Continuing along with our tradition of "No Bullshit Product Reviews", we decided to take on yet another online retailer this week: Dogfunk (www.dogfunk.com).
In the past, we've used The House (www.the-house.com) almost exclusively for our snowboarding purchases. Mostly because we've used them so much now, that we're pretty damned comfortable with them, and how they work. And, their service and selection [generally] can't be beat. The prices are always fair enough, and they're always 100% accurate with our orders. That's a pretty high bar that they've set over there, so there was no real need to stray. Until now...
We decided that this year, we would continue reviewing online retailers whenever we had the chance to do so. Well, this year, the chance came quickly in the form of an on-sale Burton Deuce 162 Wide that The House had sold out of just before we were ready to take the plunge on it (which happens a lot over there, oddly enough). However: Some web-tailer that we've barely heard of named Dogfunk still had plenty of 'em in stock. So, we figured, what the hey...? Why not give 'em a shot...?
Here she is! The object of my desires! The Deuces came in narrows and wides, and in a rainbow of sizes... but, all with the same general graphic theme. Of course, The House sold their last 162 wide less than a week before I got paid... which happens all-too-maddeningly-often these days. But, Dogfunk had a pile of 'em... and, even a bit cheaper than The House had 'em for. Now, that'll get my attention in a hot second, every time.
These days, I always call my orders in. Just to gauge how friendly (and, patient) the people are over there. In this case, I called in twice, with two purchases: The Deuce (that I mentioned above), and a follow-up order for Customs [bindings] and Freestyles, to match the boards. The Base-Swap gig can sometimes yield some nasty surprises (we'll get to that in a minute), so I usually order bindings after the fact.
The folks at Dogfunk were more than kind. They also sounded genuinely happy to be there, and were pretty chatty and engaging. They also sounded "sincere" in all of this... not at all "fake"... so, I'd have to give them the highest compliments possible on this one.
As I mentioned, the Base Swap deal can be a bit maddening. On my Deuce order, I specified that I wanted the black/yellow base colorway (if it was available). I guess it wasn't, because what I actually got was a black "XIII", surrounded by all sorts of pumpkin-orange overkill. It looked like Halloween had thrown up all over my fucking base, and let me tell ya, I wasn't none too goddamned happy about it, either. Not at first, at least.
But: As soon as I saw that Dogfunk had a perfectly matching pair of Customs in stock (that somehow matched both the gray details in the topsheet, as well as all that pumpkin all over the bottom)... well, I got a hell of a lot happier. So: That's what led to the follow-up order.
Outside of that one bump, though, everything else was just peachy. The sizes were all correct on arrival, the delivery time was dead-on, everything got here well-packaged and in perfectly good shape, and the paperwork was all 100% on-the-spot. Very, very cool.
Here's the bindings that I ordered from Dogfunk. The gray Customs (far left) went on the Deuce; the white Freestyles (center) went on a Ride Fleetwood 165, and the blue/white Freestyles (right) are slated for a 5150 Stroke that I'm poking around for, as we speak. The House sold out of those stupid fast last season, so I figured I'd better be safe and grab 'em while I can.
I don't think that I could be any happier with the prices. The Deuce was $265.96 (about average); the Customs, $103.97 (about $25 less than at The House); the Freestyles, $71.97 (again, about $25 less than at The House). And, on my second order, they even bumped up the shipping to "priority" (from "basic ground") free of charge, so that they'd arrive the same day as my Fleetwood from The House.
Yeah, man. All in all, I'd have to say that I was more than happy with both of my transactions. Even with the Base Swap madness... at the end of the day, the board looks great, I got everything fast and fairly cheap, and the people were really, really great to deal with. That's pretty much a five-star experience, in my book! Good job, Dogfunk. I'm sure I'll be calling again real soon.
