Should brands stop selling direct to consumer?

[El Nugjar]

With all this shit going on in the world, should brands/distributors stop selling direct to the consumers and only sell to skate shops, forcing everyone to go support their local shop?

I support this.

Discuss.

[30somethinghasbeen]

No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[Ok]

I like shops. I buy from shops. If the shop doesn’t have it, I don’t use it.
I would buy direct from a company that was out of the trunk of a car/garage.

[Uncle Poseur]

Big companies like Zumiez would buy bulk and price small shops out of the market.

I know your intentions are noble, but running a small business is always difficult and never that profitable.

[georgethecat]

No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

Although I appreciate your high school economics lesson, you're overlooking the enormous cultural benefit shops provide to their respective skate scenes, a benefit that is largely not able to be monitized and which suffers when only economic competition, effficiency and widening of choice are considered. Anyway, everyone please just go buy some shit from your local.

[Mr. Stinky]

No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

[Ok]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

TRUE TRUE

[Lenny the Fatface]

With all this shit going on in the world, should brands/distributors stop selling direct to the consumers and only sell to skate shops, forcing everyone to go support their local shop?

I support this.

Discuss.

Nope.

Everyone doesn't have a local shop. Some shops are owned and/or operated by kooks. Shops don't always carry size 14 shoes. When I stopped riding indys I was going to switch to Ace but switched to Ventures because they didn't have Ace in my size.

I'm not anti shop, but I'd be bummed if I had to rely on them to facilitate my skating in 2020.

[30somethinghasbeen]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

Exactly, TONS of government intervention has made it unaffordable. If it was truly free market and mostly  not employer dependent, it would be more competitive and lower priced. Then you could buy it like you do car insurance, which is affordable and competitive.

I do agree that there’s a non monetary benefit that shops provide and for that reason I try to support my local scene, but more regulation is never the answer


Ask yourself why skate decks have remained the same price for 20+ years.

[Mr. Stinky]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

[close]

Exactly, TONS of government intervention has made it unaffordable. If it was truly free market and mostly  not employer dependent, it would be more competitive and lower priced. Then you could buy it like you do car insurance, which is affordable and competitive.

I do agree that there’s a non monetary benefit that shops provide and for that reason I try to support my local scene, but more regulation is never the answer


Ask yourself why skate decks have remained the same price for 20+ years.

Explain, then, why it's not better than socialized medicine. If I follow you, competition and markets are just flat out better. So, our health care system should be the best in the world since it uses competitive markets, unlike the supposedly inferior socialized model. So why isn't it better, dude? Why is it actually worse?

[secondhandstoke]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

Although I appreciate your high school economics lesson, you're overlooking the enormous cultural benefit shops provide to their respective skate scenes, a benefit that is largely not able to be monitized and which suffers when only economic competition, effficiency and widening of choice are considered. Anyway, everyone please just go buy some shit from your local.

My local skate shop doesn't do shit for the skate scene and they raise they're prices higher than anywhere else to rip skaters off.  Its a business and their only in it to make money off the skaters

[Vomit Lust]

Most board companies have to get every penny they can. They’re not going to just ignore a good revenue stream. They’re playing nice by not selling the boards for a discount despite the lower overhead in selling direct. That’s as good as it’s going to get.

And as others mentioned, some shops are run by pricks that people prefer not to do business with. I live in a pretty big city with multiple options, but I imagine there’s some smaller towns out there with raging asshole-owned shops that burn bridges with potential customers all the time. I’m sure most people on here have come across some dickhead, cooler than you gatekeeper behind the counter of a skate shop. They’re not all in it for the love.

But yeah, support the cool ones if you can.

[Ultimate Bitch]

what if your local shop was ran by two fat Nazis? Wouldn’t it be better to just buy directly from the brand and not give those Nazis any money? I think so.

[Sold Out]

THIS IS WHY YOU'VE GOTTA SUPPORT DLXSF they don't sell shit on their website, and have always been super shop focused. They're like the opposite of Primitive.

[Reed Richards]

Nah.  Some shops might not have accounts with every brand/distributor.  So if your shop is cool and worth supporting, get as much as you can there and buy whatever else online.

[secondhandstoke]

THIS IS WHY YOU'VE GOTTA SUPPORT DLXSF they don't sell shit on their website, and have always been super shop focused. They're like the opposite of Primitive.

DLXSF is fucking garbage bro

[FS-OverKOOK]

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THIS IS WHY YOU'VE GOTTA SUPPORT DLXSF they don't sell shit on their website, and have always been super shop focused. They're like the opposite of Primitive.

[close]

DLXSF is fucking garbage bro

let's hear your reasoning for this one...

[Turtle Boy]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

[close]

TRUE TRUE

I can believe people still say that free market keeps prices low despite of what happened in the economy for 30 years...

[DannyDee]

Big companies like Zumiez would buy bulk and price small shops out of the market.

I know your intentions are noble, but running a small business is always difficult and never that profitable.

I've always found this pretty funny how all these brands sold so heavily to Zumiez or other similar stores, but now that they are battling huge corporations everything is buy "core." Like I didn't see DC, Sole Tech, Fallen, Lakai etc at West 49 (Canada's biggest mall shop).

