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Skateboarding => Shoes & Gear => Topic started by: FUBAR on November 08, 2020, 04:55:40 PM
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Sometimes you have no other choice and have to shop online. What are some places to avoid, and why? I want to steer clear if they suck. I will say this...I won’t buy a deck if they don’t list the length on line, unless I am already 100% sure I already know the length.
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The only real skate shop in my town is Skate Warehouse. If you do have to order from one, order from them. Before Covid, they did a lot for the local skate scene and would be a place to meet up for a lot of skaters.
Unless you're broke and ordering from their sale section, I'd say avoid Zumiez. Also, CCS is kind of a mess. They use to be in my town but would do nothing for the local scene.
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I've ordered loads of stuff from Skate America - their prices were really good (Bones STF for $20) but their stock was hit or miss. I got shipped 2 wrong boards with no way to return them (using a freight forwarder and I'm in Asia). On the first one they gave me a partial rebate and on the second a full refund. If you're buying anything just check with the customer service team on chat before you place your order.
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Anyone have any experience with Ride RTX out of Concord NC?
I do most of my shopping at the local, in person and occasionally from Socal, Cowtown or 35th Ave online but rolled the dice on this unknown shop b/c they were one the few places that had a Crailtap 9.12 deck (CK shape) in with free shipping.
Anyway, been getting the round around for over a week, no receipt (aside from my PayPal receipt) and no shipping info. And now, no responses to my emails. Just wondering if anyone can vouch for them before I step it up a notch and file a complaint.
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Not me personally but someone I know just got royally fucked around by humidity.
He ordered 2 boards from them.. The jack ogrady passport pro model. Now, granted they apparently put them up for sale before they were supposed to (I guess PP shipped the boards with the last run but told shops to pull them until his pro part dropped or so. After a week with no shipping info he emailed them like half a dozen times and never got a response.
They took his money and sat there doing nothing for literally a month and didn't even respond to him until he started posting on their IG asking what was up where others could see it. Then instead of apologizing they just said "well you should have called, we don't really check our email" like the dude doesn't have a full time job to be working instead of calling to make sure they're doing theirs. Yeah that's totally acceptable for a shop selling online to not check their emails in 2021.
No "sorry, we fucked up and sold these before we were supposed to, can we refund you or do you want to wait until we can ship them" or even a fucking sticker or old t shirt thrown in the box to acknowledge it.
I know they've got some goodwill on here and a reputation for being a "core" shop but that shit is just unacceptable and genuinely pissed me off. I've had plenty of orders go awry from other shops and as long as they communicate about it (shout outs to Armin from orchard, Jon from FA, Eric at radio, and the guy at holistic who's name I forget) I'm totally cool with it, but if you just take someone's money and ignore them until they go public that's fucked up.
Never ordering from there again myself, I'm sure I can find whatever at a shop that actually checks their email.
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The only real skate shop in my town is Skate Warehouse. If you do have to order from one, order from them. Before Covid, they did a lot for the local skate scene and would be a place to meet up for a lot of skaters.
Unless you're broke and ordering from their sale section, I'd say avoid Zumiez. Also, CCS is kind of a mess. They use to be in my town but would do nothing for the local scene.
You in SLO? I heard SW is ending its street level retail sales.
Another shop in town might be upping its skate game tho.
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Oh and another one to avoid - board paradise. Total crap shoot and I swore them off long ago.
They're kind of notorious for doing this weird drop shipping thing where they put a ton of shit online that they don't actually have in stock and then order it once you've paid for it. You'll get your order in about 3 weeks if the distro has it in stock, otherwise you'll randomly get refunded a month later.
Add to that the fact their prices suck and they don't answer the phone or return calls and they're just so frustrating to deal with. Also be careful if you're shopping on eBay because they have a ton of listings there and they've been known to change their name when the negative feedback starts to pile up.
I'll close with some of the BEST shops to order online from -
FA skates
Holistic
Radio (scumco owners shop)
Energy
The corner store (the best owner, dude is hilarious and has sent me more free shit in my boxes than I know what to do with)
Labor
Seasons
Krudco
Kinetic/nocturnal
Westside
Southside skatepark/shop
Switch & signal (owner even delivers same day if you're in Pittsburgh)
Sonoma coast
No comply
Moms (search day after day supply)
Union
35th Ave and 35th north
Orchard
Solstice!
and finally one of the absolute best shops and people in skateboarding - Library (politic owners shop)
I'm leaving sooooo many out, those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head having had exceptional experiences with - good communication, shop stickers/shirts thrown into the box, or even handwritten thank you notes.
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Oh and another one to avoid - board paradise. Total crap shoot and I swore them off long ago.
They're kind of notorious for doing this weird drop shipping thing where they put a ton of shit online that they don't actually have in stock and then order it once you've paid for it. You'll get your order in about 3 weeks if the distro has it in stock, otherwise you'll randomly get refunded a month later.
Add to that the fact their prices suck and they don't answer the phone or return calls and they're just so frustrating to deal with. Also be careful if you're shopping on eBay because they have a ton of listings there and they've been known to change their name when the negative feedback starts to pile up.
I'll close with some of the BEST shops to order online from -
FA skates
Holistic
Radio (scumco owners shop)
Energy
The corner store (the best owner, dude is hilarious and has sent me more free shit in my boxes than I know what to do with)
Labor
Seasons
Krudco
Kinetic/nocturnal
Westside
Southside skatepark/shop
Switch & signal (owner even delivers same day if you're in Pittsburgh)
Sonoma coast
No comply
Moms (search day after day supply)
Union
35th Ave and 35th north
Orchard
Solstice!
and finally one of the absolute best shops and people in skateboarding - Library (politic owners shop)
I'm leaving sooooo many out, those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head having had exceptional experiences with - good communication, shop stickers/shirts thrown into the box, or even handwritten thank you notes.
