UK online shops ???

[Desert style]

Thank you guys!

[doggy]

http://www.thekitesurfcentre.com/

[Woody71]

www.oceanrodeokites.co.uk

Ocean Rodeo dealer in the UK, passionate about the kites and the sport.

[allerston]

www.oceanrodeokites.co.uk ben is the definition of keen

also for other brands,

www.carvewatersports.com mark who runs it can sort you out with ANYTHING for the right price

[cowboy]

forgot earlier Darren at kitesurfwarehouse

http://www.kitesurfwarehouse.com

[lobodomar]

Just wanna share my recent experience with Powerkiteshop.

Made 2 orders in the last month.
First order: even though all items ordered had the "in stock" availability status, they alleged one of the items would take 10-14 days. After waiting more than 14 days, I asked about the order and couldn't get an estimated shipping date. Ended canceling the order.
Second order: again, items "in stock", and after a week I can't even get an order status from powerkiteshop.

To be fair, their policy is to charge the purchase only upon shipping, so it's not about the money. But a customer's time and patience have their value too.
Communication is also very poor, which is extremely annoying.

Well, that's my experience with powerkiteshop, buying from outside the UK.
Never had any problems with S2AS and KingofWaterSports.

[jumpjet]

Had good experience with kitesurfcentre : prompt reply on issues and very reasonable charges for international shipping.

[JaanTatikas]

Also wanted to share my experience with Powerkiteshop. I have made 1-2 small orders few years ago and had no problems but the last experience was a dissapointment allthough it ended well. Im not going to order anything from them again. So here goes...
Bought a trainer kite (in stock) on 15th of February, after two days my PayPal was charged by the right amount. When my order did not arrive in two weeks I e-mailed and asked about it, they said that size 300 is not in stock and offered me a size 250 or a refund or a possibility to wait. All fine with that - nicely done. I choose to wait and asked them to keep me updated once in two weeks or so about the status of the order.
No info came, I had to query myself some time later and they told that their supplier has not delivered the product. After few e-mails and asking around (finding out that trainers are not in stock during winter) I got my product just before end of May (if I remember correctly 30 th of May).
Not saying that Powerkiteshop acted wrong because I myself decided to wait and they afterall offered me a refund and options to get a smaller size. But on the other hand - if I buy/pay something from a company I expect them to deliver. It is not my problem that your supplier does not deliver, get a new supplier or find a way to deliver the product to the client - that would be professional.
All is good that ends good.

[Zeek]

Kite shops need to listen up.

Listing stuff on your site as "in stock" and then making customers wait weeks before shipping happens while you get products in is a sure fire way to piss customers off!

Most people are reasonable if they are given the truth about lead times, they need to start acting with a bit more integrity, If an item is listed as "in stock" then you better ship within 48hrs or its a fail.

End of rant.

[joe_mgh]

Unfortunately it's not just kite shops, I'm seeing the same behaviour all over the internet. It's really easy for a store to set up an online shop, but it's quite expensive to have one that runs off their live stock. This means that mistakes often happen and customers get let down.

That's no excuse for non-communication though and no one should be left wondering if their kit may arrive.

Some stores actively promote goods that aren't in stock as they either just want the traffic or don't want to take the risk on stock. It's this that needs to stop, but I don't think that it's as prevalent as simple incorrect stock. There are also occasions where a brand will let a store sell their products and ship directly to the customer from the warehouse stock, but that seems a bit desperate to me. If a store doesn't want it in stock, how are they going to convince a customer that they believe in it?

Paypal is a further problem as they will take the money regardless of whether a dispatch has happened, whereas if the store is processing a payment themselves, the payment wouldn't be completed until the goods left.

It's a real pet hate of mine, especially when there is a notice showing "in stock!" when it isn't.

Just keep spreading the word, don't wait - cancel the order and get it from somewhere with stock and the unscrupulous ones will eventually disappear!