Due to Hockey Monkey’s poor customer service, I cannot recommend them as a retailer.
I first learned of Hockey Monkey a couple years ago while searching for hockey gear through Google’s shopping link. One of the products I wanted was available from their site. If you’re familiar with Google Products you know that beneath some of the merchants there is a link to read reviews from past customers. I read the reviews for Hockey Monkey (provided by Reseller Ratings) and all of them were negative. Although disconcerting, I didn’t let that deter me from making a purchase. I figured these reviews were probably ignorant customers who were upset because they ordered the wrong size stick or thought their skates would fit like slippers. I honestly thought I was smarter than them.
What a mistake.
Truth is, my first few purchases from Hockey Monkey went well. I got what I wanted in a timely manner. They never provided me with tracking info, but other than that, no real problems. Then it came time for my first return. Remember, that cage I ordered? The FM480 I recently reviewed? I ordered a LARGE cage for my LARGE helmet, and according to CCM’s website, it is supposed to fit my Bauer HH5000. Well, it doesn’t.
So I made a phone call.
I reassured the customer service department, that I wasn’t an idiot. I know how to mount a cage and I know how it should fit, and this cage did not fit this helmet. No problem they said, send it back and we will even waive the 15% restocking fee and we’ll send you the Medium size. I asked if they could cross-ship the replacement. They told me there would be a $5 rush fee. Fine. Then they said they would have to charge my card for the new cage and refund the charge as soon as the received the return item. FINE.
If you want to catch up on the math, I’ll fill you in:
Original cost: $34.99 w/ 10% coupon = $31.49
+ $11.98 shipping
TOTAL: $43.47
Replacement cost: $31.49
+ $11.98 shipping
+ $5 rush fee
Sub Total: $48.47
+ $6 to cover sending the return item back
TOTAL $54.47
GRAND TOTAL: $97.94
Yes, at this point I had spent almost $100 and had nothing to show for it. One mask was in the mail heading to Hockey Monkey, while the other was on its way. The mask arrived shortly before the refund to my card did. However, the refund amount? $31.49. The cost of the original mask. That’s it!
I called for an explanation.
“Why was I charged a $5 “rush fee”? I asked, “I didn’t receive my product any faster than last time”
“That was to negate the 15% restocking fee.”
“The 15% restocking fee of $4.72 for my item that cost $31.49?”
“Yes.”
(Somehow hearing it out loud didn’t help them)
“OK, wouldn’t it have made more sense for me to purchase the replacement mask as a new customer, or better yet, from another online retailer?”
“I don’t know, that was completely up to you, everything was disclosed. It was your decision”
“Somehow I think if it was disclosed, I would not have made that decision”
“What do you want us to do about it?”
“Refund my $5 fee, the $6 shipping cost of sending it back to you, and the cost of shipping for the replacement. You sold me a defective product. Make it right”
“We’re not going to do that”
“OK. So I paid over $60 for a $30 mask. That sucks.”
“Can I help you with anything else?”
“Anything else? You didn’t help me at all!” Click.
Now all I have is the internet to share my woes. All I ask is that you side with me and buy from somewhere besides Hockey Monkey. Ice Warehouse, Hockey Giant, I don’t care. Better yet, go to a pro shop in your town. (Unfortunately, mine doesn’t have one.) Anything but Hockey Monkey. Looking at their Facebook Page tells me I’m not alone. The reviews on Epinions share the same sentiments. Many forums echo these complaints as well.
Hockey Monkey, if you are reading this, consider it a call out. This is your chance to make it right.
The above review represents the opinion of the author. Unique experiences may not be representative of the company as a whole.
Im with you, boycotted! Thanks for the heads up!
btw new site looks awesome!
CUSTOMER “SERVICE” THE ABSOLUTE WORST;
I would never order from them again.
They ent the wrong size; never sent an order confirmation
and then made a profit on all the return shipping.
I too paid more.
No savings
Total aggravation
DO NOT ORDER FROM HERE
I hear your pain. HM can be more difficult to deal with than other online retailers. Buying from a LHS is the best option in case of return issues, if you’re fortunate to have one in your vicinity. For those that don’t have a LHS local or those that do but go online to try to save a few bucks, use your head and read all the terms and conditions of that online retailer. I’d say 99% don’t read them and then get mad about restock fees, return ship fees, slow order processing times, etc when it is clearly laid out for them. I know I have not ordered some things online that I wanted in case size wasn’t right due to the return/cost restrictions. IW seems to be the most flexible in my experience. Basically buyer beware when buying online.
“…99% don’t read all [the terms and conditions] when it is clearly laid out for them”
I think more often than not it isn’t clearly laid out. Instead it’s buried in fine print between lines of legalese, then never mentioned on the phone. Honest retailers don’t have to use such unethical tactics.