This is valuable information. I order from Humidity a lot and have had only positive experiences, but that story about what happened to your friend sucks. And though I love them, I'm totally not surprised they're not too professional about checking their email lol
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The only real skate shop in my town is Skate Warehouse. If you do have to order from one, order from them. Before Covid, they did a lot for the local skate scene and would be a place to meet up for a lot of skaters.
Unless you're broke and ordering from their sale section, I'd say avoid Zumiez. Also, CCS is kind of a mess. They use to be in my town but would do nothing for the local scene.
If I'm ordering from a warehouse type place they're my preferred option. I know they're a huge "local shop killer" kinda operation but their customer service is on point and they won me over when one of the guys picked up the phone after hours and then actually left the office and went out into the warehouse and repacked my order so he could swap out a deck (toy machine monster 8.25) for one with the stain I wanted. That was pretty fucking cool of him and he was able to have a detailed conversation about individual parts and tricks in Welcome to Hell and jump off a building which I thought was really nice.
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SPot and Uprise in Chicago are great shops to order from.
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Right on, awesome to see a list of good shops to order from (I know one exists here somewhere else, too). I kind of use the email thing as a gauge of if I want to shop at an unknown (by me) online shop by asking them the length of a deck or some other kind of annoying question. If I get a quick response, I will order. If I get nothing, no buy from me. As a business, you have to check your email and actually reply. No excuses.
I will add another one I recently ordered from which is close to my house... Prolific. I haven’t been in there yet but needed a deck with a snow storm coming so I just ordered it and all went well. I can also vouch for Library and Orchard.
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I would also like to point out that its good to give a shop a 2-3 day grace period on any emails or social media DM's.
Covid-19 has ramped up interest in skateboarding, and most shops are extremely busy building boards for new skateboarders, giving advice to beginners, and having to chat with parents about why a board is more expensive in store than at Target. This leaves less time to sit on phones and scroll Instagram pre pandemic.
Its hard to juggle all that when the staff is less than 4 people, which most shops are running right now with the pandemic.
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I would also like to point out that its good to give a shop a 2-3 day grace period on any emails or social media DM's.
Covid-19 has ramped up interest in skateboarding, and most shops are extremely busy building boards for new skateboarders, giving advice to beginners, and having to chat with parents about why a board is more expensive in store than at Target. This leaves less time to sit on phones and scroll Instagram pre pandemic.
Its hard to juggle all that when the staff is less than 4 people, which most shops are running right now with the pandemic.
I think dunk people clog up skateshops emails/DMs pretty bad too.
My local used to be decent with answering DMs at the height of the pandemic, now they always leave me on seen. I don’t ask anything specific like wheelbase or length type shit, usually just shit like “has X board drop come in yet?” so I don’t gotta waste a half hour driving there. I don’t trip over it but it gets annoying. I also understand that they’re probably overwhelmed with DMs.
Luckily Orchard and Seasons web shops are top tier.
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Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a lingering suspicion that a skate shop employee’s definition of “too busy” is significantly different than most other working adults’.
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Yeah, nothing but great experiences with SoCal, 35th Ave, Uprise, Cowtown.
SoCal now has the deck I want but I am still unclear whether Ride RTX actually ever had the one they sold me.... Which is annoying b/c I'd be happy to pay a few $s more at this point...
Anyway, a good online store should not sell you product they do not actually have. Real time availability seems like a simple function any web store should be able to set up in this day and age.
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Have purchased from CowTown and Garage and had great experiences. Same with 35th.
Have an order into Labor that they fulfilled and shipped lightening quick. Just waiting for it to arrive.
Placed an order with Orchard on Sunday and I don't think it's shipped yet, but I am sure it isnt an issue.
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Well, just tried calling Ride RTX... and guess what? Their phone number does not work. Hopefully PayPal will help me out.
So yeah, don't order from those kooks in Concord NC.... Stick to tried and true core shops. Meanwhile, I am going to order the same deck form SoCal....
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What I've been doing is shopping around Parade World and if I find something I want, I add it to cart, go to cart, and go to the skate shops website that it's networked with. So even if none of my locals have what I want, I'm still supporting another local in the process.
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+1'ing that Kinetic is a dope place to order from
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Oh and another one to avoid - board paradise. Total crap shoot and I swore them off long ago.
They're kind of notorious for doing this weird drop shipping thing where they put a ton of shit online that they don't actually have in stock and then order it once you've paid for it. You'll get your order in about 3 weeks if the distro has it in stock, otherwise you'll randomly get refunded a month later.
Add to that the fact their prices suck and they don't answer the phone or return calls and they're just so frustrating to deal with. Also be careful if you're shopping on eBay because they have a ton of listings there and they've been known to change their name when the negative feedback starts to pile up.
I'll close with some of the BEST shops to order online from -
FA skates
Holistic
Radio (scumco owners shop)
Energy
The corner store (the best owner, dude is hilarious and has sent me more free shit in my boxes than I know what to do with)
Labor
Seasons
Krudco
Kinetic/nocturnal
Westside
Southside skatepark/shop
Switch & signal (owner even delivers same day if you're in Pittsburgh)
Sonoma coast
No comply
Moms (search day after day supply)
Union
35th Ave and 35th north
Orchard
Solstice!
and finally one of the absolute best shops and people in skateboarding - Library (politic owners shop)
I'm leaving sooooo many out, those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head having had exceptional experiences with - good communication, shop stickers/shirts thrown into the box, or even handwritten thank you notes.
