sweet selection, sweet price and a sweet service! (skatewarehouse.co.uk)

Member Name: T-virus

Product:	skatewarehouse.co.uk
Date:	26/04/06 (2034 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: they keep there promises, great selection, really cheap!

Disadvantages: they dont sell skate shoes!

Well it is time for a change on writing game and DVD reviews. So I thought I would have ago at writing a review on an online shopping website. This review will be on www.skatewarehouse.co.uk; this website sells inline skating equipment, skateboarding equipment, skate clothing and many more accessories to go with the 2 sports.
So I came across skate warehouse accidentally. I had just got paid and had decided that I desperately needed a new complete skateboard. So I searched for another company first and found out that they had burnt down and was no longer in production. This came as a shock for me as I have not used another company before and didn’t know about any others. I went strait for Google and searched for cheap complete set up’s, there at the top of the list was skate warehouse. I thought it can’t hurt to take a look at what they have got to offer, to my amazement they hade a great selection and by god they were cheap.

So for all that don’t know about skate warehouse, here is a little history on the site and how it came to be.

History on the site ands its members: Skate warehouse is a fresh new company combining years of experience with fast, friendly and efficient service. The business is designed to serve the whole country with the newest, coolest and most wanted selection of skate equipment available.
Based in Devon the business is owned by James and Will Harrison.


Ok so that is that little lot covered, now lets take a look at the initial layout of the site, also the products and brands the site sells.

Layout and products: the layout of the site is very simple and easy to use along with selecting the brands you want. Along the top of the page you will find these options to view:

- Home – takes you to the home page


- News – tells you of anything happening in the near future to the site or special events


- Our team – gives you a bit of information on the team members i.e. age, what they ride, interests etc


- Contact us – give suggestions to the site, say thanks even just say hi they don’t mind which


- Our T’s and C’s – here you will find there address, telephone, email, there guarantee information, shipping details, returns policy etc


- Your basket – this is were you store all of your selected items to buy


- Checkout – click here to checkout and pay for your items


- Links – some handy links for you to take the time to have a look at


- There is also a jump to drop down menu that will take you to any equipment/brand that you are looking for. Which I think is quite handy if you are in a rush.

Ok so that’s the top of the page, now here is what is down the side of the page. Skate warehouse mainly deal in two sports, skateboarding and inline skating. First here are the inline skating options signified by the coloured blue text.

- Skates – here you will find the skates. Skate warehouse sell all the top quality inline brands. These include the brands Remz, Deshi, Roces, Rollerblade, Razors, Anarchy, USD, Salomon and Xsjado. Just click your preferred brand and check out what they have to offer. The price ranges from £50-£210 for either just the boot on its own or as a complete skate. If you shop around you will find that £50-£210 is very cheap for pro skates.


- Hardware – the hardware section is mainly for spare parts. This section is split into 3 other sections. These are…


- Wheels – the wheels section includes the following brands…Heat wheels, BHC wheels, Eulogy, 4 X 4, Kizer and Undercover. The price ranges from £16-£28 and different sizes are available. All wheels come in packs of 4 as most skaters prefer to skate with just 2 wheels on each skate instead of the standard 4, this makes it easier to grind.


- Parts – this section includes many things. It includes inner boots which range from about £40-£50 and most foot sizes are available, soles, bearings from £18, buckles from £8, etc and includes the following brands…Xsjado, Crap bearings, Night hardware, JUG, Kizer and USD.

- Frames – the last section in this list is for the frames which are used for grinding. These range from £30-£52, the size of your foot size will determine the size of your frame and many different sizes are available. This section includes the following brands…Xsjado, Able, Ground control and Kizer.


- Accessories – this section is divided into another 5 options…


- Balance boards – these are aids for help with balance. They can be used for many sports including inline, skateboards, surfing and snowboarding. There are just two brands, Scrub balance and Vew – do. They both include many different types of balance board for many sports. The price range varies from £47-£125 though the more expensive ones are bigger which are meant for snowboarding and surfing balance practice.


