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  1. #1
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    Aug 2014
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    Shop review: Urban Alpine Ski Shop FAIL

    As we all tend to do, we all have our shops that we love and recommend to everyone, this is the exact opposite.

    I would NOT recommend purchasing anything from Urban Alpine in Squamish, BC or their eBay store, mskiwalker.

    I purchased a pair of K2 Mindbender 116C from their eBay store in late November for $500 BNIP. The skis showed up quickly with no issues, great.

    I got the skis up, skied them 5 days, and they delaminated (Jan 6). My shop in Jackson suggested contacting K2 to warranty them, as did a K2 athlete in town. I opened a warranty with K2 the next morning, told them what happened, where I purchased them, and they asked me to send them some info, pictures, receipt, ect. K2 asked me to go through the warranty process via the eBay store I purchased them from. The eBay app makes it super easy to send messages to retailers, so I asked them about warranting a pair of skis (Jan 8). I got no response. I passed this on to K2. K2 was not happy at how cheap I got the skis for, way less then US retail, and told me they couldn't verify the eBay store as a certified K2 retailer, and said they couldn't help me, and to try the retailer again (Jan 14.

    Im now more then slightly grumpy because my brand new $500 skis broke after 5 days and K2 couldn't warranty them. But I under stand their point of view. K2 also suggested I call them back over the summer when they have more inventory because they didn't have much stock.

    Six says had passed and I hadn't heard anything from the eBay store. I tried again (Jan 14), but didn't hear anything, so I left a very negative eBay review.

    Im still unhappy, so I dug through my PayPal and found that the charge for the ski went to UrbanAlpine. So I found the website, and called them (Jan 14). To start the conversation they were great, they asked for pictures of the damage, and what happened. I sent them everything right away. The next day (Jan 15) I got an email they were talking to their K2 rep and would get back to me. I had heard nothing since Jan 15, so I called the shop (Tues Jan 21), and talked to Drew, who I had been working with. Drew said he was told K2 might not warrant the skis (which I get), but may, and if they dont, they will sell me a pair at cost. I was not too happy, but I get it and a new pair at $330 USD was better then nothing. Drew said he would talk to K2 and get back to me. On Friday (Jan 24) I hadn't heard anything, so I called the shop and left a message for Drew, and the guy who answered the phone said Drew would call me back. Today, Sat Jan 26, I called the shop again, and talked to Drew for 15 seconds, just enough time for him to tell me we were done and he wasn't helping me because I left a negative eBay review. Then he hung up on me.

    This is the worst customer service I have ever had from a ski shop. I will not be shopping them. Im just warning you guys. You may of had different experiences, but this was terrible. K2 gave me legitimate reasons why they couldn't help. UrbanAlpine was just lazy. Skis arent supposed to break after 5 days, and when they do, you should do what you can to make the customer happy. I would of been ecstatic to buy a pair at crash replacement cost, but to be out the skis and the money, well that sucks.

    Ive broken a bunch of gear over the years, and every single shop Ive gone to in person has been super helpful and warranting them, no matter where I purchased them from. We dont have a K2 dealer in town, so I tried to do this over the phone, and had terrible customer service at all angles. The skis are awesome, I love them, even bought another pair cause they were that good, but UrbanAlpine sucks. Id go somewhere else, they suck.
    Last edited by skibrd; 01-25-2020 at 07:47 PM.

  2. #2
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    January20 was a Monday, maybe you got the year wrong?















    They do sound like a shitty retailer. Have you friends buy $10 dollar items and leave shitty reviews.
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel View Post
    January20 was a Monday, maybe you got the year wrong?















    They do sound like a shitty retailer. Have you friends buy $10 dollar items and leave shitty reviews.
    Went back and double checked the day I called them and it was Tuesday. Thanks.

    Not worth giving them the $10, or the drama of buying and returning the items.


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  4. #4
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    What you give up when you buy cheap on ebay is good customer service and manufacturer support--which you acknowledge as far as the manufacturer support. I think a lot of us jump the gun on leaving bad reviews--or at least I sometimes do--but providing customer support is something UrbanAlpine should have done, despite the negative review, which I presume was honest. If they want good reviews they need to provide good service.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by old goat View Post
    What you give up when you buy cheap on ebay is good customer service and manufacturer support--which you acknowledge as far as the manufacturer support. I think a lot of us jump the gun on leaving bad reviews--or at least I sometimes do--but providing customer support is something UrbanAlpine should have done, despite the negative review, which I presume was honest. If they want good reviews they need to provide good service.
    I agree we give up some options if we buy cheap on eBay, but at the time I bought them, the CAD USD exchange rate worked out that I paid full price in CAD.

