The Things Customers Do

[Goalieboy#1 1]

He ended up going across town to the PIAS and they had them. He bought them and brought them back to the first store to get them sharpened (only $3 for it) and told the owner they were only 35$ there.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Goalieboy#1

[jimmy 194]

How come people when talking online prices never add in the shipping and mandatory handling fees. You're looking at another $10-12 just for that from most online stores. So when you buy a pair of LS2 runners from HG for $50 and add the S&H, you are getting a pair for $60 or so, and you don't get them sharpened. So when comparing to the $70 the LHS may charge, you're actually getting a pretty good deal.

Also, many people buy one runner. If you break one and the skates are fairly new, no need to get a pair, blade matching is not that complicated.

[Goalieboy#1 1]

He was going to buy from the LHS, and he knew that it would probably be more expensive than online maybe even after shipping. But he deffinitaly (sp?) wasnt ready when he said $75.

And to Vakar, i dont know/think it matters but he didnt help us at all. We came in and asked if we could see the Rocket Runners before he bought them. He handed them to us and went in his office to do whatever, leaving us to put them on ourselves. He went and asked how much they were, and he said $75, my friend said oh, walked back to the front took them off and brought them back to the owner....

[thenaturalgreat1 0]

What really bugs me is when people come in the store when we are closed, i mean i guess its not enough of a hint that the lights are off, and the sign says closed, and the blinds are pulled down on the door, and im counting money in the register when they open the door.

Why don't you just lock the doors?

i work in a shop thats in a rink, only the managers of the rink have a key to the shop.

[Powerfibers 8]

Nevermind, missed JR's link. Posted the same one.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Powerfibers

[fieldofdreams 0]

What really bugs me is when people come in the store when we are closed, i mean i guess its not enough of a hint that the lights are off, and the sign says closed, and the blinds are pulled down on the door, and im counting money in the register when they open the door.

Why don't you just lock the doors?

i work in a shop thats in a rink, only the managers of the rink have a key to the shop.

There's no way to lock it from the inside without a key?

[adam14 182]

yesterday, im waiting for my skates and some guy comes in.

Guy: i need some new skates, I wore Grafs before but there ruined, size 9, i have pretty wide feet, what can you recommend?

Clerk: the S15's are our best seller, they lightweight and modern.

Me: or you could measure his foot, to actually see where he fits depending on models?

Clerk: Good idea, god sometimes i think you should be running this store.

Me: (to myself) yeh.. me too.

[thenaturalgreat1 0]

What really bugs me is when people come in the store when we are closed, i mean i guess its not enough of a hint that the lights are off, and the sign says closed, and the blinds are pulled down on the door, and im counting money in the register when they open the door.

Why don't you just lock the doors?

i work in a shop thats in a rink, only the managers of the rink have a key to the shop.

There's no way to lock it from the inside without a key?

nope

[Chappie 0]

lol... if you can't fork out some money to save your nuts, why bother keeping them?

I don't know though... I do understand what you guys mean by getting pissed off at people who try on skates then get them off the internet, but I mean, for someone like me, a college student who only gets about 20 hrs of work in a week and cant afford a lot: A. the only skates ALL of, if at all my LHS carry if any in my size (7.5d) are high end/top line, and B. sometimes the deals online are just too good.

I got a pair of 07 vector v6.0 special editions for 131.96 from hockeymonkey, and there was nothing in my area (norristown, pa) that could match that in anyway except the bauer vapor XVI's, which did not fit my feet as well as the vectors. If I could've gotten a similar deal from my LHS, I would definitely have gone for it, especially since I wouldn't have to be waiting 6 days to get them, and I could get on the ice quicker, but bottom line is, especially with the economy right now, I can only afford so much, especially when you have to keep your usa hockey membership current and make sure you have enough money for leagues.

I'd love to get in a great report with my lhs, but the best ones stock wise seem to be Center Ice in Oaks and Hockey Haven in Hatfield (if anyone from the PA area knows where that is) and it's hard to get up there on a consistent basis.

That being said, I still like to be as respectful as I can with my LHS', especially because I bet it's harder to keep em going with this economy, and if I do try on skates, gloves, or anything else, I make sure to put them back and to put them back the way they were, etc.

