Finish Line

Full review
There's nothing like a good sale to sway me to shop at an online store. I was all set to place my order at Foot Locker online when I saw a great sale at Finish Line. So, I made my order there.

I really should have stuck with Foot Locker. Finish Line was giving ME a line and their customer service is dreadful.

What the Site Sells

Men's, women's and kids athletic and sports shoes, clothing, and accessories. They also sell a selection of team gear.

Navigation

This site is a bit busy but not too hard to navigate. The home page displays specials and sales along with links to their main categories: Men's, Women's, Kids', Fan Shop, Accessories, and Clearance. You can also search by keyword in specific categories.

Under each main category are several subcategories. Click on one and you can sort by price (from high to low or low to high) or name (A-Z or Z-A). You can also just browse around but they have a large inventory and you may be there a while looking at all the choices.

If you see something you like, click on the thumbnail and you will see a larger, decent photo and a very short description with the price of the item next to it. Pick the size and color combo you need and add it to your cart. Often, lower priced and popular items will be sold out in common sizes and the best color choices.

The site is somewhat slow. I am on a fast DSL and it takes a while to load pages and individual items. It could be because they have so many items on the site and so many per page are displayed.

You can see your cart at any time as well as your shipping charges. When you have finished shopping, you will move to the checkout to complete your order.

Shipping is generally $6.99 for the first item and $1.99 for each additional item. Sometimes they have a free shipping with a minimum order promotion.

Tax is also charged in most states.

If all looks OK, enter your major credit card and expiry date and you will get a confirmation number and an email with your order summary.

When your order - or part of your order - ships, you should get another email. Look for emails telling you they are searching for your items even though they say on the site everything is in stock.

Orders or parts of orders come to you within a week or so.

It should be that simple but my experience was certainly NOT simple!

My Frustrating Experience

I saw a good sale on men's T-Shirts for five for $20.00. My son loves plain T-Shirts and that was a good deal so I went to Finish Line and ordered the same sneakers I was going to get at Foot Locker (The price was slightly cheaper at Foot Locker but I wanted everything ordered from one place.).

I ordered 10 T-Shirts and the sneakers and got free shipping because they were having a shipping special. Everything was in stock and I was very happy to have my son's school sneakers ordered and 10 shirts on the way.

When I saw my email order confirmation, I saw one of the 10 shirts was several dollars more than all the others. I called customer service who said they would adjust the price when I got the order. I asked why they didn't just adjust the price immediately and got some mumbo jumbo that made no sense. They said to call when my order arrived for a price adjustment.

I received the sneakers and two shirts about six days after I ordered. One shirt was the right price, the other was several dollars over the advertised price as I noted above.

There was no explanation as to where the other eight shirts were.

I then received an email telling me that Finish Line was searching their warehouses for the other eight shirts and would send a shipping notice as soon as the shirts were shipped out.

That was fine. I could wait a bit for the shirts.

I was not charged for them but I was overcharged for the one shirt I got of the two. I called customer service again and they said they would adjust the price when the rest of my order came. I asked why but they blew me off. I figured I would wait and call when my complete ordered arrived.

Days passed. Weeks passed. Nothing. No shipping notice, no shirts, nothing.

I finally wrote to customer service asking where the heck my order was and I was informed that my entire order was cancelled (The eight remaining shirts) because they were out of stock. ALL EIGHT? They said I should have received an email or phone call telling me this. Right. They won't even refund me the overage for the shirt I did get, I don't expect that they would call me to inform me that they cancelled my order.

I went to the site and - wonder of wonders - the shirts are still being sold in all colors and sizes for the sale price. I actually tried to add a few to my cart that I had previously ordered and they showed up as in stock and available. That burns me. If they ARE available, why didn't I get them? And if they aren't, why does the site continue to say they are?

I wrote a letter asking for my refund for the overcharged shirt and also told them that I never received any notification that the shirts were out of stock and the order cancelled.

Nothing.

I heard nothing at all from Finish Line.

I will probably waste my breath calling them one more time but I am totally turned off of Finish Line and will NOT shop there again. Their customer service by phone is rude and unknowledgeable and their customer service by email is either non-existent or non-responsive.

I wish I had just ordered from Foot Locker as I had planned. The shoes were less expensive and I have had good experiences all around with them. I let a sale at Finish Line sway me and it turns out I got burned.

There is no reason anyone would need to shop at Finish Line over other similar athletic shoes and apparel stores. Their prices are similar and their shipping is higher.

I won't go back and I don't recommend that you bother shopping at Finish Line online. Go to Foot Locker or some other store that actually has what they advertise in stock, communicates with their customers, and doesn't bait and switch people with low sale prices only to leave them hanging waiting for an order that never comes.

Shipping and Returns

Shipping is $6.99 for your first item and $1.99 for each subsequent item you order.

They have a "club" called The Winners Circle which you can join which will get you newsletters and promotional emails and some sort of credit toward future purchases. I don't care much about that since I won't go back but if you shop there, it is free to join.

You can return unworn items to one of their stores or to the site within 45 days of purchase.

To send back items, you must get a return authorization number from their customer service department. (Good luck with that!) Things must be new, unworn, and tagged. Shipping charges are non-refundable. There are no exchanges, only returns. Nothing can be returned to the site or store after 45 days for any reason. So, if your $170.00 athletic shoes fall apart on day 46, you're stuck. More reason to shop elsewhere in my opinion.

Conclusion

They told me everything I ordered was in stock. Then they told me they were searching their warehouses for my items. Then nothing came. They overcharged me for one of the two shirts I did get and simply won't refund me back for the overage although they keep promising to. They didn't let me know they cancelled my order until I specifically asked where my order was and they didn't answer my inquiries about my refund.

I wouldn't shop at this site if they were giving stuff away. They probably would never send it out anyway.

I am very disappointed in Finish Line and I don't recommend them to anyone. I have heard from several others who have had bad experiences, especially with customer service, at Finish Line online so I know this isn't an isolated incident.

I am going with 1 star. Go where they care about your patronage and where you can count on them to make things right for you. Finish Line has no interest in righting their wrongs. Seeing the same shirts I ordered that were out of stock and cancelled still being sold and advertised in the colors and sizes I ordered galls me.

I have no trust at all in Finish Line.