It's late or early... but I am really tired of pea brain logic... by your moronic logic, all online kite shops should be ostracized, right? So that means neilprydemaui, kitehigh, kite-line, etc. aren't they taking away from local shops in far off places too...stuntc wrote:I fly Cabrinha...Why, shop and school support....How many companies put as much time and effort into sponsoring schools and providing shops with such a great range of kites. Cabrinha isnt about a guy with a bunch of money trying to promote two year old technology with girls and dollar signs. Cabrinha is about performance, new technology, support, world champions, quality, not bs and hype. Eventually the dollars will run dry. And when they do the shops and schools will still be there doing the important jobs. Teaching newbies safely, providing quality equipment, keeping our beaches open. Cabrinha has always been a part of this. So in short support your local shop, they were probably the ones that taught you how to kite or picked you up after that downwinder or gave you a line when yours broke maybe lent you a harness when you forgot yours, or gave you equipment to try ot use while yours was getting fixed, maybe they did a beach clean-up to keep your spot looking right, or talked with the local town council to keep the beach open. How much is this worth to you? I ride Cabrinha!
As to assitance from shops... nothing bad to say... but they are far and too few... the reality is that most people get there lessons from independent instructors who are scraping by a living... think all of NYC... no shop... but plenty of kiters... more likely to get help from a fellow kiter than any shop.
I pay the park fee for the cleanup... seems the right way to do things.
By the way... schools typically are underserved by big brand distributors... their business is lessons... not selling equipment... don't have the capital/volume... why are they attracted to Best... visibility, traffic... make kiting more affordable... tend to generate more lessons... ask Real how's lesson business this year and how much Best gear they have moved... I am guessing a lot! Oh wait... can it be... Best gear at the biggest retail/school outfit... kind of contradict the inbred logic doesn't it!
What about kitepower, airhead, X-Klam, etc. I guess they don't count.
Here's a bit of enlightenment... retailers cares about high inventory turnover... that means they want goods that are sold before the shipment arrives... not shit that sit around and depreciates... I say 3 for 2 packages are a pretty easy sell for retailers and schools... and guess what... customers are thrilled to spend 1500 for 3 kites when they felt ripped off before to spend 1200 for one! Seems like a mutually beneficial thing to me.
And if you are so enthused about Cabby... make a big donation for such a good charitable cause... I am sure NeilPryde will appreciate it since it is tired of using Cab as a tax deduction again this year... that's actually a bad thing if you didn't realize it.