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billvon

Major PD price increase coming

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>>Is it a wise consumer who goes to the automall and asks a salesman what kind of car he should buy? <<

Well, honey, this ain't no automall. In this business my customers are my friends. And bad advise can hurt and/or kill them.

Being compared to a car dealer is like slapping me in the face. Honestly. The auto sales industry is nothing like the skydiving industry.

>>My conversations with gear dealers consist of "Hey 'Bob'...what price can you give me on such & such?" where I already know exactly what I want. <<

Does Bob ever call you and say, "Hey, Sam. I know you are considering a downsize and your going to jump a smaller reserve. Why don't you come out next weekend. We'll have reserves here for you to demo for free. Just to make sure you are not getting in over you head.

or

"Hey Sam. I'll look that price up for you, but did you hear that product had a service bulletin issued? You may want to consider holding off until it's sorted out.

>>I will continue to select my gear based on my own observations and the word of people I know who actually jump the equipment, not what a dealer suggests.<<

Why should your own observations not include the gear dealer who lives and breaths gear 7 days a week. We have real world feedback form many sources. Who is to say that we don't actually jump the equipment ourselves.

>>I will also continue to advise novices to solicit gear advice from people who actually know them and who have seen them jump, not some voice on the other end of a phone who's primary interest is profit. <<

FYI, I know most of my customers VERY well. I watch them fly. I keep in touch. If I deal with a sight unseen sale, I try to take the time to get to know the customer. I suggest a local dealer first. If one is not available, I assume the roll.

If my primary interst was profit, I WOULD NOT BE IN THIS INDUSTRY. I would have a real job in the real world.

Now perhaps you would say, "But not all dealers take the time. Not all dealers are like that."

Well. They should be. I guess Performance Designs thinks so too.

I'll admit I don't fully understand the path they are taking to accomplish it, but I am very interested to see how it turns out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

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>>Is it a wise consumer who goes to the automall and asks a salesman what kind of car he should buy? <<

Well, honey, this ain't no automall. In this business my customers are my friends. And bad advise can hurt and/or kill them.

Being compared to a car dealer is like slapping me in the face. Honestly. The auto sales industry is nothing like the skydiving industry.

>>My conversations with gear dealers consist of "Hey 'Bob'...what price can you give me on such & such?" where I already know exactly what I want. <<

Does Bob ever call you and say, "Hey, Sam. I know you are considering a downsize and your going to jump a smaller reserve. Why don't you come out next weekend. We'll have reserves here for you to demo for free. Just to make sure you are not getting in over you head.

or

"Hey Sam. I'll look that price up for you, but did you hear that product had a service bulletin issued? You may want to consider holding off until it's sorted out.

>>I will continue to select my gear based on my own observations and the word of people I know who actually jump the equipment, not what a dealer suggests.<<

Why should your own observations not include the gear dealer who lives and breaths gear 7 days a week. We have real world feedback form many sources. Who is to say that we don't actually jump the equipment ourselves.

>>I will also continue to advise novices to solicit gear advice from people who actually know them and who have seen them jump, not some voice on the other end of a phone who's primary interest is profit. <<

FYI, I know most of my customers VERY well. I watch them fly. I keep in touch. If I deal with a sight unseen sale, I try to take the time to get to know the customer. I suggest a local dealer first. If one is not available, I assume the roll.

If my primary interst was profit, I WOULD NOT BE IN THIS INDUSTRY. I would have a real job in the real world.

Now perhaps you would say, "But not all dealers take the time. Not all dealers are like that."

Well. They should be. I guess Performance Designs thinks so too.

I'll admit I don't fully understand the path they are taking to accomplish it, but I am very interested to see how it turns out.




Good post Bonnie!!

Mick.

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Bonnie, I honestly didn't mean to be offensive with my post, but I think we look at this differently. Both of the responses to me have been from people in California (you and Billvon). I imagine I'd get similar responses from folks in Florida, Arizona, and Texas, and maybe Illinois & New York/New Jersey. Not all of us live or jump in population-dense areas that can support "real" gear shops. From my normal DZ, it's 400 miles to Ralph, over 900 miles to you or Action Air, and almost 1400 miles to Square-1. We simply don't have the options that California jumpers do. For container questions, I go directly to my manufacturer (Kelly F.). For canopy questions/demos, I have boogie demo's, shipped demo's (usually from mfg but Ralph is also an option), and borrows from locals who've used those options and subsequently bought gear.

Also, I didn't mean the "profit" thing to be insulting. Most of my jumps are "for profit". We all have roles to fill and there ain't a lot of us getting rich off of skydiving. It's just that I simply can't imagine calling you (or Action Air, Square 1, or Ralph for that matter) for advice on what canopy is right for me. I imagine the feeling is mutual, in that if you had a question or were wondering about something, you'd probably turn to people you know rather than calling me.

Again, I'm not trying to disparage gear dealers, I'm just saying that we can't all have the relationship with them that is being suggested in this thread. It's not geographically feasible. For those of us whose only contact with dealers is at purchase time, price and convenience are the factors we consider.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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MOst of my web orders are from jumpers in rural areas with no local gear dealer. There is still a quality level of service that I can provide.

Perhaps at your experince level, it is not as important. But if time and care are not spent with the new jumpers to get them on the right equipment and on a good progression plan, then they will never reach your level.

The good news is that the customers that I have cultivated from the begining of their skydiving careers are still my customers now. Even though most of the time, they know exactly what they want already. I still take a few minutes to catch up and make sure that they are choosing the right wing loading, colors, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

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Most of my jumps are "for profit".



There is a large difference between making weekend "instructor" jumps and working in the industry for a living.

One is a "vocation" and the other is "avocation".

a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation especially for enjoyment : HOBBY
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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Most of my jumps are "for profit".



There is a large difference between making weekend "instructor" jumps and working in the industry for a living.

One is a "vocation" and the other is "avocation".

a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation especially for enjoyment : HOBBY



Where did I use either word? I was clarifying that selling gear for a profit is no more inherently evil than skydiving for a profit. If you feel differently, I guess we'll just have to disagree.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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Square 1 got a Mamba 120ish sized demo canopy in that I tried. I didn't like it because it was so unstable in brakes. Dave Span put a few jumps on it, noticed the same thing, and got it retrimmed. He has since put a bunch more jumps on it and likes it a lot more now. Next chance I get I'm going to try it again to see what's different, since I trust his perceptions on it.



I have nothing but good things to say about Dave Span...
Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

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Where did I use either word?



I was refering to this statement.

"Most of my jumps are "for profit".



I don't know how to respond to that, as it is a true statement. The majority of my jumps involve money going into my checking account rather than coming out of it.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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