I hate running stores

I think this is very common. I worked at a retail outdoor/specialty store back in college and our policy was the same: if we special ordered something for a customer, they were obligated to pay (no refunds).

help me understand wrote:

Nutella1 wrote:

Answer: yes, we can order but then you'll be obligated to buy.

I left the store and never came back.

You wanted them to special order a product for you that they don't normally carry and pay for shipping and you weren't sure that you wanted them?

If you then decided that you weren't going to buy YOUR special order, what should they do with YOUR shoe?

If they sent them back they would then have to pay shipping twice, plus a restocking fee to Asics.

It sounds like you leaving and never coming back has saved them a great deal of cash. Their policy allowed them to dodge a bullet.

AMEN

The Biggest Boss wrote:

Unfortunately, most customers dont' listen to my "5 minute" advice...

cause 5 minutes is FOREVER, my training runs are only like an average of 3 mins and my long run is 7.

and voice of reason, im glad you liked the brick shoes i fitted you with. theyll match the knee-length shorts and i think if you combine the shoes with the pallet of strawberry-kiwi GU packets that you custom ordered from our store, you too may someday make it to the teens!

really that's what's wrong? wrote:

What's the problem with you being obligated to buy the shoe they order specifically for you?

What if it doesn't fit?

Running warehouse let's me send it back for free. Shipping is also free and their shoes are usually discounted around 10-15%.

Btw: Marathon Sports has for other store or so. They would have been able to sell it to someone else.

Let's? lol!

Yes, I just ordered 13 pair of flats, all different brands/models and I only buy online and from places that have free return shipping. With most places, I can either find a coupon or free shipping if I spend over $100, so it's free shipping both ways and no sales tax.

It's really convenient, unless you are in a hurry to get the shoes. Out of the 13 pairs I ordered, I kept 3 pair.

My local running shoe stores have maybe 1 or 2 of the models I ordered and why would want to be obligated to buy the ones I ordered? It makes sense if you know what you want, but if that's the case, why not just order online.

Free return shipping is awesome and results in me buying more shoes than I would normally because it's risk free.

For? Lol!

jim for life wrote:

Yes, I just ordered 13 pair of flats, all different brands/models and I only buy online and from places that have free return shipping. With most places, I can either find a coupon or free shipping if I spend over $100, so it's free shipping both ways and no sales tax.

It's really convenient, unless you are in a hurry to get the shoes. Out of the 13 pairs I ordered, I kept 3 pair.

My local running shoe stores have maybe 1 or 2 of the models I ordered and why would want to be obligated to buy the ones I ordered? It makes sense if you know what you want, but if that's the case, why not just order online.

Free return shipping is awesome and results in me buying more shoes than I would normally because it's risk free.

Out-and-out ABUSE of a good system. Don't wreck it for us asshole.

Can't tell if you're joking or not. I think he's being pretty smart about his purchases. Looking out for #1 is a priority.

jim for life wrote:

My local running shoe stores have maybe 1 or 2 of the models I ordered and why would want to be obligated to buy the ones I ordered? It makes sense if you know what you want, but if that's the case, why not just order online.

Do you race where you live or just online?

Now the damned Nike Mayfly!? Before it was some damn Adidas crap claiming to be the world's lightest running/racing shoe! Lies, lies, lies . . . damned lies!

They sell significantly lighter shoes here in Japan. That kinda crap pisses me off, really.

adiZero PR was pretty much the same weight as the Mayfly. Lightest right now would probably be a tossup between the Mizuno Universe or the Asics Piranha.

Don't know about that particular Mizuno, but here they (Mizuno) have a shoe that is 100 grams/3.5x oz. And, I think it may also be a Mizuno, one that is just 90 grams/3.17 oz.

They change the names of the shoe between markets a lot. Either way, it's a lie to say your shoe is the lightest in the world when it clearly isn't. Maybe they mean "the lightest shoe in the world that most of you dumb Americans know about (I'm a dumb American as well :)."

I am still shocked at how the term "flats" is thrown around on shoes that look like freakin' stilts compared to the real flats we have over here.

I was (and still am) considering a pair of Vibrams, but was a bit disappointed to learn that they are a little HEAVIER than the shoes I've been wearing for several years now (NB RC-130).

