Our retail location has been closed since March 17th. We will remain closed through at least April 30th in accordance with the NC Stay at Home order but our reopening date is TBD as of now. We have decided to move forward with launching online sales - effective immediately - you can read our basic FAQ below:
You've never offered online sales before. Why now?
We have been planning on launching online sales for the past few months despite our store shutdown. The website you're reading this on has been in development since the beginning of the year, and while we didn't envision launching it under these circumstances, we are grateful to be able to connect with you on this platform and provide you with some quality outdoor gear during these crazy times.
When you purchase something from Second Gear, please know that every sale supports our local community - from our employees to our consignors to our non-profit partner of the month!
Are you offering any special perks to celebrate the launch of your online store?
Yes! Our friends at Running Rabbit Art have graciously donated some of their incredible merch for us to give away to our first online shoppers! They've also designed a limited edition Second Gear Zine entitled; Leave No Trace: A Little Guide to Being a Responsible Explorer.
How are you ensuring safety while fulfilling online orders during the COVID-19 shutdown?
Our retail location has been closed since March 17th in order to protect the health of our employees, customers & community at large. Any new inventory coming into the store will be pre-approved by our staff, thoroughly disinfected, & go through a waiting period before being made available for purchase online. We will have minimal staff in our store packaging your orders who will be wearing masks & gloves.
We are shipping all of our products through USPS with no-contact delivery. Our employees will follow proper social distancing protocol during all store pickup appointments. If you have additional concerns about receiving product, we've adjusted our return policy so that you can wait 24 to 72 hours to open your package once you receive it.
How does shipping work?
We are offering FREE SHIPPING on most orders over $25 through the month of April! Some large and hard to ship items are excluded from free shipping and will be appropriately marked. Use the coupon code "FreeShip" at checkout to enable free shipping. Please note that free shipping can not be combined with other discount codes.
Can I pick up from you at the store?
We are offering in-store pickup by appointment for locals. Typically we will have staff in the store Monday-Saturday from noon to 3 pm. If this time frame doesn't work for you we can schedule an alternative time with you directly. Once you place your online order and select the in-store pickup option, a Second Gear staff member will contact you to set up your pickup appointment.
What is your return policy for online purchases?
We are altering our return policy during our store shutdown in two ways:
1. We are allowing returns on all items purchased online at our store once we reopen (date TBD). All retail items must be returned unused in their original packaging. Consigned items must be returned unused with their original tags.
2. You may ship an item back to our store address within 1 week of receipt of your shipment. Unfortunately we will not be able to provide return postage so you will need to cover the postage fee for returns.
If you do wish to return an item, please contact us within 7 days of receipt of your shipment & before shipping an item back to us.
Can I use my existing store credit or gift card for online purchases?
Unfortunately our online system is not currently set up to accept store credit purchases & gift cards. We apologize for the inconvenience - but please know that gift cards and store credit never expire and will be available for use in-store once we reopen!
Is your entire inventory listed online?
No! While a large portion of our inventory is posted online, much of it has not yet made it onto the website. We'll continue to regularly add some more of the items we have at the shop online!
Are you accepting consignment right now?
We are accepting limited consignment by appointment only. Social distancing protocol will be followed and gear will be properly sanitized and disinfected before being made available for purchase online. If you are interested in consigning your gear with us, please follow this link and fill out a Consignment Appointment Request form. A Second Gear staff member will contact you after having completed the form to schedule your appointment. Please DO NOT bring your items to our store without filling out this form and receiving confirmation from a Second Gear staff member. For more general information on our consignment policies, visit our consignment page here.
Will you continue to pay your consignors?
Yes! Our consignors are the backbone of our business and we know that this is a difficult time for many of them as well. We have already sent out checks for all items sold in March to consignors with a balance of over $10. Checks will be sent out at the end of April for all items sold this month as normal. If you did not receive a check and you believe you should have please contact us via email.
How are you supporting your employees?
When we first closed our store on March 17th, like all of you, we had no idea how long this was going to last for. We still don't. Despite not being open, we made the decision to continue paying our employees for the remainder of March during our temporary closure.
Once we realized this was going to go on longer than anticipated, we made the difficult decision to lay off our employees so that they could apply for unemployment. Being a small local business, we just don't have the ability to continue to retain our staff while being closed. Our owners are not taking pay at this time and we are maintaining close contact with our incredible employees who we have every intention of rehiring as soon as possible.
We are doing everything we can to support our employees at this time - from checking in on each other to sharing toilet paper. While this is a difficult time in the world we are all in good spirits. Stay tuned for some exciting updates about how our staff has been spending their time away from work!
Will you continue to support your nonprofit partner of the month?
Yes! While we weren't open for all of March, we still sent our March partner, Connect Buncombe, a check for 1% of our sales for the month. Our nonprofit partner of the month for April is I Heart Pisgah! You can learn more about our nonprofit partner program here!
I don't want to shop online but I do want to support your store. What can I do?
First of all, thank you so much for your support! If online shopping isn't your thing but you'd still like to support us you can purchase a physical gift card here! These gift cards never expire and are valid for all in-store purchases.
You can also share our new online store with your friends & family through email or social media! You never know which one of your friends might really appreciate being introduced to Second Gear ;)
You can also vote for us as "Best Outdoor Gear & Apparel Shop" in this year's Mountain Xpress Best of WNC Contest! You can vote at this link. Please note that there is a lot to vote for and all voting is optional so you only need to fill in as much as you want. We are located in the "Outdoors" section.
If you want to stay in touch with us, consider signing up for our email list or following us on facebook or instagram. And if you have any questions or would like to reach out to us for any reason, please don't hesitate to send us a message!
