LHS versus online shopping

[kredmore 2]

I know this has been discussed before. I would like to ask opinions of other shoppers and store owners/employess what they think is reasonable when paying more at a LHS.

I was at my LHS recently - which I have high respect - looking for a helmet/cage combo for my son. The owner helps us with selection/fit, and we are happy. A RBK 6k combo. Price $150. Online price later when I got home was $100. That's a 50% markup. Then I notice with some other equipment (protective) for example, it's only $10, $20. But as a percentage, still high IMHO. XXX gloves $170 at LHS, $130 online.

My thought is paying more is expected, but that high % may be too much. Maybe that's normal, and I need to adjust my expectations.

So, I'm curious to get others thoughts on what higher price is reasonable for overhead, inventory, service, etc.?

[li7039 0]

at my LHS they charge a fitting fee. But for skates you get to find out what fits you best. You get free baking and a free sharping. If you buy online you gotta pay for all that, and if you try on the skates there they charge you a $10 fitting fee

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

my LHS is pretty good with prices. Most of the time if you factor in shipping, there is usually a 10-15 dollar difference between online and LHS, however, I'm happy to support th local shop and I consider that little bit of extra money a "get your equipment now" fee :P

[Doctor Hook 0]

I'll usually search online and do price comparisons. Then visit my LHS and see what they offer. Sometimes they have a better price, sometimes they don't. But it's worth it to do some homework beforehand.

I also love looking at equipment.

[Buzz_LightBeer 975]

its two facet-ed

1. buying that helmet sight unseen you wouldve been guessing on size, fit etc. to me thats worth spending a little extra on.

2. most online stores get quantity discounts, so the mark up on it is equal percentage wise. (i.e. a small retail shop pays 105 for a helmet that an big online store buys for 89. mark that up 50pts = 157 in store, 125 online, making the sme percent

[kredmore 2]

Agreed.....I am very respectful of paying more for the service and overhead....just seems like a lot at times.

If #2 is accurate, then thanks for helping the diff make more sense to me.

On the skates, I fully agree - LHS is the way to go for fit and service.

[Tyler B 0]

i always goto my lhs. Only way id use online is if i couldnt find my synergy st's but untill the day that easton decides to discontinue them i wont have to go online.

[MLSman 22]

I guess I am lucky...two big online dealers are within an hour of me...so I get to bargain shop at 4 different stores when it comes to equipment. That said...the only time I buy online is when the LHS does not have the color of something I am looking for...such as white-out NBH 4 roll gloves or a blue oakley visor. At any other point...I ALWAYS buy local. It is pretty sweet to have Kemps in Albany...their prices are on par with the best online shops. I will never buy skates anywhere else.

[mmmjags 0]

You guys with local shops should feel lucky. The closest shop to me is about 1.5 hours away, and it's not too great.

[Law Goalie 147]

Price $150. Online price later when I got home was $100. That's a 50% markup.

There's something of a danger in thinking of that as a % markup. The cost per helmet for your LHS is higher by a certain amount, simply because they don't sell as many as a giant online store; the LHS pays more for its physical location; it pays more for shipping; and it pays staff to fit you. It's not that the LHS says, "Let's mark this up by 50% because we can," they just have to account for a lot of small, determinate costs that add to the price of that helmet.

As for skates, I think people are beginning to catch on. My LHS is now really soaking people who bring in brand new skates they obviously bought online: they'll probably end up paying close to $100 for sharpening, baking and punching, and the LHS makes a point of saying that. They seem to have a lot fewer of those sort of people now.

[kredmore 2]

I guess I am lucky...two big online dealers are within an hour of me...so I get to bargain shop at 4 different stores when it comes to equipment. That said...the only time I buy online is when the LHS does not have the color of something I am looking for...such as white-out NBH 4 roll gloves or a blue oakley visor. At any other point...I ALWAYS buy local. It is pretty sweet to have Kemps in Albany...their prices are on par with the best online shops. I will never buy skates anywhere else.

What are the 3 others in the Albany area?

Price $150. Online price later when I got home was $100. That's a 50% markup.

they just have to account for a lot of small, determinate costs that add to the price of that helmet.

I think we all agree with a higher price at at LHS. What I was asking is what's reasonable. If 50% higher (maybe markup was the wrong word) is ok, then should all products be 50% higher. $500 skates=$750?

[Hockeydog 8]

I think if you have a LHS that is reputable the extra price you pay not only is offset by shipping, baking, sharpening and so on, but also is offset by having a relationship with knowledgeable LHS pros that get to know you and your needs.

[lb33knight 0]

There's something of a danger in thinking of that as a % markup. The cost per helmet for your LHS is higher by a certain amount, simply because they don't sell as many as a giant online store; the LHS pays more for its physical location; it pays more for shipping; and it pays staff to fit you. It's not that the LHS says, "Let's mark this up by 50% because we can," they just have to account for a lot of small, determinate costs that add to the price of that helmet.

There are so many extra costs that most people don't even think about. I just spent another $208 on clothes hangers to be able to display my merchandise, which an online shop doesn't have to do. I just got a new $400 thermal receipt printer which an online store doesn't need because they print invoices/receipts from normal computer printers. Price labels are constantly needed to be purchased as well as many other office supplies. Do the online warehouses have heating and air? We certainly do. My staff gets paid to organize the store, fit for gear, restock, fold t-shirts and clean. Not something that an online store bothers with. Their inventory still sits in the boxes they came in. As it's been stated before, the cost of running a brick and mortar LHS is much greater than a web site and a warehouse.

