When it comes to buying things online, we’re all on the lookout for as many bargains as we can find. The problem is that sometimes sites seem too good to be true and, more often than not, they are. If you find yourself perusing a site where the prices are really cheap, the chances are that you need to be careful with whether or not to give them your details. Sport Pursuit is a site that offers branded goods for a reduced price, so you’d be forgiven for wondering whether it’s a phishing expedition or not. The good news is that the site is legit, so you don’t need to be worried about buying goods from there, but there are still some things to think about.
SportPursuit, Sports Pursuit or Sports Pursuits
First off, the name. It’s a bit confusing. Technically it’s SportPursuit – the singular of both Sport and Pursuit – and one word rather than two. We’re not entirely sure why they’ve done this, other than to confuse people and make the site harder to find, but that’s the way it is. Even whilst writing this we found the constant need to go back and change accidental usage of the more user friendly Sports Pursuits term. And we’re supposed to be paying attention. Perhaps a bit of an odd branding strategy, but not a deal breaker.
So is Sports Pursuits… Sorry, SportPursuit, a Legit Site?
Anyone who has been shopping on the high street and wandered into TK Maxx will be more than aware of how some places seem to be able to get branded goods for decent prices. More often than not, this is because the items that are on sale are from the previous season, meaning that the manufacturers are happy to let them go for cheaper amounts because they are no longer the top product that they once were. This form of clearance sale has become more popular online, which is where a site like SportPursuit comes in. When a company has something like sample lines or excess stock to sell, that’s where they turn.
This is good news from a consumer’s point of view as it means that you can pick up some decent items without having to break the bank. If you want the latest and greatest items that the big manufacturers are producing, then you’re almost certainly not going to find them at SportPursuit, but if you don’t mind wearing the likes of last season’s trainers or a top that was produced as a sample, you’ll be delighted by what you find on offer on the site. Your card details will be safe and the items that you will receive from them are all the real deal, which will put most people’s minds at ease prior to putting in an order for something big.
Why People Worry: Your Email is the Price of Entry
The main reason that people find SportPursuit slightly concerning to use as a website is that you need to give them an email to even be able to view what it is that they have on sale. This is obviously very different to most sites, which load up their stock as soon as you land on their page and let you know precisely what it is that they are selling. It really isn’t anything to worry about, however. Instead, the likelihood is that SportPursuit ask for an email in order to separate the serious buyer from those that might end up ordering a load of items only to return them. It could also be about making it a site for people who feel like ‘members’.
Then there is the fact that you have to pay for delivery, no matter how much you are ordering. Most of us have grown used to the idea of companies being willing to send you things without you having to pay a delivery fee, provided you’ve spent over a certain amount. SportPursuit don’t do that, nor do they offer free returns if you’ve ordered something that you don’t want to keep for whatever reason. That is all simply part of the way in which the company is able to keep the overall cost of items down. You could spend £150 buying something from Nike with free delivery, say, or £79.99 with SportPursuit but have to pay for it to be delivered.
The site is one that has a number of loyal followers, but everyone who uses SportPursuit has to understand that there are certain things that you need to be prepared for. One of the key ones is the fact that delivery times can vary, depending on who it is that is actually sending the item that you’ve ordered. If the company in question is not based in the United Kingdom, as an example, you may have to wait as long as a month for delivery. That is something that most people have forgotten how to do, given that we now live in a world where next-day delivery has almost become the norm thanks to the biggest online shopping companies.
What They Sell
In terms of what the company sells, it can vary from week to week. SportPursuit works closely with hundreds of brands in order to get exclusive deals, meaning that the stock that they have won’t always be the same. Obviously, this can be frustrating if you saw a top you quite fancied but decided to wait until payday to order it, only to go back online and discover that it is no longer available. Having said that, the brands that they work with are some of the best in the business, from the likes of Adidas to Brooks, Garmin to Rab. The company made its name selling outdoor pursuit clothing, so that’s a good place to start.
It also offers brands that you might not necessarily have heard of, but that deliver quality goods without the price tag. You might feel as though you have to buy from names such as Salomon or Montane, but the lesser-known companies are able to offer similar products for a more acceptable fee, which can be even lower than the sale price of the companies whose names you recognise. None of which is to say that you’ll get everything on the site for next to no money, but rather that the discount on offer is decent. You could get a Garmin watch that costs nearly £700 RRP for less than £500, for example; not cheap, but still a bargain.