discount gear?

andydavis · Joined: 11 Apr 1999 Posts: 232 Location: Point Isabel

In this era of etailers cutting the cost of all consumer goods, how have windsurfing retailers managed to keep such a grip on the costs of new merchandise, principally sails? There are fewer and fewer retail shops, therefore fewer and fewer things on sale.

It seems to me that there must be a huge margin in some of these items. Are there any small manufacturers out there who advertise/sell on the web?

What happened to rec.windsurfing?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 11491

Buy your sails off-season for huge discounts on next years sails.

And what does what happened to rec.windsurfing? mean?

Mike \m/

andydavis · Joined: 11 Apr 1999 Posts: 232 Location: Point Isabel

I mean the usenet group rec.windsurfing...its disappeared from my server.

Where are you? the windsurfing shops around here have been consolidating, so there seem to be a lot fewer deals then there used to be. If you look at bicycling for example, there has been a huge downward price pressure due to oversupply. Somehow, the windsurfing manufacturers have managed to keep a closer control over pricing through control of what the retailers sell and who they can sell it through.

prozac · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 105

bro, you realize how small the windsurfing industry is? Do what mike said - buy last years gear during the snowboard season/winter. I try not to buy anymore upgrades to my windsurf gear starting in July and start saving or buying my new snowboard gear. Never buy retail dude,... unless it is on sale.

KevinOShea · Joined: 05 Jun 1998 Posts: 13

mfgs suggest a retail price, and if they sell for less, they just cut off the supply

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 11491

rec.windsurfing is alive and kicking. Sounds like you need to kick your server in the pants.

And I said NEXT years sails, not LAST years sails. Ive always bought my sails from sources that make them stateside; they like to keep their employees busy year-round, so they start making NEXT years sails in the winter and offer deep discounts then.

Check out www.northwavesails.com, for example. Maybe I can still get you the major discount I got there last spring. Ill check.

Mike \m/

wanda · Joined: 03 Jul 2000 Posts: 35

There is definately not a huge margin. The problem is stocking equipment is such a huge risk and investment for retailers that they have colluded with distributors to reduce stock and sell and ship out of the distributors warehouse. Also, to keep up with fantasmical evolution if equipment-making, Producers need to re-vamp their lines bi-annually in order to keep up with fierce competition.

My answer is to buy a new sail. Your retailer will give you a deal because he loves to sail