Vapor prices

[HotBacon 0]

To all you shop owners out there...when do you anticipate being able (or better stated - having to) start dropping the prices of the Vapor line of skates? With the One90's coming out I would assume the Vapor's will be going the way of the 8090s soon. Correct?

[jbyun04 7]

i think they'll keep making them. They'd be too dumb to just dump a line of skates thats been doing so well, but after this year the Flexlite skates are going the way of 8090s. Unless they come out with another model of Vapors like XL or XXXX or whatever you wanna call it it'll probably stay the same price.

[Gongshow11 1]

i just bought a pair of vap xxs for 250$ online

[donkey87 0]

The Vapors are in the 2006 catalogue, meaning they be around for at least another year. I don't think you'll see many shops lowering the prices.

[warrior37 0]

pretty sure the Vapor XXs are doneskis, but the XXXs are still around

[Megamandan 0]

Last years vapor line still exists this year. Just a new Supreme line. XX's are discontinued.

[tekdawg 0]

I hear NBH adjusted the Vapor XXX price point.. ie. they will be getting more expensive probrably....

[sogaduch 0]

yeah vapors and supremes are two different boots all together so there is no reason for the vapors to go down in price since they both fit differently

[Fredrik 0]

How about the RBK:s 7 & 8K.s, without the Pump feature?

[jimmy 194]

How about the RBK:s 7 & 8K.s, without the Pump feature?

I marked my 8k's down big time.

[suppaman 0]

How about the RBK:s 7 & 8K.s, without the Pump feature?

yeah everywhere ive seen (online and locally) the previous year rbk skates (ie: no pump..8K etc) were marked down quite a bit

[sogaduch 0]

How about the RBK:s 7 & 8K.s, without the Pump feature?

we also marked them down alot but we got some stuff from rbk i think it was helmets

[biff44 0]

Why the heck do the manufacturers feel compelled to keep changing their product every year? Of all the sports, hockey players are the most sensitive group of players to ANY change in their equipment. How often to you start the season by going to the LHS to find an exact replacement for some piece of gear that you practically live with and are told "oh, they don't make THAT anymore!".

[mew1838 0]

Why the heck do the manufacturers feel compelled to keep changing their product every year? Of all the sports, hockey players are the most sensitive group of players to ANY change in their equipment. How often to you start the season by going to the LHS to find an exact replacement for some piece of gear that you practically live with and are told "oh, they don't make THAT anymore!".

totally agree !!!!

[DarkStar50 680]

Shin pads made with felt, bulky and loose pants, soft elbow pads, beer league shoulder pads, 5 lb leather gloves that are 16", all leather skates that have no support because leather breaks down quickly and will rot with tubular carbon steel blades that rust, all leather helmets that offer little to no protection, and heavy wood sticks with a fibreglass wrap on the blade only. If the companies didn't bother to make the equipment better, stronger, and lighter, look into your old canvas equipment bag and this is what you would find. And I'm old enough to have started playing when this stuff was in my equipment bag. There will always be some great piece of gear no longer available(original Winnwell helmet) but you guys would flip out if this is what you had to use today. Sorry to sound like the old geezer but actually I think it would be funny to see you guys play in that gear!

[jimmy 194]

New equipment is fine, introducing new models mid year screws the retailer and artificially raises prices. We have to recoup our losses from the models no one wants anymore, e.g, 8k. I'm selling them for less than $300 and still zero interest. Huge loss on all left in stock.

Also, changing the paint job and slaping in a different liner or a minor change is NOT innovation. Way different than leather helmet analogy. Simply marketing.

[DarkStar50 680]

New equipment is fine, introducing new models mid year screws the retailer and artificially raises prices.  We have to recoup our losses from the models no one wants anymore, e.g, 8k. I'm selling them for less than $300 and still zero interest. Huge loss on all left in stock.

Also, changing the paint job and slaping in a different liner or a minor change is NOT innovation.  Way different than leather helmet analogy. Simply marketing.

Sounds like you overbooked the 8K. Book 2 deliveries and cancel the second when your first delivery of 8K are gathering dust.

