FogDog - Players and sports fans can find it here.
Written: Nov 17 '01
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The Bottom Line
You really can't go wrong at FogDog. You can get better deals, but you have so spend some time to do that. Weigh it out and decide.
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| Full Review |
F-oooo-ggg D---awwww-g. My boys ages 9 and 11 can mimic the FogDog commercials. Hey. This is what marketing is all about. McDonald’s has those golden arches that stop you in your tracks, and FogDog has those fog horn sounding commercials to lock the company in your head. I can appreciate that FogDog is marketing savvy.
If you don’t tune in to the tube or radio often and don’t know about FogDog, it is an online company selling sporting goods. We love baseball and most all other sports in this country, so sporting goods do sell. I end up buying all kinds of jerseys, balls, bats, and cards (though FogDog does not cash in on the card market). When you have boys (and girls too), then you learn the sporting goods market.
The brains behind FogDog would be Global Sports at www.globalsports.com. I thought I would include that URL. It takes a while to find at FogDog, and then you do not get a direct link. HUM? I would be pretty sure that FogDog would know enough HTML to give you a link to the company that they hire to run the site. Heck, I can even make HTML links, and I have no formal computer training at all.
Basically, this is a company (Global Sports) that will take your net idea and make it work. They are hired out by Kmart, The Sports Authority, QVC, and The Athlete's Foot as well as many other companies. From that list, you can see that Global does pull in the biggies. If you can’t do the online shuffle, then hire someone like Global to take care of all those details. They are solid.
With the help of a strong online promotion company like Global, FogDog does have a very strong site. FogDog would rank right up there with the Amazons online. This is a topnotch site in terms of set up and user features. You can find stuff. You can do this. Trust me.
When you click to FogDog www.fogdog.com, you see a top bar with sports stores listed. These include basketball, baseball, snow boarding, golf, health and fitness, and fan shop. Shops vary by season. For example, you do not see snowboarding in the summer when you are not thinking snow. Also, they have many specialized shops, so you can look lower and find those skate shops and such.
As you click in, you get more specialized findings. For example, you can click to baseball and then get men, little league, softball women and so on. When you go to kids in that area, then you can see cleats, ball gloves, bats and other specific categories. Since FogDog does have a very large inventory, this break down system is very helpful.
As far as online in sports, I would say that FogDog probably has the best selection. They have the hard-to-find items (like slim made shoes) and also the very latest (like a bat Caleb wanted last season).
As you buy items, they go in your cart. This is pretty much like any other online shopping experience. You click, click and then you can go to checkout. At checkout, you can put in coupons. They have some coupons but not a lot of them. I do love coupons, but many of the online survivors do not throw those all over the web. Companies have to make a profit, so lack of coupons may not be a bad thing. If you see mega coupons for a site (like www.pets.com), then you may see the company flop.
You can select from regular to fast on shipping (do you really need those skates in 24 hours), and they also have a shop section for FREE SHIP. Prices vary but are generally high on shipping except in FREE SHIP. When I got Caleb some ball pants, I paid about $3 to ship. The sale was good, but the shipping made the pants about the same as at Wal-Mart. The benefit of trying on the pants outweighs the convenience of buying online around here.
If you buy something big in size, then you throw FogDog for a loop. They can’t tell you how much they will charge. You have to click BUY and then wait for email to tell you how the shipping will be. I would think that some techie there could tell them how much a big or heavy thing would cost to ship, but that does not seem to be the case.
This was my experience in buying a basketball goal for Caleb. I checked through My Simon at www.mysimon.com which will give you prices and let you compare. FogDog was right there on price with another online sporting store, but I did not know shipping. When I did get the email, they wanted $50 to ship. That pushed FogDog quite a big over the other store which would ship for a flat rate of $10.
On the basketball goal, I did go with another store, since the FogDog ship made a big difference in price. I can say that FogDog did get back with me pretty fast and let me know that high shipping cost, so I could go ahead and buy the basketball goal set for Caleb’s birthday. The email was just generic, so they do not spend a heck of a lot of time on customer service, but most onlines do not.
On less weighty products, I have found FogDog to be about store cost on price and then the shipping which is high (but not out of the ball park on small stuff). If I can find an item local, then I go local. If I can’t find the item local, then I check My Simon and compare prices. FogDog comes in close as a rule, but they do tack on higher shipping, so I watch that close.
If you do not like to cost shop, then I would say that FogDog is great for sporting goods. They are set up well, ship as promised, and are quality. They also have items that you may not be able to find locally. When you can’t get the right socks for your kid, then you are just thankful to find them.
If you have more time, then check your local stores and also price check (and be sure to look at shipping charges too). You can often find better deals, but it does take some extra effort. It really just boils down to how much spare time you have. If you are pushed, then just go to FogDog.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Cyndi
Location: out in the yard grilling
Reviews written: 1176
Trusted by: 629 members
About Me: The first and greatest commandment is, don’t let them scare you. Elmer Davis
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