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  1. #1
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    I could use a little help... (gear survey)

    I’m going to go out on a limb and request from this community a bit of help. Hopefully my tenure in these forums (if not a bit of a weak post count) has allowed me to ask this of all of you. If not, feel free to flame away. I’m sure there will be a few ‘wrong forum JONG’ replies but I didn’t want this clogging up the gear thread, especially as the season approaches.

    The setup for this ask:

    We all have A LOT of gear in our collective garages, attics, basements - I’m sure even overflowing into other areas of our houses. For many of us, a good portion of this gear goes unused year after year either because we have replaced it with something newer or we just don’t have the time to use it like we once did.

    The Gear Swap forum provides a tremendous opportunity for us to make a bit of cash while passing quality deals along to our friends. But having sold a number of items there I also know it still comes with a bit of work. Things like posting pictures, negotiating price, bumping posts, transferring funds, and sending/receiving the gear once sold. While this is easy enough for certain items, it can be downright challenging for others (think sending a pair of mounted skis). These same issues exists across sites like Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, GearTrade, etc.

    For me, some of these challenges have prevented me from passing along a good amount of quality gear that I know could absolutely find a better home - for example, with someone who is just getting into the sport and finds the cost of new gear to be incredibly prohibitive or perhaps someone who is ready to move on from the beginner gear they bought a few years ago. Thus it is left to sit collecting dust for another year (or five). Worst case scenario it eventually ends up in the landfill once my wife gets tired of looking at it.

    I have a solution in mind for this, but could use the expertise of the collective here to determine if it is even conceptually viable.

    One additional item that I felt like it was important to make clear...this is not an effort to steal ‘business’ from this community. It will be a very small-scale local solution if it were ever to come to fruition.

    To best gauge your thoughts on this matter, I’ve included below a brief survey. My final ask is this - please just take it seriously. If you think that I am out of line by asking for your help, feel free to fire away with replies below. Not to be overly cheesy, but the results of this survey may have a meaningful impact on me personally so I’ll just ask that any answers you submit are real.

    https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YCBM2KY

    I truly appreciate your help with this!

    Ron

    TL;DR - I have an idea but no clue as to whether it’s viable. Can you help me out by taking this survey?
    go upside down.

  2. #2
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    you sound like a fucking pussy, give it all away.

    you're welcome.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by byates1 View Post
    you sound like a fucking pussy, give it all away.

    you're welcome.
    Ahhhh - there’s that crusty old TGR anger I’ve come to know and love.
    go upside down.

  4. #4
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    What in the Jesus Hercules Fucking Christ is going on?

    Put your idea in a fucking sentence. It’s called an elevator speech.

    Go.
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
    I'm not a part of a redneck agenda

  5. #5
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    No.
    Is it radix panax notoginseng? - splat
    This is like hanging yourself but the rope breaks. - DTM
    Dude Listen to mtm. He's a marriage counselor at burning man. - subtle plague

  6. #6
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    just off the phone w puregravity, we are working on this for you!

    sorry about my earlier anger, tough day, sorry bro

    i think you may have something.

  7. #7
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    Not sure you're trying to say, but selling shit online is annoying as hell most of the time..

    Sent from my SM-G950U using TGR Forums mobile app
    "Skiing is the easy part, Carl."

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by plugboots View Post
    What in the Jesus Hercules Fucking Christ is going on?

    Put your idea in a fucking sentence. It’s called an elevator speech.

    Go.
    Sounds like he is thinking of creating some sort of gear swap. revolutionary.
    "Its not the arrow, its the Indian" - M.Pinto

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by plugboots View Post
    What in the Jesus Hercules Fucking Christ is going on?

    Put your idea in a fucking sentence. It’s called an elevator PITCH

    Go.
    Fixed it for you
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  10. #10
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    You're missing a critical obstacle to BUYING used gear.. SHIPPING is a factor there too beyond length of time to receive the goods. Buyers have to either have some sort of designated facility to receive the goods, take a day off work to wait at home for it, or risk porch pirates getting it before they get home from work.
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by SumJongGuy View Post
    You're missing a critical obstacle to BUYING used gear.. SHIPPING is a factor there too beyond length of time to receive the goods. Buyers have to either have some sort of designated facility to receive the goods, take a day off work to wait at home for it, or risk porch pirates getting it before they get home from work.
    That’s a great thought and something we actually considered. Buyers in our local market would actually be able to schedule a hand delivery at a convenient time for them.

