Cyber Monday of all days is very deceptive. We always feel bad for people who bring in uncomfortable boots they bought Online, and then we have to charge them to adjust their bindings and charge them for molding, when they could have bought everything here in the first place and ended up saving quite a bit of time and money.

This time of year we deal with many scenarios like the one below:

“I’d like to try on some boots.”

“Okay, no problem. I’d love to help you out.”

…20 minutes later…

“So I think this would be the perfect boot for you.”

“Thanks for all the help, I’m going to go buy it Online.”

 

When did this sort of behavior become socially acceptable? When did it become okay to waste someone’s time and soak up their expertise, knowledge, and experience? Would you go to your doctor for a diagnosis and expect to not have to pay for the visit? No. No one thinks that is okay.

Here is the other problem with the intention of wasting a boot-fitter’s time when you know full well you plan on buying Online–when you go to buy it Online you’ll end up paying more money 99% of the time. First, you’ll have to pay taxes and shipping, that’s $20-$50 extra. Then you’ll have to pay for binding adjustments or mounting, that is another $50-$100. Then after you’ve skied the new boots a few days you realize you need your boots molded and customized to your feet that is also between $50-$100. So now you’ve paid up to $120 -$250 extra for the convenience of buying Online.

Here is the kicker: when you see a discounted price Online, it is usually marked down from MSRP. Looking at MSRP prices is for suckers. Almost no ski shop charges it’s customers MSRP prices, they almost always charge MAP pricing. Every time there is a discount Online it is taken off of MSRP and is usually more expensive or the same as advertised prices in-store. Don’t be one of the thousands of suckers who buy Online and pay the price later.