Online Purchases - good and bad experiences

[gururug]

I have spend a lot of money over the last two months on online bicycles gear.

Someone has frauded my credit card guys. While there is no way to know for sure, I suspect one of the cycling stores I made a purchase from may have been involved.

Keep an eye on your credit card statements. Whoever ended up with my details used them with a different itunes account ( common tactic http://yourfamilymoney.wordpress.com/20 ... ard-fraud/ ).



Nasty

[CLP1972]

double their advertised average delivery time to Aus.

Yes, 5 days average is very optimistic.

c r c seems to be a bit of a mixed bag for me when it comes to delivery

just before christmas I placed a c r c order. Took about 2 weeks to arrive; understandable given the time of year.
Next order placed mid january which arrived on the 5th business day. very impressed.
currently still waiting on an order that was placed on the 17th of February. PBK order placed on the same day was delivered in about a week.

One difference with all of these orders was the ones that had parcel tracking were all delivered quite quickly...

[ajmit3]

Ordered at Prendas 2 short sleeved jerseys a few weeks ago.
1 of the 'Big Maggy's' black jersey has developed tiny holes above the back pockets after 2 rides- not happy. I can't be bothered sending it back though. Overall, I have heard good things about prendas, so I am a bit dismayed.

Ribble was good though - ordered a giro monza helmet - took about 2 weeks to arrive.

Evans cycles was good - got a 16 pound bike jersey from them - and then upon getting it realised why it was so cheap as it has only one zipped pocket at the back ! Buyer beware I guess.

[Aushiker]

Hi

On the subject of online buying, BikeRadar take a look at Chain Reaction Cycles.





Andrew

[Myddraal]

I just sent an e-mail to Wiggle requesting a refund to the value of the vouchers on my order. It's disappointing as Wiggle have been solid in the past and they obviously have good processes set up to handle their operation given its size, but they still need to do more to improve their service.

I've also ordered a Timex Data Recorder 2 from ebay which was put in the post yesterday. $33 posted from the states. The wm100 allows change in the recording rate of 1s - 60s, default 2s for 30h where as the timex one is set at 2s, but does 72 h, and can also log data from some of their other products. It can do HR + GPS or HR + Speed/distance from a foot sensor for running. It's also more widely supported by other programs and its default software is more useful. It's what I would've bought in the first place if it hadn't been for having vouchers for wiggle. I also would've bought a different cycle computer and different HRM, but I've got them now and they work fine, and if wiggle honours their vouchers, at a good price.

[limetang]

Ordered at Prendas 2 short sleeved jerseys a few weeks ago.
1 of the 'Big Maggy's' black jersey has developed tiny holes above the back pockets after 2 rides- not happy. I can't be bothered sending it back though. Overall, I have heard good things about prendas, so I am a bit dismayed.

Ribble was good though - ordered a giro monza helmet - took about 2 weeks to arrive.

Evans cycles was good - got a 16 pound bike jersey from them - and then upon getting it realised why it was so cheap as it has only one zipped pocket at the back ! Buyer beware I guess.

Hardly Prendas fault, Ive ordered heaps from them in the past and the Santini gear is generally of the highest quality. Im sure if you emailed a few photos to them they would likely send you a replacement jersey free of charge ( they offered to do this for me with some Bibs) the guys there are helpful and friendly.

[waynohh]

My Bike24 order has currently been with DHL for 2 and a half weeks. Hate DHL so much.

[Puffy]

DHL is horrible and always has been across a wide range of purchases (ie not all bike related) across probably 5 or 6 countries. Always a crap result!

[booge]

My PBK order is at 3 weeks now for one stem.

[lethoso]

My PBK order is at 3 weeks now for one stem.

have you had your shipping confirmation email? I've got a PBK order which I'm itching to get (cork pads) so I can ride my new wheels, I've had the confirmation email, but if it's going to take a couple of weeks I'm half tempted to head to the LBS, bend over and drop trou

[booge]

Yep, order despatched on 15/02. I've emailed PBK today to ask at what stage i should start thinking my order isn't coming.

