with them. One good thing is that they always list the sizes and quantity they have in stock, no guessing. They also ship a free return label with each order.

dfffff

posted: 12/30/2007 at 11:09 PM

Eastbay has always been fantastic for me. I don't believe I've ever had a problem with them.

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 12/30/2007 at 11:11 PM

Quote from Dustin on 12/30/2007 at 6:27 PM:

I've ordered from RunningWarehouse.com several times and have had nothing but great experiences with them. One good thing is that they always list the sizes and quantity they have in stock, no guessing. They also ship a free return label with each order.

I know I ordered something from them at one point--I agree, that knowing exactly how many they have in stock is nice. I know a few other places do that, as well. backcountryoutlet.com comes to mind.

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

Dave23

posted: 12/31/2007 at 12:00 PM

I had good luck with efootwear.com.

JOHNMAGGIO

posted: 12/31/2007 at 2:01 PM
modified: 12/31/2007 at 2:06 PM

Quote from zoom-zoom on 12/30/2007 at 5:54 PM:

BAD: New Balance Tampa Twice I have ordered shoes from them that had to be "special ordered." They do not show actual stock when one places the order and only notify buyers after the fact that they will have to wait for their order. My MIL has ordered once from them and also had to have her shoes special-ordered. She wears narrows, I wear wides. WTF is with a NB retailer that only seems to carry mediums...the #1 reason I wear NB is that I have very wide feet that are hard to fit. Also, and this is the big one, they have been running a "gift with purchase" deal...spend $100 and get a free women's jacket or hoody. When I placed my order the order screen asked which model and size I wanted. But when my order arrived my selected top was not included (this is after waiting 2 weeks for my order). I contacted them TWICE to find out the whereabouts of my top and have received no reply. I will not be shopping with them again. k

Surprising on the Tampa Deal. Webexpress and Holabird are both good. Webexpress is the largest NB only online store, and they usually have a great deal of product. Typically you would expect a retailer or online store to do everything in their power to satisfy the customer. If not you may find your self on the bad side of one of these threads Wink

www.nbannapolis.com

Twocat

posted: 12/31/2007 at 3:58 PM

I have been a long time user of Road Runner Sports and have had few of the bad experiences others have described. My orders are always accurate. Very occasionally an on line coupon will not work. But what makes me loyal is both the quality of their advice on the phone and their policy of allowing you to return shoes for 60 days even if you have worn them. The people at RRS are far more knowledgeable than the high school kids that my local running store employs. (During the week, I am guessing, high school dropouts.) If I need to switch running shoes I just call RRS. They then suggest two or three models, I order them all, try them out, and return all but my favorite pair. Were I to ask for that type of service at my local running store they would laugh me out of the building. I have also used RunningWarehouse.com a few times and they to have been great.

Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.

Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 12/31/2007 at 4:03 PM

Quote from JOHNMAGGIO on 12/31/2007 at 2:01 PM:

Surprising on the Tampa Deal. Webexpress and Holabird are both good. Webexpress is the largest NB only online store, and they usually have a great deal of product. Typically you would expect a retailer or online store to do everything in their power to satisfy the customer. If not you may find your self on the bad side of one of these threads

Exactly!

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

Sockoni

posted: 1/5/2008 at 12:37 PM

I just learned something that others might not realize. I usually do pretty well price comparing on the web before I buy something. I ordered a pair of shoes for my oldest son the other day from Zappos. While searching for my youngest son today, I found the same pair I ordered for my oldest, diff color, and less expensive. Zappos 110% price guarantee policy states that the lower priced shoe you find has to be exactly like the one you ordered- including color. They actually did a search for me and found another site with the same shoe, and then gave me the discount. They said anytime you want them to do a search for you, just ask. Hmm. Imagine that!

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 1/5/2008 at 4:44 PM

Quote from Sockoni on 1/5/2008 at 12:37 PM:

Zappos 110% price guarantee policy states that the lower priced shoe you find has to be exactly like the one you ordered- including color. They actually did a search for me and found another site with the same shoe, and then gave me the discount. They said anytime you want them to do a search for you, just ask. Hmm. Imagine that!

Wow, that's some impressive customer service! Shocked

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

Coach Jeanne

Speculum Wrangler

posted: 1/5/2008 at 8:17 PM

Great service: www.sub4usa.com I bought their Drylyte skullcap at the race expo. A couple of weeks later, I saw a gal in my training group wearing Sub4's ponytail skullcap.... which I would have bought originally if I'd seen it. I emailed Sub4 and asked if I could swap (still hadn't worn mine) - they said no problem. I sent them the regular skullcap and they quickly replaced it for me. More great service: local running store (mine is Fleet Feet also). I love my (discontinued) Asics 2110's and since I try to buy my running stuff locally, I asked the store owner if he could order them for me. Instead of trying to sell me a different shoe, he actually said I should try to find them online "since I won't be able to find them any cheaper than you could." So I bought a pair of running pants from him instead...

Jeanne

irun4waffles

...And I do.

posted: 1/7/2008 at 9:41 PM

I've gotten great deals at Sierra Trading Post. Their shipping is slow, though so don't order if you are in a pinch. Oh, but they were sending me like 3 catalogs a week so when I went online to my account, I found a page where I specify what catalogs I wanted and they had pre-selected me for EVERYONE! YIKES! No wonder I was overwhelmed with their catalogs. Still their sale/outlet prices cannot be beat! I still order from them. I also love BuffUSA for those wonderful buff headwraps and their shipping is super fast. RRS -- I've bought a few things from them and have been very happy with what I have bought. I'm a sale shopper so I will only buy what is on sale unless I have to have something and there is NO OTHER WAY but full price. ~~Shell

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 1/7/2008 at 9:53 PM

Quote from irun4waffles on 1/7/2008 at 9:41 PM:

I've gotten great deals at Sierra Trading Post. Their shipping is slow, though so don't order if you are in a pinch. I'm a sale shopper so I will only buy what is on sale unless I have to have something and there is NO OTHER WAY but full price. ~~Shell

Full retail is for wusses! Big grin

Funny that you've had slow shipping from STP...so far mine has always been quick, but that could be luck of the draw. I think Holabird Sports has the very fastest...I swear everything I've ever ordered from them is here in 2 business days with standard cheap shipping.

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

zer0vector

posted: 1/8/2008 at 2:06 PM

I've bought shoes online twice, once from runbargains.com and once from holabirdsports.com. Runbargains has some nice freebies; I got a free pair of running socks and my g/f got a free technical hat with her purchase. When I ordered from Holabird they emailed me back and said the color I had ordered was out of stock. I chose another color in my reply and they went and knocked 10% off my purchase for the trouble.

Retailers & E-tailers: the good, the bad, and the ugly (Read 3279 times)