Beware of fraudulent Altra shoe websites in Canada

[K_Lynn]

I'm in the process of sourcing and trying new shoes for my next Camino and thought I would try Altras as they are lighter weight and well spoken of. In touring around the interwebs I ran across 2 fraudulent websites purporting to sell the shoes at a very deep discount. Please be advised that Altra does not have a Canadian website and does not ship from their (legit) website to Canada. Altras can only be purchased through retailers in Canada.

https://www.altrarunning.com/utility/store-locator.html will direct you to the closest retailer.

Sometimes being slightly paranoid comes in handy.

 

[Martin 888]

Thanks for the heads up…..I recently acquired some Altra Lone Peak 6’s and may well buy a second pair…..they’re awesome!
I came across the exact same thing with Hanwag about nine months ago. They have no Canadian site and the US site does not ship to Canada. The totally legit looking site that popped up purporting to be Hanwag.ca was a complete fake…..they had ’lifted’ the main European site and altered just a few things…..everything was seemingly available and deeply discounted. The thing that made me suspicious was that they had spelt the word ‘womens’ wrong on one page. I called Hanwag in the US to verify and they told me they were aware of it and their legal team was working on having it removed which subsequently happened. Bottom line is to be constantly suspicious and check everything before proceeding to checkout and pay!

 

[K_Lynn]

Thanks for the heads up…..I recently acquired some Altra Lone Peak 6’s and may well buy a second pair…..they’re awesome!
I came across the exact same thing with Hanwag about nine months ago. They have no Canadian site and the US site does not ship to Canada. The totally legit looking site that popped up purporting to be Hanwag.ca was a complete fake…..they had ’lifted’ the main European site and altered just a few things…..everything was seemingly available and deeply discounted. The thing that made me suspicious was that they had spelt the word ‘womens’ wrong on one page. I called Hanwag in the US to verify and they told me they were aware of it and their legal team was working on having it removed which subsequently happened. Bottom line is to be constantly suspicious and check everything before proceeding to checkout and pay!

It reminded me of the websites advertised on Facebook a few years ago for Canada Goose jackets or Birkenstock sandals all at 50% off. I always hit the "Contact us" and "shipping" links if I am purchasing something from a new to me website and the fraudulent sites only had an email form and a notice that shipping might be delayed. Glad you didn't get scammed for your boots!

 

[Theresa Brandon]

I've seen very convincing Hoka scam sites, too.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

It's the old adage;

if something seems too good to be true....

I consider myself to be careful & vigilant when buying online but I've just been caught too (not walking gear related).
Buyer beware!

 

[kaval]

I'm in the process of sourcing and trying new shoes for my next Camino and thought I would try Altras as they are lighter weight and well spoken of. In touring around the interwebs I ran across 2 fraudulent websites purporting to sell the shoes at a very deep discount. Please be advised that Altra does not have a Canadian website and does not ship from their (legit) website to Canada. Altras can only be purchased through retailers in Canada.

https://www.altrarunning.com/utility/store-locator.html will direct you to the closest retailer.

Sometimes being slightly paranoid comes in handy.

There are also fake sites for Gregory packs and Oboz shoes... if the deal is too good to be true.... Probably isn't. The common denominator for those 3 companies is quality US manufacturer that don't do web sales in Canada.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

The Altra sites are *very* convincing. And because the pricing is not "too good to be true" and whoever is building the sites just keeps lifting from the US site directly, my friend who is an IT specialist was *almost* fooled. I forget what twigged her right at the end, but as we were looking for the same mid-height LP that is hard to acquire locally, she nearly recommended the site to me as well.
I think that in the end we went to MEC and found last pairs/last sizes.... (and now I don't know where to go for replacements).

 

[C clearly]

Are these websites, e.g. the Altra one, selling knockoffs (fake brand name items) or are they taking money and delivering nothing?

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Are these websites, e.g. the Altra one, selling knockoffs (fake brand name items) or are they taking money and delivering nothing?

My friend reported the site and she was told by Altra HQ that they are purely cash-grab sites that deliver nothing.

 

[K_Lynn]

The Altra sites are *very* convincing. And because the pricing is not "too good to be true" and whoever is building the sites just keeps lifting from the US site directly, my friend who is an IT specialist was *almost* fooled. I forget what twigged her right at the end, but as we were looking for the same mid-height LP that is hard to acquire locally, she nearly recommended the site to me as well.
I think that in the end we went to MEC and found last pairs/last sizes.... (and now I don't know where to go for replacements).

MEC doesn’t carry Lone Peaks, they do have one style of Altra’s but I forget which. On the legit Altra site is a link for retailers near you. Altra also sells through Amazon.

I bought a pair yesterday at a shop locally. They had apparently just arrived and had been unpacked. So yay, I have shiny new shoes that will sit in a box until the snow goes away.

 

[K_Lynn]

My friend reported the site and she was told by Altra HQ that they are purely cash-grab sites that deliver nothing.

Yep.

