Stompers Boots, San Francisco. Excellent pricing on biker boots, engineer boots, Wesco boots, and police patrol boots (Dehner, Chippewa, All American), and several other brands. #1 boot dealer in my book. Free domestic U.S. shipping. Owned by a very reliable, trustworthy, and intelligent friend.

Big Black Boots, San Diego, California. One of the most informative and educational websites in addition to a good selection of police patrol boots and Wesco boots. Run by very reliable and knowledgable men who have been in the business for a long time.

Champion Attitude Boots, El Paso, Texas. This company does some fine work in hand-crafting boots -- mostly cowboy boots. It can take a few months for special order boots, but the quality is excellent. Just be sure to submit accurate measurements.

Buds Work Boots of Southern California, USA. Great source for All American Boots. It's best to call on the phone first to make sure the size you need is available, as well as to provide your foot and calf measurements.

Boot Barn, Orange County, California. Terrific selection on cowboy boots. Better pricing for shipping than competitors.

Grapevinehill, Beverly, Massachusetts. Excellent pricing on top-quality cowboy boots when sales are offered, especially on their Amazon store.

Sheplers, Wichita, Kansas. Very reputable, good selection. Occasional sales make pricing competitive. In 2011, they brought their shipping charges into line with other major on-line retailers, often offering free shipping on boots and western apparel orders over a certain minimum purchase.

Boots USA, Aurora, Colorado. Good pricing on motorcycle boots.

Bootbay.com, Knoxville, Tennessee. Free shipping within the U.S. on purchases over $49. Good deals on engineer boots, in particular.

Drysdales, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Decent western store with a wide selection of cowboy boots. Shipping is expensive.

Metboots, San Antonio, Texas. This on-line retailer has occasional great percent-off sales on work and motorcycle boots. Sign up for their email list to be notified when sales are offered--usually around major U.S. holidays.

Nashville Boots, Nashville, Tennessee. Another decent western store.

Do not buy from noconabootshop.com. I tried to call them on the phone, but never could reach a human being. I ordered a pair of boots from them on-line, they charged me, then they credited me back without any explanation. I sent them serveral email messages to which they never replied. They have poor customer service. Don't buy from them.

You will also notice that I do not list the West Coast Shoe Company (maker of Wesco Boots) or the Dehner Boot Company as active links. They make great boots, but you can save a lot of money -- from 10% to 15% -- on the same boots from a third-party retailer like Stompers Boots. Drool on images from the factory's website, but unless you have money to burn, order your boots from a boot retailer, not from the company.

Leather

Here are places I buy or have bought leather garments in person or on the Internet

665 Leather, West Hollywood, California. Established leather fetish shop that makes good custom leather gear at a price consistent with the quality produced (that is, "not cheap.") Good customer service by phone and in person.

Biker's Den. Caters to straight bikers. Good quality biker leather gear. Free shipping. They only accept PayPal, so you need a PayPal account to use them.

CJ's Leather, Denver, Colorado. This is a small leather fetish shop. I have been pleased with the quality of two pairs of leather jeans that I bought from them. The service was good and I received my custom order when promised.

Eastern Oregon Leather, LaGrande, Oregon. I have been very pleased with leather accessories like wrist cuffs that I have ordered from this company.

Fox Creek Leather, Roanoke, Virginia. This shop was recommended to me by a blog visitor. This shop makes biker gear -- vests, chaps, jackets, and accessories. It caters to the straight biker market. I checked them out and ordered a jacket. The leather gear they make is great, and service is excellent.

J.C. Whitney, which is where I have purchased boot chains and vest extenders.

Johnson Leather Corp. of San Francisco, California. They make great leather gear for serious motorcyclists. They have both stock sizes and can make custom-fitted gear, as well. I have a custom leather jacket and pants that they made which are terrific!

Mr. S. of San Francisco, California. This is the "granddaddy" of leather fetish shops in the United States. I bought a lot of my leather gear from Mr. S and have been pleased with the tailoring and service.

