Buying Equipment from thepenaltybox.com

[cabreezy 0]

I'm planning on purchasing a Tour Beemer Inferno and stick bag from www.thepenaltybox.com and I have a few questions for those who have experience.

1) I'm going to pay via Paypal, anybody have any negative experience with how smoothly the system ran for Paypal payments? The website says they send an email within a day, is it click-through payment or "Send Money through Paypal via recipient email" method as used by Hockeygiant.com?

2) Generally how much more is shipping for a hockey stick? They don't say anywhere on the site around what price range it'll be until after you've entered information in the check-out, then it makes me feel uneasy in their Help/FAQ section about the frequently asked question of "Why is my expedited or oversized shipping so expensive?" I'm a little over cautious with online orders, and I don't really want to go mid-way through the check-out process to see an expensive shipping cost, enough that I'd rather buy it from another place that has discounts and/or free shipping.

3) Any complaints about the Beemer Inferno? Or words of wisdom? I'm getting a Stiff Right-Handed model, which I think should be sufficient enough, I once cracked an Easton Octane (80 flex) taking a slapshot, sending the blade flying towards another person. I'm not exactly sure how Tour's flex rating is.

4) Any testimonials about service with thepanltybox.com? Are they reliable, has anyone had any bad experiences with them? In Yahoo! merchant reviews it appeared 1 person had a bad experience with scuffed equipment.

Sorry I have a lot of questions, looking back at it I seem pretty anal.

[All Torhs Team 0]

As for paypal, it is the safest way to transfer money IMO. Actually Paypal is taking over or already has taken over most online transactions. You do not have to worry about a thing when using paypal.

As for the PenatlyBox.com Ive purchases a few things from them over the years and theyve always been good to me. I had no problems with service or product flaws. Seems as if your just worried about sending money online and not actually getting to see the product in your hand.

I think youll be A-O.K. using the penaltybox.

[cabreezy 0]

I've actually purchased several pieces of equipment off eBay, for some reason I get a little cautious dealing with online retailers.

[Jason Harris 31]

I would think you have better recourse with your credit card than PayPal, but that could be quibbling.

Regarding shipping, most senior sticks are oversized by about 2" (threshold is 84" measured as L +W + W + H + H). What does that mean? It means you get screwed by the shipping companies. UPS and Fed Ex tack on a $5.00 oversized handling fee, then charge as though the shipment weights thirty pounds, even though it obviously weighs about one pound. Of course, the online stores obviously ship enough to get discounts from the carriers, but who knows whether they pass along the savings.

Using the Post Office coast to coast to ship one pound of an oversized package, Parcel Post is $26.76, Priority Mail is $29.30, yet Express Mail (overnight) is relatively cheap at $18.80.

[cabreezy 0]

Using the Post Office coast to coast to ship one pound of an oversized package, Parcel Post is $26.76, Priority Mail is $29.30, yet Express Mail (overnight) is relatively cheap at $18.80.

Do you know if are those the fees thepenaltybox follows? Or are they just the general fees as given by the respective mail carrier? Is it really better off to go with an overnighter?

[yipperzz 28]

I've actually purchased several pieces of equipment off eBay, for some reason I get a little cautious dealing with online retailers.

haha i think you should be more caution on ebay than with online retailers. and are you going with cash through paypal or credit card? i would always go with credit card as you can dispute any problems that may occur.

[MDE3 0]

3) Any complaints about the Beemer Inferno? Or words of wisdom? I'm getting a Stiff Right-Handed model, which I think should be sufficient enough, I once cracked an Easton Octane (80 flex) taking a slapshot, sending the blade flying towards another person. I'm not exactly sure how Tour's flex rating is.

The Tour Beemer "Stiff" is listed as about 87 - 90 flex, the extra stiff about 100 flex

My son used them for 2 seasons in XIHL and Piha, and liked them a lot....they worked better for him than the one piece Easton Synergies he was using, partially because on average they lasted about twice as long, but mostly because he liked the feel a bit better. although he says they were similar for him.

