TheProsCloset... Buyer beware?

[CrankAddictsRich]

I'm starting this thread to get an idea about people's experience with TheProsCloset and get a guage on what people's expectations are when buying used gear from them.... i.e. Do you expect the pictures you see to be representative of the exact product you're purchasing?

My experience....

1. Roughly two months ago, I purchased an SWorks Tarmac SL6 frame from them. The transaction went super smooth and in roughly 6 days, I received the frame (Colorado to New Jersey). I did an inspection and everything seemed spot on.

2. This week, after much deliberation, I ordered a set of DT Swiss ARC1100 wheels. I say much deliberation because I had been researching lots of different 50mm wheel options. I landed on the DT Swiss because I liked the DT Swiss hub reliability and the fact that the ARC 1100 rim profile had been developed by Swiss Side. I saw a listing on TheProsCloset and had a chat with a customer service rep on the website about about appeared to be some grease on the rim. She confirmed that's what it was and said it probably just didn't get wiped down prior to the pics. I ordered that evening, the same listing we were chatting about.

After ordering, I noticed that the listing for the wheels was still on the site and thought that was odd.

Today, the wheels arrived and I was immediately worried. The box had been a little much smushed during shipping and it was clear that one of the hubs and pushed through the side of the box. I took photos of the box. Stickers on the box, listed the item as both a front wheel and a wheel set. When I opened the box, I saw that they had been packed really poorly, with a minimal amount of brwon paper stuff wrapped around the wheels, nothing to protect the hubs, nothing to reinforce the box. When I pulled the wheels out, they were clearly not the wheels pictured in the listing. The listing showed both wheels had two sets of DT Swiss logos, in white, opposite each other. The pics showed both sides of both wheels and neither side showed any significant damage or scratching to the rather prominant DT Swiss logos. The wheels I received today did not match. The front wheel only had 1 silver DT Swiss logo on each side of the wheel, opposite the small ARC 1100 logo which is at the valve hole position. The rear wheel did have the dual, white DT Swiss logos, but one of them had significant damage to graphic, with large chucks of the logo worn off. After receiving the wheels, I got on the site and immediately snapped screen shots of the wheels as they had been listed in the ad when I purchased. I am certain they're the same photos, because of the grease spot that I had a specific conervsation with the CS chat rep earlier in the week. To my surprise, there was another CS chat representative on today and I explained my issues. He said that they had multiple sets of wheels of this make and model and the photos did NOT represent the exact set of wheels I would receive. This was news to me and i thought it was odd, because the previous representative was answering exact questions about the wheels pictured. Never did she say that the photos weren't the exact set of wheels.


Where do we stand now? They have sent me a shipping label to return the wheels and aren't sure how the mix up happened. Once they have received the returned wheels, they will refund me the money and I have to order again..

I am trying to gauge from other users, if my expectations that the products they are showing pictures of, are the same exact items that customers are receiving, is unreasonable.

Update:: Today, I was able to chat with the original customer service agent that I chatted with last week about the wheels. She apologized profusely for the mix up. She told me to text her with the tracking number once I had dropped the return off. I did and she arranged for the replacement wheels to be shipped immediately and also said that she'd make sure that the packing department shipped exactly the right wheels.

[Lucendi]

A full refund will keep you damage free. Good on them!

After experiencing the switcheroo, why would you risk going through that hassle once more?

[PoorCyclist]

All I know is most of the certified pre owned always looked more like, certified to be crashed before, scruffed derailleurs, hoods, gouges in carbon etc.

[CrankAddictsRich]

A full refund will keep you damage free. Good on them!

After experiencing the switcheroo, why would you risk going through that hassle once more?

Well, that is exactly what I am and trying to determine.... was this really just a simple mix up, or is this a more common occurance? I would like these wheels, so if it really is just a mix up, no big deal, but if not, then I'm back at square 1 and have to figure out a new set of wheels.

[skinnybex]

I bought a Pinarello F8 frame from them in June 2020 and the experience wasn't pleasant and I returned the frame although they only gave me my money in a store credit. The issue was with the frame inserts to run the frame with a mechanical groupset and the frame was previously ran wireless. The listing never stated that and sourcing the parts was very difficult and expensive. I will never do busimness with them again since I was given store credit.

[pritish8287]

Sorry to hear about your experiences.

I purchased a Look frameset from them in 2020 and couple of apparels in 2021. Found their online chat support pretty responsive and helpful.



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[Pyotrump]

I ordered Reynolds aero 90 clincher wheelset back in 2017.

I was really disappointed for the loops look worse than the picture. There were more dings and scratches than pics and description.

[C36]

I just had a look at their current offering, while they used to have some equipment really coming from pro-team, it seems they are just now offering random preowned equipment at non-really interesting prices.

[kode54]

When Pros Closet started out, they were great. They took pictures of the exact item and listed all the defects and such. In the last several years, seems that they have been getting too busy and with some items, posting ‘generic’ representative pictures. If you don’t read carefully, you may miss the text/description saying so. In big ticket items, I believe they still take their time to take pictures but the last thing I bought (I forgot what it was…been too long) had generic pictures and I wasn’t happy about that.

[CrankAddictsRich]

A few of my buddies in the riding group I'm in have used them and all had good experiences. I'm hoping this wheel mix-up was just a mix up. We'll see how the return goes and maybe that will guide my decision on whether or not to move forward.

[AJS914]

I will never do busimness with them again since I was given store credit.

They advertise a 30 day money back guarantee. Why did you end up with store credit? I probably would have disputed it with my credit card company.

[soonerrebel]

I will never do busimness with them again since I was given store credit.

They advertise a 30 day money back guarantee. Why did you end up with store credit? I probably would have disputed it with my credit card company.

Just checked their Return Policy under their "30-day, no questions asked return policy". It states "We will gladly issue a full refund or store credit".

[Orbital]

I have a frame I ordered from them that’s scheduled for delivery tomorrow. The pics on their site outlined the flaws pretty clearly. Will report back if anything is a surprise.

[tleo]

I sold my too large FS mountain bike to them last summer on the recommendation of my LBS. The process was simple and easy. They got back to me with a quote for over $1000 more than my LBS within an hour of me sending them photos. I had to call customer service since to tell them the pedals weren't included since I forgot to remove them when I took the pictures. They were helpful and easy to get in touch with. Had my money the day after they received the bike.

I've never purchased anything from them so this is disappointing to hear after the great experience I had selling to them.

[CrankAddictsRich]

Update:: Today, I was able to chat with the original customer service agent that I chatted with last week about the wheels. She apologized profusely for the mix up. She told me to text her with the tracking number once I had dropped the return off. I did and she arranged for the replacement wheels to be shipped immediately and also said that she'd make sure that the packing department shipped exactly the right wheels.