Leaving out SoCal Skateshop is criminal. Those guys are great over there.
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Oh and another one to avoid - board paradise. Total crap shoot and I swore them off long ago.
They're kind of notorious for doing this weird drop shipping thing where they put a ton of shit online that they don't actually have in stock and then order it once you've paid for it. You'll get your order in about 3 weeks if the distro has it in stock, otherwise you'll randomly get refunded a month later.
Add to that the fact their prices suck and they don't answer the phone or return calls and they're just so frustrating to deal with. Also be careful if you're shopping on eBay because they have a ton of listings there and they've been known to change their name when the negative feedback starts to pile up.
I'll close with some of the BEST shops to order online from -
FA skates
Holistic
Radio (scumco owners shop)
Energy
The corner store (the best owner, dude is hilarious and has sent me more free shit in my boxes than I know what to do with)
Labor
Seasons
Krudco
Kinetic/nocturnal
Westside
Southside skatepark/shop
Switch & signal (owner even delivers same day if you're in Pittsburgh)
Sonoma coast
No comply
Moms (search day after day supply)
Union
35th Ave and 35th north
Orchard
Solstice!
and finally one of the absolute best shops and people in skateboarding - Library (politic owners shop)
I'm leaving sooooo many out, those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head having had exceptional experiences with - good communication, shop stickers/shirts thrown into the box, or even handwritten thank you notes.
Further backing Library. USPS fucked up my delivery and I was prepared to double down on shipping costs and they took care of it all. Library rules.
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Wasn’t there a thread around the start of fall started with a Skateshop directory to order from? Seems like good to refresh that, but it’s also valuable to share good and bad experiences
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What I've been doing is shopping around Parade World and if I find something I want, I add it to cart, go to cart, and go to the skate shops website that it's networked with. So even if none of my locals have what I want, I'm still supporting another local in the process.
I do the exact same thing, so I can actually see if there’s anything additional on the shops site I want
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What I've been doing is shopping around Parade World and if I find something I want, I add it to cart, go to cart, and go to the skate shops website that it's networked with. So even if none of my locals have what I want, I'm still supporting another local in the process.
Same here - the needing $200 for free shipping through parade is a bit annoying; I guess they get a cut somewhere?
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Oh and another one to avoid - board paradise. Total crap shoot and I swore them off long ago.
They're kind of notorious for doing this weird drop shipping thing where they put a ton of shit online that they don't actually have in stock and then order it once you've paid for it. You'll get your order in about 3 weeks if the distro has it in stock, otherwise you'll randomly get refunded a month later.
Add to that the fact their prices suck and they don't answer the phone or return calls and they're just so frustrating to deal with. Also be careful if you're shopping on eBay because they have a ton of listings there and they've been known to change their name when the negative feedback starts to pile up.
I'll close with some of the BEST shops to order online from -
FA skates
Holistic
Radio (scumco owners shop)
Energy
The corner store (the best owner, dude is hilarious and has sent me more free shit in my boxes than I know what to do with)
Labor
Seasons
Krudco
Kinetic/nocturnal
Westside
Southside skatepark/shop
Switch & signal (owner even delivers same day if you're in Pittsburgh)
Sonoma coast
No comply
Moms (search day after day supply)
Union
35th Ave and 35th north
Orchard
Solstice!
and finally one of the absolute best shops and people in skateboarding - Library (politic owners shop)
I'm leaving sooooo many out, those are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head having had exceptional experiences with - good communication, shop stickers/shirts thrown into the box, or even handwritten thank you notes.
Leaving out SoCal Skateshop is criminal. Those guys are great over there.
My only issue with SoCal is that they still support a lot of the 1010-affiliated companies like Hard Luck and whatnot. Not just stocking their goods but also actively promoting them on instagram, etc. Plus they're still rocking the lightning bolt "S" in their logo. I would be happy to be proven wrong because I've had good experience ordering from them in the past, but as time goes on it just seems suspect to keep going with that stuff.
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Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a lingering suspicion that a skate shop employee’s definition of “too busy” is significantly different than most other working adults’.
Normally I would agree with you. However, during the pandemic shop owners/employees are fulfilling/packing large volumes of online orders daily, doing their best to order product when its available/making sure shipments aren't destroyed by the huge volume FedEx/UPS/USPS are dealing with, and helping record numbers of in store customers that are brand new to skating. Its a pretty tough job juggling all those hats on limited hours too with Covid. Shops are really busy right now so I can understand why some DM's get left on seen or read and are answered in a few days.
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Well, just tried calling Ride RTX... and guess what? Their phone number does not work. Hopefully PayPal will help me out.
So yeah, don't order from those kooks in Concord NC.... Stick to tried and true core shops. Meanwhile, I am going to order the same deck form SoCal....
Sucks. Great they're making Phawts again. So rad. Xoxo WP
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Orchard rules. Ordered on Friday and it came this morning.
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I'll order from anywhere. Shit's fucked right now and you know most skate shop employees could make more money working at like APC or something. A cool thing someone mentioned in that parade thread is that you can go on parade, put something in your cart, it'll tell you the shop, and you can just go to the shops site. If they don't have the wheelbase you can check a) the brands site or b)tactics or SPot.
The true strat is to get this app called Shop (they were called something more interesting when I signed up). It scans your emals for orders and you can log in on a lot of skate shop sites and it saves your payment. Then the app gives you notifications at different points in the shipping process, which is life saving if dudes are grabbing your stuff off the porch
Never really had a bad experience just ordering from the "cool" shop in a city, especially when you're looking for a certain popular shape or just boards from a company that hasn't dropped in awhile or a shoe collab that's sold out quick. Respect to Arts and Rec, they had the Quasi Crockett his, Radio in Pittsburgh, they had the Quasi proto when no else did, and Holistic, who had the Sci-Fi Fantasy zip up I wanted. Premier in Grand Rapids (i think) has a fire shoe sale section; every shoe I skated in college when I was broke was from there.