[lyno]

I've emailed PBK today to ask at what stage i should start thinking my order isn't coming.

Which should result in your order being delivered tomorrow. At least that is what happened to me.

[Iced Halo]

Yep, order despatched on 15/02. I've emailed PBK today to ask at what stage i should start thinking my order isn't coming.

My c r c order despatched on the same day only just arrived today. My last PBK order took 4 weeks to arrive.

I think its Aus Post causing the hold up...

[CLP1972]

On the subject of online buying,BikeRadar take a look at Chain Reaction Cycles.

That's really interesting. In the ongoing debates about LBS vs online shopping, one of the criticisms leveled at online operations is that they have virtually no overheads.. I can't imagine that's true given that they have an actual store front, plus massive warehouse and employ 420 people!

[booge]

It's Australia Post doing something wrong. My other Wiggle order was despatched the day AFTER my PBK order and it arrived after only a week....something is wrong with the system.

[sblack]

It's Australia Post doing something wrong. My other Wiggle order was despatched the day AFTER my PBK order and it arrived after only a week....something is wrong with the system.

Not convinced it's Australia Post. My recent order from PBK took over 2 weeks from despatch email to arrival, wiggle in less than a week as usual. Can't see why Australia Post would be doing something wrong with one particular company.

[booge]

It's all Royal Airmail or something isn't it?

[miyata84]

My latest PBK purchase was sent on 18/02 but still hasn't arrived....

[wombatK]

Not convinced it's Australia Post. My recent order from PBK took over 2 weeks from despatch email to arrival, wiggle in less than a week as usual. Can't see why Australia Post would be doing something wrong with one particular company.

Me Neither.

Everytime I've had a parcel from UK that took more than 5 days, the parcel boxes have been knocked around, and re-taped.

My guess is that some parcels are pulled aside for closer customs and/or quarantine inspections, perhaps randomly. They're the ones that take more than 5 days. Nothing to do with Australia Post - any courier service would likely cop the same treatment.

There isn't really anything wrong with the system - you've got to expect that customs would undertake random inspections that are going to delay some proportion of the parcels.

Cheers

[HAKS]

It's Australia Post doing something wrong. My other Wiggle order was despatched the day AFTER my PBK order and it arrived after only a week....something is wrong with the system.

Similar here. c r c order made & dispatched Mon 28th and Wiggle order made and dispatched Thur 3rd. Wiggle order arrived yesterday and nothing from c r c yet.

[BigVin]

Placed and order last Sunday with Wiggle, got it 7 days later.
Very good service.

[toppity]

just placed another order with Wiggle. I'm semi-rural and have never had anything arrive in under 10 days. Lets see how this one goes. I've gone with the priority dispatch.

[chill]

Both my Wiggle and c r c orders arrived in under 7 days. The Probikekit order took about 9 days.

Ribble is the slowest so far. For items in stock, ordered on 23/2. Despatched 5 days later on 28/2. Still waiting for delivery.

[MichaelB]

Both my Wiggle and c r c orders arrived in under 7 days. The Probikekit order took about 9 days.

Ribble is the slowest so far. For items in stock, ordered on 23/2. Despatched 5 days later on 28/2. Still waiting for delivery.

Agree with that. Wiggle (used most of the time) are quick to dispatch, whilst Ribble are a bit slower. Waiting on my Mudguards/chains from Ribble - Order done Wed 02Mar - dispatch confirmation sent Mon 07Mar. Wiggle is usually only 24 hrs

[Ross]

On the subject of online buying,BikeRadar take a look at Chain Reaction Cycles.

That's really interesting. In the ongoing debates about LBS vs online shopping, one of the criticisms leveled at online operations is that they have virtually no overheads.. I can't imagine that's true given that they have an actual store front, plus massive warehouse and employ 420 people!

That's the point I was trying to make in a recent LBS vs Online thread but it seemed lost on some people. I imagine PBK, Wiggle and Ribble are probably similar.