 

[K_Lynn]

Are these websites, e.g. the Altra one, selling knockoffs (fake brand name items) or are they taking money and delivering nothing?

They are taking your money and you get nothing but heartache in return.

 

[SunMod]

I'm in the process of sourcing and trying new shoes for my next Camino and thought I would try Altras as they are lighter weight and well spoken of. In touring around the interwebs I ran across 2 fraudulent websites purporting to sell the shoes at a very deep discount. Please be advised that Altra does not have a Canadian website and does not ship from their (legit) website to Canada. Altras can only be purchased through retailers in Canada.

https://www.altrarunning.com/utility/store-locator.html will direct you to the closest retailer.

Sometimes being slightly paranoid comes in handy.

I wore altras on the frances last year and it was a bad experience for me. I had worn a pair before for walking and exercise at home with no problems and the pair that I took were well broken in, however for long distances I found that the zero drop caused fatigue in my arches and calves. I developed plantar fasciitis for the first time in my life and I had excruciating pain everyday while I was on the frances. If you don't have much experience with zero drop especially on a long walk like this, I would consider sticking with the style that you're feet are used to. Best of luck. Buen Camino!

 

[K_Lynn]

I wore altras on the frances last year and it was a bad experience for me. I had worn a pair before for walking and exercise at home with no problems and the pair that I took were well broken in, however for long distances I found that the zero drop caused fatigue in my arches and calves. I developed plantar fasciitis for the first time in my life and I had excruciating pain everyday while I was on the frances. If you don't have much experience with zero drop especially on a long walk like this, I would consider sticking with the style that you're feet are used to. Best of luck. Buen Camino!

I wore Oboz last year on Camino. They are also zero drop and have a much stiffer sole than the Altras. I generally prefer harder soles/less pillow cushion in a shoe so it worked for me.

I’ll test these out once the snow goes away and if I’m not happy I’ll just pick up another pair of Oboz. The only thing I didn’t like about them was they were very heavy, hence the desire to try the Altras.

Buen Camino to you as well! I hope you find the right shoe for your next Camino!

 

[NorthernLight]

Good catch on the bogus websites.

I had to get the local Runningroom store to order my Hoka’s from the US. I wanted 2E width so had to wait for a production run for them to be made.

 

[K_Lynn]

Good catch on the bogus websites.

I had to get the local Runningroom store to order my Hoka’s from the US. I wanted 2E width so had to wait for a production run for them to be made.

Wow! Glad you got the shoes you wanted! The shop I went to yesterday looked like they had every single Hoka style. I was blinded by the colours!

 

[WGroleau]

Yep.

My friend reported the site and she was told by Altra HQ that they are purely cash-grab sites that deliver nothing.

Many such sites aren't merely "cash-grab" sites. You enter payment information and location and possibly other things that they can use for identity theft. Some of them also do data-mining on social media and correlate what they find with the info they collect from other forged sites. Reporting them is doing a good thing for other victims.

 

[bananarama]

Many such sites aren't merely "cash-grab" sites. You enter payment information and location and possibly other things that they can use for identity theft. Some of them also do data-mining on social media and correlate what they find with the info they collect from other forged sites. Reporting them is doing a good thing for other victims.

Maybe this is quite common? The same happened to me a few months ago when buying a fishing rod from a Daiwa "outlet" store. I was so lucky my credit card paused the transaction. I'm so used to online purchases working that I got caught with my pants down

 

[K_Lynn]

Maybe this is quite common? The same happened to me a few months ago when buying a fishing rod from a Daiwa "outlet" store. I was so lucky my credit card paused the transaction. I'm so used to online purchases working that I got caught with my pants down

It seems to be pretty common. I’ve run into a few fraudulent sites before but luckily I’ve never attempted to make a purchase through one. The only times my CC# has been compromised is through physical retailers or taxis. Most recently in Vancouver. I do make a habit of purchasing just about everything with my CC as it has better protections than my debit card.

 

[Trekker One]

Unless you have tried on the shoe you are buying online at a local store first, I would view buying shoes for a Camino online as risky mainly because they may not be comfortable for the daily half marathon that a Camino represents.
I have found that even identically sized shoes from the same manufacturer don't even all fit exactly the same. I'll wear new shoes inside at home for a day, before making a final decision on them.
Saving a few dollars by buying online seems like a bad deal besides the possible fraud some sites are.

 

[K_Lynn]

Unless you have tried on the shoe you are buying online at a local store first, I would view buying shoes for a Camino online as risky mainly because they may not be comfortable for the daily half marathon that a Camino represents.
I have found that even identically sized shoes from the same manufacturer don't even all fit exactly the same. I'll wear new shoes inside at home for a day, before making a final decision on them.
Saving a few dollars by buying online seems like a bad deal besides the possible fraud some sites are.

I agree. I like to price shoes out online prior to trying them on and then buying. I’ve got a pretty good spidey-sense so I did not get taken. This was just a warning to be cautious for anyone trying to buy them online.