I hope they briefed you before your conversation with something along the lines of “this conversation will be recorded for training purposes.” Amazing how many bad reviews were given when I looked at the links attached.
Didn’t you used to have a link to hockeymonkey on the top of your old website?
Yes, I used to.
Do not believe any promises HockeyMonkey makes unless you get them in writing. I bought several items to evaluate in my living room, with the express verbal promise that all would be returnable for refund. It’s my fault for not noticing the 15% restocking fee, but they misrepresented some items’ returnability. After I received my order, their Customer Service supervisor reversed her service rep’s repeated prior assurance that a clearance item they substituted for my most expensive ordered item was returnable expressly because it was a substitution. My detailed notes on the time and content of that assurance phone call failed to persuade the supervisor to honor the rep’s promise. I’m through with HockeyMonkey other than filing a charge dispute through VISA. The amount is not worth small claims court even though it ended up effectively tripling the cost of the items I kept. (The fact that Amazon does not use HockeyMonkey as a source should have been a red flag.)
And, of course, the e-mail spam has started within hours.
Bad Monkey. BAD Monkey!
honestly, im tired of people complaining about hockeymonkey. The service is HORRIBLE yes. I’ve heard my stories. My experiences have been nothing but positive. Honestly, their stuff is SUPER cheap and they have a great selection. I look at it like this. Hockeymonkey=Walmart. Walmart generally=crappy customer service. so usually i try to go in and out without asking questions bc it would just piss me off. Like everything on the internet, its buyers beware. I wouldnt buy anything that needs a specific size or anything online. I’d rather shop at the Monkeysports by my house instead, where I can try on the actual stuff. Despite this article and other reviews, im not going to boycott hockeymonkey. I’d rather put up with crappy customer service and still get my stuff cheap, instead of paying full price. Good article though, love your stuff.
The purpose of the article wasn’t meant to be a complaint (although, admittedly, it contained a few gripes) Rather, it was to help would-be customers know what they are getting into. We always provide honest reviews. Some folks don’t live within 50 miles of a hockey shop, so online shopping becomes almost mandatory.
You make a valid point, though. I’m sure you are not alone in your willingness to sacrifice customer service in favor of savings. However, compared to Hockey Monkey, Wal-Mart has a great return policy!
i ordered from hockey monkey a few days ago (i live in israel) a few days passed and the order was still
“in progress” than got an email on verification details so sent them 2 emails back never got a reply
and as requested in the email i called my credit card company to send the verification letter by fax and they did.
for now i sent them another email but still no reply and still got “in progress” about my package
im gonne give them another day to rectify this….but for now i very much doubt that they will…
i wont buy anything from them again that’s for sure…
HM has to pay a courier to ship the items to you.. Why would you think they should pay out of their own pocket to reimburse you for shipping? They did not sell you a “defective” product as you stated.
The product wasn’t defective, but it was misrepresented. I would expect the same treatment if I ordered a SR blade for a SR shaft and they sent me a JR.
hockeymonkey.com has been nothing but good experience for me and honestly you must have placed this order a while back ago because the company has made changes and looks like there attempting to move in the right direction… for one if you return an item with 14 days there is no restocking fee as well as there shipping rates have improved ….any order under 100 dollars is only 9.99 …and I do understand to a certain degree where your coming from but things have changed ….also the restocking fee is only 10% now as suppose to the past of 15% …..as for luke if you just contact customer service they can tell you what the issue might be with your order ….i have always contacted customer service for questions or wanting to make sure the item was still in stock or asked if i placed an order by a certain time when would I receive my order ….or even called and asked for tracking which they would give me over the phone as well as send a second confirmation to my email just in case I heard it wrong over the phone…
According to your IP address, Hockey Monkey is RIGHT by you. Why would you order online?
I purchased $200 of gear. When I used their sizing chart I was taken as it appeared the sizes being recommended were too small. I called HM and gave them all the measurements and the Representative advised me which sizes I had to order. Upon receiving my order two items were not only too small but not even close. The jersey couldnt even be put on at all. I called and explained…..the agent advised “since we gave wrong information we will ship out the two items with free shipping but you will need to pay to ship the small items back”. I was taken back by this as the small items were due to the agents error not mine. I agreed none the less. The agent advised that the girdle I was ordering we going to be too big but I said no problem send it anyhow. Then he advised he did not have a Medium jersey in stock only a Large. I advised to send it and my son will grow into it. I received the items today and the girdle was too small again and the jersey, keep in mind I went with a large instead of the recommended medium, fit perfectly. I called HM again and advised I needed a Large girdle and needed it in 3 days. Agent said okay you will need to pay to ship the one back and also to receive the new one. After advising it was their error why would I need to pay. Agent advised a manager would call me back within an hour. After 4 hours the manager calls me and runs through everything. Just when I thought my issues was going to be resolved she advises “okay I will use all the same ordering information and it will be $45 to ship this out 2nd day delivery”. I advised her to provide me a new RMA number as I was going to pay to ship back the entire order and go to a competitor. She more then obliged and gave me an RMA for the entire order to be returned. MUST BE GREAT IN THIS ECONOMY TO REFER PEOPLE TO A COMPETITOR!!!
