eric42434224

Sure, you might be able to measure size through the web someday but you'll never be able to measure comfort or feel. Never say never. Comfort and feel cant be measured even today, as skates will feel different on the ice, and change over time. What feels comfy now, may not in 3 weeks. That happens all the time. Things once thought impossible are common place today. What about automated machines that build a boot around your foot as you sit there? VERY possible. You would get a boot that fit you perfectly, with your own specific features, materials, colors. It would be the best possible fit, and be very individual. Try explaining a carbon fibre OPS and its performance to a hockey player from the 30's. Things like instant custom skates are very possible....but not for a while. That still doesn't figure out if the skate is comfortable on your foot. That method could create a second skin but a boot that is way too stiff or not stiff enough or doesn't flex the way you need it to. There are some things that you have to do in person. Sure it does. It is being created right there for you. Prototypes can be molded in materials that perfectly mimic the initial, or broken in for that matter, stiffness or other attributes. Then when you are happy, the final product can be constructed. Look, lets not get carried away on what is possible or not. It is just imagination....but if you look back, most of the things you see today were the products of someones imagination and generally thought of as un-doable. Just saying, in the future, that fitting a skate properly will not be the exclusive domain of the LHS. Yes, I don't think it's going to be much more than another decade or so before you buy your sticks directly from Bauer or Easton and it's not progress at all. Progress is progress....and that is what it will be. Call it another name if you feel the word progress doesnt express it for you adequately.....perhaps evolve, change, develop, etc. The fact is it will never be positive for all involved. In the world of commerce, this type of evolution will not be positive for the small business owner, but will likely be positive for the manufacturer and consumer. Not saying it is all "good", but things are rarely that way.

So you think that the LHS becoming extinct is a forgone conclusion? I do too.....just a matter of time. Its progress. Good for some, bad for others.

Sure, you might be able to measure size through the web someday but you'll never be able to measure comfort or feel. Never say never. Comfort and feel cant be measured even today, as skates will feel different on the ice, and change over time. What feels comfy now, may not in 3 weeks. That happens all the time. Things once thought impossible are common place today. What about automated machines that build a boot around your foot as you sit there? VERY possible. You would get a boot that fit you perfectly, with your own specific features, materials, colors. It would be the best possible fit, and be very individual. Try explaining a carbon fibre OPS and its performance to a hockey player from the 30's. Things like instant custom skates are very possible....but not for a while.

It seems that the online stores are adapting to the problem from their side. In-Line Warehouse will send you a skate, you get to try it on, and then you can return it if you dont want it with zero charge. You just have to be able to cover the cost on a credit card until it gets reimbursed. Not a fix for all the customers, but it is a step in the right direction for their business model. None of my local LHSs had the 2009 RBK 9k in stock, so I ordered it from them....found out the fit wasnt quite right, and returned it, and moved on to other options.

The LHS's are going to have to adapt to this situation, fair or not. Business is business. It will only get worse. With the rapid increase in technology, it is only a matter of time before online stores are able to properly fit someone from a distance. We have phones that have more processing power than computers did 6 yrs ago, and are the size of a pack of trading cards.... and that was considered Sci-Fi not too long ago....now it is common place. Eventually, the online stores will have some type of technology to do 3-d mapping from data sent to them by the customer, along with some motion video , height and weight, etc....and will be able to fit you as well, or better, than the average LHS. Perhaps the technology will be available to actually create to boot from that data to custom fit every skate. Sound crazy? Im sure chatting with naked women in Russia on a computer was thought of as crazy too once. Wonderful for sure, but crazy :)

Well said.

LOL. Really? Shouldnt that be one of the major considerations? Price is a valid and important factor wether you like it or not. It may not be a popular concept, but it is very likely that many industries with brick and mortar point of sales will become extinct.

I also am willing to give the customers the benefit of the doubt....BUT....I am less likely to do that if it is a repeat customer. In that I mean, if it is your first time looking for equipment, and go to the LHS, and find online prices are cheaper, then that is not purposeful deception. But if they come in again at another time for different equipment, and know about the online stores, then that is purposeful, and I dont look as kindly on that. Lets also state that many LHS's are not Mom and Pop, and charge a huge mark-up....not sure how many, but I know one one in particular that does. The ethics of business knows no boundaries....online or not. JMHO.

Miike...how do you like them?

Then neither does your response, which could have been done by PM. This thread was discussing the exact issues I was inquiring about (sharpening depth, hollow, etc,) which in fact were themselves a tangent from the original thread topic. So relax. PM sent. Got it. Thanks.

Then neither does your response, which could have been done by PM. This thread was discussing the exact issues I was inquiring about (sharpening depth, hollow, etc,) which in fact were themselves a tangent from the original thread topic. So relax. There are numerous existing threads that already discuss what you were asking about, which is not the topic of this thread. This thread already got off on one unrelated tangent and, in my opinion, DS was trying to stop it from going a direction that has already been discussed repeatedly on these boards. Then he should have made the general statement, instead of focusing on me. The owner of this board was involved in the tangent discussion, so it was fine.

Then neither does your response, which could have been done by PM. This thread was discussing the exact issues I was inquiring about (sharpening depth, hollow, etc,) which in fact were themselves a tangent from the original thread topic. So relax.

Question (perhaps a stupid one, but here goes): Does the radius, ROH, rocker, depth, ect, etc, really amke that much of a difference.....in particular to a guy who has never thought about any of it? I just hand the skates to the sharpener and thats it. I have always used the skate out of the box and never made changes. Will looking into these things make any real discernable difference, or should I live by the maxin "if it aint broken, dont fix it" ?

Here you go. http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...showtopic=42051

When my skate feel a bit dull, I aske the LHS guy, "Please sharpen my skates"...they ask me how I want them done, and I say "sharp, please".

Well, you probably are. :) I used to combat that by signing the receipt saying that they went against my expertise. CYA, man, CYA. VERY good idea...I do something similar. When a client does something against my recommendations, like selling a bond orbuying a stock when I tell them they shouldn't, I get them to sign a non-solicitation letter. It covers my butt and my license, cause when they complain to my Compliance dept and the NASD, I have that letter, and the complaint is immediately denied.

Agreed. Showing courtesy is just good behavoir for anyone.

I worked in the restaurant business for years, and I never took someone forgetting a wallet in a car as a sign of disrespect or lack of courtesy. Is it an inconvenience...yes. Is it a scam?....in JR's scenario...yes. If the guy legitimately forgot his wallet...no big deal. Im not discounting your experiences, as I have never worked in an LHS....just my take on things. Funny thing is, now that I have read this, I will be taking that extra second to make sure I have my wallet with me!!!!! (unless Im getting my skates sharpened....LOL...then Im running the scam baby!)

I was thinking it was more along the lines of the Dad buying his kid all new equipment, and not just getting skates sharpened. I see where he and you are coming from now.

This doesnt sound like a "line" to me. Maybe Im wrong, but it sounds like they just left their wallet in the car. Do they not come back or do they try to pay some other way? If they come back in and pay, then it was obviously just a mistake. Of course women dont say that, as women rarely leave a purse in the car. From your post, I just dont see that as a bad thing customers do...hell...I do it at times myself.

Really like the Eastons. Have the same ones with Red lettering and trim. I think I will continue to get them in the future.....black and white just like yours will be next.

He just got the today....give it some time.

Only had one pair of Bauer Supreme 50's before the s15's that I used for 2 months and paid $129. Sold them for like $50 I think. So I had the Bauer 50's, S15's, and 1500's for a total of about 6 months and it cost me total out of pocket about $80. Sounds cheap to me. Now I have custom pro S15's that are substantially better, and got them for $400 shipped. All in all, I would say that, though it was a frustrating experience, it was by no means a costly one money wise.

fair enough! the old adage holds true....to each their own! :) Well...how much $$$ have you wasted on skates over the past year? haha None actually. I have broken even. I have a new pair of custom s15's and have not paid a cent out of pocket since I bought the first pair of s15's. Returned the first pair under warranty, got the 1500's very cheap and sold them with a $40 loss, and got the custom s15's at $40 less than the $ i got back from the first s15's. Give or take a dollar or two, I had skates for 4 months to use for free, and now I have the custom pair. haha indeed!

One question.........why? I dont really expect a rational answer, but it really confounds me. Reminds me of the old ladys that collect hundreds of ceramic figurines....but at least they increase in value. I have 5 sticks, and that is only because 4 were given to me. I had a tough time justifying to myself buying two pairs of gloves.