Skate Life

Where did you buy your skates??

Hey guys I recently ordered a pair of skates online due to the fact that there are no nearby skate shops in my area....I was just wondering where other people bought their skates....soooo, add a comment to tell where you bought yours....in an actual shop or online.... and the name of the site or store....

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Permalink Reply by J Rod on January 10, 2010 at 6:00pm

ohhh and I ordered mine online at roller warehouse... I had also looked at aggressive mall and erolling and decided to go with rollerwarehouse because they were the only shop who had the skates I wanted in stock....(Razor Genesys 09 LE)

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Permalink Reply by murph on January 10, 2010 at 6:40pm

Sports Authority, lol. Was just beginning and didn't know of the online retailers :p i also have ordered some stuff from roller warehouse, will probably be ordering from inline warehouse next though.

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Permalink Reply by J Rod on January 10, 2010 at 7:54pm

why you ordering from inline warehouse? did you have a problem with roller warehouse?

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Permalink Reply by murph on January 11, 2010 at 6:35am

They have free shipping on a lot of their stuff :D

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Permalink Reply by ROYA7 JENKIN$ on January 11, 2010 at 2:20pm

www.inlinewarehouse.com has the same skates in stock always in stock

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Permalink Reply by J Rod on January 11, 2010 at 3:02pm

I like using rollerwarehouse because it is dedicated to aggressive skating whereas inlinewarehouse sells hockey and other junk. And when I call I don't want some hockey player trying tell me how well a backslide plate on a particular skate works if he's never even used one....

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Permalink Reply by Kotatsu Mushi on January 12, 2010 at 2:36pm

Roller Warehouse is right down the street, literally, from my house. They have been around a while and usually hook it up when they can. They are all cool people and do whatever they can to help. As a matter of fact, they have been around since when I was first skating. They recently let me come by, they don’t have a store front, and try a bunch of skates out. They are very helpful and as their add says they all have been skating for a while too. The reason I mention anything is that Roller Warehouse is a good business and lucky to be around. There are only a few shops left and we should support them when we can to keep the sport alive. I live near Sacramento and the only shop I know of is nearly two hours away. When I started skating as a kid you could get Roces’s at Big 5, now I can only go online, or down the street (lol). Looks like Roller Warehouse, Inline Warehouse, and Amall are the only shops out there who supply any real merch so find one you like and keep them in business.

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Permalink Reply by J Rod on January 12, 2010 at 11:01pm

Kotatsu, thanks for the reply... its pretty much the same story here... there are no skate shops around (other than a million skateboard shops) so people in my area are forced to buy online.. the biggest problem with that is not being able to try on any skates... its definately not the best way to go about buying skates... but what are you gonna do?? So now im actualy thinking of opening my own shop thats dedicated to aggressive inline.... the question is... is there enough demand??? the sport seems to have really gone underground... your thoughts welcome.....

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Permalink Reply by Kotatsu Mushi on January 13, 2010 at 2:22pm

I know what you mean, blindly buying something you need to try one sucks. It’s hard to say if there is a local demand for inline gear…that’s why there are only online stores. I read somewhere that inline was supposed to make a comeback and like any trend skateboarding won’t always be on top. The problem with any business is overhead, and the tax man. If I were to start an inline shop I would get a business license and buy wholesale. Then I would skate a lot at local parks and even around town to get inline back into people’s mind. After making a logo, some business cards, and a myspace page I would sell stuff out of the back of my car or go to people’s houses. This would cut out the overhead and the tax man. Until there is enough of a demand to open a store front you could be a mobile inline shop.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on January 13, 2010 at 6:55pm

Thats a really good idea and sort of the way kato started remz. Inline skates have been around since the 1700s and the best way to get people into it is to show them what is possible, and then get them on skates. Skating around town and at local parks is like advertising. Everybody forgot about rollerblading because they dont see it anymore, which means its up to those that still roll to be advertisers for our sport.

I wish there were more dedicated inline shops or even just stores that carried aggressive skates because buying online is a pain sometimes. I had to send my icon 2s back to cali (i live in ct so thats clear across the country) because they were a size too small. If i had been able to try them on that could have been avoided.

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Permalink Reply by Kotatsu Mushi on January 13, 2010 at 11:28pm

Yea, the best way to jump start sales is through exposure. I know that I never see anyone rollen these days, I'm surprised to see skate parks with only skateboarders in them. I remember back in the early nineties when a Rollerblade van was going around to parks and you could rent a pair for free. This was the only way to expose the sport to the masses which initiated the craze for roller blades and then aggressive inline. I still remember the day my mom finally drove down to the city and bought me my first pair of roller blades from Wall Mart. That was all due to those vans driving around America showing people how fun rollerblading was.

It is a drag there are only online shops now. I am thankful to have Roller Warehouse down the street as I start to get back into the sport. I wouldn't even know where to start and haven't followed the brands. I like Valo so far and would have ordered the wrong size if the guys at Roller Warehouse didn't let me stop by and try them on. I hear the customer support at Roller Warehouse and AMALL is helpful though, but there is nothing like walking into a store and trying thing on. Plus, when you need stuff like frames, wheels, and bearings it sucks having to order that over the web.