Buying composite sticks as Christmas presents (Warranty problem?)

[JR Boucicaut 3768]

Spoke to a friend of mine today, who owns a couple of stores.

I asked him how his holiday season went; he said that sales were okay, and that he barely sold any OPS during the holiday, due to the fact that the kid doesn't get to use the stick immediately, therefore the warranty window is shortened.

I remember when I was in retail, I used to add "Christmas present" in the comments on the receipt, but really had no idea if the manufacturers actually honored that; the store owner told me that they don't.

Retailers; do you witness this in your store during the holidays? Parents; are you less inclined to buy a composite stick for your child for Christmas due to this?

[DarkStar50 679]

We leave the warranty sticker on the stick to let the kid confirm this is the stick he wants. So far, this has worked out OK.

[JR Boucicaut 3768]

That's not what I am saying; if a parent buys the stick on Dec 10, by the time the kid gets the stick, 15 warranty days have lapsed. And if they don't have games the entire holiday week, it may get to the point that they have less than a week.

The point my friend was making was that parents were not buying sticks at his stores at this time because they felt that they would lose out on warranty coverage.

"Refunding" and "reselling" the stick after Christmas is just too much work. That just puts yourself in an awkward situation; people would abuse that.

[jsykes 35]

My store we do just that "refund and resell."

We have definitely found that parents are not willing to buy sticks for this reason, when I implemented the offer to "resell" it to them, they will then pony up and buy the stick. The requirement I put on it is that when they come back to get the new receipt, the stick must still have the warranty sticker attached, be uncut, unused, untaped, and within a few days of the new year, just as a brand new stick would be.

In this way they can buy when they want and make sure its what the kid wants before being committed to it. Its worked well for us.

[jbss71 1]

I thought that's what a gift certificate is for?

[JR Boucicaut 3768]

Gift certificate doesn't guarantee that the exact stick will be there when you come back to redeem it.

My store we do just that "refund and resell."

We have definitely found that parents are not willing to buy sticks for this reason, when I implemented the offer to "resell" it to them, they will then pony up and buy the stick. The requirement I put on it is that when they come back to get the new receipt, the stick must still have the warranty sticker attached, be uncut, unused, untaped, and within a few days of the new year, just as a brand new stick would be.

In this way they can buy when they want and make sure its what the kid wants before being committed to it. Its worked well for us.

I used to do it, like I said, but would encounter those who bought elsewhere and tried to do the same thing. "But, it's just an exchange, you're not losing any money..."

[raganblink 82]

Every year sticks bought pre-25th for christmas presents, that break after 30 days of purchase but before Jan 24th, they have honored them, atleast thru our shop. Haven't heard of a case where they haven't done it. I'm pretty sure they extend all warranty claims to the 24th that are bought those first couple weeks into christmas. Those sticks that obviously have been used before christmas they might accept, but i don't think they do...

At Christmas time the kids are usually gifted a stick they normally wouldn't have gotten... Don't want to make yourself look shitty when your 200 dollar stick breaks within two weeks and not give the kid a replacement. It makes the company look good and keeps customer happy.

[JR Boucicaut 3768]

Funny, he told me the exact opposite.

I've never seen an official stance from a manufacturer on the matter. Let's use my example again; parent buys stick on the 10th; kid uses immediately. Does that now mean he has a 44-day warranty if he is able to put in a claim up to Jan 24?

[HockeySavants 5]

The LHS I'm close with has this holiday policy:

"Manufacturers Warranty on Sticks is 30 days from Date of Purchase. If you are buying a stick as a gift, consider allowing the person to come try out a stick at our shop, so that he/she may receive the full 30 days of warranty."

Sticks must be exchanged within 7 days of purchase and must be in New, Uncut or taped condition.

We also match the serial number on the original invoice.

Only reason why the shop chooses this strict but fair policy is that it keeps them from being the middle man in warranty exchange, and that way there are less returns with giftees choosing the exact stick they want.

I have seen many scenarios where dad thinks he bought the right stick, ends up being exchanged because the kid wanted Supreme or Vapor, Easton over Bauer, flex, etc.

There has been people who have mentioned "I know exactly what they want but I want to surprise them, can my warranty date be dated 12-25-2011?" ....the answer that always works is: "For legal reasons the manufacturer will not accepted a tampered invoice and would void your warranty"

We offer a gift cheque of course so that they can come back here.

