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Occasionally, folks here on the forum ask whether anyone has ordered from Kayak City. Kayak City has a large store on e-bay and also on Amazon. The prices are real great and the packages seem really low...and point to point shipping is free (and to home can be really low..like $45 sometimes). Folks sometimes feel it's "too good to be true".
Several guys on the forum have ordered from them successfully. The weakness, of course, is that you can't test paddle a kayak on line, but if you know what you want it is a tempting idea.
So I am out in Sacramento, CA for my daughter's wedding which is also the headquarters for Kayak City. I was bored so I decided to go out and look at their boats and how they were handled and packaged for shipping. I also was going to measure the attitudes of the guys there so folks might have a better idea of the reliability of this place. I had no preconceived notions as I had not dealt with them.
Kayak City is the second largest kayak vendor in the USA...only Austin Kayak sells more. They ship out over 100 yaks a week....surprisingly about 5 a month to BWI. They sell Wilderness Systems, Ocean Kayak, Hobie and Eddyline SOT kayaks primarily...they sell a couple Emotion SOT's too. They really know their kayaks and have a great setup for shipping boats. The guys were very friendly and accommodating as I asked questions and asked to inspect how things were packed and their ways of handling damage complaints.
Each type and model of kayak is wrapped differently according to the protection needs of the particular boat. They all, however, are wrapped in cardboard first, then one or two layers of plastic. Some that have particular wear points also get a little bubble-wrap. They take great pains to clearly label the yaks "NO FORKLIFT" but sadly, he says, many shipping employees won't get off their forklifts.
The representative I visited with stressed the importance of inspecting the kayaks for shipping damage at the "pick-up point" and calling immediately if there is any damage. "We'll ship a replacement same day if possible." They of course don't own the shipping/freight company, but seem determined to have customers completely satisfied.
Their "packages" all have upgrade options. Every kayak ships standard with one or two Solstice paddles that are equivalent to the Bending Branches Whisper. The upgrades are Cannon Waves but can be Aquabound manta rays as well. I'm not sure what all the seat upgrades are.
Hobie Kayaks get a reduced shipping rate, but are not eligible for free shipping. Hobie requires shipping be point to personal address and some extra insurance. The rate is still very inexpensive compared to say Cabela's shipping rate on kayaks.
Anyway, I am very confident recommending these guys. They are professional, hardworking, and customer centered. They try their best to prepare boats for safe shipping at the lowest price. I was pretty impressed!
You can see their stuff on
E-Bay at http://stores.ebay.com/Kayak-City-Paddlesports
their own website www.kayakcity.com
Several guys on the forum have ordered from them successfully. The weakness, of course, is that you can't test paddle a kayak on line, but if you know what you want it is a tempting idea.
So I am out in Sacramento, CA for my daughter's wedding which is also the headquarters for Kayak City. I was bored so I decided to go out and look at their boats and how they were handled and packaged for shipping. I also was going to measure the attitudes of the guys there so folks might have a better idea of the reliability of this place. I had no preconceived notions as I had not dealt with them.
Kayak City is the second largest kayak vendor in the USA...only Austin Kayak sells more. They ship out over 100 yaks a week....surprisingly about 5 a month to BWI. They sell Wilderness Systems, Ocean Kayak, Hobie and Eddyline SOT kayaks primarily...they sell a couple Emotion SOT's too. They really know their kayaks and have a great setup for shipping boats. The guys were very friendly and accommodating as I asked questions and asked to inspect how things were packed and their ways of handling damage complaints.
Each type and model of kayak is wrapped differently according to the protection needs of the particular boat. They all, however, are wrapped in cardboard first, then one or two layers of plastic. Some that have particular wear points also get a little bubble-wrap. They take great pains to clearly label the yaks "NO FORKLIFT" but sadly, he says, many shipping employees won't get off their forklifts.
The representative I visited with stressed the importance of inspecting the kayaks for shipping damage at the "pick-up point" and calling immediately if there is any damage. "We'll ship a replacement same day if possible." They of course don't own the shipping/freight company, but seem determined to have customers completely satisfied.
Their "packages" all have upgrade options. Every kayak ships standard with one or two Solstice paddles that are equivalent to the Bending Branches Whisper. The upgrades are Cannon Waves but can be Aquabound manta rays as well. I'm not sure what all the seat upgrades are.
Hobie Kayaks get a reduced shipping rate, but are not eligible for free shipping. Hobie requires shipping be point to personal address and some extra insurance. The rate is still very inexpensive compared to say Cabela's shipping rate on kayaks.
Anyway, I am very confident recommending these guys. They are professional, hardworking, and customer centered. They try their best to prepare boats for safe shipping at the lowest price. I was pretty impressed!
You can see their stuff on
E-Bay at http://stores.ebay.com/Kayak-City-Paddlesports
their own website www.kayakcity.com
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