eric42434224

Price and Internet are here to stay, and if the customer is up front about it then I see absolutely nothing wrong. Price is #1 with consumers, and was #1 for centuries before the internet and Hockey itself. Why is that so hard to understand? If you cant match the price, she is gone and didnt take any of your time. If she wants a fitting and knows you cant match the price, then we have a problem. From his story, I see nothing wrong at all. JMHO so I will bow out now. :)

My point was that she didnt get sized under false pretenses, and was open to look at other options. she was up front with her intentions and asked for a price match up front. Cant fault a customer like that. Unless she was a total wench, I dont see what she did wrong, and it seems the LHS worker handled it very very well.

I dont see what she did wrong. She didnt use you to size skates and then go online....she merely asked if you could match the price of a competitor. Just being a good consumer. You did what was right for the customer, and saved her money. Sounds like a great transaction where everybody benefits. That sounds like a success story instead of a horror story. Well done.

Here.......http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Return-Easton-Custom-Hockey-Gloves-SENATORS-14_W0QQitemZ400001681442QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I have seen some Eastons on ebay in Blackhawk and Devils colors.....which could work for you.

CycloneTaylor doesnt have those gloves anymore. They were a returned order form a team, and the only ones left are the leather version. They dont have anymore nylons left. If you call them or email them, they will emsil you a pic of what the have left. I dont think the leather versions are all black either, but check anyway. a guy is selling a pair of those on ebay, for $99 but he has like over $22 for shipping.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa237/e...24/CIMG2873.jpg

New equipment. Slowly upgrading everything now that I know I will be playing for a while. New MSH Bag, New Easton Gloves, and 9k Shins.

I disagree. People usually have side motivations when donating to charity. Publicity, tax write-offs, etc. Those other motivations are facts of life, and shouldnt be judged. Purely altruistic and anonymous donations are rare. If someone doesnt have enough money to donate, but can if they can justify it by offsetting the cost with the stick, then it is good for everybody. It seems Easton did the donating and real charity....but dont think for an instant that they didnt have ulterior motives too. Product visibility, corporate good-will, and you can be damn sure they took the write-off on their taxes. Some had the $85 go to charity that would never have had the inclination or funds to donate. Ulterior motives are everywhere, but you need to look at the positives (and I dont see any negatives in this case) that kids got toys. Apologies if I started up an old arguement. Wont bring it up or respond again. Just my two cents.

The motivation behind a charitable donation doesnt matter, as long as it benefits the ones in need. If you think that makes someone a loser, or that they have their priorities messed up, well.....I can only ask what the weather is like way up there on that pedestal. Charity is Charity from the viewpoint of the needy.

Lots of posts about that over the years. I know. I searched MIA and saw a ton of pages, but couldnt find anything regarding what they are in any definitive sense. It was all a bit vague. But thanks to those you informed me completely, and my apologies for the hijack.

OK. Thanks. At least now I know it doesnt mean "Made In America"...LOL

I assume, from posts here, that MIA made gloves are highly regarded, correct? Do they make gloves for other companies besides Warrior and RBK? Still a bit vague....are they a seperate company still called MIa, but just owned by Warrior?

Please forgive my ignorance everyone....but....what exactly is MIA? Not sure as I see Mia gloves, and then Mia/other company gloves. Me is confused.

^^^^^Great Post. In short, it is easily possible, just not economically feasible....for now :)

Screw that....when will they make robot sex slaves?

Wow. Robots do build cars...in the sense that they perform repetitious actions within extremely tight tolerances. And can be adjusted depending on different models. What is the difference? Robots dont design anything....scrap metal analogy is just so far off base it is funny. An automated sharpener wont take scrap metal and leather and build a skate either. Keep the analogies at least close to plausible. Skate sharpeneing is a defined, repititous task, that needs to be adjusted for differing skates and individual sharpening characteristics. Now please read this 2 or 3 times if you need to to let it sink in: It is obvious that there is nothing out there in the market right now that can compete with a human. It is far too expensive to make it viable. But if you think that the technology doesnt exist right now to design somehing like this, then you are woefully unaware of what is possible today. Furthermore, can we please drop this as we all seem to keep missing the point of each others posts. I think we can, or should, agree on these basic points, and then drop it: 1) Sharpening is a difficult task that requires skill and practice 2) There is not an automated machine that can perform this task available now. 3) The technology and ability to create an automated machine to sharpen does exist 4) It is not economically viable for such a machine to be built now, or in the near future. 5) It will become viable some day, but as with all technology, it will require human design, creation, programming, calibration, and maintenance. Seriously, the complexity of the technology in computers, phones, robotic manufacturing, military weaponry is amazing. That doesnt include cutting edge technology that we havent seen yet. Is it so hard to see that an automated skate sharpener is not sci-fi, but actually pretty mundane? Regardless, perhaps we can, like I suggested, let this tangent die, and let the thread get back to its intended subject?

