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Sweet new partnership with Clever Training gets you discounts

LogoSummary: You get a 10% discount on everything that Clever Training sells with discount code DCR10BTF, and free US shipping.

Update: As of May 6th, 2014 a VIP program has been launched.  Full details here!

I’m pretty excited to announce a new long term DC Rainmaker Partnership.  One that I’m certain will actually bring you real value (simply put: save cash).  But first, a bit of back story.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been approached by a lot of companies wanting to develop a partnership with the site, but none of them really put any skin in the game.  In other words, they wanted the traffic and visibility, but didn’t really want to offer you (my readers) anything.  And in many cases, didn’t offer me anything either.  It wasn’t exactly a win-win.

In my mind, if I was going to enter any partnership with any organizations, it had to meet the following requirements:

1) It couldn’t be a company whose products I review: Plain and simple, I don’t see how you can review a product if the company is sponsoring the site.  I’ve never understood it on big sites, and certainly not on small sites.

2) They couldn’t just offer me something, you had to be in it too: The first question I asked any company was what you (DCR readers) got out of it.  Preferably something monetarily valuable, or at the very least, absolutely unique and unachievable elsewhere.

3) It can’t take any more of my time: This one may sound minor – but at present my biggest constraint is time in the day.  Between a full-time job, tons of travel, training, and life – I have virtually no time remaining.  Whatever it was, I didn’t have the time to manage.

4) And it had to be of value to me too: Obviously, if I’m going to enter a partnership – it has to work out in my favor and be worth being excited about.  Life’s too short to get excited about non-exciting things.

With that, after meeting with Clever Training – I was pretty impressed with their management team.  And, the fact that they understood where I was coming from.  In particular, on #2 above.  Thus, we sketched out a partnership that benefits you – DCR Twitter followers, Facebook friends, Google+ followers, RSS subscribers, and YouTube channel subscribers.

Here’s what’s of note:

1) You get 10% discount on everything you buy at Clever Training.  They focus on sports technology products (just like me).  And thus, they have all the brands you want – everything.  Yes, you can do the math – if you’re buying a $1,000 trainer – $100 off is pretty sweet.  This is exclusively for DCR readers.  Oh, and US shipping is free for anything over $75 (which is basically everything I review).  And they ship internationally as well.

2) Anything they don’t stock that I want them to, they’ll get: This is important to me.  Ultimately, if I’m reviewing a product, I want you to be able to get a discount on it.  They’ve already taken every product I’ve reviewed and are working to get those products in-house.  Since then they’ve signed agreements with companies like Wahoo Fitness and others to stock those products (Woohoo, Wahoo KICKR Trainer!).  You’ll see the handful of products not yet on their list coming shortly.

3) They’ll take care of all my giveaways: I love giving away stuff.  But over the past few months with the move to France this has become a bit more complicated than I expected – mostly since I haven’t quite mastered the French post office (as some of you have found out unfortunately).  Going forward, I run the giveaways like I normally do – picking whatever (usually expensive) product floats my boat, and then I just simply tell them an address anywhere in the world and they take care of it. Donezo.  Clearly, this means more giveaways in your future.

4) Really sweet DCR-specific deals from time to time: We’re still working on this – but one area you told me about in the survey I did last year was that you’d be open to exclusive deals if I could arrange them.  The challenge for me has been figuring out a way to do this that’s non-compromising from an editorial standpoint.  This solves the problem, as no product company is involved.  Don’t worry, I’ll make it obvious when something like this is happening, and it’ll be off a separate page you can go to.

5) They cover the cost of my gadget re-purchases: As you probably know, I return all products to companies after review, and then buy them back myself.  The returning part doesn’t change – everything always goes back to the respective company.  They’re helping out here on the product buyback front. This is a huge expense for me, even more so now that I’m in France (where things cost far more to obtain). 

Here’s a few more items of note:

1) They don’t have any control over the site or content: None, zippo, zilch, zero.  If they don’t like something, tough nuggets for them.