    Maybe waiting 6 days to hear back before leaving a negative review was too soon? I’m not sure.


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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by skibrd View Post
    ...I dug through my PayPal and found that the charge for the ski went to UrbanAlpine...
    Did you show that PayPal info to the people at K2? Did K2 tell you why that PayPal info cannot be verified as belonging to a certified K2 retailer?

    .
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  7. #7
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    Why ‘people’ would ever buy a K2 is beyond me. Chinese shit-sticks.
    crab in my shoe mouth

  8. #8
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    so yur saying if I don't buy shitty skis from a shitty egay seller and need to leave a shitty ebay review of the shitty skis
    im not gonna die?
    or need to start a shitty thread on the shitty service I received?
    "When the child was a child it waited patiently for the first snow and it still does"- Van "The Man" Morrison
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  9. #9
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    Dec 2019
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    Someone get Drew a login.

  10. #10
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    Pics of the skis? Delam doesn’t exactly mean “broken”.

    I like the part where you said the skis were so great, you bought another pair. Good stuff

  11. #11
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    Purchased via a credit card? Any buyer protection available on your card? (read the terms before calling to open a claim - you probably want to be sure to use the correct language)
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  12. #12
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    Shop review: Urban Alpine Ski Shop FAIL

    I need to add in I talked to K2 USA via email and the phone. I heard through Urban Alpine that K2 Canada had stock of 193 Mindbender 116Cs.

    Purchased via PayPal, and I haven’t gotten to opening a claim via PayPal yet. The eBay claim period is past.

    I purchased K2 skis because they are great skis to ski on. Durability was a question mark (as is with every ski, but I’ll agree more so with K2) but I heard a bunch of good things from friends and athletes about how K2 is changing things. And the skis really are great, as I said, I bought another pair because I liked them so much. I’ve tried a few American ski companies and haven’t gotten along with what they produce. I tend to like German and Austrian skis.

    I meshed really fast with the Mindbender 116Cs, to the point where my skiing got a bunch better as I was very comfortable on them. A few mags who I regularly ski with even noticed and commented that I looked like I really liked the 116s.

    Skis shouldn’t have the top sheet peal off the core after 5. I’ll add pictures below. That’s $100 a day of use, who can afford that? Not me, and if you are offering a warranty for manufactures defects, delam after 5 days is a defect. I built fiberglass boats for a few years. If the fiberglass peals off the core after 5 days, you did a terrible job during prep, and fix the issue.

    Haven’t gone back to K2 USA with the PayPal receipt showing Urban Alpine as the retailer since K2 USA was out of 193 cm Mindbender 116Cs last time we talked. I will go back to them again when the winter is over and after some more research.

    Get Drew a log in. I’d love to hear the argument on why multiple messages and calls were not returned. If you offer shit customer service, you get a shit review. If I’m on a ship and the officer or charterer emailed me asking for info about an arrival to Japan, and I wait a week to get back to them, I’m looking for a new job. Drew asked me to keep the communication through eBay because it helped him with something due to the business on his end, then did not respond to any messages. That gets you a crappy review.

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  13. #13
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    So K2 make a bazillion skis and send them out all over the place flood the fucking market with skis and then, when faced with an obvious mfg defect with a current pair that should be covered under warranty and they’re like “heeeeey, where did you get THESE?” Didn’t see them playing the fucking internet retailer police man before this. Pfft.


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  14. #14
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    Jan 2013
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    393
    Recommend you contact your credit card company that you used with PayPal and dispute the charge. Usually get good results with this if need be. Visa / MC racking up 3% per purchase adds up to quite a bit of clout when dealing with a business if need be and you are getting screwed over. Not that I like to resort to using it.....but have had to a couple times.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by skibrd View Post
    I agree we give up some options if we buy cheap on eBay, but at the time I bought them, the CAD USD exchange rate worked out that I paid full price in CAD.

    Maybe waiting 6 days to hear back before leaving a negative review was too soon? I’m not sure.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    Don't get me wrong--K2 owes you a new ski or skis and UrbanAlpine should help you get them. But you don't have a lot of leverage here, although your post will probably cost UrbanAlpine more than helping you would have.