- Ramps – there is only one brand, which is McGill. There are many ramps including launch ramps, grind bars, quarter pipes and even spine transfers. All the big ramps include free shipping. Prices range from £24-£150; the more expensive ones are the much bigger ramps.


- More accessories – this section includes many options including inline tools from £9, playing cards £1.50, stickers from £2.50 with about 20 stickers in total, belts from £8, wallets from £8, laces from £2.50 which is dirt cheap! Wax and more. The brands to all these products are endless hence why they are not set out into brand sections as the above sections.


- Safety – this section is divided into body parts, which includes Knee, elbow and wrist sets from a mere £17, head or helmets from just £10 though I would suggest spending as much as you can possibly afford for the head protection, you need quality for your head, knee from £8, wrist from £8, elbow from £5 and shin from £20. Again the brand names are endless.


- Media – this section is for films and tutorial films, basically as stated media. All media ranges from about £12-£20, a small price to pay to see how the pros lay it down. There are two sections, video and DVD with many different pro brand teams available.


- Clothing – if you want to look the part too then click on this section. There is a lot of clothing to be had here which is set into 5 sections…


- Hats – well simply you will find hats here to keep your noggin warm. Brands included are Kizer, Franco shade, USD and Headworx. As for hats baseball caps, beanies and visor beanies are available. All hats range from £10-£22, at a guess the more popular the brand the more it will cost you.


- Jeans/pants – here you will find jeans and pants. There is a main brand USD and there own brand labelled simply as jeans/pants. There own brand are just as good as the USD pants the only difference is the price, there own brand is cheaper. USD go for about £40 where as the own brand s go for about £36, personally the USD jeans look a lot nicer and you are only paying an extra £4. Sizes range from small-extra large for the USD brand and 30”-36”; other sizes can be asked for.


- Sweatshirts – here you will find hoodies, fleeces and long sleeve sweatshirts for those chilly days. Including the top brands Kizer, Headworx and USD. Prices range anywhere from £30-£50 which is cheap considering you can easily pay £60 for a pro brand hoodie or sweatshirt in most skate shops. Sizes start from small-extra large for all brands.


- T-shirts – so we have covered the chilly days, this section is for the hot ones. There are many brands on offer here for you to skate in style, brands included are 4 X 4, Project blow, Havoc, UCON, Monx clothing, Heat wheels, Franco shade, Esoteric, Able clothing, USD, Headworx, 976 and there own brand the skate warehouse. As I said there’s plenty to choose from. Prices start from about £10 and go to about £22 depending on the brand you choose.


- Bags – finally there is the bag section for keeping all your bits and bobs in when you go out to skate. Top brands included are stateside skates, JUG, USD, Kizer and Ground control. Prices range anywhere from £15-£50, the more you pay the better the quality and the more space/pockets you get too.

- Special offers - Next is the special offers section, updated regularly here you will find many great bargains that skate warehouse has to offer. May I say that they will be very cheap!

- Preorder – this is where you can preorder any equipment that is on its way to skate warehouse. Simply preorder it and you will get it before any one else.

Right so that has covered the inline section and all of its equipment and brands. Next I will explain what the skateboarding section has to offer. There is a lot more skateboarding equipment on offer than the inline stuff. There are more brands to choose from for starters, I do believe that skateboarding is more popular than in lining and a lot more selection is out there. The skateboarding equipment is signified by the yellow text.

- Decks – another word for the board on its own. Skate warehouse stocks all the top brands and newest deck technology. Brands included are Alia skateboards, Almost, Alien workshop, Anti-hero, Black label, Blind, Chocolate, Consolidated, Darkstar, DC, Death, DNA, Element, Enjoy, Enuf, Flip, Fracture, Girl, Habitat, Heroin, Karma, Krooked, Legacy, Organika, Plan B, Popwar, Real, Seek, Sh*t, Shorty’s, Speed demons, Toy machine, World industries and last but not least Zero. As I said there is a wide selection to choose from. Prices differ depending on which brand you choose to use, the price ranges from £20-£60. The price will be higher for a pro signature deck ranging in the £45-£60 area but this is still cheap. The Shorty’s pro signature decks are only £45; the old company I used to use had them for no less than £65. All decks come with free grip tape and they put it on for you ready to skate.


