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Personal experiences with online surfboard shopping
.Here was my situation:
I am in the Dominican Republic, and in need of a new surfboard for my upcoming surf trip to Central America. The board I want to buy has the be a Surftech / Tuflite / Boardworks / SouthPoint Epoxy board, since my intention is to also use it whilst riding with my kite on the waves, so a standard PU custom board will only last 2 sessions, before it will break or severly gets damaged.
The surfshops in in the Cabarete area of the Dominican Republic don't sell any Epoxy boards, so I decided to do some online surfboard shopping, the experience it gave me was rather sad.
I will not give any details or personal names here, just company names
First attempt
GSI USA / Global Surf Industries for a SouthPoint epoxy board.
I contacted Customer Service 3 weeks ago, told them I was looking to buy a board, and i was told that they could sell me one for $400 Dollars, all they needed was the address in Miami were it had to be shipped.
-Perfect.
Booked the hotel last week, contacted them to ask how to proceed with the sale and delivery.
was referred to their website's online shop and buy it there..
Off to the GSI website, click on "Shop online", look for the right board: not to be found there and the boards are about 120 Dollars more than the $400 agreed by Customer Service manager and his boss.
Contacted the Customer Service guy and his boss by email several times.
Result: No reply, nothing.
End result: extremely dissapointing
2nd attempt:
CleanLineSurf
I bought a surfboard online from them a year before, and was very pleased with their quick reponses and handling of the affair.
First email asking for board advice comparision between Surftech and SouthPoint Epoxy.
Got a quick reply with good advice.
So I decided that I wanted a Channel Islands Al Merrick 6'6" Flyer II shipped to Miami.
Reply within 1 day: "We have a 6'6" Flyer in green Epoxy in stock. Ground shipping to
the east coast takes at least one week. Since the 4th is a holiday that does not leave us with enough time to have it to you for the weekend.
Expedited shipping will probably cost a few hundred dollars."
My reply: last year the expedited 48 hour shipping was around $100 and that's fine for me. Also aksed more specifics on wheter board is a flyer 1 or 2.
Reply from shop:
Not possible in this timeframe, because of logistical problems although expedited shipping is possible but will cost a few hundred dollars
End result: wee bit dissapointed, but not the shops fault, pretty quick replies on emails.
3rd attempt
Brave New World Surf and Snow, aka: BraveSurf
Send an email telling them I would like to order a 6'6'' Flyer 2 or 6'8 Flyer Surftech Al Merrick / Channel Islands, to be deliverd to my Miami hotel when I am on my way from the Dominican Republic.
Reponse:
"Our relationships with board manufacturers, who also conduct business through international affiliates, restrict our online sales to customers within the United States and Canada.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a decent selection of boards while you are stateside"
Hmm.... not good, anyway, thought I'd send another email saying that I don't want the board to be shipped to the DR, I want it send to Miami.
Reply:
"Billing addresses must be within the United States or Canada... we have had instances where foreign purchases were attempted using a stateside shipping address, but our payment gateway does not accept addresses outside of N. America. We also honor our relationships with our vendors and wish to prevent the reselling of U.S.-bought boards and accessories in foreign countries.
Apologies for any inconvenience but, again, I'm sure you'll be able to purchase what you're looking for when in Miami."
Hmm..... definetly not good, I never said i have a foreign Credit Card.
My reply: I have a US Credit Card & want to buy one of the most expensive items in your store and have it shipped within the US, I am not interested in (re)selling any boards ( I never sell boards). Told them I am dissapointed in the process, since it seems I am just not welcome to spend my money there.
No Reply from BraveSurf
Update a few days later a reply came
"Sorry for any confusion - we have had a number of hits from folks trying to take advantage of the weak dollar by purchasing/shipping from the US and reselling in Europe, South America, Australia.... We have even received letters from major brands such as Billabong, Burton, etc., stating that their US retailers jeopardize their contracts if conducting foreign sales, which undercut their affiliates in foreign markets."
End result: dissapointing ( however they replied to every email i send pretty quick)
Turning out to be a bit of a mission to buy a board online, and my trip is coming up soon, and a surftrip without a board isn't much of a trip.
By this time I have decided that I want that Al Merrick.
Start looking for this specific board online:
4th Attempt:
HansenSurf
I read on the website that they have the Flyer 2 in stock.
Skip sending emails, not enough time anymore. I call them up to send me one. they tell me they don't have the 6'6'' Flyer in stock.
End result: a little bit dissapointed since I got my hopes up, but no disaster.
5th Atempt:
Lookup all shops in Miami / Florida area. End up on the website of: Island Water Sports
Their website informs me:
"Island Water Sports is the premier Surf Shop in Miami. We carry all the leading brands in the surf, skate, skim and wakeboarding industry. With a knowledgeable staff that is dedicated to customer service, we will help you find the products that you are looking for. Island Water Sports Miami boast one of the largest selections of surfboards in the area."
However they don't have an online section, so I cannot check what they have.
Call them up: friendly fellow asks me a few questions about my surf skills, tells me Flyer 2 is right board for me, and he has one in stock, and that there's a $50 discount, I ask him if he needs my Credit Card to reserve the board for me, he tells me it's not needed he will set the board apart for me till Friday.
End result: well I haven't got the board yet, but if they do I'll be very pleased with them.
Overall: lots of effort in getting a board, the whole online shopping thing didn't work at all: non reponsive staff, or staff that seem to just throw up barriers for me so that I wouldn't buy, or false promises without following up.
June 2008
Note: I never asked for any discounts, never asked to have free shipping or anything like that ( i never do ).
You can contact me if you have anyone has anything to add, or had similar experiences
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