A few weeks back, I was contacted by AquaGear.com asking me if I'd be willing to shop their site and write a review.
If you're like me, you get this stuff all the time "Please try our product". Please, please, please.
Be honest, how many of us got the case of POM juice a few years back? Hmmmm? And the bars....from whoever it was....ok.
Aquagear even offered me a gift certificate to shop at their store. Seriously.
I still ignored them.
Then, I got a second email. This time, the consultant said, "Hey, we're a family own business. We'd really like it if you'd try us out."
Basically, "This isn't a scam."
I'm a triathlete. If there is ONE thing I love, it's Gear. And the only thing I love more than GEAR is FREE GEAR.
Supporting a family run small business? I am TOTALLY in.
I checked out the site. If you haven't figured it out yet, the address is www.aquagear.com
As a business owner, there are a few things that I noticed right off the bat:
1.) Although they are not an accredited business, their BBB rating is an A+. The company opened in 1999 and have been on file with the BBB since 2005. Also, they have zero complaints. That's a long time to be operating without a single complaint.
2.) The next thing I did was read through the comments that customers post on their website. I was really impressed with the fact that someone ACTUALLY RESPONDS to the posts. So many times, I visit websites or FB pages and the customers are ignored. This is really a pet peeve of mine. Whether the post was positive feedback or an upset customer, they were responded professionally.
3.) The website has just about every single category of swim accessories you could possibly want. Holy cow. They have a lot of stuff.
TIME TO SHOP
I knew exactly what I wanted and started my search for the new Agility Swim paddles. At my master's swims, these things are starting to make their debut.
The truly special thing about these paddles is that they do not strap on at all. If you don't have vertical forearm placement, the paddles will go flying off in the water. REALLY cool stuff.
Next, I recently purchased goggles and new swimsuits. But since Crazy Bitch INSISTS on burying my swim caps, I can always use more.
Now, you might say "A cap is a cap." My response will be "well sorta"
With really long hair, silicone works the best with out breaking off my hair. Next, I really love colorful swim caps to match my crazy swim suits. (Also, it makes me easy to spot in open water. Mr. Tea can see me in those weekly races.)
Let me tell you, they have quite a selection. Check out the swim caps here!
That pretty much completed my order, but I still wanted to check out everything they had. I really wanted to figure out if I would actually shop there down the road. Gift certificate or not, I'm not going to send people to a place and then not shop there myself right?
Goggles, buoys, exercise equipment, lap counters, bags, fins....HECK....they EVEN have breast stroke fins.
Overall how was my experience and would I shop there again?
The shopping experience was very easy, and I found everything very quickly. Next, the shipping was crazy fast. They say it on the front page of their website, and it's true. I'm still not sure how they got the package from West Palm Beach, FL to Denver Colorado so quickly (2 days), but who cares? I didn't think I'd have the paddles for this week's master's swims, but I do. That's pretty cool.
Did I mention that shipping is free with orders over $75? BONUS. I think I'll go back and order photochromatic goggles.
The only thing that they really didn't seem to have is swimsuits. That's not a huge deal to me, especially since they have a ton of other stuff.
Would I shop there again? Absolutely.
I recommend that you at least check them out. Support small business.
I think you'll be very pleased with their service and selection.
Again, that website is http://www.aquagear.com/