2) Don’t expect any posts with advertising: The site isn’t a platform for Clever Training to push out a post to you with the deal of the week or anything in its own post.  If there’s some sort of DCR-specific deal, it’ll likely go in the Week in Review post.  Unless it’s something crazy – like 50% off the hottest gadget just released.  But not 20% off a gizmo from three years ago.

3) It won’t change my review content: At the end of the day, you’ve always been able to support the site via buying products I review through Amazon.  As you know, I’m happy to slam products in reviews as applicable for failing to live up to the hype or being bug ridden.  It doesn’t matter the company.  You’ll see that again tomorrow…

4) Speaking of Amazon.com: This isn’t going away, nor being phased out.  Supporting the site through Amazon.com is absolutely appreciated.  Ultimately, there isn’t a discount on gadgets there, but feel free to buy anything you like there (I get credit for everything you pick up after clicking the Amazon link).  In fact, most folks that support the site simply click on the big Amazon logo on the sidebar, and then do their shopping as usual.  Normal stuff like boxes of Kasha bars, Dixie cups, and even corn holders (all on the list from last month).  And nope, I can’t see who ordered what.  Just a total list of items.

5) Using the Clever Training links and code supports me: This is probably obvious, but I wanted to point it out.  In case you’re curious – yes, it’s a better deal for me than Amazon.  So gadget purchases through Clever are appreciated.

Ok, phew, I think that’s it.  Sorry for being so detailed in this post.  I want to make sure everything I do is transparent and clear.  Plus, I really think the discounts are pretty sweet, since most discounts out there don’t apply to cool gadgets.  And I only do cool gadgets.

So here’s how you take advantage of it.

You can use this link here.  You’ll need to add the 10% DCR reader exclusive deal coupon – DCR10BTF – to your cart upon checkout to get 10% off everything in the cart.

Alternatively, anytime, you can click on the sidebar and the info is right there —>>>.

And, it’ll eventually make it’s way to the end of each review as I update them over the next week or so.  In the meantime, you can simply click the logo above and then search after that on their site and apply the code.

As always, thanks for reading!

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76 Comments

  1. Nice deal for you!

    Sadly it won’t help much people living outside the US or Canada… I’m living in Germany and even with the weak dollar and the 10% discount it costs 29$ S&H plus the import taxes one will have to pay.

    But at least you will finally get a bit more for your hard work!

  2. Anonymous

    Thanks, Ray, but:

    “You can use this link here.”
    EQUALS
    “Oops! Google Chrome could not connect to http://www.shareasale.com

    FYI

  3. Great for you! Also very usefull for the readers from The States and Canada. I hope you’ll get another sponsor for European readers. I guess we will get “our” share through your posts and it is more than enough for me!

  4. jpb

    In the UK I think import duties are the same as VAT i.e. 20% you don’t have to pay both VAT and import duties.
    You do have to pay the VAT on the postage and other fees though.

  5. Nice! I am currently the founder of eFreeme.com and had contacted you about our product. We will create a custom marketplace that integrates with your current blog, just for your users to buy and sell, and you’ll take small transaction fees from the buying and selling of items. This will help your site grow while remaining product neutral in your content, and in addition your users will be happy to be able to sell or buy items to like minded individuals.

    Consider this as an option and contact me for more details. As a follower of DC Rainmaker and also as an avid cyclist I think the benefit for both you and your users would be enormous.

    Cheers!

    Mark

  6. Anonymous

    The links works perfectly fine for me, as has been all day btw.

  7. Tri

    I will be supporting you in any way I can with my purchases. Triathlon is so much better with cool gadgets!

  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

  9. Anonymous

    http://www.shareasale.com
    appears to be non-functioning at least in USA with IE or Chrome

  10. It links to link to shareasale.com

    And says link is not active (using an ipad)

    🙁

    I second other voices from Europe… Including all the discounts, for us, US shops became too expensive with weak euro (when adding all the taxes and duties). However, when i’ll be in NY at the end of the year, i’ll surely order some stuff to my hotel 🙂

  11. Anonymous

    I’m also getting the “The link is not currently active.” error when clicking on the two different links on the main page.

  12. Anonymous

    links now work for me…

  13. Sorry all for the link issues – I’ve been told they’ve been resolved and that it shouldn’t happen again (changed the process).

