what people did was probably buy the ripoff jersey, and then exchange it for a legit one in the real stores, such as sport chek.... their cashiers wouldn't be able to tell a real from fake.

^ Haha fair enough. I understand that part of it (I know the margins for jerseys too. During 2010 playoffs it hit up to 200%markup).

I went to the hockey shop sale on sautrday AM, wanting to buy some pants. I was checking out the Vaughn Ventus LT90, the V5, and the Bauers as all seemed to have a good fit.

So there I am, during the hockey shop's biggest sale of the year, and the LT90 are $5 off ($320 retail), the V5 are $10 off, ($315 retail) and the Bauers aren't on sale.

Where are the savings?
So instead, I bought a Red Wings "Probert" shirt and went home to browse goaliemonkey.

They had some good deals. Former Bauer demo pads were half off, but they only had two pairs and they were pretty generic. $100 off other sets of pads, but honestly, when a Vaughn V5 vintage is priced at $1599 with $100 off, it's not much of a deal. That's pretty much regular season prices. And don't bother asking for a discount, even though my account has said I spent thousands. As the boss man said, "We have guys spending $30k/yr here and they don't get special pricing".

damn.


:okay:

From what I "heard" the stores knew they were selling fakes but something that sells for $30 and was selling for $200 during the finals made their decision very easy.

Hence why I rarely ever shop there.

um...in my 10 year career it hasn't happened with jerseys the fake ones are really obvious, so while sometimes it slips by the cashier, it doesnt make it on to the sales floor cause the associates in that department will catch it.

it has happened with badminton and tennis racquets tough.......some of those fakes a very well done, and unless I take a good look at it, its easy to mistake a fake one for a real one.

They have so much selection, and the goalie guys there are pretty good to deal with. I had my skates modified by their mod shop, and it was $30 to make them perfect. Got an issue with your pad? They can make the change for peanuts.

I love their goalie repair and mod guy, he's awesome. But don't ever ask about pricing for a jersey logo. I was quoted something crazy like $120 to put a name bar, and front logo on one of my practice jerseys.

Insane!

Oh yeah. I'm totally there for mods. Cecil (The main mod guy) quoted me $20 to install a couple straps onto my pads that didn't come with it. I like the general staff there. Some of their stuff is up to par price wise. But gotta pick and choose wisely.

I think recently THS has caught on, and is trying to adjust prices on SOME of their stuff to compensate.

I'm actually getting my teams jerseys made from them 17 jerseys 17 pairs of socks, embroidered everything but the crest which is sublimated sewn on. $1800 inc taxes. It was the cheapest i could find and best customer service.

Just got the new flyer for the upcoming Sport Chek Hockey Plus event
Some SICK deals
Team Canda Livestrong Jersey-$39.99 (ugly as sin, but for $40 its a deal)
Stealth RSII Glove -$69.99
Easton RS Stick-$139.99
Easton Mako stick-$119.99
Vapor X4.0 Skate-$199.99
Vapor X5.0 Skate-$249.99
Free skate sharpening from Aug 7th to 19th

And yes you can stack your team assist 20% off coupon on these deals

Buy any hockey equipment totally $99.99 or more get $20 instant rebate towards any other item in store (this may or may not stack with team assist coupon, depends on store manager's interpretation ymmv)
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The flyer starts aug 7th btw
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The only time I've been into PHL was that one in Calgary several years ago, first step in, felt like kid in an oversized candy store. Good lawd their wall of goalie pads from floor to ceiling, makes THS stock look like child's play :sweetjesus:

Then I started thinking about how most things were regular retail price or just a few bucks off, and how unsustainable it is to stock that much gear in an industry where marketing pushes out brand new gear and lines every year in an attempt to keep consumers buying.

I doubt the cashiers would catch it during or prior to the run.. Not to be sexist, but it's unlikely girls would even know a difference. Now it is obvious since everyone knows about them. It was always easy for me to tell, but how many bandwagoners vs real canuck fans were there during the run :)

50% on a APX2 would be below cost already but it's a cheap price to pay for the crowd they were able to generate. The money lost on the sale of those skates can be considered marketing dollars well spent.