You're being a crank over semantics. It's the lightest shoe in the particular market, or at least close enough. If it's that big of a deal to you then wouldn't you compare weights anyway, independent of any marketing copy?

I don't even dislike my local running store, but I really don't see any reason to ever use them when I can go to RunningWarehouse to pay less for a larger variety of shoes and then return/exchange them for free if I don't like the way they fit. Let's say I need a new shoe to train with and I might want to rotate pairs. I can order like 2 or 3 different shoes from RW that probably aren't available at my LRS, try on all 3, and then exchange the two rejects to get the ones I'll rotate. Or, I can order an 11, 11.5, and 11E of a shoe, try them on to see which fits best, and then return the others and get all 11E if that's what I thought fit best. RW has a pretty big stock and their shipping is relatively quick, so I don't mind losing a day or two here and there if I'm going to get access to more items at cheaper prices.

I don't see how running stores stay in business, just like book stores. It seems like ignorance or disdain for online shopping is the only thing that keeps storefront retailers in business.

I like to think of myself as knowing a lot about shoes. I'd love to work in a running store. But guess what? I'd rather work my normal boring day job than get paid $10 an hour. That's why you get dumb people working there, because most retailers aren't going to pay more than $10 per hour for sales staff.

I think shoemakers are highly to blame for why a LRS can't succeed. If a certain model of a shoe were to last for several years, then buying a ton of every shoe out there for your inventory wouldn't be a big deal. The companies make too many models/updates for the LRS to have any chance fo keeping them stocked without risking a major loss on wasted inventory.

I know many of you think it's logical for a LRS to require purchase of a shoe a customer special orders, but you have to understand that such a requirement basically guarantees that customer will stick with a place like RunningWarehouse if that person becomes aware of their existence. There's no easy way to address this if you're the LRS. LRS really only continue to exist because of a) ignorance or b) convenience. A store has to do a lot more than simply sell shoes if they plan to be successful.

Totally agree. Let's hope RunningWarehouse.com continues to be as great as they've been!!!

I used to work at a running store and I also have experienced this. About 5-10% of customers that I see ask for racing flats. They tend to be minimalist or competitive runners. The other 90-95% of customers are casual runners, or those who are training for their first marathon and need new shoes.

The bulk of shoe sales comes from high-end stability shoes that cost $120+, and that is where shoe stores generate their revenue from (in addition to apparel and insoles). I live in a big city, and large running events are held throughout the year. When a running event is coming up, more customers show up to the store, and salespersons tend to sell the high-end stability shoes because they are in high demand, for commission, and the stores have large stocks of those shoes. The only time the store stocks up on racing flats is at the start of XC season, when the local HS team shows up and need to buy racing flats. Most of the time, the store has very few selections of racing flats, and most of them come in odd sizes (like size 8 1/2 men).

Agree that it sucks trying to find REAL running stuff in a running specialty store (and by REAL I mean performance-based, not fitness based).

I found some good adidas racing flats (adizero RC) on sale at Phidippides last month (I've got a small foot, though). They also had the adizero Rocket, the Green Silence, the Ronin from Mizuno and a couple others I can't remember/wasn't interested in trying on (I think they had the Piranha on sale, but not in my size -- could be remembering that wrong, though).

I spoke for awhile with Gregory (dude with the dreadlocks) about minimalist shoes and tried on what they had to offer. In my mind it was a pretty big selection since most people that come in there probably just want the Kayano or the Nimbus. They had the Kona from K-Swiss, the Launch (which I ended up getting as well) the Speedstar, something from Scott, and maybe another Nike. No Precisions which bummed me out.

Anyway, overall is was a good experience. I guess it just depends on the day and what they have in stock ... but don't give up all hope!

I understand why the local running store caters to their largest market. I have no problem with that; I just cannot go there. I too order from runningwarehouse.com and think they are great (even w/ sales tax as I live in California).I feel guilty ordering three shoes and sending two back- but essentially I use runningwarehouse AS my local store, and so long as I buy from them and am loyal, hope this is OK. The return shipping must cut significantly into their profit. I assume this is part of their business plan, and that it works out for them, but I would hate to see them go away from the buy:return ratio getting too out of whack.Can anyone from Runningwarehouse comment on this? Are we habitual returners a problem, or is our loyalty an asset?