Author Topic: SUP Demo Fees  (Read 14541 times)

2Rivers

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SUP Demo Fees
« on: July 23, 2016, 10:55:16 AM »
I'm curious as the what the common cost is to demo SUPs. Where I live the shops charge $100/day to demo multiple boards (2 or more). Is that an average price or overpriced?
Having to drive 1-2+ hours to a decent shop and then drop $100 every time to demo is getting quite expensive. I still have several boards on my list to demo and it would require going to 3-4 separate shops to make it happen. By the time I'm done, I'll be spending nearly $1000 on travel and demo costs. I've spent way less demo'ing new cars.
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Badger

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2016, 10:58:54 AM »
I've never heard of paying to demo a board. It's always free at the shops I've been to.
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Easy Rider

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2016, 12:57:21 PM »
We do demos at local lakes - where I bring out 20 or so different boards.
Coast is $10. per person - which I then donate to a local charity. 
We used to do them for free but found that people wouldn't show up - as they thought it wasn't worth anything. 
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hbsteve

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2016, 01:21:51 PM »
Easy Rider--I look the way you figured it out.

HanaSurf

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2016, 01:44:30 PM »
The $100 fee has started with 1 or 2 shops in our area. If I'm interested in a board and dealer won't let me demo it then he can keep it. He wants the board worse than I do. I've bought my 8 hardboards local,1 inflateable from JimK,1 inflateable from Blue Planet. Before I'll pay $100 to demo I'll order the board from the best priced online shop and use the $100 towards shipping.a new leash,or board bag.I've always bought my hardboards local and would like to continue to support local dealers but, Sorry,I ain't paying 100 bucks to demo.
 I understand the shop's side as I had both a sevice business and a retail business before retiring and yes,some customers use you or drive you crazy. All part of every public business.
 I understand that by ordering and not demoing I might not like the board as much as I expected...I'll take my chances.
 Lots of car dealers here will let you keep a 40 to 50,000 car or truck overnight to see if you like it and they get chance to hard sale you.
 Ain't paying $100 to demo a board 30 minutes.
 
« Last Edit: July 23, 2016, 01:46:42 PM by HanaSurf »

Quickbeam

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2016, 01:53:31 PM »
I’ve never paid to demo a board either, although I know of one local retailer who charges I think it is $40 (??? - not 100% sure of the amount), but if you buy the board you can put that demo charge towards the cost of the board.

$100 charge to demo a board seems way too much to me.
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exiled

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2016, 02:03:38 PM »
Crediting the demo fee towards the purchase of a board seems the most fair. I get wanting to demo boards first, but I don't think its fair to expect a shop to give you unlimited free rentals just on the hope of making a sale.

Deadbait

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2016, 03:48:09 PM »
I demo'd a Fanatic Allwave at a local shop using their standard rental rates and they deducted the rental fees when I purchased it. 

They state that right up front and it seems a fair way to do business.

pdxmike

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2016, 03:49:09 PM »
The shops (or at least shop) around here have demo events regularly, ranging from big ones with many boards, to informal, spur-of-the-moment ones when a few new boards come in.  With those, plus going to a few races where manufacturers bring boards for people to try, you can get lots of demos in for free.  I think the shop may charge for some individual demoing, where you can take out a board or more within a time frame, and maybe that fee applies to purchase (haven't done it myself).

Remember that if demoing is getting expensive because you're going to 3 or 4 separate shops, that means each shop's chances of making a sale are only 1 in 3 or 4, and that's if you not only decide to buy a board, you also decide to buy it from the shop you demoed it at instead of buying it from another shop or online.  So each shop is using some time, and risking some damage to expensive boards, when even the best odds are that you won't be making a purchase from them.  And you're more likely to buy than the person who's demoing because say, they think they may want a 14' board.  So charging something for demos seems fine.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2016, 03:51:07 PM by pdxmike »

krash

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2016, 04:05:32 PM »
I would not pay to demo a board, unless its more of a rental fee but sounds expensive. I might be tempted to go far a, minimal cost like $10.00, demo day with multiple brand/model boards where the funds were going to a charitable cause or raising $$ for a specific cause.

