Altrec has always been my favorite place to shop for Patagonia products especially because of their free shipping policy and I have spent thousands of dollars at the site.

Recently I was offered a 20% discount on a future purchase if I would review one of the items I had purchased.

After writing what I thought was a positive review (not criticizing the product). I described the color and the sizing of the item and also thanked Altrec for the free shipping. However, my review was rejected with the comments "didn't meet their standards" and "please review" again.

I emailed Altrec asking why my review was rejected - they never answered!

Ummm, are they cutting back on the 20% offer? At lease reply to me as to why the review was rejected! (I noticed another reviewer had a similar experience in their January 10 review)

Such a shame that a company that started out so successfully has fallen to this degree.

Because of their poor customer service, most of my shopping will be done at Backcountry from now on.

This company has problems.  i ordered a pack and never got a confirming email or any shipping info.  I tried to use their online chat to inquire only to get a "not available" message.  I was able to use the back button on my browser to find my order number and retreive shipping info.

The order arrived only to discover that the item is in no way what I ordered.  I ordered a backpack and received a piece of luggage.

I called customer service and got a return lable.  They tell me my debit card will be creditied when they receive the return,  we will see.

I noticed that most of the recent feedback was poor, obviously there has been a change for the worse with this company.  I will not be using them again.

I bought a pair of Northface pants from Altrec.com and when they arrived, they weren't quite what I thought they were based on the description. I immediately sent them back via USPS using Altrec's on-line RMA label. Two weeks from the time they ...
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I ordered two coats in late January. One was too large, so I sent it back the day after I received it.  It was received by Altrec 2 days later, but I still have not received a credit on my account. I sent an email to Altrec to check on the status of my return, but they did not respond or even acknowledge that I had emailed.  This return process and lack of communication is very frustrating and indicative of a business that has poor customer service.

I ordered a pair of Keen shoes, which I received very promptly. However they were too small. I returned them on January 12th, they received the shipment on the 18th.  I emailed Altrec after two weeks, they said it is in process.  I emailed them after 3 weeks, they still had not gotten to my return.  I tried the live chat on February 8th and they said they would need a tracking number to complete the return.  I went on UPS.com and found the tracking number and sent it to them.  On the 12th of February I finally got an email stating my credit would post to my bank account in 3-5 days.  So it takes about 1 month to get your credit back on returns.  I won't shop there again.  If you think you might have to return a purchase think twice before ordering from this site.  

I recently made a purchase at Altrec.com and two of the items I received were incorrect and another one appeared to be used.  When I tried to resolve this issue with Customer Service via their online chat system, they ignored my request to replace the incorrect items with the correct ones and cut off the chat.  I have sent several additional inquiries about this issue, but I have not received a single response from their Customer Service. At this point, I've given up on getting the products that I actually ordered.

I do not recommend ordering from this company because it's unlikely that you'll get the products that you actually ordered and their customer service representatives definitely won't rectify the situation.

I ordered a Smartwool hat from Altrec on 12/21/09. The item was shipped quickly to me but after seeing it I decided to return it. I mailed the hat back to Altrec on 1/7/10. A week later I looked on the "My Account" page on their web site to see if they ...
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Okay, stick with me because this is a bit long, but it could save you lots of trouble. The first time I ordered from them, 2003, they sent me a wicking Tee with body odor. Despite this, I tried them again this xmas 2009 with 2 orders, and it was ...
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Horrible! The site refused to take an order after numerous attempts. I constantly got an error message. The live chat did not respond. I went to a separate site, national parks, and it routed me right back. When I did get an order through, they shipped the wrong size. They are a total disaster to shop with!

I've ordered a winter jacket for my 10 months old from their website on 12/15/2009. My wife and I have been waiting patiently all these time. No one from this company have contacted us until I called and emailed them inquiring about the order. I didn't even get to a live representative after waiting for more than 20 minutes. All I could do was to leave a voice mail. Finally got an email from them on 12/29/2009 telling us the jacket is out of stock.

