Does the drastic level of overpricing bother you?

[Stewie 721]

I am just laughing at this thread. It is so far off, it is not even funny. Nobody in hockey is getting rich, and I can say margins are much lower in hockey than almost any other sport.

it's the all too common "I did X so I know all about Y " argument.

I gaurantee you if warrior started producing a top end competitive skate at 300 or 400 dollars it would catch on and sell like hot cakes regardless the price level it is. Nike Bauer sold a crap ton of skates, so if that markup is what you say it is, why didn't they keep it up in the hockey world? Anybody would looovvvveeeee to make the kinds of margins your speaking of.

[MaximRecoil 7]

If you were born in 1975, how do you claim to know that hockey skates have been made with plastic inner soles since the 70s? The plastic inner sole was introduced to skates in the 80s. Leather inner soles and leather interiors failed because they rotted out.

The sentence of yours in bold is false, and I can show you screenshots from the movie Slap Shot (1977) to prove it if you want. If you want to look for yourself, all the skates with white soles have plastic soles. There were also skates with uppers made entirely of molded plastic back then, which you can also see in that movie. In any event, I started skating in '79, and my earliest skates were from the '70s of course, as were everyone else's at the rink, and when 1980 rolled around, skates made in the '70s didn't suddenly vanish.

[jonesy9020 77]

http://bit.ly/1bZHMlY

Top of the line skates at a reasonable price. Have a ball OP.

This is absurd.

[Justin 1933 134]

I can say golf had margins that were at a minimum of 20-30% higher at wholesale verse hockey.

[MaximRecoil 7]

http://bit.ly/1bZHMlY

Top of the line skates at a reasonable price. Have a ball OP.

I already have some, except mine are a year older and are not pro stock. Those ones in your link may be a tough sell, since they are in a narrow size and missing two blades and one holder.

This is absurd.

Or so you say.

[DarkStar50 679]

Just what I figured: you don't know an inner sole from an outer sole. The inner sole of Daoust 301 was leather, not the white plastic outer sole. The same white plastic outer sole on Bauer Supreme 92s in Slapshot. So, no my statement isn't false, your knowledge of skate components is.

[Scurvy 3]

According to what I've read, the event was revised in 2008. Do you have any evidence that Gartner's event was different than the events of following years through 2007?

In a hockey book that I used to read at the library when I was a kid, which was written in the early-to-mid 1970s, in a section about skate selection, it said, "A beginner doesn't need a $70 pair of professional skates". However, if you have evidence that you couldn't get a top of the line pair of skates during that time for about $70, I'd be interested in seeing it.

We know that with all business costs included, there are models of skates that can sell at a full retail price of $70, and go on sale for $45. So the cost of $800 to $900 skates can't be explained by business costs.

Check this youtube link:

As you can see, the nets have been moved up to the top of the crease.

In this video in 2009, the nets are in their usual position:

[stnlycup67 38]

I wouldnt assume because employees at LHS are getting "$900 skates for significantly less than 50% of retail" that it has anything to do with cost ....Guy at my LHS told me when the Makos came out, Easton had a deal for shop employees for a pair of skates and a top of the line mako stick for $250. If that is true, Obviously this was below cost and for promotion.. Guy comes in looking for skates or sticks and asks the employee what hes using..ect..ect....or said shop employee thinks the mako skates are the greatest thing since sliced bread, he is bound to tell customers this....Best advertising buck the company can have(personal recommendation at the point of purchase)

EDIT: Maybe I shouldnt say "best".....Wanting what T.J. Oshie is skating on or shooting with "will make my little Johnny the next Olympic star" works also.

[louierev07 31]

I don't know about manufacturing costs, but I do know a few people that work retail who get skates for cost + 10%. Those guys tell me that they can get that $900 Bauer skate for significantly less than 50% of retail. Anecdotal I know, but take from that what you will.

Came here to post this. The first two people that come to mind are one kid who I went to school with got the new RBZs for either 250 or 350, and a guy on my team who wears APX2's and paid 375 :(

It kind of bothers me, but I can afford it (even though it does suck to spend that much on skates or something)

My biggest problem with it is that hockey is an expensive sport in general. Super expensive equipment is just another barrier to entry for kids who may or may not start playing. I grew up playing street hockey with all the kids in my neighborhood. When I reached a certain age, I wanted to start playing on the ice, but money, along with some other reasons is why I never played when I was a kid.

