I second the good experiences with Zilla. I'm hopeful that Cycle Gear will let them still do their thing though. I've never bought from CG so I decided not know how great their customer service is, but yes Revzilla's is without equal in my book.
Locally, I'll use Performance Cycle though. Great customer service there.
I used to enjoy meandering through Denver to get to the old location, now it's a 90 minute round trip on 470 which is not fun. But I can see where you would like the new location
"Philadelphia-based motorcycle gear retailer Revzilla is reportedly on the verge of being acquired by Cycle Gear, a national chain based in California, in a deal that would create a company valued between $400-500 million."
It wasn't sold for $400-$500 million, with the acquisition of Revzilla, that's what Cycle Gear would then be valued at.
At least that's how I interpret the opening sentence.
I've had great experience with CG in Madison, WI. Had a riding jacket that had the reflective piping was starting to fail at about the 1 year mark. They let me return the jacket and put the amount toward a new jacket since the one I was returning was discontinued. No complaints at all.
I've known about this for about a week or so now. It's really upsetting. They were my go to, mainly because they weren't just a mail order for me, but they are local. About once a year I'd drive down to their Philly warehouse and see what was new. Mail order prices, and a store you can try stuff on at. Priceless.
Best thing was they covered the PA sales tax. Even better!
This stinks. (For us, not the former owners of Revzilla.) I have been an avid motorcyclist since 2000, and have purchased all my gear from them since they have been online to sell. I have nothing to say about them, but that they were a class operation. Even their surprisingly helpful millions of "This is Anthony from Revzilla Tv" YouTube videos that did such a good job for someone to get the best possible information about a product, without being able to see it in person. I've been around for long enough to see, that when some larger company acquires a smaller company that does well, often the newly acquired company strays from what made them stand out, and slowly takes on the characteristics of the larger company that now runs it... And that you chose to NOT buy from ORIGINALLY. Congadulations to the original owners & founders of Revzilla, for doing a great job all these years, and actually being different, and as much as a "mom & pop" outlook on their selling, as much as a nation wide internet sales site could at least. I'll most likely just buy any riding gear from whoever has it listed on eBay with the least expensive price & free shipping, with decent amount of positive feedback, from this point forward... As I don't have any allegiance with Cycle Gear, and their prices or lack of informative product customer videos were never good enough to have ever been able to catch this "paycheck to paycheck" customer's attention... In 16 plus years.
Ps... Just now ordered an Arai smoked windscreen from them after reading this, so I give them the money versus someone else this spring... Turns out I had $10 Zilla bucks, so it only cost me $35 bucks and will be on my doorstep tomorrow. Wish buying my Triumph was this easy & fun! (Price difference aside, obviously.)
Thanks @Gzblack2 for posting this, and letting us know!
Even their surprisingly helpful millions of "This is Anthony from Revzilla Tv" YouTube videos that did such a good job for someone to get the best possible information about a product, without being able to see it in person.
I watched Anthony's vids to decide what boots to buy from a Revzilla clone up here: Canada Motorcycle. Anthony has the same foot size as me so it made ordering my boot size really accurate. Hope he gets a raise and carries on with the new company.
Oh bugger all! There goes the best online retailer there was. Instead of being able to choose from some of the best manufacturers of gear, it'll just be more internally branded Bilt and Sedici schite.
Nothing but good things to say about Revzilla just great to buy from. I use of CG too but they can't come close to the service Revzilla provides and have had both good and bad experiences at CG. Lets hope it's not the demise of Revzilla but that their magic will rub off on CG.
I buy tons of stuff from Revzilla. I might buy a stretch net from Cycle Gear. They remind me of a Dollar store vs. Nordstrom. 90% of what they carry locally, is BILT stuff, suited for Harley riders. Now, I hope this means they will carry more main quality brands at the local store, instead of lowering the quality of Revzilla.
I hope they maintain their same strategy because I'm the same way with ordering a lot through them and also love the videos and things. I'll actually be going down there in a week or so and will be sure to pry accordingly. I'm not going to jump right on the bandwagon of "oh now their only going to sell crap and their customer service will become terrible." It certainly could, but I'm going to wait and see and hope that a company that was built on providing great customer service, good prices, and quality gear, isn't just going to run off with some cash and let all of that go. It could even be that CG knows how much people like RevZilla and wants to make their business better.
In addition, they haven't merged yet, it just appears close, which still means that it will likely be a year or more before all of the restructuring (depending on how much needs to be done on both sides) is completed. I'm going to guess RevZilla stays somewhat independent and may provide management of some of the CG online business.
revzilla, simply the best in customer service and their extensive selection of products. Don't forget their awesome video product reviews. Cycle Gear, is a bargain brand store with excellent customer service, (from my experience) but.. and a big but, they focus on their proprietary brands (Bilt and Sedicci) which just don't measure up to other brands. Bilt, even though it is getting better, still has that cheap quality, entry level look and feel. It's a much cheaper quality but they do have a 5 year guarantee and a no questions asked return policy. You can order online and return to the store without a problem. Sometimes without a receipt or box. Sedicci is of slightly better build but still can't compare to other well known brands. My only concern is that they will continue to push hard on these specific brands (sales promotions, discounts, etc) and not provide the same amount of TLC to other brands. Their selection may be reduced as well. Hopefully this will not be the case. I wonder what this does to their stores. All of the CG stores I've been to are very small. Will they revamp to accommodate a bigger inventory?
I don't get the complaints about Cycle Gear. It's very easy to walk past Bilt and Sedici crap to get to the real brands. I bought there Scorpion, Dainese and Alpinestar gear, with the extra advantage of being able to try them on.
Now with them owning Revzilla I won't feel bad trying on things in their store and comparing store prices with online ones. In-store returns and exchanges are also good. Hopefully they are smart enough not to ruin Revzilla, and all will be peachy.
Bummer. Going to the Revzilla store down at the Navy Yard is a pleasure; sales staff are knowledgeable and helpful with no pressure and store is well stocked. Going to the Cycle Gear store in Allentown is like a trip to Walmart; lots of cheap crap and one guy minding the store. Can't blame the Revzilla guys for cashing in, they worked for it, but don't expect to be shopping there for long if Cycle Gear takes over. You can't buy class.
Thank goodness that's settled! Maybe it's just me but I always check Revzilla first and usually end up buying there because of the service and price. Thanks for the update Tinker!
What I took away from it.
1. Every motorcycle forum out there had a thread started with the same title as this one and the same concerns. And they saw it.
(Their facebook page blew up too)
2. They will be helping CycleGear improve and stay competitive.
3. RETAIL STORES?!?! Yes. Freaking. Please.
A very well written letter to a very loyal fan/customer base. Makes me feel even better for having watched so many "Hey! This is Anthony from Revzilla TV!" Videos.
Pretty cool that the Anthony in all those great videos is actually the prez and ceo!
I buy as much as possible from my local store to keep them in business and my money in the local economy, but whenever it is an item which they don't carry, Revzilla and Motorcycle Superstore have been my go tos.
I see this as being beneficial to Cycle Gear, I shop there for grips and other consumables, they do have a smattering of legit soft and hard goods as well as a selection of garbage. Now they will have some muscle, increased buying power and the chance to elevate some house brands to "not bad" status.
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