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

How's that free market healthcare working out for you? Is it cheap and high quality? Don't tell me it's bad because regulation, because the more free market it is, the better it should be, right? US health insurance is a creature of the market, pure and simple, and it sucks ass while bankrupting people every day.

[close]

Exactly, TONS of government intervention has made it unaffordable. If it was truly free market and mostly  not employer dependent, it would be more competitive and lower priced. Then you could buy it like you do car insurance, which is affordable and competitive.

I do agree that there’s a non monetary benefit that shops provide and for that reason I try to support my local scene, but more regulation is never the answer


Ask yourself why skate decks have remained the same price for 20+ years.

[close]

Explain, then, why it's not better than socialized medicine. If I follow you, competition and markets are just flat out better. So, our health care system should be the best in the world since it uses competitive markets, unlike the supposedly inferior socialized model. So why isn't it better, dude? Why is it actually worse?

The only aspects of privatized health-care that could lead someone to come to the conclusion it is better are that America has a significant portion of the best hospitals in the world (Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinc, Sloan-Kettering, etc) and the ease of getting immediate treatment for certain procedures. Coming from a country where we have universal health-care and a city that has a couple of world-class hospitals, I'd obviously take what I currently have. So, America in some ways does have the best health-care in the world, it is just far from accessible to a large portion of people.

[El Nugjar]

Anyone who says “well my local shop is this” or “that dude who owns my local is a this or that” can shut the fuck up. There are a TON of fucking local shops all over the country. Ever try calling one or checking a website to a local shop that isnt your local? I literally buy stuff from shops around the country. So maybe we need to push to support skate shops and not just your “local” skate shop.

[Utopos]

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THIS IS WHY YOU'VE GOTTA SUPPORT DLXSF they don't sell shit on their website, and have always been super shop focused. They're like the opposite of Primitive.

[close]

DLXSF is fucking garbage bro

[close]

let's hear your reasoning for this one...

We are waiting....

[Youoverthere]

Anyone who says “well my local shop is this” or “that dude who owns my local is a this or that” can shut the fuck up. There are a TON of fucking local shops all over the country. Ever try calling one or checking a website to a local shop that isnt your local? I literally buy stuff from shops around the country. So maybe we need to push to support skate shops and not just your “local” skate shop.

[johnes]

Skate shops are of great benefit to skateboarding but if they all were gone, skateboarding would continue and people would find another place to hang out.
I support direct to consumer. I support skate shops.

But I think lots of people overstate the benefits of skate shops especially here in the future, 2019/2020 where everything is online now. Skate shops aren’t needed as much.

[Cuban_Lynx]

DNA did this right before they went under. I remember they started selling weird "cut your own shape" boards and a Rob Dyrdek "Can't Be Bothered" brand. Things got weird after the Cinematographer Project.

[TRSP]

My town does not have a skate shop and the nearest shop is 2 hours away... I need to buy online.

[exotic joe]

Skate shops are of great benefit to skateboarding but if they all were gone, skateboarding would continue and people would find another place to hang out.
I support direct to consumer. I support skate shops.

But I think lots of people overstate the benefits of skate shops especially here in the future, 2019/2020 where everything is online now. Skate shops aren’t needed as much.

I almost feel like the skatepark has turned into the hangout spot for the new generation of kids ready. Ya people won’t learn as much about the history of skating or be able to get a sponsor like from the park but idk just kinda seems like the direction it’s headed

[Sammich]

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No, the free market keeps prices low and competition high.  Regulation only fucks things up.

[close]

Although I appreciate your high school economics lesson, you're overlooking the enormous cultural benefit shops provide to their respective skate scenes, a benefit that is largely not able to be monitized and which suffers when only economic competition, effficiency and widening of choice are considered. Anyway, everyone please just go buy some shit from your local.

I don't expect a guy that mutters free-market to understand cultural benefits.

[Sammich]

My town does not have a skate shop and the nearest shop is 2 hours away... I need to buy online.

You can buy from a skater owned shop online. Uprise and FA Skates near me have everything.

[ndsr]

Anyone who says “well my local shop is this” or “that dude who owns my local is a this or that” can shut the fuck up. There are a TON of fucking local shops all over the country. Ever try calling one or checking a website to a local shop that isnt your local? I literally buy stuff from shops around the country. So maybe we need to push to support skate shops and not just your “local” skate shop.

Best post on this topic, thank you for keeping skating good in your country.  I do the same

[Escape Hell]

Anyone who says “well my local shop is this” or “that dude who owns my local is a this or that” can shut the fuck up. There are a TON of fucking local shops all over the country. Ever try calling one or checking a website to a local shop that isnt your local? I literally buy stuff from shops around the country. So maybe we need to push to support skate shops and not just your “local” skate shop.

This. I balance between my local and Other shops via their web store. Literally got two decks in the mail from Blacksheep this morning. I buy direct when I’m really hyped on something or it’s not available elsewhere. Buying direct gives us a way to support brands and people we are stoked on.