- Completes - well the completes are the deck, trucks, hardware (nuts n bolts etc), wheels, bearings and grip tape, plus skate warehouse will build it up for you so it is ready to ride as soon as you get it. The only complete that will not arrive built up is the Fracture completes. They will build it up for a mere £5; the Fracture completes come with better Hardware and a free t-shirt. Top brands included are stateside skates, Fracture, World industries, blind, Speed demons and Darkstar. Now the main factor that makes the skate warehouse completes different to other skate shops is the price, the most you will pay is £109 for a Darkstar set up, which is very cheap for this brand, you can pay anything up too £250 for this brand. Others go for as little as £60, that’s £90 cheaper for a pro complete than the last company I used to use. Now I don’t know about you but £90 is a nice wod saved for your back pocket.

- Long boards - aaahhhhh back to the old skool. Here you will find the long boards. Popular for surfers and snowboarders when water and snow are unavailable, tarmac is the next best thing. These boards are just meant for cruising on. Though tricks are possible these boards are just a relaxing way to get around and by god they are fast. The only brand is stateside skates but they do have many different types of long board. Prices range from £50-£80 which is very cheap! You can so easily pay up to £300 for one of these

- Hardware – the hardware section is split into 5 other sections…

- Bearings – these are what make the wheels go round and give you speed. There are many different types of bearings ranging in ABEC. The higher the ABEC the longer the bearing will spin for, ABEC 1,3,5,7 and 9 are available from all sorts of brands. Some other brands use titanium and ceramic in there bearings too which are like the next step from ABEC 9. There are many different brands available including Pig wheels, Fracture, Tensor, bones, lucky and more. Bearings differ in price on account of which ABEC, material or brand that you choose. Prices range from £7.50-£40. The more you pay the better the bearings will be, spend a lot and they will last you for ages. Cheap bearings tend to explode.

- Wheels – these are the things that get you moving. So naturally you will find the wheels in here. There are many different types of wheel you can purchase including different materials, size and whether or not you like a soft wheel or a hard one. There’s a good selection of brands to choose from including Pig wheels, World industries, Enjoy, Darkstar, Blind, Almost, Sh*t, stateside skates, Karma, Alien workshop, Element, Speed demons, Fill more, auto bahn and fracture. All will have various sizes and materials on offer. Prices range anywhere from £10-£42. Obviously the more you spend the longer the wheels will last as cheap ones tend to wear away quickly.

- Trucks - here you will find the trucks. The trucks are where a skateboarders greatest set of tricks can be accomplished. The grind tricks are what the trucks are used for mainly; truck companies are always thinking up new effective ways of keeping the grinding away of your truck down to a minimum. Top brands and I really do mean top brands include Venture, Independent, Krux, Silver trucks, Tensor, Royal trucks, Fracture and Thunder. These are all the best of quality trucks you can buy…well accept one, Grind king but they are thinking of making these available to buy of the site. Prices vary from £8-£48, note that only some of the trucks are sold as pairs and others are sold separately, a message on the information regarding the truck will explain whether they are sold as a pair or not.

- Other hardware – here is where you will find your spare parts so to speak, basically the nuts, bolts, kingpins, riser pads etc to some it all up in two words, “hard” “ware”. There are again many brands on offer here including Pig wheels, Shorty’s, Tensor, Randoms, World industries and many more. Prices range from £1.99-£4 for nuts and bolts and £1.99-£5 for risers and kingpins.

