Beware Liberty Mountain (Updated & Resolved)

UPDATE: Liberty Mountain took another look at their product listing, and has agreed that it was confusing. I am happy to report that they have resolved the issue with my order. I do agree with others that have posted here, that the fault is partially mine for not fully understanding the product listing before ordering. 

Beware of Liberty Mountain. I purchased a Beal rope through the American Alpine Club discount program at ExpertVoice. The rope I received was not a bipattern rope as was indicated in the photo, and they are requiring me to cover return shipping, and will not refund the original shipping for a total fee of $44.

They have justified the confusing posting by stating the I should have selected the type as "Safety Control". I think that a photo should be representative of the product.

I have made this post in an effort to warn others who may be searching for their reputation before purchasing, or looking for similar examples of their behavior.

Had a similar experience with Liberty Mountain years ago- charged a higher amount than was listed on the site.  When I called and walked through the pricing with them, they acknowledged the mistake and discrepancy between prices listed vs. the prices in their system. The options they gave were for me to eat the cost or ship back on my dime.  

Nathan E wrote:

Had a similar experience with Liberty Mountain years ago- charged a higher amount than was listed on the site.  When I called and walked through the pricing with them, they acknowledged the mistake and discrepancy between prices listed vs. the prices in their system. The options they gave were for me to eat the cost or ship back on my dime.  

Interesting, thanks for sharing. Certainly seems like a similar experience to mine.

I'm kind of on the fence about this....you did at least a get a dry cover rope, which is what is selected in the drop down box. What should have happened is that the drop down was blank and would force you to make a selection before continuing with the purchase.

Buck Rio wrote:

I'm kind of on the fence about this....you did at least a get a dry cover rope, which is what is selected in the drop down box. What should have happened is that the drop down was blank and would force you to make a selection before continuing with the purchase.

Yes you are correct in that I did get what I selected in the dropdown boxes. However, the description only tangentially mentions: "SC = Safe Control (bi pattern)".

I assumed that the color selection of Anis represented a bipattern rope, as the photo for any selected "Type" was of a bipattern rope.

In an effort to meet halfway, I suggested that they refund my initial shipping cost, and I would cover the return shipping, but they refused.

sounds like a good reason to spend money elsewhere. 

I think it would just be cheaper to buy a Sharpie

I just tried to make an order from Liberty Mountain that cost about $45 and then I tacked on $5 more for a friend. Without any notice, they canceled the $45 portion and sent the $5 part and charged me $10 to ship it.

I have to side with the vendor here.  You got exactly the rope you asked for, just not in the color shown.  You have a case for color incorrect, but not that it isn't a bipattern.  You didn't read about and pay attention to what you were ordering - not the vendor's fault.  Surprised they're even offering to return it, most don't return ropes.  Sounds like "half way" to me.

Bill Schick wrote:

I have to side with the vendor here.  You got exactly the rope you asked for, just not in the color shown.  You have a case for color incorrect, but not that it isn't a bipattern.  You didn't read about and pay attention to what you were ordering - not the vendor's fault.  Surprised they're even offering to return it, most don't return ropes.  Sounds like "half way" to me.

let me know what stores don’t take back goods in their packaging so i can not shop there too, thanks!

ExpertVoice is a handy resource for replenishment, but it is a lot riskier (due to most brands' return policies) than normal retailers for trying new things.   Unless I am certain about the thing I want, I usually just wait for a sale from the retailer/vendor.    And sometimes the vendor clearances are actually cheaper than the EV discounts!

I had the same issue with Backcountry.com a decade ago. Clearly-shown Mammut 70m 9.7mm bipattern rope (both photo and text). Non-bipattern rope showed up. I don't remember the specifics about paying for shipping but they would definitely not exchange it for the bi-pattern version. It was too good a deal to return, but it had a dirty bait-and-switch feel to it at the time.

CDub wrote:

I had the same issue with Backcountry.com a decade ago. Clearly-shown Mammut 70m 9.7mm bipattern rope (both photo and text). Non-bipattern rope showed up. I don't remember the specifics about paying for shipping but they would definitely not exchange it for the bi-pattern version. It was too good a deal to return, but it had a dirty bait-and-switch feel to it at the time.

I also had same issue with backcountry.com. Description clearly stated bi-pattern. They acknowledged the mistake and subsequently changed the wording.  They would not make any amends because “I got a really good deal” inspite if their admitting the description was misleading. I guess this is karmic payback for not supporting your local shop. 

I have to side with the vendor here.

Don't be such a tool. Liberty Mountain is a fly by night ecom store that SUCKS. Get it out there people, don't do business with them.

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

Don't be such a tool. Liberty Mountain is a fly by night ecom store that SUCKS. Get it out there people, don't do business with them.

Liberty Mountain is not an Ecom store but an importer/distributor that has presence on ExpertVoice's BroDeal website.

As for the OP's order issue. I see culpability on both sides but more on ExpertVoice than the OP. A descent website would have the rope image change when one selects a different option in the drop down menu. Lacking that the image shown of the rope should have been clearly identified as being the "Safety Control shown." As such, I can understand why the OP felt they were mislead. On the other hand when I have seen similar websites I muck about with the menus to try and figure out exactly what I am getting. Overall, ExpertVoice pooched it not Liberty Mtn. as they processed the order as received from ExpertVoice.

The real issue is that when dealing with ExpertVoice they are basically an intermediary for the mfg. So returns are a PITA and one really needs to make sure what they are ordering. Further, the shipping and handling charges are often such that the BroDeal price is not that great unless one is placing a large $$ order.

I stand corrected and apologize to Bill Schick. It seems I am the tool, not you.

What is the $44 fee for?

Daniel Bolliger wrote:

What is the $44 fee for?

When buying via ExpertVoice there is a flat shipping fee that can be fairly high. But also there is an order processing fee which is basically ExpertVoice's "profit" for being the middleman. 

So the $44 fee included the processing fee and shipping? Does that not include the price difference in ropes or a restocking fee?

As stated already, Liberty Mountain is the Grivel distributor and they stock and distribute a lot of other stuff.  I don't think they are really intended to sell direct to consumers as it seems the only way to access their online store is with professional credentials of some sort or through EV.  Both leave a lot to be desired as e-commerce portals and both charge so much in shipping in the current day when everyone expects it to be Prime, free, and delivered in 2 days.  That said, I've had good luck with Liberty Mountain but only because I've looked carefully at the options that I've selected.