RideGear.com -sleezy sales practices....

Drumwoulf · Post by **Drumwoulf** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:44 pm

Be careful when ordering stuff from Ridegear.com. First off, they advertise stuff they don't carry and will not notify you they don't have it until a week or so after you've ordered it!

Then next I also tried to order a 'closeout' helmet... On their web page for these helmets they have a big blinking banner saying "Enter code 'closeout25' on the order page and take an additional 25% off closeout items". However there's no way the ordering page will accept this code in the window slotted for it, and once you get to the final payout page, the 25% is NOT taken off! (And when I emailed them to ask about it they refused to answer...)

Rather sleezy web sales practices, IMO...

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:03 pm

I prefer, when buying accessories, to support my local economy and buy from a local scooter ONLY shop.

The only time I'll buy Internet: reputable merchant and/or I can't get it locally.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:57 pm

pcbikedude wrote:I prefer, when buying accessories, to support my local economy and buy from a local scooter ONLY shop.

The only time I'll buy Internet: reputable merchant and/or I can't get it locally.

You're lucky to live in a city with dealers who carry a lot of accessories. Even in LA, the choices for a lot of things are rather slim. In fact, I'm placing an order to support your local economy today! (Multivar and belt for the Vespa.)

Drumwoulf, I've not heard other complaints about RideGear—a lot of people love them! Did you try phoning them and expressing your problems?

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:57 pm

Yes, indeed we are fortunate here in San Diego County to have Motorsports Scooters plus 3 Vespa Dealers, several large Honda-yama-suki boutique dealerships, and cycle gear only type stores. We can get any type of jacket, helmet, and or pants.

redcass · Post by **redcass** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:07 pm

pcbikedude wrote:I prefer, when buying accessories, to support my local economy and buy from a local scooter ONLY shop.

Oooh, I'm jealous! My local options are a sport bike shop or the Yamaha motorcycle dealer who calls my Buddy "Chinese junk."

a**hole.

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:44 pm

redcass wrote: ...or the Yamaha motorcycle dealer who calls my Buddy "Chinese junk."

a**hole.

I have a taser you can borrow...

--Keys

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 8:24 am

Oh, and, BTW, RideGear was vindicated in the matter of the OP:

topic2961.html

Just so anyone searching doesn't think this was never resolved.

Drumwoulf · Post by **Drumwoulf** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:47 pm

ericalm wrote:Oh, and, BTW, RideGear was vindicated in the matter of the OP:

topic2961.html

Just so anyone searching doesn't think this was never resolved.

Well, they've corrected the matter with me alright, that's true...

But it looks like they're still trying to stick it to others! RideGear is again being slippery and sleazy, because now they're advertising that same helmet with the same crossed-out $199 price, but when you click on the deeper info page the price mysteriously goes back to the $199 price rather than the $159 sale price they originally had it at! (So where's the "sale"??) (-And somehow I doubt that their 25% coupon will work now again either..) So the helmet I got for $119 is now seemingly selling for $199 at RideGear, while many others are selling the same lid for much less..!

It seems like you could get a good bargain with them (shipping is free also), but you'd better be very careful and also call them personally to confirm what the price is that they're charging you for any item! you buy!!

jmazza · Post by **jmazza** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:35 pm

I just put that exact helmet in a basket at ridegear and it went in a $159. However the code did not work still.

Sounds to me more like a crappy webmaster (I saw that at one place the price was marked through and lowered to $159 and another it wasn't too) than being slippery and sleezy.

Still a really good warning for people who might just go through the buying process without checking each step (like me!).

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:08 am

Yeah, I don't think they're being malicious or trying to rip anyone off. I'm sure if you call and order you get the correct discount. This really looks like it's a technical problem.