    Additionally, for whoever said ‘give it away’ - we would also have the option if the gear doesn’t sell within a given amount of time (thinking 120 days) for the seller to either lower the price, pick it back up, or have it donated to a local outdoor outreach charity.
    go upside down.

  12. #12
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    So we're basically talking about a consignment store for mountain gear that delivers. You still should be capturing the level of objection to buying used gear due to shipping logistical issues.
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    I have a solution in mind for this, but could use the expertise of the collective here to determine if it is even conceptually viable.

    One additional item that I felt like it was important to make clear...this is not an effort to steal ‘business’ from this community. It will be a very small-scale local solution if it were ever to come to fruition.
    "I've got a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but I'm not going to tell you that solution"

    "I'm already talking about it here so I really hope it comes to fruition because I want to make money from you guys"

    It sounds like you've invented something between Craigslist, Gear Swap, GearTrade.com (a true dumpster fire!), and a thrift shop.

    Congratulations, this is innovative. Where do I send the check?

  14. #14
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    I took your survey, but I agree with Idahospud.

    There is no "problem" for me in the used gear market. When i want gear, I go search it out and buy it. When I need to get rid of gear, I sell it here or on craigslist/nextdoor.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by idahospud View Post
    "I've got a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but I'm not going to tell you that solution"

    "I'm already talking about it here so I really hope it comes to fruition because I want to make money from you guys"
    First, I’m not saying I have a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Clearly it doesn’t exist for you. Maybe it doesn’t for anybody. That’s the whole idea of starting a conversation around this to even see if people are running into some of the same issues that I am when trying to get rid of all my random old gear. With a full time job and a family it’s a complete pain in the ass for me to try and sell stuff on Craigslist or Nextdoor for a number of reasons.

    As for making money - yes the end goal of a new business venture would be to make money. However, it probably wouldn’t be off of someone like you, nor many others in this community. You’ve bought and sold plenty of used gear over the years because of how ingrained you are in these sports and the community around them. As I’m sure you know though, this isn’t the case for 99% of the population who doesn’t ski 50 days a year. These people don’t know what they have, how much it is worth, or how to get rid of it. Nor do they know how to buy reasonably priced equipment as they start to become more active in these pursuits.
    go upside down.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    I took your survey, but I agree with Idahospud.

    There is no "problem" for me in the used gear market. When i want gear, I go search it out and buy it. When I need to get rid of gear, I sell it here or on craigslist/nextdoor.
    X3.

    Sounds like you want to create Geartrade.com again.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    X3.

    Sounds like you want to create Geartrade.com again.
    The problem with GearTrade is they only facilitate the exchange of funds. You’re still responsible for taking the pictures, writing a description, and even shipping. There’s also no quality checks on the gear since it’s going straight from a private party seller to you.

    The question is if we could eliminate all of that work, would it make you more likely to sell your used gear?

    And if we could make the buying transaction seamless and you knew that what you were getting had been looked over, cleaned, tested, etc would it make you more likely to buy used gear online?
    go upside down.

  18. #18
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    There is really no lack of on-line buy/sell/swap options... And, generally speaking they work great for items over a certain cost threshold. Thinking from an ROI relative to effort and time spent.

    What I would like to see is seasonal, regional mag mini summit swap meets. Maybe early Fall and Spring... Being able to throw a bunch of shit, (er, I mean diamond encrusted gear that I know you all want) in the back of the truck, roll into town, spread it out, haggle on price a little and sell some stuff, share some beers with buddies = win.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    The problem with GearTrade is they only facilitate the exchange of funds. You’re still responsible for taking the pictures, writing a description, and even shipping. There’s also no quality checks on the gear since it’s going straight from a private party seller to you.

    The question is if we could eliminate all of that work, would it make you more likely to sell your used gear?

    And if we could make the buying transaction seamless and you knew that what you were getting had been looked over, cleaned, tested, etc would it make you more likely to buy used gear online?
    So you're looking to take the Pros Closet approach to other gear (not just cycling)?

    The more middlemen that get added, the higher the cost to sell or to buy. And the less chance I'll use the system.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  20. #20
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    I think you just need to hire an assistant from Task Rabbit and they will sell your shit. Pay someone $15/hour to come and sort through your shit, take pics, and sell online.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by byates1 View Post
    you sound like a fucking pussy, give it all away.

    you're welcome.
    agreed

    I have a friend who might be interested in it

  22. #22
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    You missed an essential part of buying and selling used gear.

    Pro Forms.

    3/4 of this town is on the inside in one way or another. Why buy used when new stuff is oh so close?