    A bit of growing pains, but I appreciate the support!

  14. JD

    ok, one quick question for clarification:

    If I click through the amazon link on DCR and then do my regular amazon shopping DCR can get credit for all of my shopping???

    If this is correct, then you just become my new amazon access portal!

    PS – I am hooked on your site. It has completely changed the way I train! Thanks for all you do!!

  15. Great, I hope to be in the States in a month, so I might as well order it with 10% off. Sweet deal!

  16. Hi JD-

    Yup, that’s correct! So all you need do is simply swing over here, click on the Amazon logo in the upper right corner, which takes you to Amazon. At that point your tagged as coming from here for the rest of your visit to Amazon. All purchases made (be it toilet paper, a new diamond ring, or chocolate) get ‘credited’ to me.

    So yup, many folks simply just use the above as a portal and then shop like normal. I greatly appreciate the support!

    Thanks!
    -Ray

  17. Good info! I use Amazon often when Coach Alan tells me I need this or that. Might as well give you the credit so you can buy more mixers and ribbons for the Cupcakery!

    Also, I will be checking out the Clever Training site.

  18. Anonymous

    The link in the sidebar isn’t displayed under Google Chrome Linux and Mac.

  19. Forgive the spam… another request to please consider setting up a similar partnership with a European retailer…

    As noted above, VAT and Import duties (yes we do pay both in the UK, on some goods at least) & warranty/support make it impractical to buy from the US.

    thanks much indeed…

  20. Horst

    Thanks for your hard work.

    Here is a pic of the sidebar under google chrome linux : link to i50.tinypic.com

  21. Thanks Horst – I appreciate the heads out.

    Out of curiosity, do you see the same (but smaller) picture and links when in the product review itself (see the FR10 example below which has it added):

    link to dcrainmaker.com

    It would appear at the very end of the review (right before comments), directly above where the Amazon logo and instant pricing is.

    Huge appreciation for helping me troubleshoot this!

  22. Horst

    The link and picture are displayed and working fine in the reviews.

    link to i48.tinypic.com

  23. Great, thanks! And what about on the sidebar now? I made a few minor changes to try and address that (and it seemed to fix some folks), but can make a few more.

    Thanks!

  24. Horst

    Your modifications worked : the Clever Training image link in the sidebar is displayed correctly in my browser.

  25. Cheers for this Ray.

    Just ordered a Forerunner 910XT with a footpod.And thanks also for the heads-up on the $50 rebate. I was shamelessly hoping I’d win it from your 910xt giveaway.

    I wanted to get another running watch ever since my FR 305 was stolen last year. Got the Xperia active with the liveview. But the liveview broke when I was trying to remove it from the watchstrap.

    Was torn between 610 & 910xt, but lack of courses was a deal-breaker for me.I’ve used it in the past when I was visiting a foreign city & found it rather helpful.

    All my amazon(& my friends) purchases go through you. But it’s no big deal compared to what you’re doing for the running/tri community. Keep going.

    Cheers

  26. Hi Santhoshknn-

    Thanks for the support (both on Clever and Amazon), I appreciate it!

    Hope you enjoy the watch!

  27. Ridiculous global pricing by some companies.

    A garmin footpod in my local sports store (national chain) was $110 (Australian dollars). Aussies dollar to American is 1:1 at the moment, so even with $30 on postage it was considerably cheaper buying from here with the discount ($45 plus postage, but split over a few items).

    Thanks Ray and clever training.

    • DC Rainmaker

      Hi Emlyn-

      Yeah, some of the stuff companies are doing to the AUS market is pretty ugly.

      Glad at least Clever was able to make it slightly better!

  28. It seems like the 10% is not necessarily an exclusive. When I went to the site today it offered me 10% off as a new shopper to the site. I ignored pressing that link and just applied the code for you at the end. Getting the Powerbeam pro with joule GPS and an accessory kit. Also I added a heart rate strap but now I am thinking one comes with the set up as the cadence sensor does. Cycleops is not very transparent about this.

    OR maybe I messed up and could have got 10% off of a 10%…hmmm No idea.

