REI to carry Bontrager

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Not sure what you do in life, but I'm sure it doesn't randomly include getting discounted by 20%. That would get you canned. I don't REI, but a 20% discount is just getting items off the floor, doesn't cover overhead

I'm an environmental consultant. We offer crazy low rates (sometimes well north of 20%) to some of our clients because

a) doing small jobs for cheap keeps them happy which means

b) they will come back to us for volume jobs which keep the lights on

If we told every client that all jobs were full boat from here on out, we wouldn't be remotely competitive.

I'm not in retail, but the idea that REI 20% coupon is the road to ruin doesn't seem to be borne out by REIs continued growth. If anything, I would guess that getting people in store to spend their coupon leads to a bunch of sales of additional items at full MSRP.

[peanutgallery]

Sounds like you're selling intellectual property. Imagine if you were re-selling it. Figure in a base cost less some overhead and go from there. Gets ugly mucho quick. Long term, you lose $ when you sell at a discount randomly. Nurture big accounts when neccessary but you have to cover long term. Specializing in discounts? Count me out

If the discount came off your table you would be hesitant

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I'm an environmental consultant. We offer crazy low rates (sometimes well north of 20%) to some of our clients because

a) doing small jobs for cheap keeps them happy which means

b) they will come back to us for volume jobs which keep the lights on

If we told every client that all jobs were full boat from here on out, we wouldn't be remotely competitive.

I'm not in retail, but the idea that REI 20% coupon is the road to ruin doesn't seem to be borne out by REIs continued growth. If anything, I would guess that getting people in store to spend their coupon leads to a bunch of sales of additional items at full MSRP.

[unterhausen]

my friends and family rate for consulting is a substantial discount off my max rate. Still happy to get work. In my case it's more like selling high-end labor. But I don't expect an LBS to do the same day in and day out. REI has very few discounts. Members get a dividend at the end of the year that is related to how much they spend. I mostly don't pay attention to the coupons. I also expect they bring people into the store or on the website and drive more sales overall. I don't see how REI is going to cost too many bike shops a lot of sales, but I suppose they might in the area around stores.

[quickfeet]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Sounds like you're selling intellectual property. Imagine if you were re-selling it. Figure in a base cost less some overhead and go from there. Gets ugly mucho quick. Long term, you lose $ when you sell at a discount randomly. Nurture big accounts when neccessary but you have to cover long term. Specializing in discounts? Count me out

If the discount came off your table you would be hesitant

What’s the name of your bike shop? I’d like to look at your website.