Sierra Trading Post (STP) web shopping and service

[kevin davidson]

To conclude my current trio of reviews of Gear retailers and their customer service—-

STP is not bad at all—it's where I normally get my heavily discounted hiking, ski and cycling socks and for that matter I've gotten great deals on backcountry skis and any number of sunglasses (hey, Spy and Native Hardwear at close to 70 % off!), wind and softshell jackets and various trailrunners. One just needs to be patient and eventually many things (inc. things you probably don't even need—the basis of a well stocked gear closet ) will fall into your lap. However, it is not a general source for lightweight primary gear, except occasionally, when they have goods from a company like Golite. I've never had trouble returning things, although you generally have to eat return shipping (sometimes, even when I think it's debateable who should be paying, due to particular circumstances). They've toned down the Christian prosletizing of their earliest days (this may or may not be an issue for many of you). One can almost always find a coupon on the web for STP that either will further discount items or cover shipping (which tends to be on the high side for an internet retailer IMHO). It helps to research some of the merchandise, off site, as many of STP's descriptions are scanty or sometimes inaccurate—-this is a side effect of STP moving so many different kinds of merchandise, as quickly as they can —so I can't come down to harshly. It is nice that their website offers various search options—my favorite being an A-Z shop by manufacturer search. Loads fast, too.

I give STP a "5" for variety of goods and entertainment value, a "3" for their policies and a "4" for taking too much of my $.

Now get out and start consuming!

[Jim W.]

I've been shopping with STP for at least 20 years. The web made this sort of business much easier to shop.

Prices are almost always great. Being closeouts, overstocks, and 2nds you have to keep coming back to see new items.

My "5" rating is based on the great deals, armchair shopping, and customer service. Not product selection- although extensive it doesn't always cover what I'm looking for.

Shipping costs have been creeping up, but if you ship stuff yourself you'll see that the shippers are charging a lot more.

I probably return at least half of what I order from STP. If I'm unsure of size or model I just get multiple options and try them on, returning the extras.

Customer service is good- they have credited return shipping when I said the fit or quality were off.

Sign up for their emails and only buy when you get an extra 20% or preferably an extra 10% combined with free shipping.

[David Moreno]

I figured out a while back that prices out west are usually higher than here in Ohio so the fact that I don't feel the discounts at STP are as deep as others do is a little moot. Some of the time, the manufacturers suggested retail price listed on the site is inflated 10-20% above the price listed on the manufacturers website.

Having said that, I've done a few purchases from the company. Always when lower priced than I can get on closeout from somewhere else. Not all that often, but I've never regretted any of my purchases.

A recent example is the GSI lexan collapsible spoons that are no longer made. I solo and freezer bag cook so the current foon made by GSI won't work for me. I was very pleased with the spoon, but they do wear out so I purchased 6 along with Nikwax Tech Wash from STP. The Nikwax was also a closeout item because of the change of label.

Customer service is better than average, handling time is less than average in my experience, but all in all the company fills a need for me on occasion.

I would order from them again.

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