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Message from Barrabes.com


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Desey said:

this is one subject I have been very interested in... I just bought a ton of gear that I would have paid over $$1400 for here in U.S. that I got from 2 sources in Europe for $750. this was2pairs of boots, axe, tools, etc... would say that I maximized my profit and that is what I care about.

Dude, you SPENT money. You didn't profit. They did. You maximized your spending power.
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catbirdseat said:

Desey said:

this is one subject I have been very interested in... I just bought a ton of gear that I would have paid over $$1400 for here in U.S. that I got from 2 sources in Europe for $750. this was2pairs of boots, axe, tools, etc... would say that I maximized my profit and that is what I care about.

Dude, you SPENT money. You didn't profit. They did. You maximized your spending power.

 

LOL, this reminds me of a time when a friend mentioned to me and another friend that this place he was looking to rent was a "goldmine." We laughed our asses off and then questioned him as to how paying anybody else to rent something could be considered a "goldmine."

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  • 1 month later...

I wonder what impact it would have on U.S. shops if they were to have to price their stuff against foreign mail order? I totally believe in a free market, but, all economists know that a free market fails to respond to situations where there are hidden colateral costs. Polution is the classic example, where companies do not include polution as a cost until they are forced to by a governing body. In order to be competitive Exxon would not have cleaned up it's spill unless public pressure or law forced them to.

 

The hidden cost for us is that Pro Mountain Sports, Wilderness Sports, Marmot and others, will not be able to support the lifestyle that their owners want, and they will close. I like shops, I loved working in a bad ass shop, but not enough to do it on a Euros yearly salery (even if France's official work week recently became 35 hours!). I would sadly close my shop up and order my stuff over the internet. At this point I feel that it is worth it too me to buy my stuff at the local shop, because I am actually purchasing the shop too. (People at shops need to realize this and give awsome service and make strong relationships with our customers).

 

This goes for the brand names too. BD, Grivel NA, Petzl America, MSR, OR, 5.10, etc, etc. Would certainly not have worthwhile quality, waranty service, etc if they worked on small margins. If they go out of business we will all have to settle for internet service (with French people ha, ha).

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Barrabes is still a middleman...just a big middleman able to buy cheaper and then sell with less margin than a small, overhead / gross intensive full service shop.

 

I think that the neighborhood shop is a dinosaur and needs to evolve drastically or will be extinct before you know it. It is the big manufactors policies that, is in effect administering CPR on the retailers as we speak. Bentgate Mountaineering is a good example of a small retailer that is evolving to stay alive. This is certainly not unique to mountaineering gear. Auto sales comes to mind. Brazil is a good example of the future of auto sales...go test drive at the manufacturers suported showroom and then order your car on-line. They even provide the terminal if you ain't got one.

 

What I really don't get, is why BD (and others) don't start selling directly; at a discount. If they started discounting more & more, but gradually. They could establish a new ( IMHO inevitable) change in they way gear is sold without completely wiping out the small shops. With the obvious huge increased margins that they would be reaping in they could directly support the shops that they felt were benificial to have out there for the consumer that needs to touch & feel before purchase.

 

It is hard to fault the quality & design of BD. I also feel that they have a great amount of company integrity but I think that is becoming increasingly misguided and is supporting their retailers not the climbers. If any company should take the lead and change to support the climber it is them. After all they coined the "dirt bag" attitude that lends its self to living small and shopping smart with forthought. If they don't change I think the writing is on the wall that they will become a dinosaur as well,

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Attitude said:

gregm said:

how many people are going to drop $500 for a pair of ice tools without picking it up and playing with it first?

I bought a pai of alp wings from Barrabes sight unseen for $280. Never regretted it. wave.gif

 

OMFD...YOU CLIMB!?>!?!?!?!??!

 

cantfocus.gif

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Terminal_Gravity said:

What I really don't get, is why BD (and others) don't start selling directly; at a discount.

I think a lot of companies would like to do this but many forget that you have to deal with customers. Customers whine, they complain, they send stuff back damaged, they haggle and buy small-margin items with a ton of sales rep overhead. This is not something BD (and others) is really set up to do.

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Time for me to chime in again.....

 

not to muddy the waters on this wonderfull conversation... but not only have I scored some fabulous deals from Euro, but have scored mych more gear via Ebay. This is all 100% brand new stuff. Just got a pair of snowshoes for $79 that are brand new... these are a big name brand that would be about $160 in the store.

 

My plan is very simple: get the best deal for myself, plain and simple.

 

Oh yeah,don't give me the crap about service. I am not in Seattle where there is a shop on every corner.

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Desey said:

Time for me to chime in again.....

 

not to muddy the waters on this wonderfull conversation... but not only have I scored some fabulous deals from Euro, but have scored mych more gear via Ebay. This is all 100% brand new stuff. Just got a pair of snowshoes for $79 that are brand new... these are a big name brand that would be about $160 in the store.

 

My plan is very simple: get the best deal for myself, plain and simple.

 

Oh yeah,don't give me the crap about service. I am not in Seattle where there is a shop on every corner.

 

Amen, man. Oh, and Seattle kinda sucks, too. Even the people @ the Patagonia store don't know much about the stuff they sell. Pretty pathetic. thumbs_down.gif

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Sphinx said:

Amen, man. Oh, and Seattle kinda sucks, too. Even the people @ the Patagonia store don't know much about the stuff they sell. Pretty pathetic. thumbs_down.gif

Yeah, Seattle sucks. Washington sucks. Gear store folks suck. Mounties suck. Gapers suck. cc.com'ers suck. Music on the radio sucks. erik sucks. Trask sucks. I suck.

 

You rockband.gif.

 

(Teen angst. rolleyes.gif)

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