[cabreezy 0]

lol, then again on eBay I only really dealt with those who had 99.8%+ positive feedback (who've had at least 1000 feedbacks received).

glad to hear that the beemer inferno is durable, the synergies (around my general area) have a reputation of being easily breakable. I have a friend who uses synergy OPSs and I always see him buying a new one at the hockey shop in the roller hockey place we played at.

anyway i'm planning on placing the order over the weekend and after really looking through thepenaltybox thoroughly discovered a chart that had listed general rangs of prices for shipping, so all is good. I plan on paying through Paypal because I recently did a couple logo designs for clients and they should be paying through Paypal, so I might as well kill the balance instantly rather than waiting about 5 days for that money to get transferred back into my bank account.

thanks for your help guys, and if anyone else has any other comments on the tour beemer inferno, i'd like to know.

[iceburg19 1]

the tour beemer works for me,great stick i just ordered another one from hockey giant .i like the grip feel of the shaft as far as the blade grip i sand that off and spray paint the the blade for a smooth finish.i dont like a grip feel on the blade it messes my stick handling up.

[Jason Harris 31]

Using the Post Office coast to coast to ship one pound of an oversized package, Parcel Post is $26.76, Priority Mail is $29.30, yet Express Mail (overnight) is relatively cheap at $18.80.

Do you know if are those the fees thepenaltybox follows? Or are they just the general fees as given by the respective mail carrier? Is it really better off to go with an overnighter?

Those are fees from the Post Office's website.

I suspect that the Penalty Box ships via UPS or Fed Ex and probably has negotiated a set price for sticks, since they send so many.

Go to the following page: Fed Ex rate finder. On the first page, input zip codes 92117 (San Diego) and 01527 (outside Boston), Residential address and use Fed Ex Ground, then click Continue. On the second page, input 1.2 pounds, dimensions of 67" X 9" x 2" and declared value of $100, then click Continue. The rate comes as $30.44, and if you click Details it is broken down as $21.92 base rate, $6.00 oversized handling, $1.75 residential surcharge and $0.77 fuel surcharge. (By the way, UPS was $39 for the same parameters.)

There is no way the Penalty Box is paying $30 shipping per stick. I'm confident they've gone to Fed Ex/UPS and said, "We're sending out 200 sticks per week. What price are you going to give us?" However, given the base price for you or me is $30.44 per stick, how much of a discount do they receive?

[cabreezy 0]

Well I think I've decided to go ahead and purchase it at thepenaltybox, on their policies page I found a generalized chart for shipping charges (http://store.thepenaltybox.com/policies.html#shipping). Although my only real concern is that I'm ordering a stick bag with it, I really am unsure as to how smart they are to know that they can put the stick in the stick bag and ship it out in 1 package, or if they will package them in 2 separate boxes and charge additional fees. I'll probably just call in, I just was looking to see if anybody's had experience with their previous orders so I wouldn't need to make the phone call or wait a couple days to a week for an email response (i want my stick now, lol).

I really just want the best deal and save myself some money because I really don't want to see that although thepenaltybox sells the inferno for $89.99 i'll end up spending more for it there with a tour stick bag (and shipping) than buying it at hockeygiant for 99.99 using the 5% discount code and opting for the slightly cheaper Nike hockey stick bag.

As I said before though, all is well I really shouldn't stress over it and if it turns out a little more expensive one way or the other, so be it. I just want to get myself a nice reliable OPS :)

[cabreezy 0]

update: I was in the check-out process at thepenaltybox.com and they put up the shipping total and they wanted $31 and change for standard ground shipping! I immediately cancelled out and just went to hockeygiant and bought it for 99.99 there and they're shipping was only $14.98, and even moreso I just tacked on the 10 ids pro-shot pucks for $49.99 and got the free shipping for my order.

conclusion: yea, the stick may have been $10 cheaper on thepenaltybox but they completely bite you in the butt for shipping on oversized/multiple items.