I knew it was only a matter of time before fake hockey sticks started surfacing. The golf equipment market is littered with fakes and it's difficult to authenticate without having the real thing side by side to compare.

I haven't heard of any reputable stores selling counterfeit jerseys during the SCF run but I did see many sell licensed Reebok jerseys that weren't the "official" jerseys. The only knockoffs I've seen sold in stores were at second hand sporting goods stores like Sports Junkies and North Shore Sports Swap.

I always wondered how well trained the cashiers are to spot sketch customers like that. In a store that sells such a variety of sporting goods it must be difficult to be an expert in all areas. Ex. If someone put a Bauer 7500 helmet (ripped of the model sticker on the back) and put it into a 2100 box, would they know? It's a $70 difference.

I get all my jersey work done through Aaron @ The Hockey Shop now. He's a collector himself and takes a lot of pride in his work.

Crazy good deal just to get those Canada jerseys for a beer league team. I know many guys did that with the Oilers jerseys last year when Sportchek marked them down to $29.99.

NEW PADS! JUST CAME TODAY!!

http://imageshack.com/a/img194/9388/1z7d.jpgUploaded with ImageShack.com

http://imageshack.com/a/img10/4918/30r6.jpgUploaded with ImageShack.com

http://imageshack.com/a/img10/7482/k9tk.jpgUploaded with ImageShack.com
Smart strap setup ONLY. No leather straps other than the boot.

According to my team captain, most average hockey players probably won't notice the difference between the real and fakes until they play with them. People who know their sticks should be able to tell right away.
Seeing how most sticks are made in China and how much they retail for, I am surprised it took this long to see fakes in the market.

This happens all the time
7500 into 2100
Cashiers just read bauer helmets to bauer helmets
Or Vapor X5.0 in a 2.0 box etc
Worst case was a APX in a Vapor 2.0 box at metro...

Shit happens, people pull box switches
In the end the "loss" is passed on to the consumer in the form of mark ups.....
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are they "fakes" or are they lower models painted with a higher model? I guess that's still considered "fake".

There are a few on ebay that sell generic blank sticks claiming they are brand names but extras.....

That's a good question. I'll have to ask him.
I am guess a lower model painted with a higher model. Can't see them using bamboo to make fake sticks.

Everyone claims to be OEM for the big names and it's not the case.

As for fakes, I've seen sticks labeled as Total ONE SE that are completely counterfeit. Sticks with Easton Stealth RS graphics applied wrong.

On the other hand there are knockoffs as well. (Ex. Tron copying the Easton Stealth RS graphics.)

That's his name!
:lol
Call me crazy, but I'm going there today and was plannign to ask him to add an outside knee break on my RBK pros. If I can get them working for a hundred bucks, compared to buying the new CCM for $1400, I'm way ahead of the game.

Because those new CCM are really nice pads.


Nice!
The customer service is really good. The quality is way up there too.

:lawl:

Now that's something I'd love to see.


Like a bawss!
Let me know how those smart straps work for you. I'd love to ditch my old school straps...

Yeah he's pretty awesome. I'm getting my pads modded tomorrow by him.

You should look at the warrior pro's....they're on sale for $900....hahaha.

The smart straps are AWESOME. I don't feel any bunching or resistance like with the leather straps, and it literally takes me 2 minutes to put on my pads! Rotation wise it's pretty good! My only issue with the pad I think is boot related with the stiffness. more on that later....


They have a stick sale too...Just sayin....

Dude. Don't go TODAY. Go with me tomorrow........

I'm In a tough position for gear right now.
My mtn bike needs a new front brake - $450
I just got back into shooting and a cz858 is about a grand.
Committed to goalie lessons - $500

So I'm down almost $2k with other passions. Safe to say I'm making my current gear work.
:lol
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wanna buy my pads then? HAHAHAHA

just got my rbz stage 2. its too light... if that's even possible... i was over stickhandling like a goof lol. i am sure i will get used to it but i hope stick companies don't make them lighter than this! i like how its not a low kick point and doesn't have much if any taper at all

landeskog curve