We shopping at Dick's and Modell's to see which was a better sporting-goods store, and there was a clear winner

First, I visited Modell's Sporting Goods in Queens, New York.

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There were a ton of clearance signs in the window, and from the outside, the store looked closed.

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The store had low ceilings and was dimly lit and eerily quiet.

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The men's department was the first section of the store, and most things seemed to be on sale.

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Sale signs were displayed on clipboards that sat on top of the shelves.

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Even though the store itself was pretty depressing, there were definitely some good deals. Almost everything had some sort of sale or special promotion.

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The team apparel was less expensive than you might find at a game or on a team's website, but it took up a surprisingly small part of the store, and the assortment of apparel was pretty random.

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The women's and kids' clothes and footwear were in the back part of the store, but a huge part of the store was just empty.

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The store carried plenty of Nike, Adidas, and Champion apparel, as well as a few other smaller brands.

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There were also a few random products like coolers, Kan Jam games, and men's shorts mixed in with the women's apparel.

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More men's clothes were hidden in the back of the women's department. I couldn't quite make sense of how the store was organized.

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One thing Modell's did have a ton of was equipment. Even though the store itself felt pretty sparse, the equipment section in the back had a ton of everything. The aisles were organized by sport.

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There was gym equipment and "as seen on tv" fitness gear sold at the end of the sporting equipment, but there wasn't a ton there.

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The footwear department was pretty small, but it carried every major brand, including Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. There was a huge clearance shelf, but even non-clearance items had special promotions.

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The fitting rooms, like the rest of the store, were lackluster. Overall the store was pretty depressing, but on the plus side, it offered a lot of great deals.

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I visited Dick's next, just one neighborhood over from Modell's in Queens.

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There were clearance signs in the entryway, and a sign explained their price-match guarantee.

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The inside of the store immediately felt more inviting than Modell's. It was brighter and cleaner, and it had a more upbeat atmosphere.

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Gear and apparel were mostly organized by sport. Everything baseball-related was in one section, everything basketball-related was in another, and so on.

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There were clearance bins all over the store offering deals, similar to Modell's. The clearance items were all pretty messy, with boxes everywhere and sale signs falling down.

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The apparel part of the store was a lot nicer than at Modell's. There were big, bright, branded displays for brands like Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour, and the styles felt current.

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Everything definitely felt more organized than Modell's did across the store.

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The store was also much cleaner and easier to navigate.

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The footwear department was huge and in much better condition than the one at Modell's. It was also more spacious and had more room to try on shoes.

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The selection of gym equipment was a lot more impressive. There was a much bigger variety in what was offered.

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The prices were lower at Modell's for most products, but Dick's also price-matches competitors.

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Source: Dick's Sporting Goods

Overall, Dick's Sporting Goods' atmosphere was a lot brighter, cleaner, and nicer than Modell's. The styles for sale were more current, and the store was more organized and had a lot more variety to offer, making it the clear winner.

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