Even if you get totally screwed on an online order, I think in-person vibes matter more in terms of whether or not you gonna avoid a shop. That said I personally wouldn't order from humidity based on that passport board story, so online courtesy obviously does matter.
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Alright, Ride RTX finally sent my tracking info. I still don't understand why they don't send confirmation of orders, order numbers, receipts or respond to inquires but it looks like my order is actually on the way minus any explanation as to what was going on. I totally have patience as long as an actual human gives me some response....
Anyway, mad respect to Quantum Bearing Dude who helped me light a fire under their asses. I'll gnar ya when I reach Slap Pal Status. Hopefully someone else will until I can.
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Active is the only really bad experience I've had shopping for skate products online so don't.
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What I've been doing is shopping around Parade World and if I find something I want, I add it to cart, go to cart, and go to the skate shops website that it's networked with. So even if none of my locals have what I want, I'm still supporting another local in the process.
Further power user tip, I put both things in the shop cart and Parade cart and see which one has cheaper shipping. Shipping has gone up due to covid so I get that but some places are out here trying to charge $12 to ship a deck to the lower 48 and that is a gouge. Even Parade's rate of $9 is on the high side.
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Orchard really is the best shop to order from if youre in new england. You get free shipping and with it being just a mail order/Warehouse operation right now they ship the same day and it almost always comes the next day or the day after. And they always have jessup
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Humidity and associated brands are on my shit list. I called because they had a specific Carpet deck in stock I wanted to order. I called and asked what the wheelbase was, which I get is sort of annoying. The dude groans, sorta puts the phone down but you can hear him say “whaaaat the fuck man, these fucking people” then clearly after he supposedly measures it I hear “this dude can wait”. He comes back to the phone and says “14.5” for an 8 inch deck, which is clearly wrong, I say “thanks” and before I’m done with the word he hangs up. That and supposedly looking on Rob Welsh makes me not care about their cool guy status.
Atlas had the same deck in. I called and ask, dude goes and measures and is super nice as normal. I buy and hold it for pickup and go in to grab it. The dude that was on the phone is there and instead of being an asshole chats me up about that specific deck, recommends other specific shapes, etc.
Atlas should be added to the list of awesome shops.
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Humidity and associated brands are on my shit list. I called because they had a specific Carpet deck in stock I wanted to order. I called and asked what the wheelbase was, which I get is sort of annoying. The dude groans, sorta puts the phone down but you can hear him say “whaaaat the fuck man, these fucking people” then clearly after he supposedly measures it I hear “this dude can wait”. He comes back to the phone and says “14.5” for an 8 inch deck, which is clearly wrong, I say “thanks” and before I’m done with the word he hangs up. That and supposedly looking on Rob Welsh makes me not care about their cool guy status.
Atlas had the same deck in. I called and ask, dude goes and measures and is super nice as normal. I buy and hold it for pickup and go in to grab it. The dude that was on the phone is there and instead of being an asshole chats me up about that specific deck, recommends other specific shapes, etc.
Atlas should be added to the list of awesome shops.
Sounds about right. If you don't want to answer questions like that then maybe running a shop that specifically caters to a population that is notoriously fickle and OCD about their equipment isn't the best idea. Treating your customers with respect and knowing what you're selling (or being willing to learn) should be the rule, not the exception.
Atlas definitely deserves some love, like I said there's a bunch of really good ones I forgot about but I love when shop owners are nerds and want to talk gear and give their input or recommendations. Jon from FA skates is good for that, as is Damon from library. Its also really cool when shops remember you and what you like. The guy from holistic remembered that I was looking for a specific shape/stamp dlx board and let me know when one came in weeks later and Travis from corner store will let me know when something he thinks I'll like comes in.
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You have to understand that the gear "OCD" people are not the majority and that skate shop owners despise us
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Have purchased from CowTown and Garage and had great experiences. Same with 35th.
Have an order into Labor that they fulfilled and shipped lightening quick. Just waiting for it to arrive.
Placed an order with Orchard on Sunday and I don't think it's shipped yet, but I am sure it isnt an issue.
Update: Orchard is so awesome. They were out of one of my items, and thought they had contacted me but hadnt. No big deal, talked to them this morning and I wasnt even upset that they were out of the item, but they hooked me up for a future discount code and upgraded my shipping - I only reached out to them because I noticed my card hadnt been charged yet. Pretty friggin cool, these Orchard guys.
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Humidity and associated brands are on my shit list. I called because they had a specific Carpet deck in stock I wanted to order. I called and asked what the wheelbase was, which I get is sort of annoying. The dude groans, sorta puts the phone down but you can hear him say “whaaaat the fuck man, these fucking people” then clearly after he supposedly measures it I hear “this dude can wait”. He comes back to the phone and says “14.5” for an 8 inch deck, which is clearly wrong, I say “thanks” and before I’m done with the word he hangs up. That and supposedly looking on Rob Welsh makes me not care about their cool guy status.
Atlas had the same deck in. I called and ask, dude goes and measures and is super nice as normal. I buy and hold it for pickup and go in to grab it. The dude that was on the phone is there and instead of being an asshole chats me up about that specific deck, recommends other specific shapes, etc.
Atlas should be added to the list of awesome shops.
