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TarHeelEMT
Oct 13, 2009, 7:07 PM
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I went to REI today to take advantage of their 20% off deal and replace my disintegrating climbing shoes with a pair of Mythos, only to be informed that REI as a company does not carry the Mythos above size 45, and that while they can get them for me, it would be a special order from LaSportiva and not eligible for their sale discount.
How in the heck can one of the world's largest outdoor stores make the decision not to stock the full range of one of the world's most popular climbing shoes?
Combine that with an earlier experience where a salesperson proudly asserted that he only climbs with locking carabiners and insisted that I should do likewise, and REI is sitting very precariously on their second strike with me.
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shimanilami
Oct 13, 2009, 7:24 PM
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I was looking forward to using my 20% off coupon on a new pair of Galileos, but they don't carry them any longer.
Their shoe selection sucks balls right now. WTF happened?
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jakedatc
Oct 13, 2009, 7:29 PM
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shimanilami wrote: I was looking forward to using my 20% off coupon on a new pair of Galileos, but they don't carry them any longer. Their shoe selection sucks balls right now. WTF happened?
they seem to have focused more on a wider selection of EVolvs that are generally cheaper
(This post was edited by jakedatc on Oct 13, 2009, 7:31 PM)
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TarHeelEMT
Oct 13, 2009, 7:39 PM
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shimanilami wrote: I was looking forward to using my 20% off coupon on a new pair of Galileos, but they don't carry them any longer. Their shoe selection sucks balls right now. WTF happened?
Insofar as I can tell, they've realized that their biggest market is with people who have no intention of actually putting their products to their intended use. For that end, quantity beats quality.
They're well on their way to becoming another Eddie Bauer.
(This post was edited by TarHeelEMT on Oct 13, 2009, 7:40 PM)
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ptlong
Oct 13, 2009, 7:44 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: REI is sitting very precariously on their second strike with me.
They have you and they know it. Their sales, the rebate, the return policy will always keep you coming back.
You're REI's bitch.
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camhead
Oct 13, 2009, 8:14 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: Insofar as I can tell, they've realized that their biggest market is with people who have no intention of actually putting their products to their intended use. For that end, quantity beats quality. They're well on their way to becoming another Eddie Bauer.
Yup. And that market is what all the sponsorships, expedition grants, and pro-deals in the industry rest upon. Suck it!
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shimanilami
Oct 13, 2009, 8:19 PM
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You'd think that REI would have enough VSC (very serious climber) customers to at least offer some decent shoes online. I can understand catering to the masses, but that doesn't mean they should ignore the elite (i.e. - me).
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spoon
Oct 13, 2009, 8:54 PM
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In reply to: I can understand catering to the masses, but that doesn't mean they should ignore the elite
The elite know exactly what they want (model and size) and they know where to get it besides enormous general retailers. If they're really elite, they prodeal their shoes anyway.
The people who actually miss out from decreased selection are people who have been climbing long enough to know that they don't want to climb in beginner shoes designed for all day comfort, but don't yet know what else is out there.
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cracklover
Oct 13, 2009, 8:56 PM
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Wow, size 45 is not that big. That's a bummer for sure.
GO
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sidepull
Oct 13, 2009, 8:58 PM
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shimanilami wrote: I was looking forward to using my 20% off coupon on a new pair of Galileos, but they don't carry them any longer. Their shoe selection sucks balls right now. WTF happened?
Agreed.
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shimanilami
Oct 13, 2009, 9:04 PM
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spoon wrote: The elite know exactly what they want (model and size) and they know where to get it besides enormous general retailers. If they're really elite, they prodeal their shoes anyway.
I'm just "sort of" elite, so no pro-deals for me.
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rockandlice
Oct 14, 2009, 2:25 AM
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Perhaps they are just trying to spare you the tragedy of ordering yet another pair of Mythos?
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shrug7
Oct 14, 2009, 1:46 PM
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I had the same thing come up with my Miuras a couple years ago, they didn't have a 46. I said F-it and ordered elsewhere.
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jaablink
Oct 14, 2009, 2:08 PM
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You should try on a pair of the 45’s (that’s huge) … In Mythos I wear a 39 = to a 6.5 USM in that shoe (they are comfortable enough to climb around all day)…. In 5.10, I wear my everyday shoe size , 42 = to 9 USM. you should go back and try on a pair of the 45's...
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petsfed
Oct 14, 2009, 2:25 PM
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jaablink wrote: You should try on a pair of the 45’s (that’s huge) … In Mythos I wear a 39 = to a 6.5 USM in that shoe (they are comfortable enough to climb around all day)…. In 5.10, I wear my everyday shoe size , 42 = to 9 USM. you should go back and try on a pair of the 45's...
Seconded. The way mythos stretch, you need to buy them as small as you can possibly fit into. Not fit into comfortably, just fit into period. Then stretch them. If you already knew that, that would mean your feet are around size 14 in regular shoes (my brother, as I recall, wears size 45 Mythos, and his feet are friggin' gigantic). So go back and try again.
