Buying (branded) climbing gear off Amazon?

Miguel posted a deal for a Micro Traxion via Amazon, and that got me thinking about whether it was even safe to buy gear off Amazon.

Obviously not the random knockoff junk, but let's say BD, Petzl, etc.? How would you know a Metolius carabiner you get off Amazon will actually hold 22kN along the spine, instead of snapping in two the moment any real weight is put on it?

I'm worried about co-mingling that happens at Amazon warehouses, and that someone could deliver a fake branded product to the Amazon warehouse to sell at retail price. If my or my partner's life is on the line, I want to know the gear is solid.

Relatedly, I never buy SD cards off eBay/Amazon for that reason. You always end up with a cheap fake branded like the real item.

Amazon Marketplace is a giant fraud machine amounting to a criminal enterprise. Caveat emptor.

The old adage "If it is too good to be true then its not true" applies.   If the item is too cheap then it is likely a crappy knockoff.

On the other hand I recently bought a BD product Amazon that I think was actually shipped from BD.  I saved BD shipping charge for a low dollar item and the item came from Utah.

we know co mingling is happening at the warehouse. Even if you buy directly from the official petal shop, they goods you receive might be from someone else as long as the items are “identical”.

try it. if you don't like it, return it

I got a Microtrax and some anchor and perma hardware from Amazon before. The MicroTrax came from Holland. Had no issues. 

Never had any issue with knockoff gear, bought intermittently for years

J L wrote:

Miguel posted a deal for a Micro Traxion via Amazon, and that got me thinking about whether it was even safe to buy gear off Amazon.

Obviously not the random knockoff junk, but let's say BD, Petzl, etc.? How would you know a Metolius carabiner you get off Amazon will actually hold 22kN along the spine, instead of snapping in two the moment any real weight is put on it?

I'm worried about co-mingling that happens at Amazon warehouses, and that someone could deliver a fake branded product to the Amazon warehouse to sell at retail price. If my or my partner's life is on the line, I want to know the gear is solid.

Relatedly, I never buy SD cards off eBay/Amazon for that reason. You always end up with a cheap fake branded like the real item.

Please buy from a reputable local retailer. 

Tradiban wrote:

Please buy from a reputable local retailer. 

The nearest local retailer, reputable or not, is 200 miles from my home.  I am buying on-line.

A friend of mine ordered a cheap sale harness for his girlfriend off Amazon, supposedly a BD Bod. He takes her up the Culp-Bossier in RMNP but twists his knee trying to find the rap station in the summit talus, calls for a rescue.

I head up there and rig a steel cable Tyrolean into a helicopter as per usual. I send her across, but of course that cheap knock-off harness buckle opens up like it’s made of tin foil and she slips out. I rush out the cable and manage to grab her but I can’t hold her; she falls to her death.

My buddy blames me, but of course I blame him for ordering cheap crap from Amazon instead of patronizing his local specialty outdoor retail shop. In the end we patched it up while fighting some terrorists via a series of spectacular action set-pieces.

I bought an ascender from same seller, took a couple weeks because it came from Europe somewhere (probably Holland like mentioned above, can't remember).

No signs of it being some kind of knock off Petzl... Used it a few times and didn't die. 

Tradiban wrote:

Please buy from a reputable local retailer. 

Unfortunately this trope is dead. I live in Albuquerque, a city of right around 1 million residents and a fairly healthy climbing community. When I moved here almost three decades ago, the city had a population of 600K and five climbing shops. Now, our “local” retail options consist of the gym (limited selection) and REI (not local and limited). Basically, for anything out of the mainstream, like a MicroTrax or anchor hardware, your only option is online retailers. 

Frank Stein wrote:

Unfortunately this trope is dead. I live in Albuquerque, a city of right around 1 million residents and a fairly healthy climbing community. When I moved here almost three decades ago, the city had a population of 600K and five climbing shops. Now, our “local” retail options consist of the gym (limited selection) and REI (not local and limited). Basically, for anything out of the mainstream, like a MicroTrax or anchor hardware, your only option is online retailers. 

That rei is the closest climbing shop to my home. ☹️

climber pat wrote:

The nearest local retailer, reputable or not, is 200 miles from my home.  I am buying on-line.

Buy from their website or any other small retail “local” website. Pagen, Nomad, Gear Coop or the Boulder shops.

climber pat wrote:

That rei is the closest climbing shop to my home. ☹️

Are Bikes Plus (with their small gear shop) and Outdoor Adventures still around?

Back on topic, all the “cheap” name brand climbing gear I’ve seen on Amazon looks like grey market imports, and is usually priced the about same as buying it from legitimate European sellers including shipping. (eg Oliunid has microtraxs for ~$60+$20 s/h). 

Also, if we’re plugging local/independent shops that have an online presence, BackcountryGear.com (Eugene, OR) has a great selection and sells cordage by the foot online unlike the big guys.

It's hard to believe it was so long ago (2011!), but the fake Petzl gear fiasco still feels fresh in my mind: https://www.cic-canyoning.org/en/news/newsarticle/Security-advice-counterfeit-versions-of-Petzl-products.html

that's enough of a reason for me to not buy climbing gear off Amazon (due to how they manage inventory): https://www.redpoints.com/blog/amazon-commingled-inventory-management/ 

James - wrote:

A friend of mine ordered a cheap sale harness for his girlfriend off Amazon, supposedly a BD Bod. He takes her up the Culp-Bossier in RMNP but twists his knee trying to find the rap station in the summit talus, calls for a rescue.

I head up there and rig a steel cable Tyrolean into a helicopter as per usual. I send her across, but of course that cheap knock-off harness buckle opens up like it’s made of tin foil and she slips out. I rush out the cable and manage to grab her but I can’t hold her; she falls to her death.

My buddy blames me, but of course I blame him for ordering cheap crap from Amazon instead of patronizing his local specialty outdoor retail shop. In the end we patched it up while fighting some terrorists via a series of spectacular action set-pieces.

side note, did you order that bolt gun off of amazon?  I'd love to get my hands on one.

Hmm- bought a microtrax off of Amazon a while back. Came in official petzl packaging and everything, but if the device is fake able packaging should be too. Any way to tell if it’s legitimate?

Climbing Weasel wrote:

Hmm- bought a microtrax off of Amazon a while back. Came in official petzl packaging and everything, but if the device is fake able packaging should be too. Any way to tell if it’s legitimate?

serial/batch number. if you're really that worried, send it in to petzl and have them tell you its legit or not

Mike V. wrote:

It's hard to believe it was so long ago (2011!), but the fake Petzl gear fiasco still feels fresh in my mind: https://www.cic-canyoning.org/en/news/newsarticle/Security-advice-counterfeit-versions-of-Petzl-products.html

that's enough of a reason for me to not buy climbing gear off Amazon (due to how they manage inventory): https://www.redpoints.com/blog/amazon-commingled-inventory-management/ 

The Petzl thing was part of the reason I started this thread too.

I forget where I read it now but I once heard that someone dumpster dived behind a local outdoor store just to retrieve the returned harnesses (which had had their belts cut), only to stitch them back up and sell them on eBay. Yipes.