Backcountry.com Gives Me What I Deserve…nothing for Christmas

December 10, 2007 at 7:49 pm

In an attempt to get geared up next year for kayakfishing I am starting to think about specialized gear. One of those items is a special fishing PFD.  It’s a cross between a kayaking PFD and a fishing vest.  After doing some research I came across reviews for the STOHLQUIST Fisherman Vest.  I passed the idea along to my wife as a Christmas present and she was all for it.  Just so she would not order the wrong item I thought I would do the online research and she could finish the transaction.  After some searching I realized that this item was steadily priced at around $99.00 USD.  After a little more digging I found the exact life jacket at Backcountry.com.  I hate even mentioning the URL (no link provided) for fear that people may start shopping there.  I will say that I do virtually all of my shopping locally and this experience makes me regret my decision to even look online.  As a result I am a novice online shopper and am hesitant at the best of times for fear of getting ripped off, extra shipping, lost items, etc..

Here’s the story.  I found the item at backcountry.com for $80, still not sure if this was legit, I did the whole check-out and found the shipping price of $9.59 totally reasonable.  In my mind I am coming out of this at least $30 ahead of the game.  My wife filled out all the correct shipping information, shipping to Canada, postal code, etc.. and then handed over her number and voila, the confirmation in my email that I was getting it delivered to Whitehorse, Yukon for $9.95 at the price of $80 for the item.  All is good.  The next day I get another email stating that unfortunately they can’t ship this way and my options are:  UPS Worldwide Expedited   $44.10 OR UPS Worldwide Express $50.14. 

Naturally I am pissed off so I use their handy, dandy “live chat” function.  First came virtual Greg (we were cut off after he told me that they made a mistake), then came virtual Matt A..  I asked Matt what was the problem and he suggested that it was a system error”.  I then asked if I could ship it to my parents in Vancouver, if this would be $9.59 but no, this was now $20-22 in shipping.  What a scam!  I calmy asked Matt A. if they would honour their confirmed amount of $9.59 to Vancouver OR Whitehorse.  Matt A. came back and stated “$20-22 to Vancouver is the price and this is a pretty good deal”.  I told Matt A. what I thought of his “system error” and this company and cancelled the order. 

I owe the Sports North’s, Coast Mountain Sports, and Up North Adventures an apology.  They may not always have these killer deals and may not always carry everything but shopping locally just pays off and is far less hassle when all is said and done. 

I’ve sent backcountry.com a request and I’ll let you know how they do.

2 comments so far

Post a comment