Wish list, while shopping for a ski

[mike_mapple]

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening,

 

I wanted to reach out to everyone here to get some ideas/thoughts.

 

As we are moving into a more internet based shopping lifestyle, I am currently looking to revamp the Perfski.com site. So what I want to hear or get any input from the ballers, is when you are shopping for a ski, what would you like to see, info you find the most important when buying a ski, as a current skier. Having someone come in the shop I can talk skis all day, but when you are looking on a website after hours I want the best info, and what is going to keep someone to keep coming back and checking the site, and hopefully turning those eyes looking at the site into buyers (at the end of the day got to keep my job!) I have already talked to some wake and some new skiers, but wanted to get some input from people who have been skiing for years, and even if you are a new skier I always want to hear some advice/thoughts.

 

 

Thanks for taking any time to respond, or even just to read.

 

 

-Mike Mapple

[fu_man]

Not sure if this helps or not, but I really find Joel's videos for Connelly very helpful. He talks though each aspect of the ski and the purpose for the design. Conversely, although I ski Radar products, I find Radar's product videos useless. They are music videos with water skiers and literally say nothing about the product. The reason I bought Radar in the first place was because of the videos Rini and Rossi put out explaining the difference between the Strada and Senate. Unfortunately, Radar went away from that.

 

Aside from the product specs, I think linking these types of informative video to be helpful when shopping online.

[MattP]

@fu_man

[mike_mapple]

@fu_man maybe like a video section, or link on the skis, as we normally have the product video with the ski, but something a bit more in depth from a skier. Say a "Learn more" button? or something along those lines that would maybe have more informative videos, actually ski videos to watch to?

 

 

 

[Than_Bogan]

As an expert skier (by which I mean not likely to get any better :smile: ), I generally know what I'm looking for. But I think back to when I was buying skis from an "outsider's" perspective, and I think the biggest thing is understanding what kind of skier you are, what your goals are, and how that relates to what skis you should consider. If a website could help answer those questions, I think that would help set people on the right track AND come back to that same website for their purchase!

[MattP]

@Than_Bogan so more like a ski tailor. Plenty of online questionnaires that can direct to the correct purchase. That would be pretty cool!

[MuskokaKy]

I do like the video idea.

 

In relation to Gear more than ski's---As a customer of Perf that lives north of the boarder one thing i always look for is a Size Chart. For guys and girls who can't always get to the store or have something close by I rely heavy on user feedback / reviews as well as size charts. So many companies make gear that fits differently; a chart breakdown is always super helpful for me when shopping online. I think Perf does this for a good chunk of items but something i do really appreciate.

[Cooper_Trelawney]

A skier intake form would be interesting. It could have questions such as gender, weight, height, ability, experience, goals, brand preference, binding preference, etc and then provide a couple of recommendations. Next level would be virtual concierge with advice on set up, accessories, etc. Make it easy, take the guesswork out of the equation, make each customer feel special.

[BraceMaker]

I've also always wondered if a "ski of the month" type demo system would be popular. Obviously I can order an HO or D3 demo from them and buy from them - but maybe you could have a subscription based thing, kind of thinking like old school netflix where for my 300$ I get 1 ski at a time for up to 1 month at a time and the minute I package the old one up and drop it at fedex you guys would get the ship confirmation and ship the next one. (Could be either a surprise ski or maybe I fill out a form with my 6 picks).

 

I think there would be quite a few people who would be interested in that for the right combo of pricing and options. If I were for instance skiing a Vapor and thinking maybe I'm going to buy a 2020 vapor I'd probably be willing to first pay X and try the several other skis I was looking at like a new Omega, a GT-R etc. and then have the Vapor show up to try.

 

Other things I always wonder is sort of a "people who viewed this ski bought this ski" - or number of skis sold.

 

 

 

 

[ColeGiacopuzzi]

Here is another video from Radar on the 2020 Vapor. @fu_man If you can't find it on social media, you usually can on Vimeo or YouTube we post all our product videos on there.

 

[Windsurfnut]

Rich video content. Focus on the little details that a consumer cannot get from reading the latest brochure/website from both the factory side and pro/end user side.