Northbound Leather, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Northbound is an excellent leather fetish shop, and has been in business for a long time. They have very good custom leather gear -- and pricing on par with quality (but not cheap!) If you live in the U.S., it's best if you can make your purchase in person and carry your goods with you back home. Shipping to the U.S. is expensive.

Where I have purchased leather but cannot recommend

Leather Up. I bought a pair of leather jeans from them. The jeans were cheap and I got what I paid for. The jeans squeak badly and the quality is not good.

Leather Rack, Washington DC. Cheap imported leather goods.

Jamin' Leather (on-line). Cheap imported leather goods.

South Beach Leather (on-line). They have an interesting line of products, but they don't tell you on their website that their garments are made in Pakistan from cheap Pakistani leather. Products are delivered (drop-shipped) to the U.S. directly from Pakistan. Oh well, no wonder their gear is so cheap -- I got what I paid for.

Uniforms

Please read the section about uniforms on my Complete Guide to Leather Gear and my page about assembling a CHP uniform for more details about replica uniforms and methods of assembling them.

I have used the following vendors which have worked well for me. Note, these vendors will only ship merchandise to addresses in the United States. I am not currently aware of vendors of uniform-related merchandise who will ship to addresses outside the U.S.

Quartermaster Uniforms. Great selection of military and police gear and equipment.

Intapol Industries. Good source of police breeches.

I am not aware of other vendors of uniform-related gear who will sell items to people who are not cops or active-duty military. If you know of any reputable vendors who will do this, let me know.

Websites

Boots Wiki -- the complete resource on information about boots.

HotBoots.com. A community of men into boots!

International Mr. Leather Contest. IML is held over Memorial Day weekend (usually the last weekend in May) in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The website provives information on hotels, activities, and registration for IML. This is the largest leather fetish contest in the world.

Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. MAL is held in Washington, DC, over Martin Luther King holiday weekend, which is usually the third weekend in January. The website provides information on hotels, activities, and registration for MAL. This is reported to be the second only to IML in size of attendance at such an event.

Folsom Street Fair. This event, which occurs on the last weekend in September in San Francisco, California, is one of the oldest, kinkiest gatherings of leather fetishists in the U.S. A smaller, more intimate gathering, called the "Up Your Alley" (or Dore Alley) fair, is held the last Sunday in July. Information about both events can be found on this one website.

International Gay Rodeo Association. Has information about gay rodeos in the U.S. and Canada, as well as schedules and results of IGRA-associated rodeo competitions.

eBay

Here's my opinion on eBay. As far as on-line auction sites go, eBay is by far the most sophisticated and thorough. Most boots and leather gear on eBay is represented factually and when I have bought boots or gear through eBay, I have gotten what I have paid for. Have I been disappointed? Yes, but that was my fault. For example, I didn't see something that was not in a description, and I ended up with a pair of Langlitz leather breeches that ultimately didn't fit (but they did fit my partner, so they weren't a loss.)

If you choose to bid on an item on eBay, check the seller's feedback. You may not find a 100% positive rating, but sometimes some people have bones to pick if they got something that they didn't like. You usually can't return something bought on eBay unless it was materially misrepresented. However, another example is that I bought a pair of boots that were the right size in the foot, but the calf was too small and I couldn't wear them. The seller was very accommodating and took them back and refunded my purchase price. He didn't have to do that, but as I said, most sellers on eBay are fair and reasonable.

Don't bid immediately. Note when the bid ends, and keep track of it. If you bid too early, undoubtedly someone will outbid you. Wait until close to the end of the auction to bid. That's what most people do (and I do not recommend the use of sniping programs which are not fair to regular folks).

One last recommendation: pick your top bid price and stick to it. Avoid getting caught up in a last-minute frenzy with escalating bids. If the top bid is more than what you said to yourself you want to spend, let it go. You can find it again later from someone else. That happens a lot. Good luck, happy bidding!