pdlamb

Yes, Ortliebs are pricey to buy. But I'm still using some I bought around 2007 for commuting, after one long tour and a few shorter ones. If you can get them at 20% off, it'll be hard to beat.

robow

I used to buy a lot of stuff from REI because of their exceptional return policy, and so I was willing to pay more for an item if I wasn't sure it was going to work out, but I think those policies have been tightened up a lot when people began abusing the program.

indyfabz

Yep. Rental Equipment, Inc. People would buy equipment for a once in a lifetime trip and then return it after the trip.

And people would wear out a pair of hiking boots after 10 years and want a free replacement.

The couple of times I had to return items for legitimate reasons, they were very good about it.

Polaris OBark

What about all the other times?








(j/k)

Polaris OBark

I also didn't get an advertisement in the mail, as of yesterday. I wonder if they are only sending these out to people that don't have on-line accounts with them?

Polaris OBark

I did return one small purchase recently. I bought a terrible dropper post lever, the kind designed for handlebars with front shifters. The reviews were very negative, but I needed the handlebar mount configuration, so I bought it on line. Sure enough, within a week it had failed beyond repair. I took it to the local REI and they took it back. I asked about it, and it turns out that even though I bought it on line, it comes out of the local shop's till when they refund the purchase price. I hadn't realized that. I probably should have simply ate the cost of the ($30) crappy lever.

robow

Ha Ha, had not heard that one before.
I was on an organized ride one time and saw this fellow with all this REI equipment, tent, sleeping bag, mattress, bike, etc. I just casually asked the fellow if he worked for REI because of all his equipment choices, and he laughed and said, "no, I just bought all this stuff so I can take it back after the ride, I do it all the time and they don't seem to mind" Not one to be confrontational, I just stated that's not fair to the company or others and walked on.

indyfabz

When they changed their return policy years ago I read a couple of articles that contained admissions by people who did just what that fellow would do.

Polaris OBark

Thanks for calling him out. It is also wothwhile to point out that it is a co-op, so a person who does this sort of thing is deliberately harming all of the other members, not just some nebulous giant corporation.

Trav1s

Advertisement arrived here two days ago and I have an online account.

Tourist in MSN

I learned about the new REI policy when I brought in a pair of winter boots that I had worn, maybe five or six times before. They were about three years old. I went to put them on one snowy morning and the uppers completely tore off the bottoms, the plastic was disintegrating with only a few years of age.

They said they had no record that I had bought them in the past year. The described their new policy of one year.

In anger, I asked if my new REI brand chair had a warranty of only one year, they said yes. They hinted that some of the other brands like Helinox had longer warranties through the manufacturer.

The boots I had were from a brand that I thought had a lifetime warranty, so I went onto their website and discovered their footwear warranty was only one year from that manufacturer, the lifetime policy was for everything else.

So, with REI, it pays to shop planning on only getting warranty service from manufacturers, not the store. Which means if REI is the manufacturer, only a minimal warranty is in play.

They could have delt with the "Rental Equip Inc" problem in a more customer friendly way than making everyone else suffer. They basically are treating all customers as if they were Rental Equip Inc villains.

Sorry about the rant, but when REI and their growth has put so many independent camping/backpacking/mountaineering stores out of business, I find that frustrating now to find that REI customer service is so poor.

indyfabz

I got my money back on a pair of Xero Sole sandals after a plastic piece broke maybe 4 months after I bought them. I had bought them in MT and they broke in PA. The PA stores didn’t carry them, so they gave me a refund and invited me to order another pair online if I wanted to replace them.

pdlamb

My wife took me to REI the other night and told me to buy some stuff. (Love that lady!) Turns out the gloves I picked out were the most expensive thing in my basket, and they were already on 25% off sale. So I use my 20% off coupon on the (less expensive) multi-tool.

Pro tip: zip up your saddle bag before you ride off on the bike.

indyfabz

Heh. Years ago I led a group ride that an ex-GF attended. She was somewhat spacey due to a previous life of substance abuse. Maybe 25 miles into the ride I noticed her car key hanging out of her partially unzipped saddle bag while we were riding on a somewhat bumpy stretch of unpaved road. Yes. I said something to her.

frogshawn

Just checked REI website and saw Garmin bike computers are on sale. Not much of a discount but every bit counts.

Polaris OBark

The Radar is $50 off, or 25% of the list price, which is what the OP was asking about.

frogshawn

Okay, thanks.

mstateglfr 

REI is a love-hate relationship for sure.
When it opened up in my metro a decade ago, it was a godsend in terms of clothing and gear that was practical, quality, and available in many options/sizes/colors.