That's exactly what you said you were doing, that annoys me. What do you mean? That isnt what I was doing at all. My post was just an idea, and it was intended to foster the discussion. No more no less. That really shouldnt be annoying to anyone....unless you have a vested stake in LHS's...and in that case, I feel for you. Actually, nevermind. This subject is all conjecture, and it seems to be ruffling some feathers. I really dont want to get in an arguement. Can we just drop this and let the thread get back to its original subject?

Good Lord. Either no one is reading my posts, or they are just being too defensive. I in no way am taking anythng away from sharpeners. I cant do it. It takes time and practice. Some are better than others. I get it. My point is that it isnt the exclusive domain of humans. The technology exists to create it....thats all. I am sorry, but you are wrong. I dont need to sharpen skates to know that. You think it is an art because you have to adjust and adapt....but that is only because you are human. The proper sharpening can be done by a robotic system that will allow for far more variables and work with far smaller tolerances than a human being. People said the same thing you do when automation took over the auto industry. Faster and higher quality. This isnt really up for debate, as it is just a fact that an automated system will just do it better, and more consistently...that is a fact. The issue is that no one can build a robot machine to do this and make it even remotely cost effective. And please refrain from saying it is a stupid assumption. I dont tell you it is a stupid assumption to underestimate the abilities of computer/robotic automation, do I? If you were creating something new, as in music or a painting, or something that is subjective in its quality, then I agree with the art position. But skate sharpening is not the case. It has very specific parameters and variables that can easily be calculated and measured to far tighter tolerances by a computer. That really isnt debatable. It just doesnt make any economic or business sense to do it. Not saying it doesnt require great skill to do it, but it isnt anythng that cant be done by computer robotics. There are things being done by systems like that that are far more complex than skate sharpening. Seriously, it would be a rudinmentary task....just not viable money wise. Nobody has been able to produce a system that is better than a human. I'm sure that it's possible given enough money but you aren't going to see a rink spending a million or more on something to sharpen skates. You would also have to have humans set up and calibrate the machine, making operation of this mythical super-sharpener still dependent on people. The new Blackstone spinner system is going to make it much easier for people to do a great job. That just isnt true and you know it, but if you feel you must post a response like that, it is your perogative. Besides, I think everyone here can see it was purely off-the-cuff conjecture. What the LHS will really be in the years to come isnt smoething I have resarched. No one knows for sure what the LHS will evolve into for sure, and my scenario is not impossible. I can imagine of a sh1tload of scenarios less likely, and I am sure you can too. If you seriously believe that it may come to that there is nothing I can do to help you. Dude, READ my post. I dont seriously think anything on the subject, so no help is needed...sheeesh. Just throwing a scenario out there that was purely conjecture and for the purposes of conversation. Stop taking it so serious (my hypothetical scenario, not the precarious situations currently facing LHS's...that is serious). OK? :) I forget that some people just pull shit out of their ass to post. As to your first response, you still arent getting what Im saying. The technology to do it isnt mythical, and OF COURSE people have to design, build and calibrate it. Of course it is too expensive to do.....now. Im not talking about now....maybe not even decades. But youre sounding like the auto workers who scoffed at the idea of a "robot" building a car. Everyone just relax. There is not economically viable system to beat a person to sharpen skates right now. That is obvious. But if you think that some geek at MIT couldnt build a system (without budget constraints) to do something like sharpen a friggin skate more consistently with tighter tolerances than a person, you are just being willfully ignorant. And the last comment makes me think you are just being an a$$hole. I didnt do anything to you, so that comment isnt necessary.