I live in an area that is on or near plenty of water with multiple shops competing for your business, the recreational SUP market is saturated, and more than one shop has demo options at no cost, or demo days at no cost. One outfitter that sells all kinds of stuff, kayaks, canoes, SUP.. does it monthly.

There is another rather popular shop not far away that does demos quite often... I stopped in one day asking about a specific board, that they have several in stock, and they wanted $35.00 to demo/test on out for a few minutes.. I refused and walked out. went back to the one mentioned above and asked the same question, requesting they have one in the water on their next demo day and they said they would rather put it in the water and happily let me test it now at no charge.
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addapost

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2016, 06:24:30 PM »
Depends on what you mean by "demo". On site for a few minutes? Or off site for a few hours? We are literally right on a flat-water river. Shoppers are welcome to take a quick 5-10 minute spin on as many boards as they want if they are trying to decide. No charge for that. If you want to take a surf SUP off-site for a couple hours to do a surf session that's a different story. That's a rental $50/ half day.
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surf4food

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2016, 01:58:17 AM »
This is the first time I've ever heard of shops charging to demo a board.  Renting is one thing but demoing?  100 dollars?  WOW!!

jarvissup

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #12 on: July 24, 2016, 05:51:37 AM »
Shops have a hard time making money on boards. The margins are tight for quality boards for the whole supply chain. There are several factors that have tightened those margins, but that is another story.  If shops have the extra revenue to buy demo boards that won't sell for much after a season, they sure don't have the revenue to buy a huge variety. So, they are in a tough situation.  I think the easiest way to make demo's happen is for the manufacturers to supply the boards to the reps, and that keeps the shops out of that tough situation.  I know a lot of reps have demo fleets of different sizes, it's really up to them to make them available in their respective areas.  I'm currently the JP rep for the North East and the Outer Beaches of Cape Hatteras, and If you, or any group of your friends want to demo a JP, please let me know.  I'll post that I'm showing up at a beach when I'm going to have an open demo event, but if a handful of folks get together, we can schedule a demo that fits everyone's schedule. Right now I'm in Cape Hatteras for another few weeks, after that(and the expiration of surf zones)all of the New England's surf breaks are acceptable locations.
            Contact your sales reps if you want a demo, or have your shop do it for you if they have accounts with that company, you never know, you could be doing everyone a favor.

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #13 on: July 24, 2016, 09:36:01 AM »
Round these parts the demo program is a huge success for the distributors and retailers.  They sell a lot of boards that would never be sold otherwise.  At the end of season they sell off the demo boards so they lose no money.  It is a big win win proposition for all concerned.

Retailers here make a lot of extra money - and consumers pick a board they have paddled and like.  But this environment may be an anomaly though since retailers on here post that not many people show up to try boards.  Here in Vancouver that is definitely not the case.  The last demo we had at our local beach -> 6 boards were sold on the spot - and others sold trickle effect.  It seemed like a hundred prospective buyers showed up.

But know of another retailer who only does one-off demos.  So in that instance it is tough to sell a lot of boards at one time.  Nonetheless he sells all of his demo boards each season quite easily - and continues to do so.
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iopsailor

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Re: SUP Demo Fees
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2016, 10:48:37 AM »
When I first got interested in SUP, a local shop had free demo days every Saturday, weather permitting.  There was no pressure, no restrictions on flat water or waves.   A shaper usually brought a couple boards as well.  Other retailers would also show up with boards.  A lot of people got into SUP because of this, a lot of   boards sold, not all by the original shop.  I would have to guess this didn't work as a business  model since he's  no longer around.  He did this for a number of years, I think he understood his competitors were his partners.



 


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