Joe Brown

Welcome to The Joe Brown Shops

Joe Brown was considered the foremost rock climber and mountaineer of his generation, and perhaps the greatest all round mountaineer ever. You can read a biography of his climbing career if you click here.

In 1966 Joe opened the Llanberis shop with his wife Val. The Capel Curig shop opened a couple of years later and over the years the shops have earned the reputation of being among the best specialist climbing equipment and outdoor shops in the UK.

As an independent mountaineering and climbing equipment shop we specialize in providing honest and personal advice, as well great ranges of mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, expedition and alpine climbing equipment. Visit our DMM Shop or Special Offers Shop for some amazing Climbing Equipment Deals and offers. 

Trading Terms and Conditions

Apologies in advance for the this part but its a necessary and required part of trading, we will at least try to write it in plain English.

We have been trading since 1966. We always aim to please, to trade fairly and supply functional equipment at reasonable prices; indeed many customers have shopped with us for more than twenty years. We’ll start with the disclaimers where we tell you that it isn’t our fault if you don’t use your brain, ignore normal safety precautions, or fail to apply principles that are normally considered good practice.

Disclaimers

Rock climbing, mountaineering, scrambling and hill walking all involve a degree of risk.

Be aware of these risks

Select appropriate equipment

Get expert advice if you need it

Be responsible for your own conduct

Take care of yourself and others

Climbing equipment has technical limitations. Always read the manufacturers instructions on care and use and follow these. All climbing equipment we sell meets the relevant standards for the purpose for which it is designed, but may not be safe if used in other ways. The information we give on this website is given in good faith, but particularly where it can have a bearing on your safety, you should apply your own judgement before acting upon it. Walks that are an easy day out in summer can be a very different proposition in full winter conditions. What is a simple scramble or climb to one person maybe beyond the capabilities of another, and the consequences of misjudgement can be serious injury or even death. In the words of Edward Whymper, “Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end”, but remember to have fun as well!

Postage

We started by sending everything post free.  However, we found that there were a few things that we wanted to put on the website but were too heavy for us to be able to absorb the postage costs.  So we now charge for some things, although most are still sent post free. 

Some are obviously heavy, like an 11mm. rope, which costs around £10.00 to send, others such as books are not heavy but just have too little profit margin for us to send post free.

All Books, Maps & DVD's carry a nominal postage fee of £1.50.

When we charge postage we make this plain on the item page, although postage is not added until you checkout.

Next (Working) Day Delivery

If you wish to receive your order on the next working day, then we will charge an extra £5.00. This option is available at the Shipping Method section of the Cart. All orders must be placed before 10.30am to be eligible for the Next Working Day delivery option, although we will do our best to include any orders placed after the cut off time. The couriers will deliver to home, or work addresses, but do add a disclaimer, suggesting that while unlikely, delivery could occur at any time of the day, until 9pm.

Please note that for deliveries to the Highlands & Islands, while we will endevour to ship next day orders by the fastest service  possible, we have been unable to get a guarantee from our carriers that it will actually be a next day delivery. We will always do our best.

Prices and price reductions

All prices shown are in £ sterling and include VAT. Our online shopping catalogue includes items where a saving is shown. The saving shown is the difference between our current price and the manufacturer’s suggested selling price (SSP), although sometimes we may not have sold the goods at the higher price for 28 days within the last six months. In these cases we include the term “Special Purchase” in the description.
While we do our best to make sure prices and details shown on the site are correct, we are only human (some might say only just human) and we do make mistakes. We therefore reserve the right to alter prices and or specifications when we get them wrong.

Privacy Policy

We respect your privacy. We will not send you unsolicited mail. We will not pass your e-mail address to anybody else, and we will not use this address except in connection with your enquiry or order. Our site is not linked to any other sites and carries no third party content. The information you provide will not be shared with any third party except as required by the law, and in connection with your processing your order e.g.. Passing your card details to the bank so we can obtain payment. If you choose to buy things from us then you will have to give us some information if we are to process your order – we will obviously need to have your name, and the address where the goods are to be sent. If your card is registered to a different address we will need this too for security checking. We will need an e-mail address and fixed line phone number in case we need to contact you about your order, and you’ll have to provide your card details so we can charge you. If you don’t want to provide this information we shall not be able to deal with your order.

Foreign orders

Carriage & terms - Please click through to see our section on overseas orders for full details

Carriage (UK Only)

We currently offer free packing and carriage on many items featured in our online shop (See Postage Note Above). Please note that this does not extend to other items that we stock in the shops, when a carriage charge will usually be made. Post and packing is charged at approximate cost, plus the inevitable VAT!

Goods on approval

All web sales are governed by the Distance Selling Regulations, although our terms are rather more generous than those stipulated by this Act.

