allison Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 I am writing a piece for Washington Trails magazine on Bargain Gear Shopping, and would love to hear about your favorite sources for cheap gear. Before I get flamed to pieces for this, let me say that I am writing a sidebar about Independent shops, and that personally I am opposed to buying gear that is manufactured in countries with low labor standards, and do my best to avoid that. I am particularly interested in your experiences with Barrabes.com (I've never bought from them) and sources of bargain gear in areas outside of Seattle. I don't get out much. Also, besides Pro Mountain, what other indy shops do you like? Quote
Bug Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 You are from Ballard?! Do I get a date if I tell you about a "indy" climbing shop in your back yard? Quote
slothrop Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 I just bought some cheap wiregate biners from sportextreme.com, with a decent shipping cost to the US. I haven't received them yet, but they were about $3.25 apiece. Barrabes has a much better selection, but I've never bought from them, either. Feathered Friends is a good local place. Every time I've bought something there, someone's given me a gear tip, or made an ice axe leash for me out of webbing, or given me 10% more off for buying a bunch of stuff. My experiences at small gear shops have been good just because of the people there, even if it's not necessarily cheaper. I also recently ordered some stuff from a gear shop in Utica, IL (what do you climb in Illinois?) called Starved Rock Outfitters. I picked up a rope, gloves, and some hardware on sale. It's fairly easy to find cheap gear with a simple search on Google, or through GearShark.com. It seems to me like most climbers want gear that does the job for as little money as possible. I've never heard anyone refuse to buy a solid, cheap piece of gear because they know that its "Made in the US of A" label really means that it was sewn in some dank sweatshop in Guam. Personally, I don't pay much attention to where my stuff is made More important to me is that it's made well and will last. Quote
JayB Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 I've ordered gear from both sportextreme.com and barrabes.com have been very pleased with the experience I've had with both. Both shops have fulfilled my orders accurately and had them on my doorstep within a week. The primary differences between the two are the selection and the shipping options which they offer. Barrabes.com has a much better selection, but they will only ship your order to the US via DHL, which is super-fast but will add $15-25 to your order in most cases. If you can find what you want at sportextreme.com, they'll ship the order via ups, and the charges have ranged between $5 and $10 for my orders. The prices you'll find on the two sites are comparable, but on the whole I'd say that they're typically just a bit lower on barrabes. One nice benefit of ordering from either outfit is that since your purchases will be shipped outside of the EU, they are exempt from the Euro wide value added tax. You may be hit with a bill for customs, but the tarriff on mountaineering equipment is only 4%, a paltry sum in comparison to the amount you'll save. I saved $220 on a single pair of boots alone! The only other comment I'll add is that I hope that the additional publicity which these sites are bound to receive does not result in situations like we have at MEC now - whereby the manufacturers/distributors and the retailers here in the US have successfully put the kibosh on any shipments of name-brand goods from MEC to consumers here in the USA. I'm not happy about being subject to a pricing model in which the manufacturers pad the pockets of the distributors and the retailers at the consumer's expense. Until they change their ways and allow the retailers to compete with one another for the consumer's benefit, I'm going to continue taking my business overseas. End of rant. Good luck with your article. Quote
adr_901 Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 Barrabes is great. Good customer service. They answered my email right away. I bought a pair of terminator 1 boots which retail here for $450 for only $225 and they arrived in 5 days! Shipping cost was the only down side which was about $30. The purchase was still a bargain. I bought stuff from Ebay although not consistant, every once in a while I find a true bargain. Most of the good stuff I found on ebay though gets heavily bid and the price can reach retail prices! Quote
charlie_don't_surf Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 Pro Ski Service is great for getting gear and information, with stores in Seattle and North Bend. As for internet telemark-pyrenees.com Still, no better way for cheap gear than pro-deals or industry contacts Quote
haireball Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 worth noting, in case you're unfamiliar: Gearexpress.com = Starved Rock Outfitters same company; and they do have a good selection of deep-discount climbing gear. I've also had good experience with Sportextreme.com. I know about Barrabes, but have never ordered from them. but, as the man said: "nothing beats a pro-deal". I just this month received a FREE Mountain Hardware Ethereal Ice Parka in return for training one day per month with my local county mountain rescue unit... many volunteer groups have purchasing programs with gear manufacturers, and it surprises me that more climbers don't take advantage of these opportunities Second Ascent, 5209 Ballard Ave. NW can be a treasure-trove for a knowledgeable buyer... [ 03-10-2002: Message edited by: haireball ] Quote