Luckily for me I started playing again in my 20's and I love it (maybe more than if I played as a kid and burnt myself out).

Hockey is an awesome sport, and it sucks that in some places it seems to be losing its popularity. I wish there were more people interested in playing - even at a rec level/womens leagues etc. The more people interested in it the better for all of us.

Sorry if I went off topic a bit. But yes, I wish things costs less.

[Justin 1933 134]

I wouldnt assume because employees at LHS are getting "$900 skates for significantly less than 50% of retail" that it has anything to do with cost ....Guy at my LHS told me when the Makos came out, Easton had a deal for shop employees for a pair of skates and a top of the line mako stick for $250. If that is true, Obviously this was below cost and for promotion.. Guy comes in looking for skates or sticks and asks the employee what hes using..ect..ect....or said shop employee thinks the mako skates are the greatest thing since sliced bread, he is bound to tell customers this....Best advertising buck the company can have(personal recommendation at the point of purchase)

ding, ding, ding

[mapleleafs13 2]

Skate pricing is pretty out of this world if you think about it. 899.99 cdn for apx 2's is unreal. They do put alot of marketing out there and make all the pros wear it so you believe that this skate is the best bauer has to offer. I've owned bauer x15's (low end), then i had 6.0's then apx and now apx 2. All i got for cheap and never paid full price. what i noticed was there was definitely a big difference between the low end skate and moving to the 6.0 with stiffness and it felt more responsive. then when i went to apx and apx 2 i noticed that it was even stiffer but i liked it. other than that nothing else really stood out for me. But for an average hockey player is the $30-500 difference worth it?

also it bothers me about how much sticks can go for these days. $300 for a top tier stick is crazy. i'd love to know what the cost of making one of these sticks are. maybe OP can shed some light on that.

[MaximRecoil 7]

Just what I figured: you don't know an inner sole from an outer sole. The inner sole of Daoust 301 was leather, not the white plastic outer sole. The same white plastic outer sole on Bauer Supreme 92s in Slapshot. So, no my statement isn't false, your knowledge of skate components is.

I missed that you typed "inner". The 1970s was a transition period from leather to plastic outsoles, so that's what I was envisioning. As far as insoles go, I have no idea about '70s skates, because I don't have any here to look at and I didn't pay attention to insoles when I was a kid. However, I'd be willing to bet that cheap department store skates from the '70s such as Sherbrooke and Canadian Flyer didn't have any actual leather in them at all; there certainly wasn't any in the upper.

[DarkStar50 679]

Are you also still using your Titan TPM 2020 stick from the 90s too because those blades with the plastic ABS insert laminated between the Finnish ash were just so durable? Or did you upgrade to an Easton 9001 aluminum stick with the all wood, no graphite hozel, blade? I hope you aren't still using that aluminum shaft because aluminum does have life and then it dies.

[boo10 323]

I don't have a stake in hockey retail and don't favour one side of this debate. I do have to chuckle at the folks here claiming nobody is making large margins in hockey. I wonder where Bauer got that 330 million to buy Easton? ;)

[Gummer12 134]

Transaction Financing

BPS intends to finance the transaction, and refinance certain existing indebtedness, with a combination of approximately US $200 million of an asset-backed revolving credit facility and approximately US $450 million of senior secured loans. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Royal Bank of Canada and Morgan Stanley have provided BPS with fully committed credit facilities sufficient to close the transaction.

[Stewie 721]

I don't have a stake in hockey retail and don't favour one side of this debate. I do have to chuckle at the folks here claiming nobody is making large margins in hockey. I wonder where Bauer got that 330 million to buy Easton? ;)

volume. They are the leading producer of gear, doesn't mean their margins are necessarily huge

Or, apparently, the backing of 5 large banks lol

[Chadd 916]

I haven't done this in years, but I am sick of this. I enjoy a spirited debate, and I like it when people think for themselves. However, this isn't debate, it's someone on a jihad or just plain trolling. Neither of which is acceptable.