    Anyway love your reviews..

    armyslowrdr
    on MTBR and bikemojo and singletracks

    • DC Rainmaker

      Thanks for the support Pete! Indeed, sometimes it pops up a new user discount. They aren’t stackable though (so no 10% on 10%) – but it was a nice thought!

      Enjoy the PowerBeam and Joule!

  29. Gingerneil

    Ray,
    I can’t get the CT banner links to work. I get a connection error, Web page down, or connection refused error. I can head directly there and use the code though – do you still benefit I go this way rather than via the referral link?

  30. Pyry

    Here another pitch for an european retailer:
    The products cost what they cost but if you buy from a company within the European Union the product lands on you table within a day or two.
    If the shipment comes from the US there is additional hassle with both potential tax payments and VAT.
    The consequence is that you look for somebody operating from Germany or another EU country where the tax and VAT payments are already taken care of.
    Cheers,
    Pyry (from Finland)

  31. David Hodges

    Is this still current? I just tried to order an Edge 800 shipping to the Netherlands and was presented with the following “THAT COUPON CAN ONLY BE USED ON SELECTED PRODUCTS. NONE OF THE ALLOWED PRODUCTS ARE IN YOUR SHOPPING CART. (DCR10AKG)”

    • David Hodges

      Nevermind, just re-read the their webside “NOTE: Certain clearance or sale items may not be eligible for coupon codes.” I guess the Edge 800 is already reduced so the coupon doesn’t apply. May want to tweak your spiel at the top as you do state the discount applies to everything you buy there..

    • Sorry David! Strange, I thought I had it above on the deep-discount/clearance items. Typical sale is no problem, but if it’s a major sale (like the Edge 800 currently), it doesn’t quite work (though, still does support the site).

      Appreciate it!

  32. Chris Mayo

    Just wanted to let you know that I really, really appreciated your review on the Fenix 2. It really clarified a lot of points on the watch for me and ultimately led to my decision to purchase. I just got done ordering through Clever Training because it may be a small thing, but the fact that you put so much into the review that was a benefit to me, it only seemed appropriate to do that to support your work.

    Thanks so much for the great information and site!

  33. Russell

    Ray,

    Before I place this order do you want to confirm with clever training that they are still honoring this partnership?

    I have $1,918.64 worth of items.

    Garmin Vector is the largest at $1,699.99
    Another Item is $169.99
    Another $47.66

    When I use DCR10AKG

    Discount: ($4.87)
    Sub Total (Including Discounts): $1,913.77

    If not I can source them locally for the same price including installation.

    Russell

    • Hi Russell-

      I’ve touched base with you offline and I think you’re good to go.

      For others, Clever Training is in the initial stages of a rollout of their VIP program. By being a DCR reader you get a sweet deal on it. The full details are here: link to dcrainmaker.com

      Right now it’s a bit of a soft-launch while we work out some of the kinks that unfortunately Russell got tangled in

      Thanks for the support!

    • David

      Does this mean the “nominal” 10% DCR discount is going away soon?

    • Russell

      Ray,

      I am good to go. The support from Clever Training was excellent, even during the transition period. They took care of all of my problems quickly.

      Russell

    • Hi David-

      Nope, the discount is here to stay. It’s simply being rolled into the VIP program.

      Cheers,
      Ray

  34. Fernando

    Hey Ray, hope you’re doing fine.

    Just trying to place an order for a Fenix 2 with Clever Training, but the 10% discount code (DCR10AKG) is flagged as not valid for this product (F2).

    Shoud I just purchase the VIP membership and 30 minutes later, place a new order for the F2 using that discount?

    Thanks in advance for your response, and congrats on everything you provide to our community!!!

    Regards

    • Hi Fernando-

      Yup, the process you outlined is correct for the Fenix2 – about 30 minutes later you’ll receive your personal coupon code and be good to go! As with before, it’s good on any product Clever Training sells.

      I appreciate the support of the site!

      Cheers,
      Ray

    • javi

      Hi Ray,
      I have the same problem, Clever Training does not accept yhe discount code for Garmin Fenix 2.
      I have discovered this site two weeks ago, thanks for all the information provided.