Sounds about right. If you don't want to answer questions like that then maybe running a shop that specifically caters to a population that is notoriously fickle and OCD about their equipment isn't the best idea. Treating your customers with respect and knowing what you're selling (or being willing to learn) should be the rule, not the exception.
Atlas definitely deserves some love, like I said there's a bunch of really good ones I forgot about but I love when shop owners are nerds and want to talk gear and give their input or recommendations. Jon from FA skates is good for that, as is Damon from library. Its also really cool when shops remember you and what you like. The guy from holistic remembered that I was looking for a specific shape/stamp dlx board and let me know when one came in weeks later and Travis from corner store will let me know when something he thinks I'll like comes in.
Dave Waite at 35th Ave. Talked to him once, super nice guy. Def have my business.
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Anyone have any experience with Ride RTX out of Concord NC?
I do most of my shopping at the local, in person and occasionally from Socal, Cowtown or 35th Ave online but rolled the dice on this unknown shop b/c they were one the few places that had a Crailtap 9.12 deck (CK shape) in with free shipping.
Anyway, been getting the round around for over a week, no receipt (aside from my PayPal receipt) and no shipping info. And now, no responses to my emails. Just wondering if anyone can vouch for them before I step it up a notch and file a complaint.
I live about 30 minutes from this "shop" It's in a mall and not ran by skaters at all. It is pretty shit, they mostly sale longboards. I would steer clear of them in the future.
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Anyone have any experience with Ride RTX out of Concord NC?
I do most of my shopping at the local, in person and occasionally from Socal, Cowtown or 35th Ave online but rolled the dice on this unknown shop b/c they were one the few places that had a Crailtap 9.12 deck (CK shape) in with free shipping.
Anyway, been getting the round around for over a week, no receipt (aside from my PayPal receipt) and no shipping info. And now, no responses to my emails. Just wondering if anyone can vouch for them before I step it up a notch and file a complaint.
Lesson learned. I will be sticking to a few core online shops but only when my three favorite locals don't have what I want.
I live about 30 minutes from this "shop" It's in a mall and not ran by skaters at all. It is pretty shit, they mostly sale longboards. I would steer clear of them in the future.
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+1'ing that Kinetic is a dope place to order from
Yeah, Kinetic is fucking great. I pretty much get everything from them or Uprise. Sometimes SPoT, too. My local shop is fucking abysmal.
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You have to understand that the gear "OCD" people are not the majority and that skate shop owners despise us
Seriously. This is like .001% of their customers. The rest are shopping for the coolest brand, the cheapest deck, the best color, or for their kids
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+1 for Southside skatepark/shop being good. Received my shipment within 3 days of ordering, and immediately reached out with alternatives when the wheels I ordered were out of stock.
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Humidity and associated brands are on my shit list. I called because they had a specific Carpet deck in stock I wanted to order. I called and asked what the wheelbase was, which I get is sort of annoying. The dude groans, sorta puts the phone down but you can hear him say “whaaaat the fuck man, these fucking people” then clearly after he supposedly measures it I hear “this dude can wait”. He comes back to the phone and says “14.5” for an 8 inch deck, which is clearly wrong, I say “thanks” and before I’m done with the word he hangs up. That and supposedly looking on Rob Welsh makes me not care about their cool guy status.
Atlas had the same deck in. I called and ask, dude goes and measures and is super nice as normal. I buy and hold it for pickup and go in to grab it. The dude that was on the phone is there and instead of being an asshole chats me up about that specific deck, recommends other specific shapes, etc.
Atlas should be added to the list of awesome shops.
on one hand, i get a skate shop employee coming down off his morning tokes not wanting to measure wheelbase, on the other hand, i sure as fuck wouldn't buy a deck not knowing the WB.
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Hyped to see the Kinetic love on here. I grew up in Delaware, Ben always went out of his way to be welcoming in a time when it was more common than not to get fully coolguy'd for even looking at a skate shop the wrong way.
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I messed around seeing what most of these shops had available and I found some NB 440's on Holistic's site in a colorway from 2019 that I was really stoked on. Grabbed em quick!
I also want to add Premier in Michigan as a great shop to order from. I drive there now, but have lived out of state in the past and would go to them for lots of things I needed if the shops near me didn't have them. Web store is clean and simple and they have a rewards program that has taken 5-10 dollars off many of my purchases.
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Active is the only really bad experience I've had shopping for skate products online so don't.
Same here. Years ago, I ordered some Dickies and they automatically added a free gift of a Dickies skate tool to the order. Well, apparently the pants weren't in stock so instead of cancelling the order, they charged me $15 plus shipping for the skate tool that I didn't even want. They never responded to my emails.
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I called No Comply the other day to ask about the difference between their Rip Stop Cargo pants and the normal ones. The girl on the phone was the friendliest, most knowledgeable person I've ever talked to at a skate shop.
Last year I was on a business trip to Austin and was bored. I looked up skate shops nearby and saw No Comply was next to a skatepark. I'd never heard of No Comply before this. I walked about a mile and a half over there and you couldn't go in because of Covid. So I pieced together a Christmas complete on my phone in 10 minutes, along with some Busenitz and a skate tool. I just had them put the grip on and hand the rest to me like a lunch tray. This is the only time I've ever set up a whole new board that felt absolutely perfect right off the bat. I want to go back and go inside sometime.
(https://i.ibb.co/G0cXQ74/no-comply.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G0cXQ74)
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+1'ing that Kinetic is a dope place to order from
Yeah, Kinetic is fucking great. I pretty much get everything from them or Uprise. Sometimes SPoT, too. My local shop is fucking abysmal.
Uprise and SPoT also good. And 35th Ave. Escapist in KC also. Also had good experiences with NJ skate shop.
