Anyone used geartrade.com?

It's legit, and great. It's kinda like ebay, though. It's only as good as the person you are buying / selling from.

I've bought two things from the site, and both purchases went as smoothly as any other online store.

Things being sold by "backcountry" (the majority of the things on the site) are returns/closeouts from backcountry.com, sort of like an online REI used gear sale.

I've had good experiences with the site. As mentioned, Backcountry has a lot of items on here. You can get great deals, but be sure to read the description carefully and ask for pictures if you are unsure about the item condition.

If you're looking at climbing shoes, I'd be extra careful just because I don't think the person who writes the product descriptions is much of a climber and instead writes "has plenty of life left" frequently. Frankly this isn't a meaningful description and runs the gamut of "brand new, just tried on" to "you'll get two gym sessions before blowing a rand."

If the item is sold by Backcountry, it's solid. They are very conservative and detailed in their descriptions. What they call "dirty" the average climber calls "clean."

Bear in mind the policy is essentially "no returns." If a item doesn't fit, you're stuck with it. You can only return an item if it doesn't match the description:

geartrade.com/helpdesk/term…

Sellers agree to allow the buyer 72 hours to inspect the gear to verify that the gear arrived as was presented on the gear swap. If the gear matches the description and condition that was presented by the seller, the transaction is final and the gear swap will pay the seller. If the gear does not match the description and condition that was presented by the seller, the buyer can contact Customer Service for possible re-negotiation of the price or return of the gear. This gear inspection policy will only apply if the gear description or condition is not as described and Customer Service is contacted directly. All completed transactions are final. This is not a buy and try guarantee. It is meant to protect against the falsification of gear information.

Nothing but good experiences with GearTrade.com, over two years worth of purchases.

I've come off like a fat rat on gear trade!! Backcountry.com uses it to unload their returns etc. I've gotten brand new boots for 1/2 off because the box was dented and they couldn't resell it.

It's like REI scratch and dent but better. Sick...

First rule about geartrade is you don't talk about geartrade.

worst site ever. just a huge ripoff, stay away. ;)

2 of my best "gear deals" ever came from Gear Trade. La Sportiva Nepal Evo's for $200 (looked as if they were brand new) La Sportiva Muiras for $65 - perfect conditions.

Gear Trade is amazing!

anyone wanna share any other sites :]

AntinJ wrote:2 of my best "gear deals" ever came from Gear Trade. La Sportiva Nepal Evo's for $200 (looked as if they were brand new) La Sportiva Muiras for $65 - perfect conditions. Gear Trade is amazing!