    • javi

      Sorry Ray.
      I´ve just read about the VIP program and understood how it works.
      Everything´s clear.

    • No worries, I appreciate the support!

      Here’s the link for others: link to dcrainmaker.com (and yup, the discount with the VIP program works just fine on the Fenix2)

  35. Kate

    Trying to buy a new, full price item and the code isnt valid. You should prolly pull this outdated code!

  36. deb Halder

    I was trying to order a schoshe rythm+ from Clever training but the site is not providing the free shipping even if I use the code.

  37. Sherrie

    Greetings!!! Made a purchase on Clever and the code DCR10JKW didn’t work.. Called Clever and spoke with Caryna who was not pleasant, she stated she had no idea what the code was and would escalate it. How do you get credit without that code?

    • Hi Sherrie-

      Do you know what item it was for? It’s not valid on sale/clearance items, or about 7 different Garmin items (per Garmin request). But, the good news is that you can still save 10% on those just by signing up for the VIP program instead, which only takes a second: link to dcrainmaker.com

      As for getting credit – as long as you use one of the links here on the site – then you’re good to go!

      I appreciate the support, and will let them know about the customer service person.

  38. Sherrie

    Happy Holidays Ray,

    It was for the 910XT with HRM.

    • Ahh, gotchya, it’s currently on a big holiday sale for pretty significant discounts – hence why the code didn’t add any more.

      Sorry for the confusion – but huge thanks for the support. Enjoy the unit, it’s a solid deal right now!

  39. Sherrie

    Thank You!!

  40. Hank Remington

    Just got my Garmin 15 for Christmas with the DCR discount and was going to give myself a Clever Training e-gift card from parents-in-law. I was surprised to find CT does not have a gift certificate option. Strange to me an online retailer doesn’t offer such these days and thus by default bumps me automatically over to Amazon.

    • Thanks Hank.

      Indeed, they had switched back end platforms this past fall and had hoped to have gift certificates all ready on the new platform ahead of the holidays but ironing out other things have delayed that slightly likely a few more weeks.

      I do appreciate the support though!

    • Alex

      Hey Ray

      Do you know if there has been any update on the Clever Training Gift Cards? Looks like it has been a couple years.

  41. Mike

    Is your Cleaver Training 10% discount code no longer valid, their web page says its not a valid code

    • Hi Mike-

      With a handful of Garmin products, Garmin requires use of the DCR/CT VIP program to save the 10%. It only takes a second to sign-up though (via this link: link to dcrainmaker.com).

      Once you do you’ll get a personal coupon code that’s good for all the Garmin products.

      Thanks for the support!
      -Ray

  42. Thanks Ray for the coupon code.
    I just ordered a Tomtom Runner from Clever Training. At $89, it’s the best deal ever.

  43. Ryan Bakewell

    Thanks!

    I just purchased my 735XT + Run HRM bundle through Clever with your 10% discount code. Your review made the decision for me that this is the watch for me, so using Clever to buy it with the discount was a perfect win.

    Thanks again,
    Ryan

  44. Rouglas Odor

    How will warranties work with items purchased through clever training?

    • There’s two pieces. First, you’ve got a 60-day return period from Clever Training. Then you have the usual manufacturer warranty. That’s typically 1-year in the US, and 2-years in Europe.

  45. Dave

    Clever Training refused my discount code, saying they’re not allowed to discount Garmin products.

    • Indeed, since this post (almost 5 years ago), Garmin has changed their policies slightly. Now you can still earn 10% back in points, but Garmin specifically has restricted the use of a 10% discount code.

      Here’s the details on how it works now: link to dcrainmaker.com

      Thanks for the support!

  46. Mark Wasden

    This is great, thanks

  47. Raymond,
    Thanks for making my life as a coach easier!
    Cheers,
    Coach Clare Zecher

  48. Will

    I still see this partnership mentioned on more recent posts, but just tried to buy a Scosche Rhythm 24 with your link and they wanted to charge me shipping to Colorado and also rejected DCR10BTF as a coupon code. Did this partnership end?

  49. Axel

    This review will surely prove to be your magnum opus. I simply can’t see anything topping this.
    Even without the stroopwafels.