Online Retailers

majiktripp

I need some brainstorming here, I am looking for some online retailers that any of ye may know of that ship to Ireland. And I know about Barrabes but I think there prices are a bit much...so if anyone knows of a good site that has Marmot,Mammut,Arc'teryx,Haglofs,Mountain Hardwear,Lowe Alpine or the likes then leave a post.
Its hard to trawl through the US online retailers and try and figure out who has international shipping so I thought some of you might have a few favourites.

testicle

majiktripp wrote:

US online retailers

One word. VAT.

majiktripp

Ordered countless things from US (camera's,numerous pc compnents etc.) and never had a vat problem,still would probably work out cheaper than buying in a shop here even if I did get charged vat.

Takeshi_Kovacs

Try ebay, i got a good price on an Arc'Teryx jacket a few months back from an ebay seller in the states.. shipping was cheap, and quick. Compared to price Barrabes were charging, i saved over 170 euro. Bought a few other bits and bobs, gps, e.t.c off ebay, without problem.

testicle

Beware of ebay. A lot of the stuff there is fake.

neilled

if you know what your looking for and you know every inch of the jacket then its not a problem. I recently picked up a brand new and genuine berghaus xcr retract for €110

Dero

I'm sure there's a reason that they haven't been mentioned yet, but I've just bought some stuff from Jackson Sports, and I found their service very good. Free postage to Ireland was too good to pass up... Not sure how they stack up against other online retailers for prices and/or stock.

MathsManiac

Does anyone here see any value in supporting your local retailers? There's a benefit to helping them survive, I think. Benefit to local economy, benefit of having them there when you want something at short notice, benefit of advice, fitting, and after-sales service, focal point for outdoor pursuits community in the area (putting up notices; sponsorship; chances to bumping into eachother). You can't expect someone to be on your doorstep for the odd time you're caught short for a snaplink, and them leave them high and dry just because you can save a few quid getting the expensive stuff over the net.

Of course, there are times when you need something that's simply not available locally, and that's fair enough.

Just out of curiosity:
- what, if any, premium are you prepared to pay for the sake of supporting a local specialist retailer? None? 10%? 20%? 30%? 50%? 100%

majiktripp

MathsManiac wrote:

Just out of curiosity:
- what, if any, premium are you prepared to pay for the sake of supporting a local specialist retailer? None? 10%? 20%? 30%? 50%? 100%

When they can offer the products I'm interested in at a competative price and not just any price because well hell they got away with it before the internet and ebay was around so why not continue.
I've had this argument several times with relations and I believe that if retailers are complaining about lost revenue due to online sales then thats their problem to rectify and not the consumers, Caveat Emptor indeed as the buyers are well aware that online prices are generally a lot cheaper than your local brick and mortar.
However there are times I do shop in town but very rarely...

BeardyGit

I regularly shop in the Great Outdoors. I'd guess I spend something like 150-200 per month there on gear for climbing, biking, camping and so on. I've found their prices for the most part to be just a little higher than online retailers, but I figure I get a huge ammount more bang for my buck in the long run dealing with a local outfit.

The reasons?

1. Local Community Support

I do a bit of work with one of the mountain rescue teams here and can't praise the GO staff and owners for the amount of support they give to us and any of the other teams that need a helping hand. They re-invest some of their profits in the services that support their customers. I'm proud to state the above, and delighted to have some of my expenditure diverted back to this type of worthy cause. 53 Degrees North do the same - They've sponsored prizes for the DWMRT pub quiz this week for example (By the way, you should ALL go to that!;)), clothing and equipment for the teams and so on, and without demanding big exposure in return. They're doing it because they want to, not to exploit an easy publicity vehicle

2. Local Jobs

Again, taking the Great Outdoors as an example - There's something like 80 or 90 people working for them in full and part-time employment here in Dublin in their 3 stores (Chatham St., the watersports shop and the North Face outlet). That's a big bunch of outdoors heads who are there to share their experience from around the world. I think it's great to go to a shop where the chances are I can speak to someone who's been where I'm thinking of going.... And it's not just that shop either. 53 Degrees North is staffed by many of the same type of outdoor enthusiasts - You just have to speak to the right person about your chosen pursuit - The can't all know everything. But I'm glad they have jobs there instead of stuck in an office like me.

3. Local Taxes

The taxes I pay on my purchases go back into the local exchequer. Leave the politics out of it when you read this.... We pay the taxes one way or the other, but I'd rather they stayed here so I can consider my taxes to have gone to the sports council, MCI grants and so on and so forth, instead of paving a road in Tuscany for Nico's olive run last August.....

I could go on....and on....and on. There are so many reasons to support local bricks and mortar retailers that you'd be bored shoightless by the time we'd hashed it all out. I guess for many, it just comes down to price.

But I can honestly say that my MCI membership card is the best 40-odd quid spent in any 12 months, for the savings I get on discounts alone. With 10% off, and not having to pay postage and wait, the slightly higher prices are easily swallowed in dealing with an Irish retailer as opposed to a US super-chain.

Long live the likes of the Great Outdoors, Millets, the OAS, 53 Degree et al., for the benefits and contributions above not to mention so very many more.

Gil
PS: I do buy online, just not when I can get a good enough product here for just as fair a price....And that's more often than many would like to think.

cavedave

I have used http://wiggle.co.uk/ and have found them good.

I buy things i need to in shops here. Boots and such you really want to try on etc. It is worth paying slightly more so that we continue to have some outdoor shops here.

I buy lots in decathalon because they are cheap good gear. They also have a larger range then you can get in Ireland.