The Hindu Business Line : Fitness in store

Playgroundonline ( http://www.playgroundonline.com/index.aspx) is for sports buffs who have no time to run to the store to pick up sporting equipment and accessories. Besides offering the advantage of one being able to order equipment without leaving a chair, the site is a gallery of sports and athletic stuff you can view simply to learn about the latest in the world of fitness. From footwear, books, DVDs, health and fitness equipment and accessories, food supplements and more, the site is a comprehensive online store for the fitness conscious.

Wide variety

The home page loads easily even on the slowest connection. Navigation is a pleasure thanks to the orderly headers provided on the side of the page. The site has a wide of range of products that merit browsing. The categories are well defined, making it easier to zero in on what you want. You can shop by category, price or brand.

This is the rare sports portal that has a pedometer at a reasonable price. Enough information is provided about the product of choice to enable buyers to make an informed decision. But a word of caution: do read up more about the product of choice before you type in your credit card details. Don’t be afraid that your card details get into wrong hands because the site is a McAfee (Hackersafe) certified one, scanned everyday and the certificate renewed and posted.

Registration is mandatory but don’t let the process get to you. With your first registration you get 15 per cent off and there are special discounts for schools and corporates. Products, the site promises, will be shipped across in seven days.

The fanshop is an interesting concept. It sells t-shirts and memorabilia of the Chennai super series at reasonable prices.

As with buying anything online, return policies are important. Playgroundonline is reasonable enough on returns though customers are encouraged to talk to customer service personnel.

Not just sporting equipment, the site has books and videos too. In short a complete virtual sporting world!

Know other sites that have sporting equipment worth a check out? Mail paromita.pain@gmail.com with your experiences.