Let's keep the slander to a minimum.

healingpath · Post by **healingpath** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:02 am

Well, just an FYI: I ordered some hand grips - not a high priced item, mind you - from them a few months back now, and decided to return them, which I did, well within any required time frame. I didn't hear anything from them about it after a week or so, so I emailed to inquire, and was emailed back that my refund would be processed in short order. I actually forgot about it for another 2 or 3 months, and when I realized that I never did get the refund I emailed again inquiring about it. The runaround I got was absurd, and ultimately they told me they couldn't issue a refund!

I could have taken it further, but for $11 I'd had enough. My last email to them let them know quite clearly that they'd lost at least one customer permanently, and that I thought their customer service was so low that it didn't even register on the scale. Good luck to anyone who chooses to buy from them. They seem at best incompetent, if nothing else, as far as I'm concerned.

Valgal20 · Post by **Valgal20** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:51 pm

Well, I am another Unhappy customer of Ridegear.com. I ordered a helmet from them about a month ago, they charge me for it (which they said they wouldn't do until the product was shipped) which over withdrew my account, then they said they would take the charges off, and they didn't. So, more than a month later, Im out $58.00 for the helmet and $50 in bank fees- AND STILL NO HELMET! Do Not Order From Them! two weeks ago they assured me that it would be shipped out in "a week or two" it has been two, and NO Helmet! I'm Very Disappointed in them!

5 bud7 · Post by **5 bud7** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:41 am

Eric, the information about ridegear from the forum members is exactly what people should exchange . Are you on the forum to be guardian angel for the dealers or to help the scooterest make wise decissions>

schlagle · Post by **schlagle** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:23 am

I've had trouble with them too. I ordered some boots over a month ago. Still don't have them, or even an email about them. Called to cancel the order 2 weeks ago and they said they are on the way but still no boots or email about them.

I yelped them. Guess I should have read the reviews before I ordered from them but I was too excited about getting geared up. Here's the yelp link:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ridegear-com-santa-cruz

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:20 am

5 bud7 wrote:Eric, the information about ridegear from the forum members is exactly what people should exchange . Are you on the forum to be guardian angel for the dealers or to help the scooterest make wise decissions>

Uh... excuse me? I don't feel the need to remind members of this often, but before you go accusing me of being a shill for dealers, you might do well to remember that I am not just "on" the forum, I own it and am responsible for setting and enforcing the rules and maintaining the tone. I have no problem with people exchanging their stories and did nothing to prevent or suppress that. If I'd wanted to, I could have closed the thread. And, if you'd read what I actually wrote, you'd have seen that I was in no way defending or playing guardian angel. I have never shied away from criticism of dealers or retailers (or, for that matter, Genuine) provided that the members aren't ranting or venting and aren't using the forum to attack someone. However, I would like any reports to be as fair and factual as possible and for any accusations to be substantiated.

The two matters discussed in this thread are totally different. The first was obviously the result of a crappy website which didn't function properly. Ridegear made good on the problem in the original case, but didn't fix the site so the problem persisted.

"Sleazy," to me, implies that they're intentionally trying to rip people off for their own financial gain. At worst, the problems reported here indicate rampant carelessness and incompetence, but we have no indication that they were knowingly scamming customers.

As is, I'm unlikely to buy from them (especially online) and wouldn't recommend them to anyone based on these complaints.

But as I said before, let's not make unsubstantiated accusations about their motives. Sucky customer service? Sounds like it. Evil? Eh...

Valgal20 · Post by **Valgal20** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:18 pm

Yes they are evil, I wanted to wear my new pretty helmet to the scooter rally but it never came- Thats like ruining a little girl's tea party

Ok, they said their had been some issues from the supplier/wearhouse... but they still should have told me this was going on before I ordered- Lesson learned- Ya Live, Ya Learn, Ya order wiser next time.

Se' la vive

mandyscoots · Post by **mandyscoots** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:57 pm

I'm sorry you had a bad experience!
I just ordered my helmet from leatherup.com. They have some very inexspensive riding gear. A lot of closeout stuff. I got my full face helmet for $60 including shipping. I just recieved it today and it is awesome. They are very quick to ship. Look into it, they have lots of other gear too.