"Got a very good deal on a set of crampons. Shipped quickly and with reasonable shipping charges. No tax for my out of state purchase. Could have been a little better with their email."
"Very, very slow. Claims to have items in stock but it took 11 days to process my order BEFORE it shipped. Not acceptable."
"Fast service, great price. Very nice to do business with"
"Worst experience I've ever had. They don't have a clue what they're doing. I'll never use again !!"
"Some brick and mortar businesses need to stay out of the online arena. Kodiak Outback is one of them.
This vendor offers outdoor gear and more on its fairly straightforward website at very competitive prices. Caveat emptor, friends. Here are my experiences with Kodiak Outback.
1. Although there is nothing to indicate whether or not an item is in stock, I made the (stupid!) assumption that my credit card would not be charged if the item was not available. Wrong - it was charged immediately.
2. Ordering automatically enrolls you as a customer and a confirmation, ID and password were immediately emailed to me, along with a promise that I would be notified when the item ships.
3. Two days go by and no notification. A check of my order status on their site shows nothing but the details of the order. No status, no shipping info, nothing regarding availability of the item.
4. I call their customer service number (during normal business hours) and get a recording that they're busy and will call back. 24 hours later, no call.
5. I try their online "Contact Us" email form. No response, ever.
6. Several calls to their customer service number at various times resulted in the same recording, so I tried calling their SALES line. I got a salesman and asked him to check if my item was in stock. I was told, "No. It's on back order and expected in about 2 to 3 weeks."
7. I demanded a refund on my order, which he said he'd take care of. Next day, still no refund.
8. I emailed every address I could find relating to their business requesting my refund, and finally got it by contacting their PayPal account administrator.
This is the kind of experience that gives internet commerce a bad name. I recommend that if you're interested in buying anything from Kodiak Outback, you walk into their store. If you don't happen to live in Elk River, Minnesota, find a different vendor.
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ALWAYS READ REVIEWS IN THIS FORUM WITH THE FOLLOWING IN MIND: EXTREMELY FAVORABLE REVIEWS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONLY REVIEWED THAT ONE STORE AND NO OTHERS SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT! IT IS EXTREMELY EASY FOR STORES TO "PLANT" THEIR OWN FAVORABLE REVIEWS USING BOGUS EMAIL ADDRESSES. I RECOMMEND YOU PLACE LITTLE VALUE IN THOSE "ONE_STORE_ONLY" REVIEWERS AND SIMPLISITC, ONE-LINE REVIEWS AND PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THOSE REVIEWERS WITH A LONG HISTORY HERE AND WITH MANY SITES REVIEWED.
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"I am an avid quad rider and outdoors lover. I have made several purchases through Kodiak Outback over the last couple years. Why? The stellar customer service! I have ordered a camping cooler, 2 large pool lounge chairs with matching floating cooler, lifejackets for my dog, saddle bags for my quad, a throttle extension part and numerous other odds and ends that I always seem to want in a hurry. I had questions on a product and was given prompt answers on the phone, with explanations in detail. They really know their products. It's unfortunate that the previous poster had such a problem with their order and I'm sure it's an isolated incident. Many of my friends in Glamis, CA use them for camping and ATV stuff and we've all been happy with the products and the service. "
"kodiakoutback.com has a wide variety of outdoor items in their web store. I bought a Camp Chef Sports Grill and I had ordered it on July 1st and it had arrived on July 9th. The item was left on my enclosed porch and was there when I got home. I looked at the box and it was totally torn apart. It was obvious that the contents (grill and stove) were not design to be shipped in such a cheap box. There is no way that box would have remained intact being shipped 2 streets over, let alone from Utah (Kodiak Outback had the item dropped shipped from Camp Chef – we didn’t know they did that) to NY. It weighed around 70 pounds. Funny, we just received a cooktop from a company in California and it weighed over 90 pounds and the carton was proper, so the cooktop was intact. ‘Stuff’ gets damaged in shipping, we understand, but when it is under packed, it will always arrive damaged.
We were to go camping next week (Our big Family camp trip is on July 17th to the 21st.) and we do a “one-ups-man”. I thought for sure I would win with this beautiful grill/stove. You could tell (had it not been damaged) it was quality. Needless to say, we are looking else where for a different brand (and I’ll tell you why). When I had called Kodiak Outback about the damage, they pawned it off onto the Manufacturer (Camp Chef). Kodiak Outback said that Camp Chef will take care of it. Customer Service made us feel like we were bothering them with this. So I called Camp Chef and they can not find the order number. I told them I ordered it from kodiakoutback.com. Camp Chef went on to say, “the unit was bought via Kodiak Outback and not Camp Chef, you have to DEAL WITH KODIAK, the "vendor who sold the unit.
Okay, so now we are back to dealing with kodiakoutback.com again. I have emailed them for the 2nd time (and a phone call). They, once again told me Camp Chef is going to take care of it. I didn’t buy it from Camp Chef, I bought it from KODIAK OUTBACK.
So here we sit, with a busted up Camping Grill/Stove, a loss of over $300 without any contact from KODIAKOUTBACK.com nor Camp Chef. Also, we are now scrambling to
find a Stove/Grill so we can eat at our yearly family camp trip. This will now be the conversation at our Family Outing of 20 or so couples and kids and us! But, we will not like it run it!
In my 15 plus years of shopping online, it has been THE WORST experience I have ever had shopping. Buyers beware, cheap is sometimes more expensive – lesson learned.
Stay clear of KODIAKOUTBACK.COM, they DO NOT stand behind what they sell!"
"I placed my order on 02/17/2008, I receive an e-mail that the item was not available and they canceled the order, but they went ahead and charged my Visa account anyway.
Not to sharp."
"Kodiak Outback turned out to be that rare combination of better price than everyone else and a spot-on transaction. Highly recommended!"