Sierra — Local services in Salem

To begin, I worked in outdoor retail for years, so I have a ton of experience with and knowledge of products. I wanted to love this store because of their great deals, but I have had two or three mediocre experiences and one bad one today, so I think I'm done. I would rather spend a little bit more at REI, receive great customer service from knowledgeable staff, and be protected by their return policy. Anyway, on to my top issues:

I have been in the store 3 or 4 times now, and only once has a staff member said hello or asked if they could help me find anything. As far as actual camping/backpacking gear goes, there inventory is dismal. I went in with a short list of small things I was hoping to get for an upcoming backpacking trip and could not find a single thing I needed. The staff/cashiers are unhelpful and not knowledgeable about the products they sell. I went to buy a dog pack I saw last week. It is the Ruffwear Palisades dog backpack. It is the top-of-the-line pack from Ruffwear, and usually runs around $150. STP had a great price at only $79, but the two collapsable water resevoirs that are supposed to come with it were missing. As it was the only one of that style, I mentioned it to the cashier. I was thinking maybe I can get 10-20% off, because I am going to have to buy bladders for it. Well, the woman looked at the tag (that says it includes 2 water pouches) and told me "that doesn't mean it comes with it, you can put your own in there." I told her that I am familiar with the bag and know that it is supposed to come with the bottles. She calls over another employee, who agrees with her, but says she will go look at the other dog packs on the rack. I told her the other packs on the rack are not the same style (there was one other ruffwear pack). She went and looked and radioed to the cashier that the other pack did not have bottles (it also did not say that it came with bottles on the tag, because it was a different style!). At this point I was so mad. I even looked up ads from Amazon and other stores, showing the pack with the Ruffwear brand bottles to show the cashier. I should have walked away from the purchase or at least elevated it to manager level, but I bought the bag and left. I am confident that I will never go back to that store after this experience. Besides the abysmal product knowledge (even after being shown multiple online listings of the same product), that was one of the worst, most dismissive customer service experiences I...

I purchase an MS Sports 8 piece soft tip lawn dart set for a graduation gift. On the very first toss onto a lawn, one dart broke off. The same thing happen to two more. I tried to return it to Sierra Trading Post explaining what had happen. They called the manager who said their return policy was no return on open packages. The reason for this review is I realize they do not know if this is a true description of what had happened, but it was. I should have taken a picture of my five year olds Grandson’s face and included it with the return. Pretty disappointed. I do a lot of shopping at Sierra Trading Post. I will most likely continue to shop there for clothes for my family and other family members as in general the selection is good and the prices fair, but will not be making Sierra Trading Post my first choice. I will also think twice before I buy anything that could possibly break or need to be returned. Poor customer service on this occasion. New information. July, 2024. Back to Sierra Trading Post on another occasion. I purchased a nice summer shirt for my husband. It was a little snug so I intended to return it. I put the clean, folded shirt in a bag, tags intact, along with the receipt, in my car. I didn’t think much about it and then I did. Unfortunately, it had been over 30 days. That was my fault. I expected a store credit as that had been the store policy in the past. Not any longer. If you would like to return a item after 30 days, they will no longer take it. The manager told me this was the new store policy and she could do nothing about it. The good news, Union Gospel Mission will be getting a nice, new shirt donated. I generally shop in advance for Birthday and Christmas gifts. I guess I will be doing my advance shopping elsewhere when purchasing a gift or a clothing item for...

Sierra is a store which carries lots of clothing and outdoor oriented gear. From hiking boots and socks to clothes and jackets, they have a large selection at discount prices. They buy a lot of overstock and "imperfect" items from companies, and the end result is you get a quality product that looks great at a steep discount. $170 hiking boots for $69, $35 jogging pants for $16. They also have shirts, base layers, ski jackets, boot warmers, and lots more. There is lots of great deals here. You can also order online and ship to the store, which means if the item you order doesn't fit right you can return it on the spot. Sierra is a great place to shop if you're looking for a good products and wanting to...