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damn under armors price controls...who else does this? Burton does, as well as KREW, but i only know of clothing doing it
damn under armors price controls...who else does this? Burton does, as well as KREW, but i only know of clothing doing it
I wish someone would come out with a better under armor knock off. Champion did some through Target the last two years. The fabrics were similar but the design of the garments was awful. They had odd necklines or were cut too loose so they bunch under other clothing.
I have a hard time justifying $50 for thermal underwear.
I still don't understand the illegal posting part of coupons. I can understand for employee discounts but if it's a coupon that has been mailed out and freely available to everyone then there should be no reason for a store to not accept it just because more than expected amount of people make use of it.
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I'm sure that Under Armour doesn't want it's products to be part of reduced pricing schemes because it would risk losing its \"premium\" status. It is the Juicy Couture of jock clothing.
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#7 is true for most retail stores. I've had summer jobs as a cashier for Marshalls and The Children's Place and was told to ask for the phone number for the same BS reason. It all just went the marketing dept at HQ.
@bravo369: But in most cases it's not freely mailed out to \"everyone,\" it's mailed out to a select few on Sports Authority's mailing list. Therefore, the coupon is not meant for everyone.
A useful and informative \"confessions\" post. Thanks!
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@Beer-Fart: Exactly, there are a number of brands (REI's house brand, new balance, alpine lowe, cloudveil, brooks, pearl izumi, etc.) that are better than Under Armour and cheaper. The only difference that they market to campers, hikers, serious runners, and outdoorsy types rather than jocks. Some marketing experts said that the main reason that Under Armour is doing so well is that it uses very muscular manquins in combination with endorsements to model is clothing. Take a look. But I digress...
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\"I know that Under Armour wouldn't let Sports Authority advertise a discount on their product because they wanted their product to have the same price across the board.\"
Isn't this some form of price fixing? Whatever the marketing term for it is called, I'm pretty sure its illegal.
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@pinkfreud: Actually Burton allows small discounts at old, established snowboard shops. I used to work at a place called Cool Runnings that was the first, and for a long time, only snowboard shop in the suburbs of Philadelphia. We always sold our boards $5 cheaper than everywhere else.
Not a big deal but the owner, Jamie, is HUGE in the snowboard world. Too bad he sold the shop to do business consulting...it was a landmark in Bryn Mawr...
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@bohemian: >I have a hard time justifying $50 for thermal underwear.
I'd rather pay $50 for something that keeps me warm than pay less for something that doesn't. I've had the same experience as you at both Mervyn's and Target. Yeah the thermals cost $19.99 or whatnot, but the cut didn't fit my body or under my clothes, so nowadays I go with the $38 stuff at REISportsAuthorityChalet which is cut for people who move around.
BTW, my bias is that I was raised in a house I still call Igloo Manor.
still 5 bucks is stiff competetion. thats why im still getting a lot of gear from ebay. like for example jbl may do this but a speaker at guitar center which is guaranteed lowest price is 479 plus like 50 shipping....on ebay you get 2 for 529.00....they cant advertise the prices even on their online store only like sell on random ebay accts
Thanks for the tips and advice - it's always nice to see the people with insider knowledge confirm what we've suspected all along.
I actually used to work at GSI Commerce, man that place SUCKED
@bohemian: Target used to have the best underarmor knockoff boxer briefs for athletics (C9 brand). Then they changed the design. At the risk of grossing everyone out, the older model is still going strong 3 years later while the newer ones wear out within a year.
@jonworld: No. It actually can be perfectly legal. The supreme court actually ruled on this recently. See this article: [www.iht.com]
@bohemian: Target has definitely upped their quality and design. I buy from them exclusively now... the winter line was fantastic and dirt cheap.
Go to target and forget this freakin place. I went there a few weeks ago looking for a pup tent. None in stock at all. And it isn't because they're a hot item.
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@jonworld: You're a bit late on the news. The Supreme Court has ruled manufacture fixed pricing to be legal.
If asked for your phone number, always give out (202) 456-1414.
Call it and see why.
pinkfreud:
burton might have 'retail' price rules, but go to a real sports store, i.e. a ski shop/snowboard shop, and you can almost always get a discount, esspically at the end of the season. and some online stores, have burton onsale almost all the time. underarmour is much harsher about it. Burton I tink enforces its prices on large stores like sports authority to try to protect the little guy that got them started.
GSI is an ecomm platform. Sports Authority still has...well, the authority over its site.