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

I am curious, because nobody seems to be mentioning it when they do these things...

What is the price difference between the LHS you are going to and online?

[fatwabbit 93]

cant speak for those in the US... but I went to the LHS the other day to help a bud get a stick bag. Browsed thru the stick rack while I was there... a few 'local' branded OPS, which were pretty good sticks IMHO. I got one of them myself from a buddy and didnt realise they were $350 each!

Also, I saw the Bauer XXXX OPS there as well... a nice stick for $500 ?????? WTF man!

Even if you bought online, and included shipping, it wouldnt be THAT expensive. Once again, thank you MSH for making me a gear whore!

Edited January 10, 2009 by fatwabbit

[Hartford's Own 0]

I am curious, because nobody seems to be mentioning it when they do these things...

What is the price difference between the LHS you are going to and online?

I don't think there is much of a difference on the high end stuff, For the most part a $529 rbk 9k is the same online/LHS. Its usually when you start finding last years stuff that online stores seem to just blow the stuff out, all they have to do is update a picture (seeing as its sitting in a warehouse anyways), where as most LHS still have to pay for floor space and whatnot and then someone needs to go through and mark down inventory. While I would suggest people supporting any LHS its pretty easy to go online see if a place has something, call the LHS see if they have it in stock, if they dont just go ahead and buy it online and have it sent to your house/apartment, and not have to trek 1/2 an hour to the local place. Ive also had a number of encounters with LHS workers that have ranged from Great to Seriously Poor. Some places online get things in far advance and some of those gotta have now people would rather get right away then wait a couple of weeks. Some online places also get rid of shipping charges after a certain amount. Mind you I am not supporting online shopping, just pointing out some things that may have lead to why people get stuff online.

Mind you I still don't think anyone should use a LHS as a fitting room and take advantage of that only to order stuff online, but sometimes customer service can turn someone away. I also think anything of importance such as Skates or a Helmet should be purchased after having them fitted, I drive an hour and a half up to Mass to (the not so local hockey shop) get Skates fitted and baked because Ive had poor experiences locally with some of the staff around here.

[acqant 0]

I am curious, because nobody seems to be mentioning it when they do these things...

What is the price difference between the LHS you are going to and online?

Just got some new graf ultra g5's from lhs that were $50 cheaper than online. Another LHS that didn't have my size and was at my inlaws so I wouldn't have been back was the same price.

Maybe that's just graf, I don't know.

[Race4LastPlace 31]

since its a 2 hour drive for me, i tend to shop online more often than not. But i never get to use the shop as a 'fitting room'. When i make the trip there, its usually with a purpose of getting skates, or i know i want to make several purchases of different gloves/sticks getting a couple each at a time. I'll shop online, but its almost always closeout and older models of things (except skates). But i try to give as much of my money to the shop as possible, cause they've been more than helpful.

[Chappie 0]

I am curious, because nobody seems to be mentioning it when they do these things...

What is the price difference between the LHS you are going to and online?

For me it's usually between 20 and 40% thought some stuff is the same at my LHS, some cheaper, but mostly a lot more expensive. My LHS had a pair of last years v8.0s left in my size and were selling it for something like 239.00 and at hockey monkey they are going for about 189.00 I believe. Also, RBK 5k's are like 260.00, hockey monkey lists them at 240.00. The biggest differences I notice are on skates and helmets. Sticks are usually similar, not that much difference, gloves are usually exact same, same for pants and pads, but there will be sales online that never come up in my LHS'. In fact, for the most part, I do not see too many sales in my LHS, but then again, unfortunately, I haven't been able to shop during gear line change overs, never had a need before. This year, however, will be different. ;)

[fieldofdreams 0]

In response to JR's question about price difference, don't forget that when you buy online, you have to pay for the 1st sharpening and baking. Add that into the "price" of the internet skates.

[Chappie 0]

In response to JR's question about price difference, don't forget that when you buy online, you have to pay for the 1st sharpening and baking. Add that into the "price" of the internet skates.

While thats true, I really only trust one guy to do my bakes/sharpens, and he does not carry ccm/reebok skates, which are the brands that fit my feet better, so it doesnt really balance out for me either way.