thanks for looking into my IP address and yes i live right by hockeymonkey its like a 20min drive so i do have that advantage so 90% of my orders have been will call type deals but like with my first encounter with hockey monkey they told me that i would still place the order online and state that i was going to pick it up and not to ship the order …so still the same and i lived in montrose co for a year with my brother and got him to hockey monkey with me and it was smooth sailing back then too when i did have to do it online for real but i know how it works and i read the fine print all the time (READ FINE PRINT the number one suggestion i can offer) on a side note has anybody heard of football america cause there killing me worse cust service three calls later and the original rep i worked with has yet to call and everytime i call in she is not there …on a last note its a free country you can shop where ever you want i wont lie i have looked at hockey giant and pure hockey to find even better deals i am always looking for that last year model type deals that were pricey a year or two ago and now are on clearance its basically the same thing they just slap a new year on it justify the high price
This is by far the worst e-commerce site ever. I am not sure why they spend money hiring these so-called “customer service representatives” when they are simply unhelpful.
The only sin I committed is buying an item that doesn’t fit me. Just because I do not have the original packaging, they are giving me the sage advice of selling the helmet on ebay. I believe the exact words are “Have you heard of Ebay? You can try to sell your item there.” Unbelievable.
I sent an order back on the 20th NOV, and its still “in progress” Ive emailed them, no reply. Ive tried to ring but no answer. They charged my credit card $676 though! Im going to ring consumer affairs
I ordered a pair of Bauer 12D Supreme Skates. After completing the order, I got a call about 10 days later saying they didn’t actually have any in stock (after charging my credit card). The service rep asked if I wanted a 12EE instead. I said not really because I’ve got a regular foot. He said that Bauers ran narrow and I’d be happier with the 12EE. I said okay, I’d try them, before learning that ONLY Bauer Vapors run narrow and Supremes and FlexLites are normal. I am in the military and stationed in Europe where mail takes longer to get to us. I got the package, tried them on, and surprise, too wide. I called them back and said I’d like to exchange the skates and, since a competitor had it cheaper, I’d like a price match per their advertisement to do so on the website. Their manager told me they wouldn’t match the price so I simply returned the too wide skates and got the right size from Perani’s Hockey World (much better than Hockey Monkey). I got charged a $40 “restocking fee”and I called to find out why. I was told it was because I had the skates longer than 14 days. I said of course I did because it takes that long to get to military post offices in Europe. I also reminded them that we wouldn’t be in this position if their service rep knew the difference between Bauer Vapor and Supreme lines. So I’m out the $30 bucks to return them and another $40 bucks “restocking” eventhough I told them at the time of my order that it was going to take a while just to even try them on my feet. Apparently because he didn’t say the words “and I will waive the restocking fee”, I was going to get charged no matter what. When I called to complain about this they said they didn’t see any of the notes which detailed the conversation I had with them and of course there was no manager who could help me eventhough all I wanted was the restocking fee returned to me. How it was my fault that their rep didn’t take or enter the notes is beyond me. I play for a large University team and I’m telling all my team mates to stay away from hockey monkey. I recommend you do the same as they do nothing to help fix a situation that they helped to cause in the first place. Bottom line, they just don’t play fair.
STAY AWAY…
You have been warned;
they are the worst.
I have ordered things twice from HockeyMonkey.com
I’m in Toronto and although we have a few great hockey stores, the online sites for the most part all based out of the US, have a huge selection. There really seems to be a shortage of hockey sites to buy gear from and HM and many of the others often have discounts on older models of sticks and other items that really tempt you.
I think what’s clear is that as with anything you order off the web it’s buyer beware and be sure you know what you are ordering.
If you are ordering anything that requires sizing, just like I do with clothes make sure you go to a physical store and try things on first. I haven’t ordered skates from any online retailer and honestly I never would, unless we are talking about an incredible deal and even then I’d only be ordering something that I have used before.
As a Canadian when I look at ordering anything from a US Site I take into account the discount, the exchange rate, shipping rate etc. Is it really a greta deal in the end? Sometimes saving $20-$100 along with waiting a week or so just isn’t worth the hassle when I can go to a store.
So far it’s worked for me.
Others seem to have an issue and I would hope Hockey Monkey would want to address these issues but maybe they just don’t care because the market isn’t big enough or because there isn’t a ton of competition out there.
I wish this was an area where there was a ton of options.