- Accessories – it is just the same as the inline option just with skateboarding brands instead. This section is divided into another 5 options…


- Balance boards – these are aids for help with balance. They can be used for many sports including inline, skateboards, surfing and snowboarding. There are just two brands, Scrub balance and Vew – do. They both include many different types of balance board for many sports. The price again ranges from £47-£125 though the more expensive ones are bigger which are meant for snowboarding and surfing balance practice.


- Ramps – again as the inline selection there is only one brand, which is McGill. There are many ramps including launch ramps, grind bars, quarter pipes and even spine transfers. All the big ramps include free shipping. Prices range from £24-£150; the more expensive ones are the much bigger ramps.


- More accessories – this section includes many options including skate tools from £7-£15, toys from £10-£25, stickers from £3 for a pack of 4, belts from £11-£35, wallets from £8-£24, bored covers from £17 and more. The brands to all these products are endless hence why they are not out into brand sections as the above sections.


- Safety – this section as the inline one is divided into body parts, which includes Knee, elbow and wrist sets from a mere £17, head or helmets from just £10 though I would suggest spending as much as you can possibly afford for the head protection, you need quality for your head, knee from £8, wrist from £8, elbow from £5 and shin from £20. Again the brand names are endless.

- Media – this section is for films and tutorial films, basically as stated media. All media ranges from about £12-£20, a small price to pay to see how the pros lay it down. There are two sections, video and DVD with many different pro brand teams available.



- Clothing – so why not look good while skating, this time the Clothing section has 6 other sections

- Shorts – here you will find shorts for those hot days of the year. Though I wouldn’t recommend shorts for any skater for one reason, we skaters all have manky legs! Cuts, dints, scars you name the legs have got it! But if you are feeling brave check out the only brand available Kr3w clothing. Prices range from £23-£26, bargain! Sizes range from “30-“36. Other sizes can be ordered.

- Jeans/pants – now these are what the skaters wear and we like them baggy. There is a nice selection available compared to the inline section, brands included are Enjoy, Headworx, Habitat, DC, Spitfire, Kr3w clothing, Reaction and Fracture. Prices vary from £35-£47 and sizes range from 28”-36”. Most are baggy fit but regular fitting is available.

- Sweatshirts – ranging from hoodies, fleeces and long sleeve sweat shirts for those chilly days. There is again a wide selection of brands including Pig wheels, Almost, Enjoy, World industries, Kr3w clothing, Headworx, TSA clothing, 4 star, Girl, Chocolate, Auto bahn and Fracture. Now you can keep warm in style. Prices vary from £15-£45 and small-extra large sizes are available.

- T-shirts – ok so the classic t-shirt. There are a lot of brands available for you to choose from so you can turn heads while you skate and not just with your tricks, but with your style also. The brands available are Destructo, Enjoy, Blind, Darkstar, Almost, Death, Kr3w clothing, Popwar, TSA clothing, Girl, Chocolate, Auto bahn, Fracture, World industries, Alien workshop, spitfire and Seek. Prices range from £10-£22 and there are a lot of styles available, they all look really cool too.

- Hats – the section that helps keep your noggin warm while skating on those cold days. Her you will find the hats, from trucker caps to visor beanies there is something for everyone. There is a wide range of brands available including Sh*t, Headworx, Habitat, Karma, Silver trucks, Pig wheels, Organika, Spitfire, Kr3w clothing, Enjoy, Chocolate, Toy machine, 4 star, Auto bahn, Fracture and Blind. Prices vary from about £10-£20.

- Bags – so you have bought too much stuff and have no where to put it when you go out to skate, problem solved, click here for a bag. There are many brands available including stateside skates, Chocolate, Spitfire, Toy machine, Sh*t, Fracture and blind. Prices range from £15-£40; a bargain considering it’s easy to pay nearly £80 for a descent bag.

- Special offers – here you will find the special offers section; updated regularly here you will find many great bargains that skate warehouse has to offer. May I say that they will be very cheap!
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The last section is the extra signified by a dark turquoise text…

- Crooozers – feeling flash? Then click here and buy one of the bad ass croozer push bikes. I’m sure you have seen them around; they look like the chopper push bikes but look much meaner. There are men’s and ladies versions available. The only brand available is Nirve but with this brand expect quality. The prices range from £250-£595, the more you pay the better the quality and the longer it will last.