[Yoke 0]

I am curious, because nobody seems to be mentioning it when they do these things...

What is the price difference between the LHS you are going to and online?

For me, I buy most of my stuff locally because it costs the same as online, and I get to try it on. One of the places, you pay 25 bucks and get a discount on gear for a year, so things end up actually being cheaper than online.

The only stuff I buy online is stuff that I can't find locally (like the Infinity gloves I just got).

[crazy-luke-finch 0]

because gear is a lot more expensive here in the UK, my LHS gives a 10% discount to anyone on a registered ice/inline team. It doesn't make the prices as low as the online retailers, but it definatley helps.

[adam14 182]

I usually buy all my gear in canada because its so much cheaper, except when i can get deals through the pro teams thanks to some connections, thats where i usually get my sticks and skates, just because for the most part, there isnt a Huge difference in pricing when it comes to skates and sticks once tax are added on.

[mwerth 5]

The savings I see are usually $15-20 an item cheaper online vs. at a local shop. Of course the savings are a little greater on more expensive items/a little less on cheaper items, but if I'm ordering more than one thing online then I definitely save. I have always bought my skates locally, though, because like numerous people have said, nothing beats actually trying them on.

I notice the big difference between ordering online and purchasing locally is the availability of higher-end gear. Unfortunately, most of the high-end stuff isn't carried at the shops near me, so they would have to order the items anyway. More often than not, items my shop has to order end up not being in stock with NBH, etc., so they can't even get them for me anyway. I do try to go to them first, though, before I go the online route.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I haven't noticed much of a difference in savings, perhaps with closeout sticks online, but for the most part, the LHS that I use (fairfax ice arena and the gardens ice house in laurel) are very competitive.

When I bought my NBH supreme 30 skates at Laurel, they were $139 +tax, came to $152. He baked them, sharpened them and threw in a pair of wax laces.

The online price at the time (I did compare), was $129.

A recent look in fairfax, I saw last years RBK 5k pump skates senior size retailing at $124. They are $169 on hockeygiant, however that is for the white ones, which I know are more expensive.

Also, Mike up in Laurel told me before that they will price match.

The last thing I bought online (MSH wheeling and dealing excluded) was a CCM shaft and OPS from Hockeygiant, however, that was only because my family are all still back in Ireland, and they got me an online gift cert for my birthday.

I try to shop local as much as possible, both hockey and homebrew, because I need the stores to stay here

[Chappie 0]

I haven't noticed much of a difference in savings, perhaps with closeout sticks online, but for the most part, the LHS that I use (fairfax ice arena and the gardens ice house in laurel) are very competitive.

When I bought my NBH supreme 30 skates at Laurel, they were $139 +tax, came to $152. He baked them, sharpened them and threw in a pair of wax laces.

The online price at the time (I did compare), was $129.

A recent look in fairfax, I saw last years RBK 5k pump skates senior size retailing at $124. They are $169 on hockeygiant, however that is for the white ones, which I know are more expensive.

Also, Mike up in Laurel told me before that they will price match.

The last thing I bought online (MSH wheeling and dealing excluded) was a CCM shaft and OPS from Hockeygiant, however, that was only because my family are all still back in Ireland, and they got me an online gift cert for my birthday.

I try to shop local as much as possible, both hockey and homebrew, because I need the stores to stay here

Wow, wish I would've known that, I would've called them and see if they had any of those 5k's in my size, I love last years rbk line of pumps. :(

[Monty22 821]

A few weeks ago I was at my LHS when I saw a teenager trying on One95 skates throw up all over them and himself. As his family helped the poor bastard who had to mop it up, the gentleman who I presume was the grandfather said "I'm not surprised, we all have the flu". Thanks for sharing it with everyone in the store. I left as the skates were going into the oven. Don't think I could have taken the stench of baked vomit. At least he bought the skates though...

Edited January 13, 2009 by Monty22

[Scurvy 3]

I was recently at my non-primary LHS with one of my buddies who was getting fitted for skates. During the fitting process, I already knew that my buddy fits in a junior skate. However, the sales guy deliberately said that he won't fit into junior skates and will only fit into senior sizes. It's pretty ridiculous that the sales guy is only concerned with squeezing more money out of a customer instead of ensuring a proper fit.