Not many of us can resist a good deal, especially on an item you’ve heard outstanding things about. It’s extremely disappointing, then, when that purchase turns out to be not what you expected. One woman learned this when she had her first—and probably last—experience with Dick’s Sporting Goods.
What Did She Buy From Dick’s Sporting Goods?
As a nursing student and respiratory therapist, Katie Grothman (@goodygirl64) says she goes through shoes at an alarming rate. Granted, she often buys “cheapo” shoes from Amazon, as she doesn’t want to spend much on them. So when Grothman heard Dick’s was having a major sale on shoes, she decided to bite the bullet and buy a pair of Hokas.
Grothman, who’s never bought from Dick’s Sporting Goods before, thought she was getting a great deal with the $70 price tag. When her package arrived, however, she could already tell something was wrong.
In the clip, the TikToker shows a beat-up, squished box. She wasn’t too concerned until she saw that the actual Hoka shoe box had a rip on the side. Still, Grothman figured the shoes should be OK. When she pulled them out, she noticed that what Dick’s had sent her wasn’t what she had paid for.
“If you just glance at them, they don’t seem terrible,” she says. “Until you start inspecting them.” She then shows various stains on the white shoes. The soles are also filthy, suggesting these shoes had been worn for an extensive period.
“When I ordered the shoes, I was supposed to get brand-new shoes,” she continues. “And I got used, dirty Hokas.”
What Did Dick’s Say?
Grothman says she reached out to the company, whose customer service representative apologized and offered her a refund plus a $20 coupon since all of the shoes were out of stock. But that didn’t assuage Grothman’s disappointment.
“This was my first experience ordering from Dick’s Sporting Goods,” she says. “Why would I want to spend more money at Dick’s if this is gonna be the outcome?”
BroBible reached out to Grothman via TikTok direct message for comment.
Viewers Don’t Think It Is That Bad
Several of Grothman’s viewers believed she should’ve just kept the shoes, especially if they were heavily discounted.
“They aren’t that bad hun I would just clean them and wear them,” one user wrote. Another added, “Did they refund you and let you keep the shoe? Just wash them and call it a day.”
However, Grothman replied that she’d have to give the pair back. “I have to send them back but they are refunding me. Sucks though cause I can’t find any other deal like that for hokas,” she wrote.
Others claimed this was not new of Dick’s: “I have had that happen twice when buying sale shoes from Dicks online. Quality control is a joke.”
@goodygirl64 I guess the sale really was too good to be true 🥲 at least the costomer service lady was really nice. #dissapointed #nursingstudent #respiratorytherapist #shoes #notwhatiexpected
Does Dick’s Sporting Goods Sell Used Shoes?
There is no official evidence or policy that Dick’s Sporting Goods resells used footwear. On its website, it does state that they accept “damaged” items within 90 days of purchase. However, that doesn’t mean that Grothman’s experience is a one-off. There are several posts online of folks complaining about the same phenomenon. In one Reddit post from 2023, a user said they ordered the Puma Deviate Nitro 2’s, which were “obviously used.” They said they also got it on a great deal.
In a Facebook post, another wrote how their Dick’s shoes had “glue is coming off one shoe.” Others in the comments said this was par for the course for Dick’s. One Instagram user also documented their “used” Adidas shoes they received from the store.
“@dick’s sporting good selling used shoes STOP IT!!!,” they wrote.
BroBible has reached out to Dick’s Sporting Goods via email for comment.