- Mountain boards – here you will find the mountain boards, the next generation in extreme sports. To describe them they are like a snowboard with tyres that you can use down hills and mountain trails, I have had a go on one and they are very fun. Now considered an extreme sport, the brands up for grabs are Exit ATB, Scrub ATB and Mindless ATB. Prices range from £70-£280, quite cheap considering the size and materials that go into these monstrous contraptions.

- Randoms – this selection is split into another 3 sections…


- Balance boards – again as the inline and skateboard selection, these are aids for help with balance. They can be used for many sports including inline, skateboards, surfing and snowboarding. There are just two brands, Scrub balance and Vew – do. They both include many different types of balance board for many sports. The price again ranges from £47-£125 though the more expensive ones are bigger which are meant for snowboarding and surfing balance practice.


- Skim boards – Now these are the bomb! For use on the shoreline on the beach, just throw them on the water, run, jump and hope for the best! Basically they are a cheap and less serious form of a surf board. The only brand available is Piranha and prices range from £25-£30.


- Ramps – again as the inline and skateboard selection there is only one brand, which is McGill. There are many ramps including launch ramps, grind bars, quarter pipes and even spine transfers. All the big ramps include free shipping. Prices range from £24-£150; the more expensive ones are the much bigger ramps.



- Sitemap - At the bottom of the screen you will find the selection named “site map” this is a very handy thing to use as it will list every brand, product and section it is in, enabling you to click on your desired brand, product or section and take you strait to it, again great if you are in a rush.




Ok so that’s the lay out and the products/brands taken care of. So the important bit, “what about the standard of customer service?” I hear you asking…

Customer service: well the customer service is to an excellent standard. This is what happened on my very first order with skate warehouse, (you will find out why there service is top class!)
So after having a look through the very cheap complete skateboards I chose my set up. I left my details i.e. Name, address telephone (I would advise you leave your telephone number when ordering, you will find out why in a few sentences, read on…) I then left my card details and placed my order, it was promised that my complete would arrive in 24 hours. After about 10 minutes from ordering my complete the phone rang. It was skate warehouse telling me that the complete that I ordered was out of stock, I thought to myself that I would not get my complete the next day after all. But they bent over backwards to help. They told me they had another complete in stock that was fairly similar but was priced at £75 instead of £50 which the original one I ordered was priced at. So I thought I would have to pay a little extra for my new complete, but then came the shocking but fantastic news. Skate warehouse did me the favour of knocking the replacement completes’ price down to the price of the one I ordered originally! So I got a £75 complete for £50, bargain! As promised my complete arrived the next day and was built up and grip taped ready for me to skate. So I ordered my complete at 11:50am and received it at 10:30am the next day, if I can be technical for a minute that’s actually 1 hour and 20 minutes early than stated. I now order all of my skate stuff from here and swear by there service. They even listen to there customers suggestions and will try there best to get products that they don’t normally stock. Over all there customer service is grade A excellent and can’t be beaten.


Over all: over all skate warehouse has a great selection of equipment to offer at a very hard to beat bargain price. There customer service is excellent and all in all they are very polite and friendly. The website is easy to navigate and the ordering procedure is easy to use. The only thing I can find wrong with them is the fact that they don’t sell skate shoes. I would recommend this site for any skater and I will be using there service for a long time to come.

Contact information and procedures: well if you would like to know anymore information about the site here are some handy contacting procedures for you…

www.skatewarehouse.co.uk

Skatewarehouse.co.uk
Brightley Mill
Okehampton
Devon
EX20 1RR
United Kingdom

Phone: 08707 651 707

Fax: 08707 651 708

E-mail: info@skatewarehouse.co.uk
Well I hope this review has helped you in some way, thank you for reading

T-virus aka James

Summary: service is top class and the price is even better!