are there good vendors left??

[glowstix]

ok, every vendor i've used have screwed something up. are there any good ones left?? blade, blue gauntlet especially, triplette, i've heard was bad, fencingpost..all have screwed up for me...physical chess seems to be the best in terms of service but the quality is a bit suspect i think. who's the best for you guys in terms of quality and affordability???

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

pbt and leon paul

[davesaint]

Leon Paul and I have had very good results ordering from Uhlmann directly.

[Elemental]

I'd definatly recommend leon paul. They are not the cheapest out there but they are reasonably priced and the quality is excellent for what you pay.

Personally I haven't had any problems with Blue Gauntlet but I have only been using their gear for a short time (been fencing less than a year) but it's been great for club use.

[glowstix]

I'd definatly recommend leon paul. They are not the cheapest out there but they are reasonably priced and the quality is excellent for what you pay.

Personally I haven't had any problems with Blue Gauntlet but I have only been using their gear for a short time (been fencing less than a year) but it's been great for club use.

the thing i have with blue gauntlet is that they screwed up the mailing address part. it seems that if you placed an initial order with them, then change address, then place another order some period of time afterwards they'll send the stuff to the address you were living at when you first ordered from them. and i'm not the only person this has happened to.

[Musketeer]

So far I've only had good experiences with Triplette, although I haven't placed too many orders.

[Purple Fencer]

*Humbly raises his hand* Give me a try! (boy...that didn't come out to well!)

[MikeHarm]

Purplefencer:
You selling any Unitards? I saw some of the elite fencers in Michigan wearing them before and thought they looked pretty nice. I might want to get one before nationals this July.

[cowpaste]

Purplefencer:
You selling any Unitards? I saw some of the elite fencers in Michigan wearing them before and thought they looked pretty nice. I might want to get one before nationals this July.

I seriously hope you are a sexy female.

[Purple Fencer]

Purplefencer:
You selling any Unitards? I saw some of the elite fencers in Michigan wearing them before and thought they looked pretty nice. I might want to get one before nationals this July.

Nope...the only people I rememebr sellign them were TCA and American Fencers (I think)

[rtran]

ok, every vendor i've used have screwed something up. are there any good ones left?? blade, blue gauntlet especially, triplette, i've heard was bad, fencingpost..all have screwed up for me...physical chess seems to be the best in terms of service but the quality is a bit suspect i think. who's the best for you guys in terms of quality and affordability???

The best vendor is the one where you can actually walk in and look at stuff. I've had numerous problems with various orders to fencingpost, blue gauntlet, and physical chess. Although they do occasionally get some things right

[grotto]

I have never had a major problem with my orders from Santelli. Costomer service is great and their jackets and knicker are very high quality.

[mifencer]

Purplefencer:
You selling any Unitards? I saw some of the elite fencers in Michigan wearing them before and thought they looked pretty nice. I might want to get one before nationals this July.

like who? I haven't seen anyone with the unitard... and I hope I don't!


better yet, don't name names.

[Zilverzmurfen]

I have only ordered once, I recently bought a rollbag from Allstar (DE).
I really recommend them. Great - and quick - service!

[cowpaste]

Sadly, since most of us live in the United States, we have to order Allstar stuff from the exorbitant ripoff that is allstar-usa.

[hpfencing]

The gear that swordmaster sells is great. I love the Estpoc line.

[Link14]

I needed some coaching equipment a couple of years ago and founded this outfit in Germany that was very good to deal with. If you're ordering enough stuff to make it the shipping charges worth while, the pricing is good. I got an Ulhmann FIE mask, sabre mask cover, and leather coaching vest from them and have been very happy with all of it.

The outfits name is Langenkamp-Fechtensport and their e-mail is www.fechtsport-langenkamp.de

The only caution is that they're a fairly small outfit, so if there is a big FIE meet going on anywhere, they usually close up shop to be there. Just have to time your order right

[CvilleFencer]

***Posted this on another thread but I had this one in mind as well when I wrote it. Sorry ifyou see it twice!***

I do all the ordering for my club and I have come to several conclusions (relating to club level or bulk order equipment):

1. Every vendor will make mistakes. The quality or service comes in how quickly and painlessly they fix their mistakes.

2. Customer service for fencing gear usually consists of mailing something to your house and maybe talking to you for 3 minutes on the phone. Hence my amusement at vendors who claim that their great service is what makes their expensive prices worth it. Go with the person who has the cheapest gear on the equipment you want.

3. Buying cheap gear costs you more in the longrun. Overpaying for gear under the theory that if someone charges more for it, it must be better somehow is equally foolish. If you get toothpick electric blades from BG or FS they will break in a very short time. If you buy the cheapest of gloves from Blade or Physical chess they will wear out in a month or two. However just because a company sells their nylon Jacket for 85 dollars does not mean it is a better 350N nylon jacket that anyone else sells (and probably came from the same factory as another brands), it just means you could have saved 25 dollars buy getting the same thing from the Fencing Post, Physical Chess, or others.

In short, do not cross off a vendor because they make one mistake. It is how they deal with problems that is the only real chance most of us have to see how they interact with a customer. The smaller vendors may get things wrong a bit less often just on the percentages (BG can do over 40 orders a day) but you will often pay more for it and if you are a club ordering 20 or 30 sets of gear you may find that the small guys will assure you they have the items in stock or on the way only to be blown off for weeks until they get in their next shipment, after already charging your card so they could pay for it.

In short it all comes down to perception personality. If you will never do business with a vendor after they sent you a bayonet body cord instead of a two prong but then made it right you will forever be hoping around looking for the "magic vendor" that never makes a mistake and you will end up paying a lot more by going through the places that claim to have the best service or products around than if you go through a high volume dealer that can offer a good discount for clubs (BG, FP) or you can go through the cheapest guys and take your chances on both quality and customer service (PC, FS, FA, Esun).

Anyway that is my to cents on the "Looking for a good vendor" and the "club fencing gear" threads. Our club has ordered almost 10G worth of gear last year and 4G this year so I have dealt with just about every vendor in the US and several in Germany. I usually order from BG for most of our club loaner and beginner gear and the Fencing Post for our more experienced fencers with the occasional order going to Leon Paul and Fechtsport Lagenkamp in GE.

Anyway, hope some of that helps.

[CvilleFencer]

I would like to second link14s post. If you are ordering more than 300 worth of gear Fechtsport Lagenkampf is a great way to get anything Uhlmann/Allstar makes. They speak passable english, take credit cards, and will do special orders and custom sizing.

I did more business with them a year or so ago before the Euro went nuts, but if you are getting a few high dollar items (shoes/blades/mask for example) they can still be cheaper even with shipping than going through a US vendor. And if you prefer the Allstar gear, I for one would rather pay almost 20-30% more just to not have to deal with Allstar USA/Blade so the fact that they are cheaper is just a bonus!

[glowstix]

great points c'ville. on the cheap gear vs expensive gear aspect, often i'm faced with a dilemna: do i buy the $40 blades knowing they will last only 5-7 months sometimes less or do i buy the $110 blades while completely breaking the bank knowing they will last much longer?? what if i can't afford the $110 blades RIGHT NOW. do i go without blades for a period of time while i save to buy them or do i get an affordable $40 now and another one a few months from now and another one a few months after that??? hhmm..perhaps if there were payment plans on fencing gear?!!?