RideGear.com - From Essentials To Accessories And Everything In Between
Written: Jul 12 '02 (Updated Apr 15 '03)
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I came to the RideGear site searching for a pair of riding gloves that I borrowed from a friend and almost instantly fell in love with [the gloves, not the guy]. I searched high and low for them but didn’t have any solid information on them. After talking with Brett at the Suzuki dealership he gave me the address of the website and told me that this place had a pair of gloves similar to the ones I described to him. Low and behold, there they were – Suzuki riding gloves. Now all I had to do was figure out which size I needed – not an easy thing to do when you have a range of small to XXL to choose from. Thankfully I ended up talking to an awesome guy at the shop and he told me exactly hot to size my hand for a comfortable yet proper fit.
I have only purchased three things from this online establishment but I must say this – if all internet businesses ran their show like this I doubt anyone would leave their house for groceries, clothing or worldly necessities. One of my biggest apprehensions about ordering riding gear online was the fact that I can never get the size right. Its either too short in the leg or too long in the arm and if I am going to fork out $300.00+ dollars for a leather riding jacket it better fit like a glove [no pun intended].
Site Navigation
Unlike some gear sites that rely on heavy graphics and flash intro’s RideGear stays to the tame side of the road. Everything is presented neatly and clearly – the only thing I would change would be to increase the font size a little – but other than that you are looking at a very streamlined site. You best chance of finding exactly what you are looking for is to use the links on the right hand side of the page. This takes you through the various manufacturers and items listed at the site.
Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are available in certain amounts from $50.00 to $1,000.00 and can be redeemed when placing your order by calling the customer service team. This is the perfect way to let your motorcycle enthusiast pick out the perfect gift. You can purchase the gift certificate online and have it sent via email or USPS mail to the recipient with detailed instructions for redemption. I know exactly what to tell people this coming holiday season when they ask me what I want Santa to bring me – a RideGear gift certificate of course!
Selection
I am not going to sing a pretty little song here – the site carries a limited amount of products from a select number of manufacturers. Still, that doesn’t mean that they should be dismissed. Until a year or so ago I was a Suzuki extremist – and I’d only buy products that were manufactured by or for the company. That left me limited in many areas including style, color and design. After checking out RideGear on a number of occasions both before and after my initial purchase I found that I can still get quality products – with out without the Suzuki name on them. The two major manufacturers they deal with are Honda and Suzuki but they do carry Bell helmets and the Shoei line. You can also find boots, riding apparel and assorted riding needs. Of course, like an internet junkie I found a few other items that made me start drooling and – in typical fashion – I became hooked on the site.
Outlet Section
When you first hit the site [at least at present] you will see the section for clearance items as well as those products that are on sale. Like most sites that offer a discount, sale or clearance section – the items do rotate on a regular basis. If you see something that you want make sure you call to see if it still in stock or if the supply has been depleted. I scored a few very sweet deals here so check this section often!
Products Purchased
I picked up a Shoei helmet bag for an insanely low price of $42.10! This has a lush interior that protects the graphics of the helmet and keeps it free of dust and dirt. Recently they dropped the price again - $36.99 and trust me – for this type of quality you are looking at a tremendous deal. I am honestly thinking of picking up another helmet bag as a spare and at this price I would be crazy not to. This same helmet bag can set you back up to $65.00 elsewhere – both online and retail – so you can see this is a great bargain.
The leather riding jacket I picked up was $75.00 less than any other store I checked out. The sizes were the deciding factor and RideGear stocks them from small to XXXL in the two most popular color schemes. To this day I am amazed that I found this jacket at the price I paid for it. Just goes to show you that some sites are passing on the bargains to the customers.
Methods of Payment
RideGear accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. If these are not options you wish to explore you can pay by personal check or money order [made out to RiderGear, not RideGear]. I’ve used credit cards for all my purchases and they were correct down to the penny. Never an overcharge, duplicate charge or hidden fees.
Shipping Fees
Shipping fees are calculated according to the dollar amount of your purchase. Anything over $99.00 gets free shipping. As usual there are some exceptions – oversized items might get hit with an additional $15.99 fee to help defray the actual cost of shipping the items to you. These include but are not limited to: fairings, bike stands, handle bars, tires, ramps and fenders. I usually try to get the free shipping option and save myself a few dollars – and with a site this awesome it isn’t a hard thing to do.
Return Policy
You have 30 days from the time of your delivery to make and exchange or request a refund. All returns – be it for a refund or exchange – must be accompanied by a RMA number [return merchandise authorization]. Items received at RideGear without a RMA will not be accepted. In addition, you must repack your items inside another box – anything returned to them in the manufacturers box will not be accepts and will be returned to you. This is to avoid the box being damaged and rendered ‘dead stock’. I certainly wouldn’t want to receive an item where the box is tore up, littered with shipping stickers or damaged.
A restocking fee may apply to certain items if they are returned however there is no fee for items that are returned for exchange. RideGear will also take full responsibility for an errors in shipping.
I’ve not had to return anything yet but after talking to a few of the customer service people I have no doubt in my mind that they’ll do what it takes to make you happy. It is a comforting fact to know this should I decide to invest in another set of riding leathers or high priced item.
Contact Information
RideGear
6396 Highway. 9
Felton, CA. 95018
To place orders via telephone please call [800] 515-1380, Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm PST. For customer service, please call [800] 655-7249, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 6 pm PST.
http://www.ridegear.com
info@ridegear.com
orders@ridegear.com
The Bottom Line
I look forward to returning to RideGear for all my bike needs. They treated me like a friend when I had questions about certain products – even when I was put on hold someone came back every minute or so and said “Hang on, he’s digging through a different box to see if he has your size”. Sometimes it’s the major things like prices, guarantees and selection that make customers loyal – and sometimes it’s the small things – like a hand written note thanking me for my order or an email letting me know about a new series of helmets. The more I shop on the internet the more I realize that my money will spend anywhere – so if a company wants my cash they better so more than just shove my purchase in a box and toss it in the mail.
RideGear has earned my respect and has always gone way over the line of customer service and order fulfillment. I’ll still visit the dealership and see what they have on sale – but as of my most recent order and shipment … my heart and cash both belong to RideGear.
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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