Update: The BBB has officially started an investigation on the complaints about the Outdoors Online scam, which promised customers Yeti tumblers but didn’t deliver.
I Make the Purchase…
An ad for shiny Yeti tumblers offered by Outdoors Online caught my eye the other day on Facebook. Pink (!!!), Tiffany blue, camouflage tumblers, outdoors online.com had them all! I’m a Yeti novice, I’ve seen them around but never looked into them closely.
I’m one of those people that obsessively researches before purchasing anything, because the rare times I make impulse purchases they end up being disastrous. This is one of those times I jumped before reading… I made my purchase and waited for a few days but didn’t receive any updates about my order.
A Closer Look at Outdoors Online
I decided to take a peek at their Facebook page and noticed their name on there (camping and fishing outlet) is different than their website name (Outdoors Online). That might be why I couldn’t find any reviews for OutdoorsOnline.com when I searched, they changed their name from Camping and Fishing Outlet to Outdoors Online fairly recently. Campingandfishingoutlet.com was registered on December (2015), and outdoorsonline.com has been around since 2002 but they may not have been the original registrants of the domain.
I came across the camping and fishing outlet BBB page and saw it had a one star rating accompanied with several negative reviews, which helps answer the question “Is Camping and Fishing Outlet Legit?”. A one star review on the better business bureau website is awful.
The Outdoors Online BBB page has racked up over 100 customer complaints relating to non-delivery. Outdoors Online has yet to respond.
One thing I noticed about their Facebook page is that almost every photo is accompanied with an angry emoticon. I tried looking at comments but most of the photos don’t have any.
Nooooo! Don’t do it!!!! 😮
When you browse the site little notices like the one above will pop up every few seconds. I wonder if any of those people will receive their orders.
There are some reviews on their shopper approved page (Shopper Approved is a third-party website that online retailers hire to allow customers to leave feedback). This link HERE is to the reviews, sorted newest to oldest. There are mixed reviews.
Most of their photos are the same ones used in Amazon listings, I’m not sure if there’s a way to tell who used which photo first though.
Powder Coated Yetis?
I visited the official Yeti website and it looks like they do not offer the tumblers in any colors, it’s third-party sellers that offer the colored paint powder coating service.
Update: January 6th, 2017
The customer complaints about the Outdoors Online scam are continuing to roll in. There are a few posts about outdoorsonline.com on the Ripoff Report website. The news site Texas Insider has picked up the story here. The BBB has also officially opened an investigation. At this time there are over 100 consumer complaints filed on the BBB website.
I’m still waiting on the results of my credit card dispute with Outdoors Online…
I’ll keep you updated with what happens. Have you had any experiences with this website? Leave a comment below!
Update: February, 2017
My credit card provider approved my chargeback and I was refunded. Hopefully everyone else has been able to receive their refunds.
I found these non-sketchy tumblers on Amazon by RTIC in case you’re still searching for a cute pink tumbler. Referral links below:
Lovely pink color:
And camouflage:
