LHS owners/workers

[Tour Man 0]

Sdcopp i ABSOLUTELY agree with you about Marty at Slapshot. Amazing person and he will help you with just about anything you need. I do wish he stocked some inline gear but thats okay. I trust him with just about anything else though. I recently bought my s11 gloves from him and i couldn't be happier, and the price was right as well.

[chanxebyshev 8]

Really? I have been to peranis in Livonia and Taylor MI and have never had a problem. All the personnel are eager, helpful and knowledgeable. Ill come in and ask about sticks or skates, they'll ask the right questions and find me the product Im looking for, even if its less expensive than what I was originally asking about. Last year they had their annual sale in the beginning of the summer, I found a pair of McKenney Pro Elite Pants marked down from 110 to 30. I asked, the man said that wasn't right, but walked over to check anyway. He found that they had been mismarked (should have been 30% off, not $30.00) and made a special note to let me have them for thirty bucks.

I went to peranis in Livonia many years ago and the store was beautiful. However, the one we have in Dallas is shabby. Nothing is organized it's just piles of equipment in bins, though their gloves are organized. But most of the workers act like your presence is an inconvenience to them.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I went to peranis in Livonia many years ago and the store was beautiful. However, the one we have in Dallas is shabby. Nothing is organized it's just piles of equipment in bins, though their gloves are organized. But most of the workers act like your presence is an inconvenience to them.

When I was there last month it seems pretty organized to me. All the blades were on a rack and not in bins. Workers were pretty nice as well

[AIREAYE 248]

Just finished my 2nd shift at Hockey Experts in Mississauga...absolutely loving it even though it's very slow at the moment. Couldn't have done it without all of you guys

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

About to start at a new place shortly. Let's see how that goes! Fingers crossed!

[greyskull 21]

Ok, i've just started working in what is kind of an LHS (they try and sell bikes, skate boards, scooters etc. as well) and my god! Apparently they've been on a sharpening training course but i have never seen anyone (except them) man-handle a skate sharpener so much. Instead of going in one direction with the flow of the grind they wheel they just hammer it backwards and forth, the cross grinder has never been used, the blade clamp is never adjusted or checked, they managed to jam the diamond into one set position so you cant choose your grind and they dont check to see if the edges even after the skates are sharpened. Oh and to top it off they charge £7 for this and they literally do a pair of skates in under 2 minutes...

JR, when are you coming to England for a masterclass?

Where is this so I can avoid it? ;)

[#44wannabe 4]

Skate Attack in Southgate, London

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Where is this so I can avoid it? ;)

Haha, I read that as avoiding my masterclass!

[greyskull 21]

I THOUGHT that's where you meant!

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Ok, i've just started working in what is kind of an LHS (they try and sell bikes, skate boards, scooters etc. as well) and my god! Apparently they've been on a sharpening training course but i have never seen anyone (except them) man-handle a skate sharpener so much. Instead of going in one direction with the flow of the grind they wheel they just hammer it backwards and forth, the cross grinder has never been used, the blade clamp is never adjusted or checked, they managed to jam the diamond into one set position so you cant choose your grind and they dont check to see if the edges even after the skates are sharpened. Oh and to top it off they charge £7 for this and they literally do a pair of skates in under 2 minutes...

JR, when are you coming to England for a masterclass?

Now that is a great idea doing training over Skype........Hummmm have yo look into trying that.

[hunt3rsean 44]

Is anyone else bothered by what Total Hockey is doing? They don't advertise their actual prices online, but if you go into the store, not one piece of equipment is at msrp. For instance, I went in a few weeks back, and looked at the Bauer One.9 skates. They were priced at 499.99 for a senior. Also, most of the top of the line sticks were at ~$199.99. I find this extremely unfair to small mom and pop businesses. They are also shorting themselves out of money. Anybody have insight into this? I realize because they are bigger, they get bigger discounts on their orders from companies. But by 'passing on the savings' and selling a pair of skates $150 cheaper than a small business would, they have an unfair advantage that a small business can't compete with..

I do not work in the Hockey industry, but I do understand the basis of a MAP program. Now, I'm not 100% on what type of MAP system hockey companies make shops abide by, but this is what Total Hockey is going by. MAP programs, in very basic terms, make shops not advertise below a set price. However, the shop has the ability to sell the product below this price (in store) if they so choose. You see Best Buy do this all the time with electronics. Or you'll see sporting good stores say "see in store for price" or something similar on the flyer. This is what Total Hockey (and I've seen other shops as well) is doing based on your post. Is it fair? Tough to say. Does it put smaller/independent shops in a bind? Yes, it can to a point. You will see a lot of Mom & Pop shops start selling customer service to make up for the pricing differences. As far as Total Hockey short changing themselves...not really. They are planning to sell on volume to make up on the margin loss I'm guessing. I could be wrong though.

Edited December 3, 2012 by hunt3rsean

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Well It will be where I am working shortly my own little spot in Toronto ..............Pro Skate Corner. Located near Chesswood Arena in The Skatng Lab. Looking forward to it~!

[Joe 1]

I am considering opening up a small, service-oreinted hockey shop (new equipment and used/consignment) in my neck of the woods in Northern California. I would greatly appreciate some feedback and guidance on several items:

1. What is the average transaction size for a customer? I know it will vary given that some people may but a full set of equipment (seasonally) and others may but small items. I am just trying to establish an average.
2. The larger metro area that I live in only has one arena (two rinks), one roller facility and several other outdoor free rinks. My conservative estimate is that there are likely 1,000-1,700 players in the area. Is the opportunity large enough to consider?

[Chadd 916]

I am considering opening up a small, service-oreinted hockey shop (new equipment and used/consignment) in my neck of the woods in Northern California. I would greatly appreciate some feedback and guidance on several items:

1. What is the average transaction size for a customer? I know it will vary given that some people may but a full set of equipment (seasonally) and others may but small items. I am just trying to establish an average.
2. The larger metro area that I live in only has one arena (two rinks), one roller facility and several other outdoor free rinks. My conservative estimate is that there are likely 1,000-1,700 players in the area. Is the opportunity large enough to consider?

At our shop the most common transaction was a sharpening and a roll or two of tape. For every 25 or so of those, we would sell a stick and for every 25 of those, we would sell a couple protective items.

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

Used/consignment is a terribly difficult market. Best of luck!!!

[hardflip177 1]

I am considering opening up a small, service-oreinted hockey shop (new equipment and used/consignment) in my neck of the woods in Northern California. I would greatly appreciate some feedback and guidance on several items:

1. What is the average transaction size for a customer? I know it will vary given that some people may but a full set of equipment (seasonally) and others may but small items. I am just trying to establish an average.
2. The larger metro area that I live in only has one arena (two rinks), one roller facility and several other outdoor free rinks. My conservative estimate is that there are likely 1,000-1,700 players in the area. Is the opportunity large enough to consider?

Where abouts in Nor-Cal? Us here in the Valley have to go to the bay to get any decent selection.

[Joe 1]

I live in the greater Sacramento area. You're correct about having to drive too far for quality serivce and expertise. However, the quesiton remains, would the local hockey community support a small shop? I'd love to own and operate a shop but with everything that I have read, it seems that small retailers have it pretty tough due to large online retailers. I would have to imagine that this would only be magnified in a niche hockey market.

[hardflip177 1]

I live in the greater Sacramento area. You're correct about having to drive too far for quality serivce and expertise. However, the quesiton remains, would the local hockey community support a small shop? I'd love to own and operate a shop but with everything that I have read, it seems that small retailers have it pretty tough due to large online retailers. I would have to imagine that this would only be magnified in a niche hockey market.

I'd have to agree unfortunately. I would love the convenience of having a good store for things locally, but the online market is really good and seems to be really price conscious.

What about becoming a rep? That seems like you would be able to fit both needs: being able to sell hockey gear and not have to put yourself out their financially. Check that market out there. I wouldn't be surprised to see the smaller or struggling retailers out their that would love to have a local rep (think Tron, Sher-wood, etc).

Another thing that I have done, not with hockey, is become a retailer on Craigslist. Be the guy that has stuff locally for emergencies (tape, blades, screws and hardware, bearing maintenance). Maybe that would feed your desire.

Good luck and let me know. I'd be interested in knowing how to become a rep....

[YesLanges 127]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I didn't want to start a new thread for it. Is there anything under the bench area of rinks that has a strong magnetic field? I wear a mechanical watch and I keep my valuables in a bag behind our bench during games. On several occasions, the watch lost about a half hour during the hour or so that it was back there. Ordinarily, the watch is very accurate.

[Playmakersedge 58]

On 7/7/2006 at 8:26 PM, jimmy said:

I agree with you, those who don't have LHS's nearby have a dillema. When I was in the military and stationed at god-forsaken places that had no LHS's, I had to rely on advice given by phone from a trusted LHS in another part of the country. We didn't have online and ebay stores. However for every one person like you who doesn't have a LHS nearby and is using the board for true need, there are 20 who are on these boards just to save a buck, no other reason. You don't have to believe me, on this board alone you will find many posts from folks, who admit scamming their LHS, trying stuff on and then buying from ebay or online. Perfect example is the post above. Until you've been scammed, you really don't know how it feels.

Well the lhs is a business that we all need as hockey players.  To keep the business open helps all the players in a specific area  .  Yeah you may pay a little more on something.  But that service will be available to you come time for cutting a profile and sharpening.  The two lhs that were around  when I was coming up threw youth to eventually pro ; were instrumental in my career.   I worked on cars starting at 10 to pay for most of hockey.  They spoke well of me to local college coaches power skating and conditioning coaches  . These guys got me the opportunity.  One shop was owned by an ex Boston bruin  .  At twelve I went threw four pair of skates  needing my fith from growing.  Gives me super tacks .  I know it' not always like that  .   We need guys like that around.   We gotta keep the lhs open.      I thinking about a mobile hockey shop . Sell choice brands. Give red carpet service.        How do you think that would be received?  

[mickz 107]

On 10/21/2016 at 12:16 AM, YesLanges said:

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I didn't want to start a new thread for it. Is there anything under the bench area of rinks that has a strong magnetic field? I wear a mechanical watch and I keep my valuables in a bag behind our bench during games. On several occasions, the watch lost about a half hour during the hour or so that it was back there. Ordinarily, the watch is very accurate.

Negative.  All you're gonna find underneath the surface is concrete slab (or sand depending on your rink) and brine lines.

[caveman27 208]

On 10/21/2016 at 3:16 AM, YesLanges said:

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I didn't want to start a new thread for it. Is there anything under the bench area of rinks that has a strong magnetic field? I wear a mechanical watch and I keep my valuables in a bag behind our bench during games. On several occasions, the watch lost about a half hour during the hour or so that it was back there. Ordinarily, the watch is very accurate.

No.

Is someone going into your bag and resetting the time while you are on the ice?

[YesLanges 127]

14 hours ago, caveman27 said:

No.

Is someone going into your bag and resetting the time while you are on the ice?

That would be impossible without being noticed and it's happened during stick time, too...my stuff is actually under the penalty box bench to keep it out of the way, especially when there are a bunch of those foam bumpers for kids and other training shit piled up right behind our benches. It's not just in one of those small valuables bags, either; it's a decent-size trainer's bag with a ton of other shit and the watch is in a zippered padded case inside a much smaller valuables bag under all that other shit in there.  

[caveman27 208]

13 hours ago, YesLanges said:

That would be impossible without being noticed and it's happened during stick time, too...my stuff is actually under the penalty box bench to keep it out of the way, especially when there are a bunch of those foam bumpers for kids and other training shit piled up right behind our benches. It's not just in one of those small valuables bags, either; it's a decent-size trainer's bag with a ton of other shit and the watch is in a zippered padded case inside a much smaller valuables bag under all that other shit in there.  

Interesting. What if you put a battery-powered watch in the same bag with your high-end mechanical watch just to see what would happen. As far as I know, the penalty box, team benches, and timekeeping box are just raised wooden platforms on top of concrete.

[YesLanges 127]

17 minutes ago, caveman27 said:

Interesting. What if you put a battery-powered watch in the same bag with your high-end mechanical watch just to see what would happen. As far as I know, the penalty box, team benches, and timekeeping box are just raised wooden platforms on top of concrete.

I think if I were going to try to figure it out, I'd just bring a compass to the rink to see if there's a strong magnetic field there somewhere. The weird thing is it only happens once in a while and to two different watches with similar movements (and I never forget to keep them wound). I always put the bag in roughly the same place and neither of those watches has ever done anything like that anywhere else in 10+ years...it's just at the rink and only once in a while, but when it's happened, they're like a half an hour or an hour slow after only about 90 minutes off my wrist, which would have to be a relatively strong magnetic field.