That just isnt true and you know it, but if you feel you must post a response like that, it is your perogative. Besides, I think everyone here can see it was purely off-the-cuff conjecture. What the LHS will really be in the years to come isnt smoething I have resarched. No one knows for sure what the LHS will evolve into for sure, and my scenario is not impossible. I can imagine of a sh1tload of scenarios less likely, and I am sure you can too. If you seriously believe that it may come to that there is nothing I can do to help you. Dude, READ my post. I dont seriously think anything on the subject, so no help is needed...sheeesh. Just throwing a scenario out there that was purely conjecture and for the purposes of conversation. Stop taking it so serious (my hypothetical scenario, not the precarious situations currently facing LHS's...that is serious). OK? :)

I am sorry, but you are wrong. I dont need to sharpen skates to know that. You think it is an art because you have to adjust and adapt....but that is only because you are human. The proper sharpening can be done by a robotic system that will allow for far more variables and work with far smaller tolerances than a human being. People said the same thing you do when automation took over the auto industry. Faster and higher quality. This isnt really up for debate, as it is just a fact that an automated system will just do it better, and more consistently...that is a fact. The issue is that no one can build a robot machine to do this and make it even remotely cost effective. And please refrain from saying it is a stupid assumption. I dont tell you it is a stupid assumption to underestimate the abilities of computer/robotic automation, do I? If you were creating something new, as in music or a painting, or something that is subjective in its quality, then I agree with the art position. But skate sharpening is not the case. It has very specific parameters and variables that can easily be calculated and measured to far tighter tolerances by a computer. That really isnt debatable. It just doesnt make any economic or business sense to do it. Not saying it doesnt require great skill to do it, but it isnt anythng that cant be done by computer robotics. There are things being done by systems like that that are far more complex than skate sharpening. Seriously, it would be a rudinmentary task....just not viable money wise.

That just isnt true and you know it, but if you feel you must post a response like that, it is your perogative. Besides, I think everyone here can see it was purely off-the-cuff conjecture. What the LHS will really be in the years to come isnt smoething I have resarched. No one knows for sure what the LHS will evolve into for sure, and my scenario is not impossible. I can imagine of a sh1tload of scenarios less likely, and I am sure you can too.

I cant imagine that an automatic sharpener available now, considering what technology you could use to even approach it being cost effective, must truly be horrid. I was only saying that eventually the technology will become cheaper, and that there will be kiosks that will sharpen skates better than humans. I dont think you disagree with that, and I dont disagree that it isnt a viable option right now cost wise to make one. True I dont know about the repair issue, but it will likely be different in the future. I myself see (in the future of course) a small shop in the rink with one or two employees. Kind of like a catalog store owned by the online giants, where you can get measured and order the equipment. It will have an automated skate sharpener or two, and a small area for immediate repair needs. The LHS as we know it now is marked for extinction....it will evolve into something different....it wont disappear...it will just be forced to change.

I dont see anythng about skate sharpening that is an "art". It could be done with more precision with a robot. Things are done, and things made by Robots with exponentially more difficult parameters than skate sharpening. The only reason it isnt done now is that the technology, while available for over a decade or so, is cost prohibitive. And there were recalls before robots. Remember the Pinto? LOL

There will be a skate sharpening stand or kiosk that will sharpen skates with far more precision than people. Robots build entire cars, so something like sharpening skates is a breeze. You will be able to insert your skate, tell which variables you want....radius, hollow, rocker...and it will be done perfectly for you every time. You will even be able to have a frequent user card with your preferences on it, preloaded with credits. The precision will be far better than any 16yr old at an LHS could do...and faster. This is actually something that could be done right now. Any investors want to help me with this idea? LOL As far as equipment repair, I may be wrong, but I dont see too much of that in my LHS, but repairing equipment isnt anything that cant be automated. Perhaps it will be like that stick company....insurance for your shin guards, and replacements will be in the shin gurard vending machine next to the skate sharpening kiosk. There will always be skate sharpeners, assuming all of the manufacturers don't go exclusively with t'blade-like products. I just think that you're going to see most equipment purchases being made online, direct from the manufacturers. I think you'll see a few sites handling closeouts but not the current year products. I would call it de-evolution thanks to the wal-mart mentality of so many people. Those people willing to buy online to save $5 are the ones killing the industry and pushing it this direction. Progress implies forward movement and I don't believe this would be a move forward. In fact, It's just about the antithesis of progress. Your assesment of the situation is from only one side of the story. That doesnt mean it isnt valid, but valid from your viewpoint. It is forward from the viewpoint of increasing efficiency and profits for a business. Good for some, and not for others. I do understand your feelings though.....just that there are three sides to every story.