  16. #16
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    May 2007
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    Agree with Lafitte. K2 is sucking here. Obvious defect no matter where ski came from. It has a serial they should be able to trace if their supply chain is worth a shit. They're pissed they are being undersold and they created it.
    If you paid basically full price and only the benefit of exchange rate got you the deal, it was retail....fuck you K2 and fuck this urban place and Drew.
    Remember companies, tread lightly, the internet is everlasting and consumers ain't afraid to use it.

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  17. #17
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    Aug 2014
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    Quote Originally Posted by old goat View Post
    Don't get me wrong--K2 owes you a new ski or skis and UrbanAlpine should help you get them. But you don't have a lot of leverage here, although your post will probably cost UrbanAlpine more than helping you would have.
    I realized a while ago I don’t have much leverage. I was under the impression I could change/remove the bad review on eBay and attempted to use that as leverage. UrbanAlpine called my bluff. Foot shot, oops.

    Mags are fairly intelligent and we stay in touch. Look at the Nordica sale in November by Corbett’s, we bought them out in how many hours? And Corbets respected the sales, so I bought bindings from them and will shop there again. Urban Alpine, not so much.

    My biggest mindfuck with this whole thing is these skis ROCK! The 116c and the 20/21 Nordica Enforcer 115 Free are two of the best soft snow skis I’ve been on since the 193 Shiro, but they both weight a bunch less then the Shiros, which is awesome! I would love to tell everyone they can trust K2 again cause they make an awesome ski and have amazing customer service, but here I am saying watch out cause K2 is dropping the ball hard! It’s sucks.


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  18. #18
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    Is there no k2 representation on the forum? Seems unlikely.


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  19. #19
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    Thanks for the PSA - was watching a pair listed by mskiwalker. Just need to find something similar from corbets.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smoova View Post
    Thanks for the PSA - was watching a pair listed by mskiwalker. Just need to find something similar from corbets.
    And here is an example of the first of many lost sales for Urban Alpine.
    #googlewebcrawlers

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  21. #21
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    This is k2 fault. Sure the shop could be doing more for you but k2 made a shit ski and should get you some new sticks

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  22. #22
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    Mar 2006
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    TL;DR don't buy cheap Chinese skis off eBay and expect good warranty support.

    Sorry about what happened, dude, it's not your fault, and it sucks, but that's basically the story. I wonder if the cross border thing had anything to do with it? It shouldn't, but who knows.
    No longer stuck.

    Quote Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn View Post
    Just an uneducated guess.

  23. #23
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    It's really not the consumers responsibility to see if the retailer is authorized. K2 should have a team that is monitoring this shit. I'm sure they are just hoping you'll give up. I'd call k2 back and bitch higher up ladder. Why not post the story on k2 facefuck page? Their insta and Twitter? Maybe not bash but post the story. This is totally on k2. It's not like you bought from mag off gearswap, this is an online retailer.

    Fuck k2, fuck Urban Alpine.

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  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skidog View Post
    It's really not the consumers responsibility to see if the retailer is authorized.
    True, but in the case of ebay, it's a good idea for items that might need a warranty claim.

    But I agree. The 'they aren't authorized' bit sound like complete bullshit. The store is a brick and mortar (I'm assuming) that sells K2 products. So what if it's in Canada. Maybe they should ask the poor Chinese factory workers about globalism.

    And so what if the sales vehicle was ebay. If the store broke the retailer agreement, that's not the customer's fault. K2 skis either have a warranty or they don't. And it costs K2 close to nothing to just pony up a ski.

    As for the store, the neg review is the only one in 12 months, so it's not like it really hurt them. Seems like they're overreacting to it.

    Bad business all around.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ted Striker View Post
    True, but in the case of ebay, it's a good idea for items that might need a warranty claim.

    But I agree. The 'they aren't authorized' bit sound like complete bullshit. The store is a brick and mortar (I'm assuming) that sells K2 products. So what if it's in Canada. Maybe they should ask the poor Chinese factory workers about globalism.

    And so what if the sales vehicle was ebay. If the store broke the retailer agreement, that's not the customer's fault. K2 skis either have a warranty or they don't. And it costs K2 close to nothing to just pony up a ski.

    As for the store, the neg review is the only one in 12 months, so it's not like it really hurt them. Seems like they're overreacting to it.

    Bad business all around.
    Again I think needing to do "due diligence" on what seems like a good seller (based on eBay reviews) is bullshit.

    I see you agree, obviously. I agree with you that this costs K2 nothing to make good. In fact id imagine this thread might be enough to perk the right ears.

    Fuck K2 skis
    Fuck Urban Alpine
    Fuck eBay

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