Miserable experience.  Ordered a North Face coat for a Xmas gift that was "in stock" on 12/11/09, called 12/22/2009 to follow up since I never received shipping confirmation, was told it was going to ship but might not make it in time for Xmas, 12/23/2009 received email that the item is "out of stock" and they are cancelling my order. 

When I ordered on line it appeared that all items were available.Ordered Xmas gifts on 11/10/09 and only received part of items by 11/30/09 so I contacted them.  Items were out of stock but they said they would ship when they came in. I contacted them again 12/16/09 and was told they are still out of stock.  Their excuse is that " we are having a terrible time with Columbia" and they agreed the "timing was horrible".  They said items advertised were" generally online" when I asked if it was their policy to advertise items that were not in stock.Disappointing  experience overall as there was no followup or updates about your orders.  You could wait forever if the item you bought was backordered and they wouldnt tell you.
They Offered 25% off next purchase, but I would have to CALL their store . No way am  I wasting more time with this company.Yes, the prices are cheap, but if you never get it, does the price matter ? I cancelled the rest of the order.  There goes Xmas. Will never buy from ALTREC again.

It was easy to order. But to return, they won't exchange. Have to do it as separate invoices. The selection is great, but their return policy is more finicky than bigger companies. To me, convenience is the reason to shop on the web. 

Shipping is too slow!  I placed an order and it wasn't received for almost two weeks.  In all fairness, they state on their website that it may take 8 to 10 business days, but they need to work out a quicker arrangement with their shipper, FedEx.  Additionally, most retailers offer free return shipping of products that do not fit.  Altrec does not.  It cost $18.55 to return two pair of shoes to them that did not fit appropriately because they insist on the items being insured.  (To my benefit, I know)  I'm not paying any company to try on their shoes!  (I had the exact shoes in the same size I ordered...???)  What if they next size I ordered had not been correct?  In this economy, there are many places that want my shoe business, and they will help me get what I want.   Altrec is not that company, and I will not be using Altrec in the future. 

I purchased a North face bag, with a great discount with free shipping.  I just got my backpack just in time for my trip.. Fast Shipping.. I'll buy next time from them..  reliable..

Big discount, free shipping, eventhough its free shipping.. they shipped it right away and got my bag super fast.. I'm loving it!!!!

Package arrive in excellent condition, the item is wrap in a plastic bag, which is the way to go.

They have good pricing, but the shipping and processing of orders is too slow.  Not worth ordering from again.  I ordered a "special item", a rain coat, on a thursday and the next friday it was still not processed and ready to ship.  They should set realistic expectations. Instead of saying it will take 4-6 business days to ship. They should tack on the 6+ business days to process a credit card for a total of 2.5-3 weeks to get an order mailed with free shipping.

BACKGROUND:I was looking for a good price on North Face, short sleeved, high-tech fabric for travel, golf and general purpose wear.  Typically, I would have to shop at TravelSmith, REI, EMS, Campmor or Columbia Sportswear for these ...
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The customer service was VERY disappointing!I usually shop on backcountry.com but they didn't have the ski pants I was looking for, so I decided to buy them on Altrec.com. The free shipping is via USPS, not the best but it arrived quickly. However ...
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Customer sercie and "Price Match Plus" are AWESOME at Altrec.com. I recently ordered a pair of Oakley sunglasses in which Altrec matched the price from another website PLUS they gave me 5% on top of the savings. They offered free shipping as well. After placing my order, I found Oakley sunglass case that I wanted so I called back Dave F. (who helped me initially). He took my payment information, gave me FREE shipping and was super efficient and friendly. You can't ask for better customer service, product selection, or prices than at Altrec.com. I have become a loyal customer!!
Thanks Guys!

Ordered $120 snow boots - when I received them they were defective.  Sent them back immediately, 1 MONTH LATER NO CREDIT TO MY ACCOUNT.  Have called them and they say they "put it through" and that it should show up in a couple of days, but it never did! HORRIBE SERVICE AND RETURNS!

