My local shop offers "internet pricing." So I can understand why a stone grind/tune up involves an upcharge. It's 2/3 off regular shop rates for anything bought through them and for as long as you own it, so that seems quite fair to me.
This is right up there with "Employee Pricing", it is just marketing. All dealers, B&M or on line are subject to the same Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policies. Actually local shops have more flexability that on line retailers in that they can have in store sales (as long as they don't advertise the price) that a on line cannotMy local shop offers "internet pricing.
Wait, so which am I getting, the Roger's Rate or the Patrick Price?This is right up there with "Employee Pricing", it is just marketing. All dealers, B&M or on line are subject to the same Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policies. Actually local shops have more flexability that on line retailers in that they can have in store sales (as long as they don't advertise the price) that a on line cannot
Wait, so which am I getting, the Roger's Rate or the Patrick Price?
When labeling the skis "master" in the name of skis? Im guessing most of people on a ski named master has an above average clue as to what an edge and base is, but you never know.TBH, most can't tell whether its a good or bad tune. From a vendor stand point, why bother with a tune before sending it out the door? Totally wasted motion.
Can't really blame them.
When labeling the skis "master" in the name of skis? Im guessing most of people on a ski named master has an above average clue as to what an edge and base is, but you never know.
haha it IS the word for old, and lets be friendly and say that old means probably skied a bit before and probably racedMeh, around here 'master' is mostly just code for "old".
Well, the key word I mentioned was local. My 'local' shop now is an hour away. Up until a few years ago we had a more local shop (15 minutes) but the internet did away with them. Not so much, I suspect, from a loss of ski or boot sales, as much as declining sales in clothing and other gear.For YOU? Very special! You are a smart guy. Don't tell anyone!
When labeling the skis "master" in the name of skis? Im guessing most of people on a ski named master has an above average clue as to what an edge and base is, but you never know.
In what snow conditions does the tune really matter? What about skiing style? Most of the recreational skiers I know are skiing on the bases, not the edges, and head for the bar when the snow is 'icy' out west. Also have some friends that live near resorts that NEVER tune their skis, or at most tune once at season start for the kids seasonal rentals. Shocker, they tend to ski only when snow is fresh and tune doesn't really matter.TBH, most can't tell whether its a good or bad tune. From a vendor stand point, why bother with a tune before sending it out the door? Totally wasted motion.
Can't really blame them.
In what snow conditions does the tune really matter? What about skiing style? Most of the recreational skiers I know are skiing on the bases, not the edges, and head for the bar when the snow is 'icy' out west. Also have some friends that live near resorts that NEVER tune their skis, or at most tune once at season start for the kids seasonal rentals. Shocker, they tend to ski only when snow is fresh and tune doesn't really matter.
I'd like it if online retailers did actually tune the product, but I can see why they don't since it could easily become a major problem with more product returns with the reason being 'bad tune.' Verifying the tune is bad without actually shipping the skis back sounds impossible. You'd need to send edge and base angle guides with the ski so consumer could inspect.
I think tuned is a bad way to describe the skis since it's personal choice. I think it's more of standardization and consistency of skis, as well as letting users know what those standards are. For example:In what snow conditions does the tune really matter? What about skiing style? Most of the recreational skiers I know are skiing on the bases, not the edges, and head for the bar when the snow is 'icy' out west. Also have some friends that live near resorts that NEVER tune their skis, or at most tune once at season start for the kids seasonal rentals. Shocker, they tend to ski only when snow is fresh and tune doesn't really matter.
I'd like it if online retailers did actually tune the product, but I can see why they don't since it could easily become a major problem with more product returns with the reason being 'bad tune.' Verifying the tune is bad without actually shipping the skis back sounds impossible. You'd need to send edge and base angle guides with the ski so consumer could inspect.
I think it is possible to define a "good tune" (call this "in scope") without going into personal preference ("out of scope"). My sense is that of the many complaints over the years on many threads about bad tunes on potentially good skis, the vast majority are about tunes that don't meet the baseline definition of "good tune." They're not complaints about otherwise solid tunes that don't meet someone's personal preference.
Strawman definition of a good tune:
* Sure, extra credit if there is evidence that the base bevel is INTENTIONALLY modified near the tip and tail to provide modulated engagement, and there is evidence that this was done well. But I believe this is so rare as to be ignorable.
- bases are flat, really flat
- bases have a consistent well-executed structure, with no fuzz, etc.
- base bevel is consistent* along the length of the ski
- (consistent) base bevel is somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees.
- side edge angle is consistent along the length of the ski between outermost on-edge contact points
- (consistent) side edge angle is somewhere between 1 and 3 degrees
- edges are sharp between outermost contact points (not detuned unless specifically requested by customer)
- edges are not sharp beyond the outermost on-edge contact points
Edit: As a consumer I do not care whether the good tune was achieved by the factory or by the retailer. What I do care about is that the ski has a good tune when it is delivered.
Long past thread about it - basically the industry thinks it is acceptable and there is always someone else in the chain to blame so even if customers think things should be done to a basic cub scout std they won't be and just have to suck it up.
Great - so next year once they've had time to adjust to the new reality nevermore will we see such complaints. Good to know.This just isn't true. At all. Meeting production and shipping deadlines with staffing affected by illness, quarantine, etc... is IMHO, the reason for tuning consistency issues, and as you've all noticed, demand for product is through the roof.
Excellent point and value proposition for the brick and mortar shops to provide a basis to not use the internet as your ski shop.The other thing is, How can a ski shop conscionably let skis out of their shop with bad tunes? Isnt that the whole reason for shopping at your local ski shop? Shouldn't they do some kind of predelivery prep for you? Otherwise , you may as well buy off the interweb