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Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a lingering suspicion that a skate shop employee’s definition of “too busy” is significantly different than most other working adults’.
I think you're onto something. Many skateshops don't even open till 11 or noon. I wouldn't be surprised if 50% or more of skateshop employees wake up early enough to get McDonald's breakfast*.
*10:30 am
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Love that SLAP has had good experiences with Holistic Skateshop as that’s my local. JD is solid as he will go out of his way to get you something, put stuff aside for you or hit you up when something new is in or en route.
561 is another great shop as Teak has shipped quickly and everything came in 3 days at most. He’s sent pictures through Instagram on what FA boards they had at the time.
Wish DQM was still around on Bowery as they were always nice and had solid stuff. Loved hitting that shop on weekends when I was up in NYC.
Pretty sure Emage& 303 are legit as the CO mates are always going there.
As for shops to avoid, nothing comes to mind. I’ve always had good experiences. Granted I can go to Holistic for boards and generally I go to the Vans store these days as Vans doesn’t always keep shops stocked.
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I've found many of the shops that do online sales and are normally pretty good, become bad during the holiday season
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Use Orchard if you're in New England. Usually comes next day, and it's a legit shop not some snow/skate massive online retailer. Can't wait til they have a storefront again, though.
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I would also like to point out that its good to give a shop a 2-3 day grace period on any emails or social media DM's.
Covid-19 has ramped up interest in skateboarding, and most shops are extremely busy building boards for new skateboarders, giving advice to beginners, and having to chat with parents about why a board is more expensive in store than at Target. This leaves less time to sit on phones and scroll Instagram pre pandemic.
Its hard to juggle all that when the staff is less than 4 people, which most shops are running right now with the pandemic.
My local doesn’t respond to email, Instagram messages, or answer their phone. But they do make posts clowning people for caring about wheelbase. I’m not gonna blast them but honestly the excuse of “Skateshop’s are doing so well they don’t have time for their customers questions” is dumb. If I spend 3 dollars on the train and they don’t have what I’m looking for, they aren’t gonna reimburse me.
Also for clarification I don’t care if people make fun of wheelbase, but maybe don’t pepper it in with all the “thanks for supporting local business” crap.
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Active is the only really bad experience I've had shopping for skate products online so don't.
They got me on a buy two pairs of shoes get one free deal. One of the pairs were out of stock so no free additional pair, no free shipping, and the one pair in stock was some shoes that I wouldn't have bought at full price which they charged me for them. Terrible.
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So this was cool. I bought an Ace LS shirt, a hat and some of those wood REAL risers from Orchard.
they threw in some ACE wax from the new AF1 release, some AF1 stickers, and an Orchard branded unit skate tool. Pretty goddamn sick.
Im drunk but Im here to say I will keep buying from them
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Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a lingering suspicion that a skate shop employee’s definition of “too busy” is significantly different than most other working adults’.
How so?
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Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a lingering suspicion that a skate shop employee’s definition of “too busy” is significantly different than most other working adults’.
How so?
I walked into my hometown local right at opening (love the shop btw) and opened the door to see the dude was on the couch watching tv with his dog lol. Kinda awesome tbh but it’s nothing like starting a shift at my job.
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I believe everything y’all are saying about normal times pre 2020. Keep in mind that there’s usually one owner or shop buyer that has most of the information so your average Skateshop employee isn’t the person I’m talking about below.
Covid-19 times hit shops a little different. Some shops have shortened hours to help mitigate getting sick. Some aren’t even open for in person and are online so they have more time to answer questions. Depends on the shop obviously, but I’m sure the ones that work to maintain positive customer service are getting hammered by people looking for product during the shortages and that one owner/buyer has probably been getting hit hard with social media messages/emails/calls. Throw in any time the larger city shops get a special release they get their social media and shop phone blown up because people never read captions on how to enter raffles.
It’s true the gear centric people do take up shop owners times with questions and I think the larger well known city shops shops get those questions a lot more frequently than smaller shops. That’s why they will sometimes write them off or blow off answering customers questions. They are going to make the sale regardless with the entire industry marketing towards those few shops that get that marking push. I would try and call a smaller shop outside a major city. They have more time/patience to answer questions.
Also the influx of new skateboaders (and roller skaters looking for product) definitely has Skateshop owners/employees having to give more customer service in store if they are open, more so than they ever did before. Explaining a real complete compared to a Target one 15 times a day to a parent that complains about the price starts to feel like ground hogs day.
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I called No Comply the other day to ask about the difference between their Rip Stop Cargo pants and the normal ones. The girl on the phone was the friendliest, most knowledgeable person I've ever talked to at a skate shop.
Last year I was on a business trip to Austin and was bored. I looked up skate shops nearby and saw No Comply was next to a skatepark. I'd never heard of No Comply before this. I walked about a mile and a half over there and you couldn't go in because of Covid. So I pieced together a Christmas complete on my phone in 10 minutes, along with some Busenitz and a skate tool. I just had them put the grip on and hand the rest to me like a lunch tray. This is the only time I've ever set up a whole new board that felt absolutely perfect right off the bat. I want to go back and go inside sometime.
(https://i.ibb.co/G0cXQ74/no-comply.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G0cXQ74)
No comply is one of the best shops. The board wall is great. I stop by every time I go to house park.
As for everyone’s comments about humidity, I feel ya about the vibe and not ordering from them. As much as I love everything they do for their community I hate that too cool attitude. I mean after all we all are just riding wooden toys
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+1 for Southside skatepark/shop being good. Received my shipment within 3 days of ordering, and immediately reached out with alternatives when the wheels I ordered were out of stock.
