Fencing Equipment USA

[BoondockDuff]

Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Fencing Equipment USA (http://www.fencing-equipment.bizhosting.com/index.htm). The ridiculously cheap fencing gear leaves lots of room for doubt when it comes to quality so any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

[DHCJr]

I started a similar post in the water cooler under 'E-bay and Fencing USA', you might look at that. Some of the equipment they were selling on E-bay was a Fencing Tester (an cheap Ohm-Meter that read in K (1000) Ohms). They also had some sabre blades that supposedly met USFA requirements of flexibility of 9.5 and 11.5 cm. Anybody know what the rules are.

I have heard rumors, that it is owned by the same people that own Blade, who are the same people who own Alstar-USA. You might also get responses on these.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Wait the real Blade or Blade-Runners?

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I was just browsing the site and they said "Flexibility=7-11cm." for the sabers.

lol, but the sabre body chord is under 10 bux....seems a bit too cheap.

[labouche]

HAHA, take a look at the shoes....they sure look quality!
-la bouche

[westcoastsabre]

Well considering the nature of a sport, poking at each other and all...I wouldnt buy or use anything from this place no matter how cheap it is.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Well the shoes are on sale...only 10 bux. I think my neighbor's dog birthday is coming up.

[Delmont]

actually our club ordered some stuff from there and the products aren't too bad. They messed the order up and took forever to get a responce from. But supposedly they have fired thier old US sales rep and hired on someone new. We got some sabres, masks, lame's. The body cords are a gamble, we got them for free, but 1 out of 3 didn't work.

[The0ne]

Yeah I like the way that they don't say what kind of blade is on theose 24.99 dollar foils. Probably a broken one welded back together. Saw one of those on ebay. . . =)

[DanInMI]

Horrible merchandise. Screwed up the order. No phone number to actually speak with a human. (they only have a fax.) Took over a month to receive the order. Absolutely terrible experience.

[RAF.]

LEON PAUL!!!!

[Purple Fencer]

NO...order from me...I'm fairly reputable (no comment from YOU, Clinton!!)

Hey, KShan...is that avatar you in Crusaders? How was tour? Just wait until you age out and march Sr. Corps...we sleep in beds!

*Drum corps folk will gte that right off!*

[Tomas N]

I ordered an electric epee from them on ebay. Actually, I lost the ebay auction and they then contacted me afterwards. The blade was chinese-quality, but the other parts were actually pretty good. It took over a month to get my order. Watch out for shipping costs! They tack these on at the end. My S&H costs were about what I paid for the epee.

Tomas

[sallearmourer]

They had a Boise ID Fax number from that was forwarded to New York City I have friends in the phone companey here.

Tim Loomis

[Bob Farrow]

Originally posted by labouche
HAHA, take a look at the shoes....they sure look quality!
-la bouche

Or the description of fencing masks:

which had a special layer of black pain on the top of it.

I HATE it when there is PAIN on my mask.

Add to the fact that they are using a free website for their business, as well as a free hotmail account (I thought you couldn't use hotmail for a business account).

Seems just too shady for me.

[Squall_Leonhart]

horrible horrible horrible. I tried to get some club rates and they screwed the s&h on that, the club discount rate was screwed, and replies were 0 after I pointed out that they were trying to rip me off by ten dollars.

[Black Jeebus]

Its funny we consumers get so used to a price that we immediately are skeptical when the prices are too low (even though in this case the skepticism seems waranted).

[engardemisami]

I have ordered from them 2 years ago when I was new to the sport. I needed cheap stuff. I did not want to invest too much not knowing if I'd stick around long enough. I had a good experience with them. They were cheap parts for sure. Epee blades lasted 3 or 4 months. I went through 3 of them. The guard, prong posts, pads, tips were all usable for better blades I later ordered from other vendors. Tips are German knock-offs. 2 epee body cords still work great for me. Plastron is fantastic. It is thick and takes impact well, better than the thin Blade brand that I bought for my son. I still have and use all the good parts except for the tips. Gloves are lousy, and so are the socks. What I have seen this company do is charge so much for shipping on their e-bay sales. It should not cost so much. I think they have gotten greedy.

Now that I know I am in this sport for long, I am buying more expensive stuff from Uhlmann.

[esskreemr]

I placed an order for about $200.00 'cause I like to share my fencing dollars love and all. They called me the next day to confirm credit card info. I wait, three weeks later, no order.

I called them up and the guy said something the line of "Oh, here's your invoice, I don't know why that went out. Let me confirm your mailing address."

I was like "Why? I'm cancelling my order, and if you charge my credit card, I'll sue you."

[Artisan]

AVOID these folks at all cost. The lure of low price is overwhelmed by the disappointment of astonishingly low quality if and when your order arrives. There is NO customer service.

Unless you are just buying props for you school play...