[AIREAYE 248]

Not going to speak for my entire store, but I've noticed that stick sales haven't dropped off. If anything there have been an increase in top-line sticks sold with the recipient actually present. There have been quite a few instances where the buyer comes in knowing more or less the specs of whatever stick they want to buy (ie 77 flex L, APX P88) and we just give them an overview and mention the 30 day warranty. As far as I have seen though, there have been no issues or concerns regarding holding off stick purchases due to warranty with reasons I can only guess upon.

[JR Boucicaut 3768]

I would assume in this case, the stick's going to be used right away.

If anything there have been an increase in top-line sticks sold with the recipient actually present.

[Axxion89 32]

I have heard many parents in the locker room talk about the stick buying issue. Some parents buy a cheapo stick and tape a gift card or note for a nice stick so that there is something to unwrap for the kids and some just give the gift card. I heard some mention the refund/re-sell method but for the most part, I heard gift cards and the LHS I go to pushes that over the stick since the gift cards are non-refundable = instant sale.

[jsykes 35]

I used to do it, like I said, but would encounter those who bought elsewhere and tried to do the same thing. "But, it's just an exchange, you're not losing any money..."

That is why I'm very specific when the issue arises. As I said above, they have to meet all that criteria (as if I were to take a stick on an actual return), but I did leave out that they must have the original receipt as well. Without all that criteria met, we do not do it and we make sure we tell anyone buying a stick as a gift that this is what will need to be done so there is no confusion.

I agree, it does leave open the possibility for issues to arise, however, it hasnt been an issue at this point May not work for all, but it has for us.

As an example, I had a mother looking at some sticks, she said she was going to wait till after the holiday just for this very reason of the warranty. When I told her outr policy and we'd work with her, she bought three top of the line sticks for her three kids. Sticks we may still have been likely to sell, but you never know if they'll actually be back or not, so I like to have it done and money in my hand with no question if all it takes is a little bit of working with the customer.

[raganblink 82]

I have heard many parents in the locker room talk about the stick buying issue. Some parents buy a cheapo stick and tape a gift card or note for a nice stick so that there is something to unwrap for the kids and some just give the gift card. I heard some mention the refund/re-sell method but for the most part, I heard gift cards and the LHS I go to pushes that over the stick since the gift cards are non-refundable = instant sale.

Non-refundable, plus if they get a $75 gift card, they're going to get more then $75, usually $100 stick or item. Or they'll pool that together with cash they got and instant top-end sale. I love Christmas.

[OpenIceHit42 2]

I'm in the same boat right now (sort of).

My Easton EQ40 is getting ready to go so I am stick shopping, sure I can run out to my local store and pick up a stick but Hockeygiant is running a pretty good sale right now on sticks (making me want to buy two while the sale is going on) to where I can almost get 2 for the price of one in my local store. However with me living in St.Louis and them shipping from California I'd lose almost a week's worth of warranty, the sale ends tonight so I have to make sure I want to take the chance of the warranty being well out the window by the time I get to the 2nd stick.

This is the response I received from their customer service when I questioned the warranty.

You will have 30 days of warranty from the date you place an order. If anything happens to a stick a little over the 30 day period, you may call the manufacture and ask if they can make an exception due to the delivery wait time. If you have further questions, please let us know.

[krwwc6 0]

I'm in the same boat right now (sort of).

My Easton EQ40 is getting ready to go so I am stick shopping, sure I can run out to my local store and pick up a stick but Hockeygiant is running a pretty good sale right now on sticks (making me want to buy two while the sale is going on) to where I can almost get 2 for the price of one in my local store. However with me living in St.Louis and them shipping from California I'd lose almost a week's worth of warranty, the sale ends tonight so I have to make sure I want to take the chance of the warranty being well out the window by the time I get to the 2nd stick.

This is the response I received from their customer service when I questioned the warranty.

I've found some pretty good deals locally as of late. All discounted items are an additional 25% off until (I think) january 7th at Johnny Mac's. They've still got x60's and x60LE skates in stock for really cheap. . . . sticks is the same way, my buddy just got an vapor x60 stick for real low. I think the discount price is comparable if not lower to that of hockey giant.

I'm not sure about total hockey as I haven't been in there lately, but they'll match any price of a local store.

[OpenIceHit42 2]

I've found some pretty good deals locally as of late. All discounted items are an additional 25% off until (I think) january 7th at Johnny Mac's. They've still got x60's and x60LE skates in stock for really cheap. . . . sticks is the same way, my buddy just got an vapor x60 stick for real low. I think the discount price is comparable if not lower to that of hockey giant.

I'm not sure about total hockey as I haven't been in there lately, but they'll match any price of a local store.

Awesome. I'll swing by and check them out. I was just in JMacs last night but didn't browse the sticks.