Tried ordering some F4 97 conical fulls from them last Sunday (via paradeworld) since I can't find them online anywhere else but the big Z. I received a "shipping label made - USPS waiting for package" message on Monday and nothing since then, even sprung for the faster shipping too.
Pretty bummed out, first time trying parade as I had seen it recommended a bit on here.
On the other end of that I've had good experiences with:
Orchard
Civil
SPoT
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+1 for Southside skatepark/shop being good. Received my shipment within 3 days of ordering, and immediately reached out with alternatives when the wheels I ordered were out of stock.
Tried ordering some F4 97 conical fulls from them last Sunday (via paradeworld) since I can't find them online anywhere else but the big Z. I received a "shipping label made - USPS waiting for package" message on Monday and nothing since then, even sprung for the faster shipping too.
Pretty bummed out, first time trying parade as I had seen it recommended a bit on here.
On the other end of that I've had good experiences with:
Orchard
Civil
SPoT
Ah the ol SoCal Skateshop treatment. First time I've heard of that happening on Parade though.
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Not sure if it’s been said yet but shoutout Magnolia in Fort Worth Texas. Badass shop badass team badass stock. Never disappointed.
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Alright, Ride RTX finally sent my tracking info. I still don't understand why they don't send confirmation of orders, order numbers, receipts or respond to inquires but it looks like my order is actually on the way minus any explanation as to what was going on. I totally have patience as long as an actual human gives me some response....
Anyway, mad respect to Quantum Bearing Dude who helped me light a fire under their asses. I'll gnar ya when I reach Slap Pal Status. Hopefully someone else will until I can.
Just want to give credit where credit is due. I got the correct deck today. Looks like it cost them $20+ in shipping and I only paid $50 or so for the board, so I doubt they made any money off my annoying arse.
Anyway, I still contend real-time inventory on websites stores, emailing receipts upon purchase, and issuing tracking numbers can only help an online business.
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As I have actual firsthand experience I will say my life as a shop manager/buyer/employee has been crazy for the past year. We are beyond busy every day, sometimes people waiting outside for a bit too.
Trying to answer the phone, answer the door(we keep it locked and only let a few in at a time) plus shipping orders too.
Not a complaint at all, we are thankful and hyped anyone wants to support us
but people thinking we are hanging out twiddling our thumbs couldn't be farther from the truth.
I know we have blown it with some orders as at times our que can be 15-30 deep but we bust them out asap everyday and even do a run to the post office or ups at closing to ensure there is minimal lag on anyone's order.
But we always try to make it right without a hassle to the customer.
It feels good to see our store mentioned, we love this place and helping people.
And yes I am a board dork, hit me up anytime to talk dimensions or concave.
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As I have actual firsthand experience I will say my life as a shop manager/buyer/employee has been crazy for the past year. We are beyond busy every day, sometimes people waiting outside for a bit too.
Trying to answer the phone, answer the door(we keep it locked and only let a few in at a time) plus shipping orders too.
Not a complaint at all, we are thankful and hyped anyone wants to support us
but people thinking we are hanging out twiddling our thumbs couldn't be farther from the truth.
I know we have blown it with some orders as at times our que can be 15-30 deep but we bust them out asap everyday and even do a run to the post office or ups at closing to ensure there is minimal lag on anyone's order.
But we always try to make it right without a hassle to the customer.
It feels good to see our store mentioned, we love this place and helping people.
And yes I am a board dork, hit me up anytime to talk dimensions or concave.
Seconded. This is what I meant in my post as well. Shops are beyond busy and they are doing the best they can with the increased volume in business in store and online. None of them are "twiddling their thumbs" or eating McDonald's on a shop couch if they are a positive shop working to grow the scene in the area.
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Not sure if it’s been said yet but shoutout Magnolia in Fort Worth Texas. Badass shop badass team badass stock. Never disappointed.
Agreed. I would add Garage Skateshop out of CA has always been good with their orders. They are quick with refunds and usually ship within 1 business day excluding weekends.
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Alright, Ride RTX finally sent my tracking info. I still don't understand why they don't send confirmation of orders, order numbers, receipts or respond to inquires but it looks like my order is actually on the way minus any explanation as to what was going on. I totally have patience as long as an actual human gives me some response....
Anyway, mad respect to Quantum Bearing Dude who helped me light a fire under their asses. I'll gnar ya when I reach Slap Pal Status. Hopefully someone else will until I can.
Just want to give credit where credit is due. I got the correct deck today. Looks like it cost them $20+ in shipping and I only paid $50 or so for the board, so I doubt they made any money off my annoying arse.
Anyway, I still contend real-time inventory on websites stores, emailing receipts upon purchase, and issuing tracking numbers can only help an online business.
I’m glad you got your deck. I’m the employee you reached out to on IG after talking to the Quantum dudes. I will chat with the owner about the things you listed that can help online buyers feel more comfortable with their purchase. Have fun out there man!
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Anyone have any experience with Ride RTX out of Concord NC?
I live about 30 minutes from this "shop" It's in a mall and not ran by skaters at all. It is pretty shit, they mostly sale longboards. I would steer clear of them in the future.
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+1 for Southside skatepark/shop being good. Received my shipment within 3 days of ordering, and immediately reached out with alternatives when the wheels I ordered were out of stock.
Tried ordering some F4 97 conical fulls from them last Sunday (via paradeworld) since I can't find them online anywhere else but the big Z. I received a "shipping label made - USPS waiting for package" message on Monday and nothing since then, even sprung for the faster shipping too.
Pretty bummed out, first time trying parade as I had seen it recommended a bit on here.
