Here’s How I First Found FC-Moto

In 2014, I finally saved up and bought a new motorcycle. After getting insurance on it, I wanted to get some safety gear because I plan to ride it as much as I can.

I wanted some boots, leathers, and gloves. For those items, I was mainly looking for something in black—not too fancy. I had already spent a small fortune on the bike and the insurance, so I didn’t want to spend too much on riding gear.

I was willing to spend more on a helmet because I know how important it is to protect your head from a crash. I did some research and found out about SHARP (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Program). It’s a rating system for motorcycle helmets that ranks helmets from 1-5 stars. SHARP recommends getting the best fitting helmet first, then consider the rating.

I looked around one of the cycle shops where I live, but there wasn’t much selection, so I decided to look around online and see what else I could find. It was during my search that I found FCMoto. Unlike most other retailers, they had an awesome stock of helmets.

Top Features

Photos
Photos of the items are detailed and clear. You can click on multiple thumbnail images to see different views of the items. The thumbnail photos also show the item in different colors. When you scroll over the item, it zooms in so you can see the image up-close. I found it much easier to see a lot of the graphic details on the helmets by using the zoom feature.

Large Inventory

The site doesn’t say exactly how many products they carry, but it must be in the thousands. They carry almost 50 brands of motorcycle boots. They stock many lines of products.They also stock supplies for other sports like snowmobiling and other outdoor sports, skiing, and bicycling.

They allow customers to post reviews about the products right on the product listing. This way I was able to tell what other people said about the product without going to some other sight to check reviews. It was really a time-saver.

Security

I rarely buy things online from outside the county because of personal concerns about identity theft. FC-moto takes security very seriously. They use the latest security and encryption procedures available.

They don’t share or sell their client list to other advertisers, so you won’t get bothered by a bunch of ads about products that you aren’t interested in.

Being a German-based company, they store and manage customer data according to the Teledienstdatenschutzgesetzes (TDDSG)-German Remote Services Data Protection Law and the Bundesdatenschutzgesetze (BDSG) – German Data Protection Law.

Customers may request information about the data that FC-Moto is holding at any time and get a copy of it. Customers can also request that access to their personal data be refused and to request the company to delete it all together.

Payments
Like most online stores, FC-Moto accepts payments by credit card and Paypal. They’ll also ship packages C.O.D. One thing that they do that’s different than a lot of other online companies is that they’ll do a bank-to-bank transfer.

That speaks to their commitment to online data security. Since a lot of their business is online, it gives them a leading edge. Customers want to buy from a company that cares about the risks of identity theft when buying online.

Delivery

FC-Moto delivery is fast, considering they ship worldwide. If you pay by C.O.D. or credit card, they ship the items out as soon as possible.

Their website says that shipping takes 5-7 days, unless it’s motorcycle season, then it’s a couple of days longer. They claim to be quicker than that most of the time and their customers’ reviews affirm that.

In fact, there were very few negative reviews at all. Considering the enormous volume of inventory that they move every day, it’s surprising that there aren’t more negative reviews. I found a couple of average ratings for shipping from customer reviews, but the vast majority said that shipping was excellent and fast.

FC-Moto does include a disclaimer that says that shipping can be delayed due to factors outside of their control, like difficulties with ordering or delivery from suppliers. From what I can tell, that is a rare occurrence.

Exchanges
The exchange policy is pretty sweet. You can send the product back within 14 days, for any reason, and exchange it for something different. If you don’t have a reason, that’s okay too. You can easily download an exchange form to return with your item. They really couldn’t make it easier.

Returns
The return policy is much like the exchange policy. You can return the item within 14 days, with no questions asked, and get a full refund. They use the same downloadable form for refunds as for exchanges. All that they really ask is that you send them notice of your intent to return the item.

Affiliate Program
FC-Moto offers an affiliate program. A lot of motorcyclists have blogs where they write about their trips. FC-Moto has a program where customers can become an affiliate and use their own website or blog to sell and profit from items. They even offer marketing banners and text links that they can add to their own sites to drum up business.

It’s not a bad way to finance some of your riding expenses. It’s also a great way to get acquainted with other riders.

FC-Moto Prices

Except for the newest items, many of the products are discounted. They also have a section of “hot deals. I saw discounts from 30% up to 80% off.

They offer a 10% discount for ordering online. They also have specials on sites like Groupon from time to time.

Customers outside of Europe won’t have to pay taxes. They might have some import taxes or other duties when the item arrives in their country, though.

Customer Support

The website doesn’t show a toll-free number. The only way that you can contact customer support is by using their fillable, online form. I did find a German phone number for the company on the German Facebook page.

In spite of the fact that they correspond with customers almost essentially via email, their customer service is certainly above average, and borders on excellent.

Criticism

It was quite surprising to me that a company with thousands of customers and thousands of products doesn’t have more complaints. In a large-scale operation like the one FC-Moto runs, it’s easy for mistakes to happen. But the feedback shows that customers feel FC-Moto has an appealing and easy-to-navigate site. Their online shopping cart is fast and easy. More importantly, it’s highly secure.

I did find an occasional unhappy reviewer, but they were minuscule in comparison with the stellar reviews. The most common complaint is with shipping; items going missing or taking longer to arrive than expected.

Conclusion

I had a basic idea of what I wanted to buy after I got my bike. I really thought I could get everything locally. I was able to get most of what I wanted except for the helmet.

Initially, I was hesitant to order such an expensive item from overseas. I really thought it would be a hassle. I was a little overwhelmed at the enormous amount of choices in their helmet line at first. After I picked a brand, it was pretty easy to find the one that I wanted from there.

 
Check-out was really easy and I liked the fact that my payment information was highly secured. I also liked the fact that they weren’t going to give my personal information to other companies that were going to fil my inbox with spam.

Shipping was fast as they said it would be. I loved my helmet when it arrived. I didn’t need to use the exchange or return form, but it was nice to know that I had two weeks to change my mind if I wanted to.

There’s very little to dislike about this company and I would definitely buy from them again.