About the Business
From Free Soldier’s website, freesoldier.com, they can be categorized as a global online supplier of outdoor and tactical gear, and a diverse collection including everything from hunting and tactical boots to workwear and snow pants and outdoor accessories.
Browsing the different product pages it can be seen that these are broken down into categories of boots, pants and jackets, and accessories-these appear to signal a full-scale range of items for users venturing into outdoors and tactical purposes.
Diving into their service information from Wholesale Central, Free Soldier is classified as both a wholesale and tactical products supplier based in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., the full spectrum of items they offer includes things ranging from apparel and boots to survival kits.
All of this information together appears to tell us the company is either trying to sell goods through retail and/or has wholesale access and a range of items for sellers wanting to buy wholesale and sell through platforms such as Amazon.
Having said all of this however, consumers have come out with quite a few consumer reviews indicating poor quality and sales support from Free Soldier, the following will discuss these problems more thoroughly:
Range of Products
The general stock we can see available from the online site for Free Soldier are:
Boots (Tactical & Hiking): Ranging from standard tactical, to water resistant and snow resistant models, they can also offer simple hiking and outdoor boots.
Pants and shorts: Including tactical pants, to snow pants, and general hiking shorts and quick dry pants, they also have some casual pant wear available.
Outerwear and Jackets: ranging from tactical to various types of wind/water resistant outdoor wear.
Accessories: Ranging from tactical gloves to hiking backpacks and belts as well as tactical shoes and many other types of general gear.
The amount and range of outdoor and tactical items are diverse and cover most necessary items for the outdoor user. The variety the brand has online through the site doesn’t quite show what a wholesaler’s options are and seem to display the general items that a customer would buy and nothing else.
Types of Customers
It would appear that due to the product range, Free Soldier is seeking the following types of customers:
* Tactical stores and retailers: that require robust gear to fulfil orders. Wholesale Central
* Resellers, FBA sellers: sellers using Amazon’s Fulfilment by Amazon services and ordering boots, pants, camping gear etc in Bulk. Wholesale Central
* Online sellers: wanting to find specific types of gear for customers such as tactical wear, hiking or skiing apparel, etc.
* Fashion or lifestyle boutiques: that may want to start stocking some trendy outdoor items.
What is difficult is for potential wholesale customers to understand or gauge where or how to achieve bulk prices because the website does not give any information on how to achieve wholesale status or the ordering process itself. Potential buyers must contact the seller directly or other specific industry directories in order to inquire about their wholesale program.
Wholesale Access & Purchase
From what can be gathered from Free Soldier’s listing on the Wholesale Central directory of outdoor products and tactical supplies, the access for wholesale purchasing and specific purchase prices can be arranged with the relevant sellers/retailers which seems to be quite the norm amongst companies aiming to sell through Amazon or via drop shippers. Wholesale Central
On the Free Soldier’s site, there is not one specific wholesale portal for registered members to login, it is presumed that any buyer looking to purchase items for a wholesale order will have to contact them directly (or via an intermediary wholesaler) and negotiate the terms of their sale.
Customer Reviews & Reputation
Based on a range of independent review sites, it is apparent that the company does not receive a lot of favourable ratings from the users:
Negative Reviews (Majority):
A range of comments and reports on the site Trustpilot indicate that the company has quite low ratings on its consumer satisfaction, with many of the reviews scoring a mere 1-star-signifying utter dissatisfaction from the consumer. Trustpilot
A common theme among consumers purchasing from the company are the claims they are U.S.-based, while it appears, and has been stated by customers, they ship from China which has led to considerable shipping delays and issues in the return process. Trustpilot
The company has had numerous reports of being unresponsive to customer queries, denying refunds and charging exorbitant costs for return shipping-thus only adding more frustration for their consumers. Trustpilot
Customers have also lodged complaints about the company to the Better Business Bureau regarding product quality and refund processes.
Similar reports from multiple platforms, including some discussions on Reddit, indicated an extremely negative after-sales service, and many went so far as to classify the company as a scam, which could potentially be the case considering their poor refund processes and unreliability. Reddit
Positive Notes (Minority):
The company has had its few positive remarks as seen on Trustpilot where several customers wrote positive reviews regarding receiving their order in good condition and with no issues when delivered. Trustpilot
Looking at some discussions on Reddit we have found that some items sold on the site from Free Soldier through the much larger and reputable online seller, Amazon, have received average reviews and good customer service feedback.
Taking all of the details into consideration we can clearly see a massive issue regarding returns and support service from the company.
Online Presence and Accessibility
The freesoldier.com website follows a fairly standard retail website design intended for a customer wanting to shop online for tactical and outdoor items. Users can search for products by country and specific categories as seen in their vast inventory from Free Soldier.
Beyond its own web page and other listings within online directories, the company does not really have a large or well known presence in the general online community, specifically not in many of the well-known B2B marketplaces like Faire or FashionGo and very little information exists for its review online, which usually indicates that an online supplier is possibly unreliable.
Editorial Opinion
From the perspective of a buyer trying to find a supplier, we can extract the following from this review of Free Soldier Outdoor Gear Review: Tactical & Outdoor Products with Mixed Market Signals;
Positives to consider:
* Wide range of outdoor and tactical goods that may attract general retailers.
* Reports of good initial product quality from some customers.
* Has an available business directory and contacts with a wholesale listing.
Negatives to consider:
* Numerous low star ratings on many review sites, indicating the company’s customer dissatisfaction.
* After-sales and return support receive plenty of negative commentary.
* Vague details on the country of manufacturing and origin, (claims to be U.S. Based, many say China).
* No clearly designated portal on the website to log into the wholesale sector.
These are all strong indicators to approach this company with extreme caution and scepticism if you intend to buy any products from them.
What is Supplier Central?
Supplier Central is fundamentally a large global online resource where potential buyers of wholesale and retail items can source suppliers, receive concise information about the supplier including various useful tips and statistics to cut down on costly risky purchases.
Conclusion
The report Free Soldier Outdoor Gear Review: Tactical & Outdoor Products with Mixed Market Signals details the business and highlights their available products for outdoor and tactical enthusiasts. However, this report also highlights issues regarding the company’s trustworthiness and reputation due to overwhelmingly negative online customer reviews and poor after-sales service, especially regarding returns.
While there have been some reports from customers saying they received their products successfully when purchasing from online retailers or specific websites, there have been many other reports regarding sub-quality goods, non-existent customer support and terrible returns processes.
Considering the evidence, any wholesale buyer should proceed with extreme caution, taking full advantage of testing sample products and thoroughly reviewing their returns policy and shipping information before committing to Free Soldier as a supplier for their business.