All goods advertised on the website are supplied on 14 days approval with the exceptions of those mentioned below. If goods do not meet your expectations for any reason you may return them and we will refund their cost in full (but not any postage costs), or exchange them for other items/sizes or colours. All returned goods must be new and unused, and with their original packaging and labels. (We accept that some damage to packaging may be unavoidable in order to inspect or try the goods, but please open packaging as carefully as possible). We cannot accept responsibility for goods lost in transit when being returned to us, and recommend that you insure items with the carrier (e.g. pay a compensation fee when using parcel post - this is usually under £1.00.- and get proof of posting). If requested we will refund the cost of returning faulty or misdelivered goods providing we are consulted about the method of return before they are despatched to us – don’t send something that costs a fiver via a next day before noon service and expect us to pick up the £20 bill!

A post and packing charge will be made for sending out exchanged non-faulty goods. This will reflect our costs incurred; or you may include stamps/cheque adequate to cover postage on the replacement. Please make sure this is adequate – postage often costs more than you would expect!

In common with usual retail practice we cannot accept returns of videos, DVD’s or computer software unless faulty. It is sometimes possible to get trial downloads or CD’s of computer software so you can try before you buy. Contact us or see the manufacturer’s websites.

Customer Service

You are welcome to ring us during opening hours or contact us by e-mail to discuss your requirements before ordering or during the progress of your order. Telephone 01286 870327 (Llanberis) or e-mail: mail@joe-brown.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Despatch

We aim to despatch "in stock" orders within 24 hours. If we are out of stock of an item and cannot supply within a few days we will e-mail or phone you giving the option to cancel your order, wait, or accept an alternative. We cannot guarantee delivery by a set time unless we use one of the Post Office Special Delivery services, for which we will charge. These services are very expensive. Royal Mail parcel post typically takes 3 working days (90%), as does second class letter post (98%). Over 90% of first class letters are delivered the next working day. For more information see www.postwatch.co.uk
All items are advertised subject to availability. We are a small retailer and do not use electronic stock control so we cannot integrate our online sales with shop sales. Inevitably we may therefore sometimes sell out of an item that is still on the website. If we have sold out we cannot always repeat, or supply future stock at the same price. If it ever happens we will inform you by e-mail or phone of the new price before despatching the goods, and give you the option of canceling your order. We will only charge your account at the time of despatch or sufficiently earlier for payment to be cleared, not at the time you place the order.

Receipts and Bills

We will include a receipt for the goods with the despatch. Any errors in deliveries or charges will be corrected as soon as possible.

Shop Collection

Goods paid for online cannot be collected from the shops. If goods are collected from the shops then payment must be made at the time of collection.
Refunds on returned goods will be made as soon as practicable after receipt of the goods, normally within 24 hours. The method of refund will normally be the same as the method of original payment.

Faulty Goods & Refunds

In the event of goods being delivered in a faulty condition or incorrectly delivered please return them to us for replacement or a full refund. We will refund your reasonable carriage costs.
If goods develop faults within a reasonable period please return them to us with a covering letter giving as much detail of the fault(s) as possible (e.g. jacket leaks on left shoulder but only in heavy rain). We invariably have to see goods before being able to make a decision on the correct course of action. In some cases it will be necessary to return goods to the manufacturer/importer for them to test. This process may take 2 weeks. We will acknowledge receipt of faulty goods within three working days of receipt and try to keep you informed of the progress of their complaint. Used goods may be repaired or replaced at the discretion of the manufacturer. Refunds made will be by the same method as the original payment.
In some instances it may be possible for the you to deal directly with the manufacturer/importer. This can speed a decision. Please contact us if you wish to do this, as in law it is us, not the manufacturer, who are responsible for the quality of the goods we sell.
Some goods carry manufacturer’s guarantees for specific periods. All goods are supplied as ‘fit for their purpose’, and of ‘merchantable quality’, but it is rarely possible to express the length of life as an exact figure as it will depend on the extent and type of usage. This applies particularly to climbing or other items which are safety critical. Always err on the side of caution, and discard items, however new they are, if they are subject to excessive strain or wear. Troll used to sum this up thus: “The lifetime of a harness may be as long as 5 years, or as little as one use”! Damage through falls or the like are deemed as fair wear and tear as they are not due to manufacturing or material faults.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with goods or with the service that you have received please contact the manager by e-mail at: mail@joe-brown.com  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 01286 870327 during working hours. If the problem cannot be resolved you can approach your local trading standards department. Contact them through your local council.

Changes in Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions without notice either to meet the requirements of the law or at our discretion.

Statutory Rights

Any contract between us shall be governed by English Law. Your statutory rights cannot be affected by any of the above.

Recycled Packaging

As a business we try to recycle as much of our waste as possible although our local council does not help us in this!  Where possible we reuse packaging materials.  We have had only one adverse comment about this, from a customer who thought that it unprofessional of us to send out parcels in reused packaging.  If you would prefer to receive your order in new packaging please indicate this in the comment box on the order form.

Registered Name
The registered name of the business is Hooked on Granite Ltd., trading as Joe Brown Shops. Company Registration No: 4399842.