Buy Sports and Fitness Equipment

If you have never thought about buying sporting goods and fitness equipment online, there are a couple good reasons why you should. First, it is sometimes difficult to get expert advice at the local sporting goods store, but many of the online stores are run by experts. This is especially true at those Web sites that specialize in one particular sport. Second, sporting goods stores are not nearly as common as bookstores or music stores and so shopping online can be much more convenient than looking for the retailer nearest you.

There are thousands of online sporting and fitness equipment sites, especially when you include the numerous sites from manufacturers. Here are a few of our favorites to help you in your search for sporting goods and fitness equipment.

General Sites.

The following general sites for sporting goods and fitness equipment sell equipment for a large number of sports, much like your local sporting goods store.

Campmor

Campmor specializes in camping gear, backpacking, mountaineering, hiking, trekking, water sports, and bicycling equipment. Its interface uses brief text descriptions of categories or items. You do not actually see an item until you have explored all the lists to reach the specific item. This makes it very hard to find an item when you do not know its specific name.

For example, in the Campmor Catalog section, we clicked the Footwear link. Next, we clicked Trail Running. From the Trail Running page, we selected Montrail Jura (For Men And Women). This took us to a page with a black and white illustration of the shoe, a description of the shoe, and an order area.

Once you find an item, it may have other items listed with it. For example, a bike carrier had five accessories listed with it. The site did not indicate if these items were required to use the bike carrier or if they simply improved its operation. This lack of useful information was apparent throughout the site.

The shopping cart at the Campmor site shows a running total; it's easy to change the quantity of ordered items and to remove an item. Shipping is reasonable, at $5.50 for orders less than $30 and $7.50 for orders costing more than $30. The prices at Campmor are also reasonable.

http://www.campmor.com

Fogdog

Fogdog offers a wide variety of equipment for a wide variety of sports, including soccer, tennis, baseball, and golf. You use either a drop-down list to choose a sport or the categories on the bottom half of the home page. No matter what you choose, the next page you see will have a list of categories on the left that you can use to select the type of equipment you want. The listing stays on the left but is not in a frame, which means older browsers will not have a problem with this site.

Once you select an item type, it displays thumbnails of the items on one screen. If there are too many to fit on one screen, it uses several sequential pages, just like a search engine. Clicking a thumbnail brings up more information on that item. This information includes reviews of the item, and you can add your own review to the site.

The shopping cart at Fogdog is great. It shows a running total and makes it easy to remove an item or change the order quantity. The coverage of this site is broad, its selection is excellent, and its prices are reasonable. Shipping is inexpensive, at $2.99 for orders of less than $200 and free for any order costing more than $200.

http://www.fogdog.com

Gear.com

Gear.com is focused on being the largest consolidator of close-out sporting goods anywhere. As a result, it has excellent prices. Plus, the site stocks equipment for most sports. The only downside to this site is that its coverage can be spotty since it can only sell what it can find on close-out.

To begin, select an activity in the Shop By Activity area on the left side of the home page. The right side of the screen then lists all the items in stock in that activity. If there are more items than will fit, it uses multiple screens to list the items. The site does not offer a way to subdivide the products within a category. Shipping is a bargain, at 25 cents per item. The shopping cart shows a running total but does not tell you how to remove an item from the cart.

http://www.gear.com

Online Sports

Online Sports sells a wide variety of baseball, football, basketball, and hockey items. It also sells sports memorabilia, videos, team items, player items, and more. It does not carry items for most other sports.