    Want Atomic? Your buddy can get it for you. Rossi? Sweet! Your old roommate works in a shop! Besides, any established local can stroll in and get X% pretty quick from any shop.

    Also, prices are too high for used gear. Come on bro, I know you proformed that shredded jacket and now you’re selling it for more than you bought it for? Dude....
    Ski Shop - Basement of the Hostel



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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by ACH View Post
    There is really no lack of on-line buy/sell/swap options... And, generally speaking they work great for items over a certain cost threshold. Thinking from an ROI relative to effort and time spent.

    What I would like to see is seasonal, regional mag mini summit swap meets. Maybe early Fall and Spring... Being able to throw a bunch of shit, (er, I mean diamond encrusted gear that I know you all want) in the back of the truck, roll into town, spread it out, haggle on price a little and sell some stuff, share some beers with buddies = win.
    Yes!

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    ...The question is if we could eliminate all of that work, would it make you more likely to sell your used gear?
    Sounds like you are targeting sellers who are unwilling to spend any time or do any work. For that target seller, I recommend you just buy their gear at lowball price (via a process that minimizes the seller's time & work)---and that way these lazy, impatient sellers are DONE RIGHT AWAY. And after that, YOU own the gear, and it's up to YOU to flip the gear for your own profit.

    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    And if we could make the buying transaction seamless and you knew that what you were getting had been looked over, cleaned, tested, etc would it make you more likely to buy used gear online?
    Yes, I'd love to buy unwanted damaged gear after an expert trustworthy party (i.e. your company) can tell me PRECISELY how it is damaged, so that I will know with certainty in advance whether or not I can fix it. But I doubt you could profit much from such low-priced, unwanted items.

    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    ...we would also have the option if the gear doesn’t sell within a given amount of time (thinking 120 days) for the seller to either lower the price, pick it back up, or have it donated to a local outdoor outreach charity.
    Instead of donating the actual gear to charities, consider this: Tell the seller that your company will try to sell the gear at a "disappointingly low" liquidation price to a cheap-ass buyer who will actually use that gear, then give that smaller money to the charity. That way, although the seller failed to sell at a high price, at least the seller feels good that they gave money to charity, plus seller feels good that their gear will be used by the "right" person who actually WANTED to put that gear to good use (but was too cheap to pay the seller's original high asking price), and the charity gets money (which they often prefer to actual gear donations). Plus the wife is just happy that the gear is finally out of the house.

    Also, your "120 days" seems arbitrary and short, especially considering that supply&demand cycles for seasonal gear repeat every 365 days. If your company instead buys & flips, you could buy low at end of season, store for several months, then sell high at start of next season. Etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by RonMexico View Post
    ...99% of the population who doesn’t ski 50 days a year. These people don’t know what they have, how much it is worth, or how to get rid of it. Nor do they know how to buy reasonably priced equipment as they start to become more active in these pursuits.
    The ski gear market has long relied heavily on such market inefficiencies, like people "not knowing" the stuff above---and also people not even knowing themselves. Do you intend to educate the people? Or continue the tradition of exploiting them for profit? Or what? Anyway, I've always liked the general model of overcharging the whales so that the real skiers get low prices.

    Anyway, I still vote that you buy & flip, instead of involving a seller through a long & uncertain sales period. Look into this Whistler thrift store model, which "buys" at zero cost (a.k.a gear donations), somehow motivating people to donate their gear just because "it's a good cause". I heard that their tiny operation does like $2-3 million per year locally (including clothing, etc), even though they re-sell at super-low prices.. Maybe you could dissect their model and tweak it for profit...like somehow motivate people to give their gear to your company at low cost to you...like maybe offer them discount codes for new skis at a retailer partner, or other referral code stuff or coupons, or figure out something they want which doesn't cost you much through a partner, whatever that may be for the people in your specific local market. For example, that Whistler thrift store would likely still receive all those same gear donations as a for-profit business if they simply offered coupons like "buy one beer, get one free" at a local bar, or a 30% off coupon for an airport shuttle when Australians fly back home at end of winter (you know, like donate your skis as you leave the country in the shuttle), or whatever you can think of... There's gotta be something in that wildly successful non-profit Whistler model that can work for profit in the right local market(s).

    .
    Last edited by Vitamin I; 09-23-2019 at 05:18 AM.
    - TRADE your heavy PROTESTS for my lightweight version at this thread

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  25. #25
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    Yet another online used gear swap - don't think I'd use it. There's already too many.

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