Leather helmet analogy? You have been hit in the head too many times playing goal! The worst helmet today offers more protection than my Cooper SK20 ever did. If there is one piece of equipment that the vendors have to pay special attention to long before it gets to your shop it is the helmet. HECC tests and there own production tests are extremely tight. Fact: If one helmet in a production run of 500 fails, the other 499 are rejected. Marketing a helmet is the last piece of that puzzle.

[mew1838 0]

Why does no one want the 8ks beside that it is abit dull looking? Its a great skate actually....

[Gongshow11 1]

maybe cuz it was a first year skate by a new company? like why does hardly anyone wear nike?

or maybe someone saw an ankle bender like you wearing them and quit hockey

[mew1838 0]

well nikes were bad but the reeboks are great...

[MJDhcky9 0]

Why the heck do the manufacturers feel compelled to keep changing their product every year? Of all the sports, hockey players are the most sensitive group of players to ANY change in their equipment. How often to you start the season by going to the LHS to find an exact replacement for some piece of gear that you practically live with and are told "oh, they don't make THAT anymore!".

Good example that pisses me off is the 8090. Great skate now its gone. Finally got a skate that fits me right and it becomes discontinued.

[ash_96 0]

New equipment is fine, introducing new models mid year screws the retailer and artificially raises prices.  We have to recoup our losses from the models no one wants anymore, e.g, 8k. I'm selling them for less than $300 and still zero interest. Huge loss on all left in stock.

Also, changing the paint job and slaping in a different liner or a minor change is NOT innovation.  Way different than leather helmet analogy. Simply marketing.

Sounds like you overbooked the 8K. Book 2 deliveries and cancel the second when your first delivery of 8K are gathering dust.

Leather helmet analogy? You have been hit in the head too many times playing goal! The worst helmet today offers more protection than my Cooper SK20 ever did. If there is one piece of equipment that the vendors have to pay special attention to long before it gets to your shop it is the helmet. HECC tests and there own production tests are extremely tight. Fact: If one helmet in a production run of 500 fails, the other 499 are rejected. Marketing a helmet is the last piece of that puzzle.

I think what Jimmy is saying is that manufacturers are making minor changes to skates etc and releasing them as a new line. This means theres no real innovation here at all, just a color change and a few other things, maybe a few grams taken off, nothing major.

He said it isn't like the leather helmet analogy because when they brought out the newer designed helmets they were much more protective, and that was good innovation and really helped the sport. unlike the changes that are happenning to most lines these days.

[mew1838 0]

Why the heck do the manufacturers feel compelled to keep changing their product every year?  Of all the sports, hockey players are the most sensitive group of players to ANY change in their equipment.  How often to you start the season by going to the LHS to find an exact replacement for some piece of gear that you practically live with and are told "oh, they don't make THAT anymore!".

Good example that pisses me off is the 8090. Great skate now its gone. Finally got a skate that fits me right and it becomes discontinued.

Can you still custom order it?

[crutesie 0]

Just Bought a Pair OF XX's for $80

just for a spare pair though.

[iron Ghost 0]

for the guy loving the 8090, atleast the supreme 70 will have the same fit so you should be able to find them down the road when its finally time to replace your 8090s.

The reebok 8k, God am I glad that we didnt book those originally. Great skate but the general public is always slow to try things from a new company, especially a shoe company buying hockey companies. It doesnt matter how great or innovative the product is like someone said earlier, hockey players like what they had and are not open to new. We carried the pump skates and have been extremely successful with them. The pump gave RBK a niche different from the rest. The 8k wouldve been a hit had they put the pump on the original skate line.

Why do companies come out with new gear so often? Simple answer..... THE KIDS! Kids drive the market. They want whatever is new not because the old stuff is broken but simply because its new (one piece sticks for example). Kids are forced to buy new equipment annually because they grow. Kids are the most influenced by marketing and gimmicks (see american hockey magazine and the thousands of ads). Although us beer leaguers love our stuff we shop probably 1/3 as much as the avg 13 year old at the LHS.

Now I will say that as a shop manager I despise when companies dont atleast give you a christmas to sell their hot new product. The si core grip for example, arrived in the stores in spring, the stealth was out before christmas. That equals a lot of markdowned sticks that we lost $$$$ on (thanks easton). As quickly as certain companies add and drop new products, its sometimes hard to book them the following year because you dont want to get screwed again. Mission inline is another company that runs like this but I just heard that they will be carrying over a few skates into next year for the first time in a long time.