Anyone in Canada know where to mail order Asics shoes from?
I sometimes order from Road Runner Sports… but they won’t ship my shoe to Canada. I don’t Asics USA is allowed to ship to Canada…
I bought my last pair in Australia.
Looking for:
Asics-Gel Hyperspeed II -Men’s 8.5
Asics-Gel Speedstar II - Womens 6/6.5
Thanks…
I hear that holabirdsports offer great deals, and they ship to Canada http://holabirdsports.com/ … even after s&h, etc… still saving a bundle … Though, duties and customs, taxes, etc., is a hit or miss …
I don’t know about your specific models, but these guys have closeouts
They are usually one model run behind. I can get a Gel-Nimbus about $45 cheaper. Great service as well.
I can reccomend Holabirdsports. They will ship to Canada by mail for $9.99 per pair. All in all the price savings is huge compared to buying here in Canada.
Mike
These guys have decent prices, and from the looks of things, appear to ship to Canada. http://www.espnshop.com/catalog/supercat_outlet/
Another vote for www.holabirdsports.com.
Just tried ordering a pair… damn order form kept telling me my address or postal code was wrong.
tried 4 different versions… no go… sent them a note… will see…
I get my shoes from the Running Room. They are in Canada so no duties/brokerage fees/etc. I don’t wear Asics but they carry them. Until Sept. 7 you can use the code from the inside of a Vector cereal box for 20% off (which I can PM to you if you don’t want the cereal). I’ve ordered from them the last 3 times I bought running shoes (including an order last week) and always have them within 2 - 3 days.
I highly doubt that Greg would want to support the Running Room. He’s been around long enough to be familiar with their unethical (even illegal, perhaps) business practices.
Ebay is another option if you’re buying shoes you’ve already tried and don’t need any sort of return policy. I’ve found brand-new shoes on there for 1/2 price.
I haven’t tried this with shipping to Canada, but Zappos.com has quite a variety of Asics shoes.
Guess I haven’t been around long enough. I’m not “from Canada”, I’m here on a job contract. Care to elaborate on the evils of the Running Room?
Guess I haven’t been around long enough. I’m not “from Canada”, I’m here on a job contract. Care to elaborate on the evils of the Running Room?
They go to their suppliers and tell them that if they sell to any other small running shops that the Running Room with cancel their contracts. This prevents any new running store start-ups because they are prevented from selling Nike, Asics etc. Try to make a go of it selling only Puma and Brooks.
They also get in the way at races with their 10min/1min pace bunnies. When they stop to walk, they don’t get out of the way. (If you’re running a 1h45 1/2 marathon, you do NOT need a run/walk strategy)
There are also quite a few stories of them trying to destroy non-Running Room races by starting up their own on the same weekend, or intimidating the race directors.
In short, they don’t do anything to support anything not tied financially to the Running Room. This may be perfectly ethical and legal, but I strongly feel that this isn’t in the spirit of the sport. We are lucky to have two small non-RR shops here in Calgary and their presence/support at races is completely different from the Running Room. I would prefer to support those shops.
I’ll bet the original poster has a number of other stories about them, hence the reason for wanting to shop online in the US. He’s in Edmonton, where RR has a big stronghold as it’s John Stanton’s home.
Stick around long enough in Canada and you’ll realize that there are people who shop at the Running Room and people who refuse to set foot in there. (Think WalMart…)
The Running Room… otherwise know as the Romper Room, or the Rookie Room.
They do not offer any support for higher level runners… they cater specifically to the newbie crowd.
The shoes I have listed above would never, ever be in stock at the RR.
The RR SUCKS. Support your independant running shop…and never run a race put on by them.
Well put. Just say no to the RR. They are destroying the “sport” of running in Canada.
John Stanton is a shift bastard who I want to punch everytime I see him
You see his new book at the RR? Completely ripped off from other running books.
John Stanton doesn’t know how to run… he knows how to make money.