Now though?...meh.
- Its multiple rows of water bottles straight ahead when you walk in- you can actually see the annual bottle trend by which row the bottles are on. Stanley first row of shelves, Hydroflask second row of shelves, Yeti third row of shelves, Nalgene shares a bit of the Yeti shelving.
- The cycling section has been basically worthless since 2019. They really reduced their bike inventory even before covid and supply chain issues. The clothing is overall barren and what is on the shelves is a haphazard mix of neon yellow stuff that is new, along with random clothing that was shipped to someone's house and returned to the local store. There are a smattering of helmets, fully priced tires, and some basic maintenance items. A couple saddles are in a clear plastic case, alongside some sunglasses and electronics. They also have an oddly robust cycling shoe section.
- Shoe section is very specific to running or hiking, fair enough, but the in stock running shoe selection is woefully lacking compared to a couple stores less than 1 miles away.
- The clothing section is has what I want, just not in the size or color I need. Its comical how frequently I find something I like, but my size(XL) isnt in stock or the color I want isnt in stock.



At this point I basically go in when my wife wants something, I look around and take note of all the ways I would be broke if they had what I want in the store, and then we walk out.
Based on message boards- my recent experience is a pretty typical one too.

Yan 

It's not just REI that currently has Garmin products on discount. I bought a Garmin Epix Pro Sapphire 47mm yesterday here in the UK for the equivalent of $557 USD. The MRSP on this model is $999 USD. Hell of a discount for their top tier watch that was released just 12 months ago. They must have a new release imminent, that's the only explanation.

indyfabz

Ok. So I ordered two things this morning and noticed something strange about shipping options.

When I used to have an office, I usually had stuff sent there to prevent theft from my stoop at home. But now I am retired. I ordered something not all that long ago and had it shipped to a store in NJ because I was planning to head over there anyway. No problem.

With this order, the Keen shoes I bought could not be shipped to the same store. The S2S pillow could be shipped to the store but only in the lime green color. I really wanted a purple one to hide dirt/stains, but home delivery was the only option. This afternoon, I received an email telling me my pillow is ready for pickup at the store. That strongly suggests the store had it in stock.

I’m now wondering if REI has changed its policy about shipping to stores, at least during high volume events like big sales. I intend to pick up the pillow tomorrow and will ask. I cannot ever recall not being able to have an order shipped to a store.

phughes

I looked for a long time tonight since the sale was expiring, and really couldn't justify buying any big ticket item. I cheaped out and bought a very exciting pocket blanket. But hey, with my discount and my dividend it cost me all of $16. I'll actually use it though.

Tourist in MSN

If the warehouses are out of stock and you order something, it gets shipped from a store that has it in stock. In that case they ship to your address and shipping to store is not an option. Last year I ordered four tee shirts at a great closeout price, and I got four packages in the mail, all from different REI stores. It would not let me ship to store.

A few months ago I ordered something from REI, wanted ship to store, they would only ship to my home. And there was a delay in shipping, got here about four days late (part of that was the truck had to drive thru a blizzard, based on tracking). I would be out of town when it got here. I called REI, they were no help. Was shipped by UPS, tried to delay delivery, had to create an account, very user hostile website and when they asked for a credit card number, that was when I stopped trying. Fortunately, got home and the wet box was not stolen, probably any thieves that would want it stayed indoors during the multi-day rain.

I other words, I do not think there is a change of procedure, they have been doing this for years.

My local REI is very close to a gym I frequent (maybe 100 yards), I always ship to store if I can so (1) I can look at the item before I walk out the door if there is any question in my mind, (2) am often out of town, and (3) I assume it saves them money that way, it is a coop and I am a shareholder.

indyfabz

Then why not?

Now I have to hope that a $100 pair of shoes doesn’t fall victim to a stoop pirate if I’m not home and one of my neighbors doesn’t pick it up. Even if I am home, not all delivery drivers bother to knock on the door or ring the bell. Some just leave packages on the stoop in plain view,

As for the pillow, I had to take the same risk or opt for my second choice of color that the store I wanted my first choice to be shipped to already had in stock. I don’t need it right away and would have gladly waited for it (and the shoes) to be shipped to the store so I could get what I really wanted.

Other than 20 miles, what’s the difference between intra-store shipping and store to residence shipping?

Tourist in MSN

I would like pickup at the store to be an option. I suspect that REI does not want any extra labor time on something if the cost to ship to customer home is the same. If I was the CEO, I would probably do the same as they are doing to cut costs. A customer that comes in to pick up the package, there is the labor to put that item on the shelf where it can be found later (meaning put on the correct shelf), and the time for the cashier to get it off the shelf (assuming it was put on the right shelf) and hand it to customer, ring up the charge costs, etc.

And that time where my item was on the wrong shelf and I had to wait about 15 min for the REI employee to find it, that was an employee being paid for 15 minutes because someone else was careless.

Post office usually will hold mail if you notify them in advance. I have a stack of yellow post cards that I fill out each time I do a trip. But if shipped by a different method, I can't have them hold the shipping. Note that I say "usually" hold mail, we have had some pretty bad mail carriers over past decade, sometimes they delivered when they were supposed to hold mail. Sometimes they continued to hold when it should be delivered. Etc. I think you can tell them to hold mail on-line, but I am old school, fill out the post card forms for holding mail. (I also write out checks and mail them.)

I agree with you, I would almost always prefer ship to store. I am just throwing out my guesses. I have never worked there, thus have no real clue on why they do what they do.

mev

If I was in that role, I would think differently...
- A customer that comes in for a store-pickup is also a customer that I might sell something else when they come in...