It’s the end of the ski season again, making it a great time to update your gear, get new ski clothes, or buy cost-effective items—especially through overseas online shopping. By summer, your options might be more limited. (Ski gear prices in China are ridiculously high, and there are reportedly even counterfeit products, especially ski clothes.)
I’ve lived in North America and always bought my ski gear overseas. I truly don’t think ski gear is
Websites where I have online shopping experience:
1. EVO This is one of my favorite websites. The brands and quality of skiing goods online are good, and the prices are reasonable.
http://www.evo.com/
It offers paid international shipping services. However, some brands (listed on the website) do not allow shipping outside the U.S.So when buying from this site, it's best to have a friend in the U.S. receive the items, then have them shipped or brought back to China.
2. Skis: This is also one of my favorite websites. It has a very wide range of products, whether you're looking for skiing equipment or snow apparel. The site is well-managed — for example, if you want to buy high-quality snow apparel, you can select Breathability 20000+ and Waterproofing 20000+ on the left side of the page, and those high-end options will be filtered out from thousands of products. The same goes for skiing gear.
https://www.skis.com
Note: If you're having items shipped to China, make sure to select "international checkout" when paying.
3. Backcountry: Snowboards and snowboard apparel.
http://www.dogfunk.com/
Offers paid international shipping.
Other websites: (also very popular sites,though I haven’t done online shopping there myself)
4. EPICSKI : Prices are listed in RMB, and they deliver to China.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/snow-sports~d~22/
5. http://www.getboards.com/categories/Snow/
Offers paid delivery to China.
Recommended for their quirky and uniquely styled ski gloves on this site:http://www.getboards.com/categories/Accessories/Gloves/
6. USoutdoor: A wide selection of skiing equipment and ski apparel.
http://www.usoutdoor.com/
7. Snowinn: Wide range of products, with paid shipping to China available.
http://www.snowinn.com/ski-store
8. The house outdoor Gear: Has international shipping services, but some brands cannot be shipped out of the U.S.
http://www.the-house.com/
9. https://www.ski-depot.com/
10. Ebay: www.ebay.com
Winter Sports: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Winter-Sports-/36259/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=skis
11. Amazon: www.amazon.com
12. http://www.levelninesports.com
Tips for overseas online shopping:
1) Some websites may not accept credit cards issued by Chinese banks (because they can’t verify the billing address). Skiers who often shop online but don’t have foreign credit cards can try applying for a Citibank or HSBC card in China — these might work better for overseas purchases.
2) Some brands on certain websites may not be allowed to ship out of the U.S. — the websites provide lists of such brands. But if you have your order delivered to a friend’s U.S. address, there won’t be a problem. The billing address and shipping address can be different.
3) When you’re checking out after selecting your items, if you’re having them sent to China, be sure to select international shipping (required by some websites). Before you pay, the shipping cost will be shown so you can decide whether to proceed.