@cde: It ruled that it isn't per se illegal. It could be illegal, but merely the practice is not prohibited. Think about it like throwing a baseball: merely throwing a baseball isn't illegal, but if you throw it at someone's head, it is.
@notallcompaniesareevil: Indeed. And it's always been acceptable for a manufacturer to act unilaterally - \"If you sell below $X, we will terminate your merchant account and will not sell you any more widgets.\" What was, and still can be illegal is when there is an agreement between manufacturer and retailer to sell at that price. It's an artificial and confusing line, admittedly.
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@bohemian: We end up going with under armour because our daughter plays a competitive level of soccer where they have a lot of restrictions about cold weather stuff (must match jersey color, no stripes, etc) - there are even rules about gloves.
Underarmour makes a wide variety of colors and makes youth girls sizes as well. We had some REI stuff but it fit our daughter great for ski trips but wasn't as comfortable for playing in. And other target stuff we found is made for boys or unisex, not just girls.
We have a few from land ends but they do not have a cut that works for our daughter for soccer (tails are so long, they drive her nuts).
Perhaps it will change when she gets older but for now, for fit and availability, under armour works better. I'm not fond of the price but it works.
I work for a TSA in MN, and when customers come up to me and ask why the coupons exclude major brands, I say, \"what do you expect?\" They say it's bait and switch, but I say it's \"business\". They just want you in the store because they know you won't read the fine print on the coupon that you're holding and you'll spend your money on something else.
This past weekend, there was an ad in the paper for an Easton CXN bat on sale. The ad was a misprint and was marked at the price of a cheaper bat. When I got to work, my manager told me that the DM sent an email telling us to pull the bats from the shelves and put them in the back room until the sale was over and to tell customers that we were out of stock. Coincidentally, it's always been TSA policy to not give rain checks. That's what I might call bait and switch.
@TSAslave: \"That's what I might call bait and switch.\"
In a perfect world, you could tell people that it is a mistake and people would believe you. Hey, it happens to everyone. However, this isn't feasible because a) people don't trust corporations even if it is an honest mistake b) a number of companies have done many things to lose that trust.
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Anonymous writes:
\"The former SA manager mentions that the SA website is actually run by a third party company call GSI Commerce, who also runs Dicks Sports. I used to work for GSI Commerce, and that's true.
Additionally, GSI runs the websites for pretty much every single major sports retailer, and they run them with the same inventory out of the same warehouses. If you do a search for a particular running shoe and wonder why every retailer on the internet only has the same size 13.5 wide left in stock, it's not because of a shortage. It's because all the hits are really all from the same company pulling from the same inventory.
If you're shopping online for a piece of sporting goods equipment and do a search, probably 90% of your 'hits' will all be GSI Commerce, just under different store banners - and often for different prices!
And because they aren't actually related to the brick and mortar stores, you usually can't return things bought online to a retail store. Similarly, the websites won't honor retail store coupons.
You can find a list of all the retailers run by GSI here:
Thanks for all the info. I am actually in the quest to contact their corporate to complain about our local branch here in Milpitas, California. I would most likely email one of the email adressess you have given (would appreciate if you can suggest the best person!) to tell them about my recent experience with their branch here.
My friend recently bought a bike, and before check out they do a quick tune up on bikes. They found a glitch, and the bike was put on hold for a few days to fix it. My friend picks it up, and she asked one them if ever she finds the bike still defective, could she bring it back for repair? And they replied \"No, you're buying the bike AS IS. Unless you purchase the warranty package, we cannot guarantee anything. And we don't have a return policy for bikes.\" (We went to another Sports Authority branch a few days before, and not only do they offer to fix a defective bike that was recently purchased for free, they also honor return if the bike has not been ridden or used)
Strike 1.
Now after my friend bought the bike, she realized she did not have the manual that came with the bike. So she calls them up and tells them she was not given a manual. The employee replied \"We don't usually give the manual, only when customers ask for it\"
Strike 2.
I came to see the bike, and I noticed that the front reflector is missing. If I'm not mistaken all bikes come with the front reflector, and is required by law. And I know that this particular bike does have the front reflector as I've seen the bike at different stores.
Strike 3.
I believe this branch violated some laws or policy.. Am I right?
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Sports Authority doesn't discount things that people want to buy? quelle surprise!
actually, just wait a few weeks for the recession to start hitting a bit harder, and Under Armour will be getting some discounts.