[wetwilly17 6]

i only buy online when i know exactly what i am getting or if it is not normally carried in stock. another good thing about buying online is that you don't have to pay sales tax if you buy from out of state. in texas sales tax is 8.25% so it can make a big difference.

i just bought vector 10.0 SE's. all the lhs's were selling them for 499.99. i talked some down to 449.99. that's the lowest i could get. i already know what i wear in ccm and i don't usually bake skates. i did some research and got them for 379.99 shipped free, no sales tax. if i bought them at my lhs it would be 449.99 (sales price) + $37.12 (sales tax).

i would rather buy from and support my lhs's, but sometimes the online savings are way too much.

[GoHabsGo24 1]

i was quoted $650 for a pair of one90's the other day at LHS1. I drove 10 mins to LHS2, and they were $500. NBH 4 roll @LHS1 $149 LHS2 $109. They also quoted me $200 for a pair of USED pro stock gloves in so/so condition...Its crazy that LHS1 is so much higher, yet right in the same area...

also note that LHS1 didnt know what skate profiling was, tried to sell me the most expensive of everything i was looking at! Sometimes things like this make me want to shop online, even though i much prefer supporting the local shop.

Needless to say, im buying a pair of skates from LHS2 :)

[deadmanjolt 1]

Here in SoCal, the best stores are actually run by the online guys.

Hawk Hockey(monkey) and Hockeygiant are far and away better than the rink stores and discounthockey where I live.

[wetwilly17 6]

not sure if i'll use hockeymonkey.com anymore. they won't special order. i guess its too much of a bother for them.

[B-Nads 0]

I'd rather buy at a LHS because I am an insanely impatient person and do not want to wait to get shjipments come - especially since as often as not you open a box that does not contain what you ordered...wrong item...wrong size...mad Brent. When I leave the hockey store, I have what I wanted in my hand, in the size and colour I wanted, and to me that alone is worth paying an extra % - within reason.

Most LHS's around here are pretty even across all products, which is to say they are all pricey given we are in Canada...and don't forget the 14% to Mr. Harper and the Bloc. That being said, I am a strong proponent of store loyalty. I have done the shopping around thing, and have found two things:

1. You spend the difference you saved in gas anyway.

2. I only take my skates to one place to be sharpened, and they know that. As such, they also give me pretty good deals on whatever I buy - they at least match the other LHS that sells the same thing lower, but usually beat it or match it and throw in a little treat.

[tomh7 2]

My soft general rule of thumb is:

1) do the online homework and factor in the shipping cost. Most online stores give their fixed S/H cost on their sites.

2) check out the LHS's. For me there are two that are between work and home so I just stop in and look. Check prices and figure in tax.

Here is the rule part. Depending on urgency and availability, if the LHS is within 10-20% of the online price, I go with the LHS. Skates are LHS only, period, end of discussion. If the LHS doesn't have them, I won't buy them until I can try them on and walk around in them for at least 20-30 min.

[Gummer12 134]

Here's a notch in the belt for supporting your LHS..I Just bought a pair of Navy Tackla pants from a small online retailer, (SUPER FAST SHIPPING BTW) which were at what I thought were a Great Price for $100. Including the fast shipping, I was extremely happy. That is, until I went to my local PIAS. They had the same size, same model pair of pants, but in black. for $31. I wasn't in the market for a pair of black pants till December, but at that price, I couldn't resist.

Edit: $40 was my Total with other items included.

[jjleip11 0]

I would stay with the LHS stores to support them, but that's just my style :).

I recently bought some one75's for $270 (originially $399) from my LHS, including the heat bake and sharpening. Granted, they said they were having that sale to make room for the new Bauer models, but nothing on the internet even came close to that deal. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with multiple LHS's, then shop around, it's usually well worth it.

Support your LHS!

[duch 0]

My LHS's offer great beginning and end of season bargains on protective equipment and skates so I tend to stick with them. I don't save a lot of money with online stores because most are in the states and the shipping and import duties eat away at the bottom line. The only way I really save is when I'm driving down to Buffalo N.Y. for cross border shopping at Christmas time. If I happen to be there I always stop in at Great Skate to check the prices on anything I may need. I'm usually there for the weekend anyways so I can claim it without worrying about paying import duties on it going back into Canada.

[raganblink 82]

10% higher than the net is reasonable, for everything. you have to factor in that it costs us more for the product, we have to pay utilities (more warmth, cooling bills), our building usually costs a lot, and we have to have specialized people to help other people rather than some guys in a warehouse who have to find an item and ship it... oh, and the big one - you freaking get the item right now instead of in a week.

For special items, or things that we do not have in stock, online is probably your best item. you'll get it at the same time either way, and then the cost that is slightly cheaper online would be worth it, and justify it imo (i work at a shop and am shocked at how we get a ton of orders on stuff they could get cheaper, and sooner, on totalhockey or monkey or someone).

Problem I have here is that people are stuck up on price. They constantly haggle to get the same price as the net (even if we have it in stock, right in front of them, and it will be the same price after they have the handling and shipping charges...and they get it RIGHT now), or even worse, we have product cheaper than the net, and they bitch and bitch saying how they spending hundreds of dollars a year in here, just so they can get a product even cheaper than what it would be on the net. Those are the worst customers.

Moral - shop at your LHS. Buy on-line when you're buying something, and your LHS doesn't have it, and it will take longer than a week to get it in (like it is backordered until christmas or something).

[big ben 0]

pay a fitting fee? fuck that

[raganblink 82]

pay a fitting fee? fuck that

I could see why people do that... Especially if they are in a market where everyone is notorious for trying skates on, than buying on the net for 20 bucks less.

imo though to those shops who do have fitting fees... New skate sharpening - non-store bought: $20 bucks. Baking, non-store bought: $30 bucks. Depending on the skate, you just made up your loss, and it will entice people to buy from you so they don't have to pay 50 bucks to get them sharpened/baked. Unless of course there are two shops in your town, than you're SOL....