I am interested in buying a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 12.0 and I saw pretty reasonable terms at Outdoorplay.com. I’ve never heard of them before and haven’t found anyone who is acquainted with them! Anyone with experience shopping there? Are they a real store and not an internet facade? Any other recommendations?
Thanks a lot!
Consider REI
– Last Updated: Jul-21-07 1:18 AM EST –
Nothing against Outdoorplay, necessarily. Be advised they do have a 15% restocking fee on returns (but not exchanges.) I'm sure you'd pay shipping back, too.
If you live anywhere near an REI, free shipping to an REI store. 5% dividend back at the end of the year if you're an REI member. Does apply to boats the last time I checked. I would confirm that. You could inspect the boat at the store before accepting it. Very liberal return policy. You might ask questions about return policy as it pertains to boats, too.
http://www.rei.com/search?vcat=REI_SEARCH&query=tsunami&x=0&y=0
Curious, no full service paddling shop near you, or price too high there? A full service shop will often price match, though they may not advertise it. Personally, if I ask a full service shop to price match against a chain store, I won't spend much of their time on any non-essential support. They'll only see me again if there's a very serious problem with the boat. Nice to have them if that turns out to be the case though. Either that or nice to have a very liberal return policy like REI.
Just thinking out loud.
Others may be able to speak more to Outdoorplay.
Paul
Shipping cost?
Check the shipping cost and terms.
The shipping cost may eat up much of the apparent cost savings, and depending on how it ships, you may need to stay home to wait for the truck.
I bought three plastic 17 foot sea kayak
– Last Updated: Jul-21-07 8:10 AM EST –
from Alpha1airborne, a different company than Outdoorplay.com, and had them all shipped by Old Dominion Feight company unscathed from NY State to my Illinois driveway (not some freight terminal) for $150 each boat (the discount likely is due, however, to a contact between that kayak retailer who sells on eBay and the ODF company).
So, yes, it can be done.
Go for it
A friend of mine just received a Dagger Approach from them. The price was the best i had found anywhere and the shipping was FREE. I was there the day it arrived by freight truck and everything was fine. Outdoor Play provided excellant order and shipping information thoughout the process. If you would like, you may send me an email and I will respond with my friends information and you can contact him for more details.
Good luck
Jay
Paddling Perks
With the Paddling Perks discount (10%), no sales tax and free shipping, how could you pass it up?
As long as you have actually physically demoed that particular model at some point, the place it comes from is the smallest issue. I was looking at Tsunami online that would have saved me almost $200…I ended up going with another model not available online.
The Tsunami 120
is a great boat! I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it. I’ve heard some good feedback from people about Outdoorplay.com though I’ve never ordered anything from them personally. But with their great prices and free shipping it seems like a great deal.
As Paul stated though, REI is another great option. You order it online, and have it shipped to your local store for free. I’ve never had anything but a great customer experience with REI. But if you don’t have a store close to you then that doesn’t help much.
Good luck, let us know when you get your boat and how you like it!
Tsunami purchase
For what it’s worth, I just got a Tsunami 140, and I couldn’t find a better deal (Internet or otherwise) than what I got a my nearest outfitter. I paid $950 for it and that was the initial quoted price. When I tried to find a better one, I couldn’t.
As the other poster said, if you have any local stores, give them a shot with matching an Internet price.
Hey Thanks!
I really appreciate the advice. It’s a ways to any local shops though Spokane is a 3 hour drive. REI has a store there. I’ll reconsider given all your input!