Consumer Council offers suggestions on purchasing sports shoes

For sports lovers, sports shoes of high quality are indispensable. According to the Consumer Council, however, it receives complaints about sports shoes from time to time, including fading color, water penetration of waterproof sports shoes, and rubber peeling off from trail running shoes. 

Hong Kong's sports shoe market is highly competitive. There are also numerous channels for consumers to purchase their favorite products, such as brand stores, authorized retailers, sports chain stores, online stores, etc. Nevertheless, disputes can easily arise if consumers find that there are problems with the quality of products and yet traders fail to provide satisfactory after-sales services.

According to the Consumer Council, a consumer complained that he had bought a pair of waterproof sports shoes that cost about HK$1,170 from a specialty store. He found that there was water penetration after wearing them five times within 10 months. Afterward, he was given a brand new pair of sports shoes of the same model after his feedback and the store's inspection three months later. 

However, he found that the problem still existed when he wore the new shoes two months later, so he contacted the store to send them to a factory for inspection. Unexpectedly, the staff told him that no water penetration was found. What's worse, he found that some rubber on the inner surfaces had peeled off after factory inspection. The staff explained that the shoes were out of warranty when he communicated with the store again.

Finally, he sought help from the Consumer Council. The store refunded 80% of the money after its intervention.

The Consumer Council reminds the industry to supervise the design and quality of products and to improve after-sales service of different sales channels, to follow up with consumers on matters related to maintenance and return of products. The merchants should also complete the relevant procedures such as factory inspection and replacement promptly to provide consumers with a satisfying experience in case of quality-related disputes.

It also advises consumers to pay attention to the following points when purchasing sports shoes.

Firstly, it is supposed to find out whether the design and features of the sports shoes meet their needs before the purchase, with attention to the materials, traction, weight, curvature and thickness of the sole and even other special requirements such as waterproof, anti-shock and anti-slip functions.

Secondly, consumers should not purchase sports shoes in excessive quantities, to avoid unnecessary deterioration and damage due to the changes in shoe soles as a result of prolonged disuse.

Thirdly, it is very important to know whether the goods are genuine or parallel imports and to read relevant details carefully such as ways of return and refund when shopping online.

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