You begin by selecting a sport or category of items. That will either bring up a list of items or bring up a second list you use to narrow your selection. Once you reach a specific type of item, you will see a long list of items with very little detail. Some of the lists contain hundreds of items. Most of the items have a link, Read More About This Item, that you can use for more information. One click of the Add To Cart links adds an item to your shopping cart. The cart shows all items and a running total. Shipping costs are high; the first item costs $9, and additional items are $4.50 each.

http://www.onlinesports.com

Play It Again Sports

Play It Again Sports is a chain of more than 650 sporting goods stores that sell both new and used equipment. Play It Again Sports will even accept your used equipment in trade for another item. Its Web site does not sell equipment, but it does allow you to read about the company and locate the store nearest you.

http://www.playitagainsports.com

REI

REI is a chain of stores that specializes in outdoor equipment. They sell equipment for kayaking, canoeing, climbing, cycling, and similar sports. To purchase equipment at its Web site, you begin by selecting the category of activity. This brings up a screen that not only offers the links to the equipment but also offers links to clinics, tips, and lots of other useful information. From this list, you click the link most descriptive of the equipment you want. This brings up a list of matching equipment and a brief description of that equipment and its price.

You can sort items in the list by brand or price. Most of the individual items will have links you can use to get additional information about that particular item. A simple click to the Place In Shopping Basket link adds an item to your shopping cart.

Shipping prices are low. Most orders ship for $2.50, regardless of the size. Large items, such as kayaks, canoes, and bicycles, do cost more to ship. The only problem we had with this site is that its shopping experience is marred by a shopping cart that does not show a running total, and it links to too many items that are either backordered or out-of-stock.

http://www.rei.com

ShopSports.com

ShopSports.com is another online sports superstore. It offers a full line of equipment for most sports. You select items using an expanding menu on the left side of the window. Once you figure out how to navigate the site (you need to click on a main category to see its subcategories), it works well. The selection at this site is large, and its prices are reasonable. ShopSports.com claims to consider the size and weight of your order to determine which carrier would be the most economical. The site charges sales tax for many locations.

http://www.shopsports.com

The Sports Authority

The Sports Authority operates 200 full-line sporting goods superstores. Its Web site is under development and is scheduled to open in the fall. When it opens, it will sell much of the same sporting equipment, footwear, and apparel that are sold in its stores.

http://pwr.com/sportsauthority

The Sports Store

The Sports Store sells sporting equipment, memorabilia, apparel, and specialty sporting goods. It also links to more than 400,000 pages of sports information and entertainment from SportsLine USA.

A list on the left directs you to the appropriate category. Once there, the site displays the featured items and a list of additional items. The selection is often sparse, with only a few items in many categories. The shopping cart makes it easy to remove items, and it displays a running total. It will not, however, give you shipping costs until you check out. Shipping costs vary from $5.95 for less than $30 to $9.95 for more than $89. The site ships bicycles for free.

http://www.sportsstore.com/sportsstore

Specialized Sites.

The following sites only handle a small selection of items, either from one sport or one manufacturer. These are great sites to start at, however, if you are looking for gear or equipment for a particular sport.

Bowflex

Bowflex markets an exercise bench that uses flexible rods to supply the resistance normally supplied by weights. The exercise bench comes in several models, and you can customize it with various options. This site helps you pick out the appropriate model and allows you to place your order online.

http://www.bowflex.com

The BowMan's Archery Solutions

The BowMan's Archery Solutions is an online-only archery store. You select items by searching through a series of links. Because there is no shopping cart at this site, you must write down the information for the items you want and then manually enter it into an order form. The prices and selection at this site, however, are both good.

http://www.thebowman.com

Golf Club Exchange.com

Golf Club Exchange.com is a person-to-person auction service for used golf clubs. It also acts as an escrow service to avoid fraud. It has a 15% commission fee. (The cap is $75.)

http://www.golfclubexchange.com

NordicTrack

NordicTrack sells fitness equipment such as treadmills and skis. You can purchase any of its items online. This site also has an online auction where you can bid on NordicTrack equipment.

http://www.nordictrack.com

PlayerPro Racquet Sports

This site sells a great selection of tennis, racquetball, and squash equipment at excellent prices. Shipping is $5.95 regardless of the size of your order. All racquetball and squash racquet orders of more than $100 receive free shipping. The shopping cart at this site, however, is crude.

http://www.playpro.com