Also, if anyone is deluded into thinking that REI caters to the very serious climber crowd, check out their brand-asymmetric micro-cam offering(3 sets of Metolius, and 1 set of BD? seriously?). They cater to people who are buying for the first time, but not at all to people who know precisely what they want.
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TarHeelEMT
Oct 14, 2009, 5:25 PM
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jaablink wrote: You should try on a pair of the 45’s (that’s huge) … In Mythos I wear a 39 = to a 6.5 USM in that shoe (they are comfortable enough to climb around all day)…. In 5.10, I wear my everyday shoe size , 42 = to 9 USM. you should go back and try on a pair of the 45's...
I wear a 48 (14 US). Not going to happen.
The story ends well, though, because I went to the local store that's good to me, disappointed that I couldn't use my 20% off coupon, only to realize that the local store sells them for $10 less and gives me a baseline 10% discount on all their stuff.
I shouldn't have even gone to REI in the first place.
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glahhg
Oct 14, 2009, 5:43 PM
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just get what you want at moosejaw, 15% off, no tax, free shipping, 5% back in "rewards points", 5% cash back through ebates
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dingus
Oct 14, 2009, 6:10 PM
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TarHeelEMT wrote: How in the heck can one of the world's largest outdoor stores make the decision not to stock the full range of one of the world's most popular climbing shoes?
Yes how can they do that?
Well, with item movement information, for starters. They have software to analyze the sales performance of clothing goods sold in the past. They rely on that information to make inteligent guesses about next season's stock.
The apparel industry is TOUGH. See you gotta buy next summer's clothing and shoe lines between now and Christmas, to get them built and delivered to your stores on time.
How many size 12.5 canoes, er, Mythos, will be needed in Phoenix next summer? Sacramento? Philadelphia? Will the weather have an impact on sales?
The average apparel retailer, even the highest end retailers, sell typically less than 50% of their top line merchandise at full list retail price. For a given range of clothing (size range) the bell curve serves well. The bulk of the sales will be in the 'money sizes' of the curve. The outliers do not make any money at all, strictly loss leader.
Then the markdowns begin. A lot of retailers will mark down goods once, twice or even three times. Others mark down once and then sell any remaining goods to companies like SierraTradingPost, reasoning that its cheaper in the long run to just get rid of unsold merch than to store it (Cost of storage and capital locked up in merchandise is STAGGERING)
Shoes present a particularly challenging retail environment. Shoe retailers order a range of shoes for a given style and then allocate the order to their various stores.
After a month of sales what they end up with are fractured bell curves all over their enterprise, fractured ranges.
Do they just mark them down and push them out the front door? Some do.
Do they try to consolidate all the broken and unsellable ranges from all stores into complete ranges into the stores that DO sell them?
Some do that too. Depends on the cost of goods and the cost of moving them around. Good retailers analyze all this information before deciding what to do.
Just *finding* an unsold pair of shoes, in the back room of the typical shoe selling store or area?
If you've never tried it.... ask if you can go back into the stock room with your sales clerk some time, just so you know what they have to go through (only SOME shoe clerks are smoking pot when they claim to be looking for your shoes, the rest are simply lost).
Now REI is among the better run outdoor apparel retailers, I shit you not. They DO analyze movement data and they don't stock shit for simple bragging rights. They stock it to sell it and get a return on their owners' investments (us!)
DMT
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ryanb
Oct 14, 2009, 6:12 PM
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I know people who wear 12.5 street and 42 in mythos. Those shoes suck ass unless you wear them so tight they stop feeling like floppy socks with slippery rubber on em.
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dingus
Oct 14, 2009, 6:14 PM
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shimanilami wrote: You'd think that REI would have enough VSC (very serious climber) customers to at least offer some decent shoes online. I can understand catering to the masses, but that doesn't mean they should ignore the elite (i.e. - me).
The elite try on their shoes at REI before buying from Barrabes or other online pirate organizations.
Its no secret hehe, even REI knows it goes on.
Conversion.... converting the walk-in browser to a purchasing customer. A retailer like REI wants the highest conversion rate possible and they want to reduce unwanted stock at the same time.
DMT
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shimanilami
Oct 14, 2009, 6:25 PM
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Damn it, Dingus. I'm not looking for a logical explanation here. I don't need to be corrected. I just want someone to listen to me, to tell me that everything is going to be OK and that I am not alone in this cruel world.
I'm logging off now, guys. I need some time to myself.
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dingus
Oct 14, 2009, 6:32 PM
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I'm sorry shimi. I know you know retail... I just got carried away.
(I could name the software programs lol!)
DMT
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TarHeelEMT
Oct 14, 2009, 6:37 PM
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ryanb wrote: I know people who wear 12.5 street and 42 in mythos. Those shoes suck ass unless you wear them so tight they stop feeling like floppy socks with slippery rubber on em.
They're pretty much the trad shoe of choice in North Carolina. I have no use for an uncomfortable shoe for short sport routes.
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