Wow (and thanks). Had no idea. When I moved here I was looking for a place to buy shoes online because I know what I like/need and it’s a long drive to any decent-sized city from here. My (former, he had to move due to a job transfer) training partner, an OPP officer, said he usually got his shoes from the RR because it was the only place that he knew of even remotely close to us with good shoes. I did a google search and found their site. Maybe a little more time on google would be a good idea next time I need shoes. One thing I’ve been extremely surprised about since I’ve been in Canada (given the size and how spread out and remote a lot of the population is) is the huge lack of online shopping resources from within the country. I see posts on all kinds of forums with people in Canada wanting to know where they can order (whatever) online from within Canada but very few seem to be interested in it from the sales side.
The reason why Canada doesn’t have mail order shoe stores… is probably because of the Running Room!!
No online retailer would be allowed to carry the brands of shoes needed… because John Stanton (RR founder) would threaten the shoe suppliers.
There are some independant shops thankfully that have managed to get by RR’s monopoly in the shoe market.
I second that Stanton and RR are no good. Because of him I can no longer run with my brother, he won’ even do half hour run with doing 10/1’s.
The following is a list of indy shoe stores I have dealt with in the west, all carry major brands and all do phone sales:
Fleet Runners - Vanc Island
Forerunners - Vancouver
Runners Sole - Kamloops
Fresh Air Experience - Kelowna
Track n’ Trail - Regina
Alberta is controlled by RR. All these shops give tri mbrship discounts of 10 or 15%. I find the best place and time to buy shoes is Coast Mtn Sports at their Boxing Week Sale. Last year I scoreed 3 pair of Saucony Omni 4 for $49 each!
Try these for Alberta:
Gord’s Running Store - Calgary
Strides Running Store - Calgary
Fast Trax Ski and Run - Edmonton
Fast Trax and Strides have limited major brands… cuz RR wouldn’t allow any of the major manufacturers to sell shoes to them. New Balance seems to be an exception.
Are you sure about Road Runner Sports not shipping to Canada? I have ordered fro them in the past and they shipped to Thunder Bay. I got my shoes within 5 days of ordering them…
As for the Running Room, there’s the plus and the minuses of it. I’ve always been a fan of independent stores, but in terms of avalability I really have few options that carry widths, so I’m more or less stuck dealing with them. I’ve instructed clinics there before and group led for their marathon clinic. I was lucky enough that I could bring some of my own experience into those clinics and use optional 10:1s for my faster groups (my sub 3:10 marathon group never did a 10:1 in 4 months), and get creative with the speed work, with my background from Cross and track at the collegiate level. It’s great what they do to get newbies into the sport, but it’s also very much it’s own club that is geared towards participation rather than performance. It’s too bad they provide no support for elite runners, and they have escalated the prices of most road races (I guess not unlike tris these days…)
I hate to say it… but my gf works at the RR p/t (in Edmonton too… RR central), and has been an instructor of a 1/2 marathon clinic in another city at the RR.
So I know exactly what kind of business is run there… from an inside and outside perspective.
My gf gets staff discount on certain items, so I’ll take it… but otherwise… I’ll shop elsewhere.
As for Road Runner Sports, this is the email I received, I think their refusal to ship has to do with my specific shoe:
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for turning to Road Runner Sports for your fitness needs.
The item that you ordered is an extended inventory item which ships directly from
the manufacturers warehouse. At this time, our extended inventory vendors do not
offer delivery to P.O. Boxes, APO/FPO addresses, U.S. territories, or Internationally,
which means that we cannot ship this item to the address you provided: Qty Item Description
1 ASW1650-WHKW-8.5-D Mens ASICS GEL-Hyper Speed 2 Racing Shoe
If you have a physical street address in the U.S. to ship this item to, please
respond to this email and we will be happy to send the item(s) out right away.
If you do not have a physical street address, please contact a Customer Care
Specialist at 800-662-8896 for assistance in choosing an alternate item that we
can ship to your destination or visit our website at Road Runner Sports where you
will find a myriad of other great products to fit your running needs.
Again, we are sorry for any inconvenience this situation may have caused you.
We hope that we can work together to find an alternate item that will be just
what you are looking for!
Colleen O.
Customer Care Expert
Road Runner Sports