Alpine_Tom Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 I've had good experiences with gearexpress.com. Quote
mattp Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 McHale Packs, made in Ballard, aren't cheap but they are great packs. They used to be known as the heaviest packs around, though also the toughest, and I nderstand he now makes lighter ones as well. Talk about independent - Dan McHale pretty much shuns all advertising and does it his own way and he can be crankier than Dave Page sometimes. McHale packs are not cheap, however. C&S Engineering, in Marysville, carries a variety of hardware including pitons, Kong carabiners, and weird belay devices you won't see anywhere else. They make portaledges, gaitors, tents, etriers, harnesses ... It is a "specialty shop" that is not friendly to casual shoppers but they do have some good stuff. And the proprietor is probably even more "independent" than Dan HcHale, if that's possible (www.cands.net). They have some good deals. [ 03-11-2002: Message edited by: mattp ] Quote
Rodchester Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 Hands down, Second Ascent in Ballard at 5209 Ballard Ave. NW. Feathered Friends also rocks and is the best down there is any where REI. Ever heard of it. Web based: www.campmor.comwww.sierratradingpost.com Quote
Bug Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 I had one interaction with Barrabes.com. I inquired regarding the availability of one of their products that was on sale. The response was 4 days coming and they didn't have what I wanted. Quote
CodyICE Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 I bought all my Ice gear from Barrabes.com The gear came to my door in four days. I saved a ton of money even with the shipping costs. If you spend over a certian ammount there is a tariff tax that is basicly nothing that you have to pay. The company that ships the stuff will send you the bill for it. I spent about 600$ and my tariff was $16.95 I recommend barrabes to everyone. Cody Quote
Alex Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 Ive used Barrabes twice now with great success. When I ordered a set of Black Prophets, they were literally on my doorstep 2 days after ordering...from Spain! Quote
Doug Posted March 12, 2002 Posted March 12, 2002 There seem to be an abundance of deals on the internet. One that I've used a couple of times is Northern Mountain Supply http://www.northernmountain.com They have a section called "Killer Deals" that sometimes are. I've bought a couple of things from them for good prices. Customer service seems to be good as well. I've bought a few things at Second Bounce/Second ascent. If you hit it right there are some good deals there as well. One of the underlying problems in this area seems to be that anyone that new shop that comes along has a hard time competing with some of the bigger guys. Especially when the bigger guys have distributors and manufacturers sign no-compete agreements within a certain radius. I've heard rumours that is what drove Wilderness Sports out of business. Quote
jja Posted March 12, 2002 Posted March 12, 2002 I'll second the vote for Northern Mountain. I've gotten more than a few things from them and have always had a good experience. Quote
arlen Posted March 13, 2002 Posted March 13, 2002 Does underwear count as gear? If so, Sierra Trading Post rocks. And they make me feel important by occasionally reminding me that I'm their preferrred customer. www.sierratradingpost.com Quote
greenfork Posted March 13, 2002 Posted March 13, 2002 quote: Originally posted by arlen: Does underwear count as gear? If so, Sierra Trading Post rocks. And they make me feel important by occasionally reminding me that I'm their preferrred customer. most important is #3 of their company policy: 3. That our business ethics must be consistent with the faith of the owners in Jesus Christ and His teachings. Quote
allison Posted March 13, 2002 Author Posted March 13, 2002 Thanks to all for your help on this. I really appreciate all of your input, except of course Rodchester, who once again manages to be a total smartass for no particular reason. Quote
Rodchester Posted March 13, 2002 Posted March 13, 2002 Allison: A bit sensitive? Can't take a joke? Don't be such an eggshell... Kidding Allsison, just kidding. Quote
erik Posted March 13, 2002 Posted March 13, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Rodchester: Allison:A bit sensitive? Can't take a joke? Don't be such an eggshell... Kidding Allsison, just kidding. actuallt rod i dont think she can in some capacities......we all need to just laugh at ourselves and if someone cant laugh at themselves feel free to laugh at me.... Quote
allthumbs Posted March 13, 2002 Posted March 13, 2002 erik, I laugh at you whenever I see you post. You're very funny Quote
allison Posted March 13, 2002 Author Posted March 13, 2002 Hi. Heard of sarcasm? Seriously,if someone does step over the line in my general direction, they get a pm from me. Some of you may already know that. Have a happy day. I am going to pick up BOTH volumes of Wolcott's "Lakes of Washington" for $22 at 3rd Place Books. One of my favorite resources is ABEBooks.com, specializing in finding rare and out-of-print bookage, sometimes at fantastic prices like these! A happy day indeed. Quote
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