Mar 13, 2007

User review: planetdsg.com

Blog reader Vyom purchased a pair of Alpinestars SP-2 gloves (manufacturer site | planetdsg product page) from planetdsg.com and wrote a comment on this post saying he got the link from my blog. I commented him a questionnaire asking for information on his product purchase experience. He just reverted, so I thought I'd post his 'site review' so that all of you can have a read. Normal text is mine, Arial is Vyom's.

  1. How did you like the website?

    The look of the website was ok and i found the site easy to navigate. however there is no search box on the front page and should be there rather than as a link.

  2. What did you think of the product range on offer?

    The product range is all Alpinestars. When i had spoken on ordering the products, i had been told by their person that they carry more brands also which will be online soon.

  3. Do you perceive planetdsg as an expensive place to buy kit?

    I didn't find the site expensive. Though prices are higher than US rates but a lot cheaper than what people quote over here in Chennai. They should try reducing further.

  4. Did the goods live up the promise? In terms of product description, price, shipping cost and shipping time

    The gloves I bought were original alpinestars SP-2 and they charged Rs 95 for shipping from pune. i think it's OK. The gloves arrived on the second day of order. Someone had called to confirm order when I had placed it and paid online.

  5. Would you buy from planetdsg again? Would you recommend planetdsg to a friend?

    I have recommended the site to many colleagues and don't mind buying for my requirements again. In fact i plan to buy knee guards next month.

  6. If you don't mind... what was the total cost of purchasing the gloves (including any and all charges)

    When i bought gloves, at that time the costs were split into price + tax + shipping. Today i saw they have displayed price+tax directly which i find better. My total cost of purchase was Rs 5045 including shipping charges of Rs 95.

Hope that was helpful. Will let you know if i buy my knee pads also

Okay, I did some more digging. My favourite motorcycle kit website in the world, newenough.com – which has a brand new look – offers the same gloves for $79.95 in the US. At Rs 46.50 that's Rs 3718, according to xe.com, right now, its Rs 3522. So, if newenough.com offers the gloves with shipping at Rs 1327 or Rs 1523, they're about even. So did they? Here goes, I'm going to search this now... Okay. The total cost is $103.71 which is Rs 4822.5 or Rs 4569.5. Hmm... so newenough.com is actually cheaper by Rs 223. Given that customs is a fairly moody thing most of the time, I'd say planetdsg.com's Sp2 gloves are a good buy!

However, empirically checking, I found the Alpinestars SM-X R boots, for instance, differed much more. They're roughly Rs 13,000 at newenough.com, including shipping, but not including customs. But they're a whopping Rs Rs 17,750 at planetdsg. However, the last time a someone I know purchased a pair of Sidi Verterbra 2 boots from newenough.com, the customs slapped a Rs 9000 duty on them... Decisions, decisions...

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4 comments:

Hrishi said...

I feel it is very very expensive. I had trawled the net last year when i was considering buying a decent jkt/gloves. I had even placed an order for Fieldsheer Mach 3 jkt, but had to cancel it, since their estimated arrival date was after my date of departure :(
The deal was a steal at $79...

If you consider the one which they have listed on their site, the - Alpinestars T-Dyno Jacket, its list price is 11300/- but the same thing is available for @145$, which comes to around 6500 INR.

What we need is someone to make similar quality jackets in india. The manufacturing cost will NOT go above 1000 bucks for bulk. If u search on the net, there are so many companies in Pakistan & China manufacturing jackets, but unfortunately, NONE in india.

Secondly, the jacket has to be practical to be used everyday. A mesh jacket is more suited to our climate. I understand it provides much less protection, but then hey, its way better than wearing a t-shirt for commutes on a hot day.

For trips, i will agree with whatever you suggest!

Cheers,

15 March, 2007 14:15
rearset said...

Hrishi,
I think part of the 'problem' with planetdsg is that their lineup only offers a premium brand, with another equally premium brand in the pipeline. If they were to sell cheaper brands, it would be possible to sell a hell of a lot of more kit at more reasonable prices.

As I think I said in the post, the cost of Alpinestars kit appears justified in some cases and is exorbitant in others.

However, as you rightly say, if you consider the purchase as a motorcycle jacket, as opposed to a AStars motorcycle jacket, I'd have to agree, plantedsg.com is expensive.

15 March, 2007 14:21
rearset said...

About mesh. Have you seen the TourMaster Flex jacket? Am really, really tempted... Here's the link

15 March, 2007 14:23
Anonymous said...

Hmmm. informative post. however if you look at it from a different perspective, Indian duties are higher as can also be deduced by your friend paying 9000 bucks in duties for boots. So the offer at planetdsg.com is not all that bad. I tried some calculations and think their margins might be lower than newenough.com. Reminds me of my purchase of my graphics card cheaper off a US website and getting scr@#@d by customs in duties and paying a hefty duty at Sahar Airport customs.

21 March, 2007 23:09

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