The "Back in the Day" thread

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This is certainly a reality of megastores. But this is also a reality of a modern economy. Nostalgia for the post office, baker shop and the haberdashery isnt part of this discussion. We can all claim we want to go to a time when main street was the real center of town and we'd pop to 9 different shops for our stuff. But we voted with our wallets. Its done. Theres reasons, very clear material reasons we chose this way of buying our shit. So this feeling that they bring nothing but misery wherever they go is little more than nostalgia for an age that likely few people on this forum were alive to even see (and wouldnt go back to). 

So to get back to it. The question wasnt should we go back in time to small stores and not shop at mega markets? The question was GIVEN THE EXISTENCE of these things, how can the argument be made for the small B+M store and its role in the OVERRIDING industry? 

Maybe that question doesnt quite pinpoint things enough to bring out discussion. Let me elaborate a bit. 

Truthfully i think the case made by those in support of the local industry is made very poorly. Arrogantly even. Its often made by people living on hills or in resort towns and its little more than THOU SHALT NOT hectoring.

Instead itd be nice to see explanations of how its all connecting and how its all working in the interest of the consumers self interest (the reason we have mega malls after all), through extra product lines; extra space devoted to smaller niche labels in store; more money on promotion and sponsorship to bring the next generation into the sport; cheaper operational costs; tougher quality control; (blind eye) warrantying; more amenities on the hill; more shops etc etc. In addition, you get one person on that hill and you have more money going into your mountain town through accommodation, parking, rentals; lift prices; food; tourist crap and of course spending at the local BM store. 

It seems like the whole discussion is arse over tit. Instead of focusing on getting people onto the hill and into the local economy and thus sustaining the local shop, theyre told that they buy local or destroy the industry. Thats not really an argument. Its the conclusion to an argument. The actual argument bit (the reasons) are completely skated over. 

Id like to see it made to be honest. Not because i disagree with it, but because id like MORE information about the industry to come to the layman.

Id also like to see how these online retailers are outside of "the industry" and destroying it when as it seems to me, they get people on that hill and into your local economy in a much simpler, efficient and cheaper means than a local store with all its ancillary bullshit. 

Its not all black and white with simple straightforward answers. Massive etailers brought access to gear in a way that many of us just didnt have. Owning that gear means first, you want to use it. And second the idea of getting in your car and driving to your mountain is a massively easier choice for something to do on a random winter weekend. On top of this, its like a permanent billboard sitting in your house as well reminding you how awesome it is to just get on your deck and ride :) On the flip etailers have driven a lot of small companies out of business. And massive manufacturing operations (part of teh exact same problem, but one that seems to get a pass) have also killed a lot of start ups that simply cannot compete on price and tech against massive monoliths who can produce at massive volume on the cheap and so outstrip both economical and technological advantages you might have. 

I dunno, lots of things going on. It feels like there needs to be a less hectoring discussion about this. To various extents, everyone who visits this site has an interest in the health and wellbeing of the industry as a whole. We like to snowboard (or ski), we want to have mountains we can ride. We want to have shops that supply the shit we need when we're there. We want to have a choice of restaurants and a selection of hotels for varied budgets. We might even want to drop cash on a full set up!  

We want the moon on a stick of course, but the point is that those people who just want a cheap setup, arent some kind of leach or pariah on the industry. They contribute to it and they buy shit from your mates store and your other mates restaurant because they want to ride. They are part of the growth and health of the industry. They dont just buy their gear to look at in the house. They use it. This should be a huge and interesting discussion that is industry wide, but all too often it stops right at the point of where you bought your gear and why that means youre a parasite on the industry. 

 

Thoughts kids?

 

-b

 

-b

Fixed.

bp's and party flips...

 

but it's not like it was back in the day, when a guy could bite the pony back.  You know, when men were men.