Winston

Yeah, when Bauer sees that the REAKT got one star they'll probably decide to bump the cost up to $400 for their helmets... Based on previous cost increases and the introduction of space age foams, I predict by 2019 Bauer helmets will cost $8,000 dollars and will get two stars. You'll still be able to get a one star VN lined helmet for $60.

I have a BS in psychology and sociology, so I find that sort of thing fascinating. I can honestly say however, I haven’t suffered from that problem… I wish my wife would paralyze her spending though, that would save us a couple of bucks On a similar note, one of my favorite studies regarding consumer psychology relates to “post-purchase rationalization”. It showed that to avoid cognitive discomfort after difficult purchasing decisions, people tend to overlook minor faults in what they just purchased, and rate them higher than all other products. It’s a self defense mechanism to avoid “post-decision dissonance”. Then there’s the whole talk yourself into buying something you don’t really need… I’m guilty of that from time to time. Psychologists call this “justification”. Example: I need new gloves because… uh… the palm is a little sticky and there’s almost a hole there… some people have trouble being honest with their conscience, and just saying I want something newer/cooler/better.

I’m the exact same way. I may be even borderline OCD with my research before buying equipment (or anything expensive). I try it on in the store once or twice, I read every review I can find online, ask people at the rink about it their gear. By the time I go to buy, I’m certain it the right thing for me, it so much easier to part with the cash. I’m sure the guys at my LHS thought I was the biggest “time-burglar” ever, until I walked in one day and dropped $600.00 upgrading some of my old cheap gear to top of the line stuff. Some salesman think if you walk out of the store without buying something you wasted their time, for me and many others, that’s just part of the research process. Now if I walked out to buy it online… that’s messed up. But with new hockey gear there’s not a lot of incentive to do that since the pricing appears to be set by manufacturers. The stuff I’ve bought online are things I couldn’t find locally only because there is a serious lack of retail hockey shops in my area. You do have to take some online reviews with a grain of salt. Prime example on a non-hockey related item, I remember some guy gave a DeWalt heat gun (1) star on Amazon because it wasn’t suitable for use on pastries and food. So here is a product that is indented for stripping paint/varnish, loosening bolts, etc. and this guy is the only one out there trying to toast his “creme brulee” with it. I had a laugh and quickly ignored the review. That's like saying this clothes iron sucks... it ruined my grilled cheese sandwich .

Once when I was working in retail, I had some guy in a batman costume come running into the store swinging his cape around. His buddy (Robin I guess) was following behind him with a video camera. This lunatic runs up to me and say “excuse me good citizen, do you know where I find supplies for my bat cave?” I told him “No, but I think you’re starting to freak people out with your little act here”. He just started running down the aisles screaming and reciting lines from the batman movies. The manager on duty got a hold of him and told him the cops were on the way, batman shouts “off to the bat mobile” and runs out of the store. This was about 10 years ago, prior to youtube and all that… I think he was just filming this for his own amusement. Still makes me chuckle a bit when I think about it.

A "fitting fee" will scare off the tire kickers for sure… and plenty of legit customers who don’t like sales pressure or obligation to buy, which is 99% of them. If someone tells me they’re charging a fitting fee, I’d walk out and go somewhere else, it’s that simple. Who knows if they have the right skate for me… or if they actually know what they’re doing when they fit… or if their pricing is fair… I might not even know what I want… these skates cost more than I wanted to spend... there’s a ton of uncertainty in the customers mind and dishing out $20+ more of a gamble to them than the shop. If you’re charging a fitting fee like it or not, you’re losing paying customers, but hey, at least you have more time to straighten the shelves, and help some kid buy some shin tape…