On the other end of that I've had good experiences with:
Orchard
Civil
SPoT
Oh that is a bummer. I also found them on Parade World, but went directly to their website to order. Parade World seems to be a nice resource to find the stuff you want, but can also create a middleman that may add problems.
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Just to show love to another shop you SHOULD order from, I put order in with 35th Ave and it’s kind of shocking how low their prices are. Decks are $58 with free grip and free shipping over $75 (orders ship out real quick too.) It’s always worthwhile to peep around the shoes in their sale section.
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Just to show love to another shop you SHOULD order from, I put order in with 35th Ave and it’s kind of shocking how low their prices are. Decks are $58 with free grip and free shipping over $75 (orders ship out real quick too.) It’s always worthwhile to peep around the shoes in their sale section.
Shop boards at $40 and they include dimensions in the listing too, very nice.
http://www.35thave.com/shop/Skate/Decks/35th/p/35th-Artist-Contest-shop-deck-by-Mac-x56244346.htm
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Yeah I ordered a 9” Polar and almost ordered a 9” shop deck to skate because I want to hang the Polar up. I love all the options (although stock is low at the moment) and detailed listings.
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I measure every board directly when I enter them into our pos system.
We do make a mistake here and there or with brands like polar I use their sticker dims in the description.
I measure flat with the tape held to the board on length so with brands like dlx that say 32.25 are prob closer to 32.5 with my method.
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I measure every board directly when I enter them into our pos system.
We do make a mistake here and there or with brands like polar I use their sticker dims in the description.
I measure flat with the tape held to the board on length so with brands like dlx that say 32.25 are prob closer to 32.5 with my method.
my 1991 polar didn't match the sticker recently. Wheelbase was 14.5" but sticker said 14.375" or 14.38" i forget, ill have to double check. Which is strange because the polar site has it as 14.5" correctly. Is that the factory measuring edge the edge instead of center hole to center?
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I measure every board directly when I enter them into our pos system.
We do make a mistake here and there or with brands like polar I use their sticker dims in the description.
I measure flat with the tape held to the board on length so with brands like dlx that say 32.25 are prob closer to 32.5 with my method.
Odd I bought a 1991 and was psyched to see it was a 14.38wb on the sticker but double checked with tape to verify that it was correct. I avoided the 1991 for years because of the Polar site listing it as 14.5wb so there's been some confusion but the one I got measured end of hole to end of hole was 14.38"
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I know they did update the dimensions on the 1991 last year, but you're right the wb was off from the sticker.
Maybe they haven't made new stickers yet?
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I measure every board directly when I enter them into our pos system.
We do make a mistake here and there or with brands like polar I use their sticker dims in the description.
I measure flat with the tape held to the board on length so with brands like dlx that say 32.25 are prob closer to 32.5 with my method.
I measure wb center of hole to center of hole, hence the 14.5"
... i think we're saying the same thing here
@144p how do you measure it?
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I measure wb from center of the hole to center of the hole.
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Just measured again cuz madness and center to center the 1991 from I have from the most recent drop is 14.38wb
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Just measured again cuz madness and center to center the 1991 from I have from the most recent drop is 14.38wb
(https://i.ibb.co/NNyZ1nY/DEDDF0-FE-FA37-4-FA0-A234-3-BF7999-BF795.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NNyZ1nY)
(https://i.ibb.co/D4GgM6Y/594128-C6-517-A-426-B-A740-E7-CFBFF879-DB.jpg) (https://ibb.co/D4GgM6Y)
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Just to show love to another shop you SHOULD order from, I put order in with 35th Ave and it’s kind of shocking how low their prices are. Decks are $58 with free grip and free shipping over $75 (orders ship out real quick too.) It’s always worthwhile to peep around the shoes in their sale section.
Shop boards at $40 and they include dimensions in the listing too, very nice.
http://www.35thave.com/shop/Skate/Decks/35th/p/35th-Artist-Contest-shop-deck-by-Mac-x56244346.htm
y'all know who presses their decks? my local just ran out of their BBS shop decks and can't get anymore for over a year...
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I measure every board directly when I enter them into our pos system.
We do make a mistake here and there or with brands like polar I use their sticker dims in the description.
I measure flat with the tape held to the board on length so with brands like dlx that say 32.25 are prob closer to 32.5 with my method.
Always appreciated - a little effort always makes it so much easier.
Probably saves half the messages re more details too.
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Escapist in KC is 100% the best shop to order from if you don't have a local shop you can go to
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Just to show love to another shop you SHOULD order from, I put order in with 35th Ave and it’s kind of shocking how low their prices are. Decks are $58 with free grip and free shipping over $75 (orders ship out real quick too.) It’s always worthwhile to peep around the shoes in their sale section.
Shop boards at $40 and they include dimensions in the listing too, very nice.
http://www.35thave.com/shop/Skate/Decks/35th/p/35th-Artist-Contest-shop-deck-by-Mac-x56244346.htm
y'all know who presses their decks? my local just ran out of their BBS shop decks and can't get anymore for over a year...
@144p posted a while ago, I think he said most of them are BBS with South Central for at least one (10" pop IIRC). Great boards, great shop
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Generator not bbs
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Generator not bbs
Thanks! I thought BBS & Gen were the same.
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Thanks! I thought BBS & Gen were the same.
BBS is the manufacturer of the decks.
Generator is the retail arm for the blank decks that go to be shop boards or to smaller distributors who put graphics on them for the brands they distribute.
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Thanks! I thought BBS & Gen were the same.
BBS is the manufacturer of the decks.
Generator is the retail arm for the blank decks that go to be shop boards or to smaller distributors who put graphics on them for the brands they distribute.
Gotcha