Best Retailer was one of the easier categories to select.  There are many entrants in this category, but only three that stood out.  Judging the nominees on selection, price, and service let one purveyor of soccer equipment stand above all pretenders.

Eurosport (soccer.com) is probably the largest US retailer dedicated to soccer.  They carry a wide range of products, maintain competitive pricing and provide respectable service.  It is that service and inventory that dropped them from first place.  Most of our orders have been faultless.  Unfortunately, lack of flexibility has caused problems.  We have been unable to change an order (our error in the first place) that would have given us a discount.  In another case, product that was ordered was simply never shipped.  We were told that it is no long available, but it continues to appear in their catalog.  These are minor issues and should be treated as such.  Lamentably, it was enough to leave Eurosport Second.

Our honorable mention goes to Niky Sports/Total Soccer.  As the only store in the AV that carries top level kit all year round, they don’t really have much competition.  We definitely appreciate the product knowledge, customer service and comfort that are only available in a store.  Besides, there is nothing like actually handling and wearing a pair of boots before you drop $200.  We think there will always be a place for brick and mortar and Niky’s is the best in this space.

“And the winner is…”

Pro-Direct Soccer

Pro-Direct Sport (prodirectsoccer.com) is one of the largest on-line retailers focused to the beautiful game.  As a UK based company, they live in the birthplace of Association Football.  There is obvious passion for the sport that comes through in the information they provide and the way they handle customer requests.  A few technical limitations of their business leave room for the competition and made this a close battle.  For instance, lack of order tracking cost them significantly.  However, the combination of price, products, information (boot bible/glove bible), and customer service put Pro-Direct over the top.