I recently found that I wanted a new backpack to replace my gym bag - one which became too bulky to lug around after work. My co-worker has had her The North Face backpack for over three years and it is still going strong, so I figured I would do some ...
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I ordered two pairs of sandals one from altrec one from Cabelas. The pair I ordered from Cabelas was on my doorstep two days later. The pair I ordered from Altrec had not been shipped as of this writing 4 days later. I was going to take them on vacation ...
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Great luck.  Had to wait a while for one item out of 4, but prices and selection were great, and return on the one item I chose not to keep was easy.  Had good luck with online customer service.  Would definitely order from them again.

I ordered a sleeping bag by Marmot and the order was put in a "pending" status, (I've never heard of that from a company, especially online).  I never recieved a receipt nor any communication about my order.  I called Altrec several days later because I thought they e-mailed me with a tracking number and I deleted it.  To my surprise, they informed me the order I placed did not go through w/the vendor.  The vendor was out of stock of that item and "supposedly" Altrec sent me an e-mail stating such.  So, I placed  another order for the same sleeping bag, (except the zipper on the other side) again my order was placed as "pending".  After 48 hours I called and they explained to me how their company worked.  I cancelled the order.  They, "Altrec" wasted my time and the customer associate I spoke with could of cared less.  I am ordering from another company.  If they don't have it, they let you know and their shipping is fast. Forget this wait and see stuff....

my shopping experience at first run  my order  it was ok and easy, until i had to wait 3 weeks for my pkg to arrive because someone at altrec as made mistake in writing my address,complaing did nothing,my pkg should have been deliver in 7 days,i definetely had a negative experience,i will not buy from them again.

I will probably never do business with Altrec. I ordered a jacket on December 14 and still haven't gotten it. I received confirmation emails that my ordered was confirmed and that it was being shipped. When it still didn't arrive on Xmas Eve, we looked up the tracking number, only to discover that it had been sent to an address in NY! I emailed the customer servie rep Dave F., and explained the situation. He emailed me back syaing the "items (2), we shipped and signed for, if I had any more questions to call him". Since then we have left numeroues phone messages and emails and haven't heard back from them. Meanwhile I ordered one item, my credit card has been charged, and on top of this I paid for shipping!

Currently I have been on hold for almost 15 minutes waiting to speak to someone. Think twice about buying from Altrec.

Worst Customer Service EVER:

1) Bad faith ship date (Only shows AFTER order placed).

2) Service rep disconnected chat window when (politely) asked to cancel order.

3) Customer Service would not return phone calls nor emails.

Had to escalate to Customer Service Manager to resolve.

Completely unsatisfactory service - AVOID THIS VENDOR

I really wanted to purchase a North Face Jacket on December 4 for an upcoming trip later in December. The Altrec website was my first choice, but stated the piece would not ship until the 18th. I needed to receive the jacket before then, so I called Customer Service to inquire if the order could be expedited. I was told that they didn't stock it and it had to be ordered from North Face. Understandable.
However, 14 days to order an item from North Face seems excessive. I can order directly from North Face with one day processing. I don't get it.

 What really bothered me was I felt like I was being blown off. Altrec must be doing really well in this ecomomy if they won't even attempt to exedite a product for a cash paying customer. Their website doesn't even give a customer the ability to e-mail. I had to come here to register feedback.

I guess I'll be ordering this jacket from a competitor who is also offering a deep discount, free shipping, and 1-5 day turnaround.

Altrec has misleading pricing schemes. You purchase a product to discover there is a 20% mark up on the tag once you get it. Their customer service has no response when questioned about this. The product delivers quick, but their customer service is horrible.

Great customer service. I emailed them after I found lower prices at other online stores and they contacted me via email immediately. I was given a direct number and even though I had to leave a message, they called me back within minutes. I spoke with an associate named Nolan and gave him the other sites and price information, and he happily matched every one. I would definitely recommend ordering through Altrec!