On the factory/brand side, why these little details make a difference in the ski and what sets them apart from other models in the line. Why feature X or technology X was chosen, and the little details that came from the development process.

On the professional/end user content, what they feel in the equipment, how did it change their experience on the water.

[skiermk]

Try to get more product reviews on your site. On any website I always read reviews before purchasing. I also think it would be helpful if you could sort and view skis by skill level. The more detailed the better. My sons right now are 30 mph, 15 off skiers and it was confusing to read all the ski manufactures remarks to find the best overall ski for their current ability. I think I found them the right ski to progress, but it wasn't a quick process trying to do it online from just the manufacturer descriptions. My shopping process was a back and forth going from your site to this site for more info and reviews.

[MarkTimm]

https://elanskis.com/us_en/ski-selector

@mike_mapple something like what elan does in this link would be helpful adapted to water skiing.

[chrislandy]

I quite like the ask an expert live questions on shopping sites, not the bot type ones but real people. Out of hours is a bit of a problem but if you got a couple of people in AU and UK to respond when you're closed then you can cover 24hrs and just pay them on a per response / sale basis rather than standing wage - some of the Uni student skiers might jump at the chance

[Stevie Boy]

Hi Mike, for me it's about what other people are saying about the Product, personal experiences etc, watching Rossi or other Pro's on a ski is amazing to watch, but what I would like to see is video of somebody a bit lower down the ladder, that would give a better idea of how the ski turns, etc.

A ski is always going to look fantastic with one of the Pro's riding and that is how they market the skis, but their level is way above a lot of the skiers out there.

When it comes to impact vest etc, sizes available to try, nothing more frustrating than, wanting to buy a product and your size is not in stock, maybe better to reduce selection but have all the sizes available, I do not know how feasable that is, I am not a retailer.

Wishing you well.

[fu_man]

I stand corrected.

[Dockoelboto]

Personally the demo option is huge. I was in the market for a new ski last summer, looking at all the skis available and watching pros ski on them wasn't helpful. A demo was very helpful - I ended up getting a D3 ski. I had a rep come with me and I was able to try a few skis. Just having the option to demo a few skis in general is very helpful.

[owennibley]

I race dirt bikes as well as ski and one thing I really like about when they do a shootout of the new bikes, is they take 5-10 testers (beginner thru expert, young & veteran, different weight, supercross vs. motocross vs. offroad, etc.) over a couple week period to rank and write pros and cons about each of the bikes. They rank them based on suspension, motor, comfort, etc. Its nice to hear from Rossi, Joel, or Will on the new skis coming out, but I'm a 22'-28' skier not a 41' skier. It would be nice to hear some feedback from some guys my level that have tried a bunch of different skis and what they liked/hated about each ski.

[RAWSki]

Would like to see reviews by real skiers, filter it to only those who purchased the ski from your shop) what they like and perhaps don't like. What ski they came from or considered/demoed before purchase.

 

Good thread thanks @mike_mapple We love PerfSki and try to visit the shop every time we come to Orlando.

[TEL]

I can't even imagine picking a ski with out trying it first and relying on someone else opinion. I am very fortunate to be able to pick up a demo ski from Performance and try it for the weekend. We all ski different, with that said the ski i am on now I did not like at first. But with a little fin tuning and I mean a little pushing the fin 5 thousands forwards made it the clear winner. When I look at the skis on the dock when all my ski buds are over every brand is represented and they all demoed skis first

[aupatking]

Maybe just suggested product pairing. With this ski, we suggest these boots, this rope, these shorts, and this vest. Buy it all as a package, we’ll throw in a PS&S t-shirt.

For some of us here, like @Than_Bogan said, we know what we’re looking for. When I came back to skiing after 20 years I didn’t know who Radar, Goode, or D3 were and I didn’t see a Straightline rope and handle combo anywhere.

For people looking to your site for guidance, lead on! If I’m looking at a Radar Alloy Senate, suggest I look into Masterline’s mid/lower handle rope combo. That skier isn’t looking for the optimized rope (It’s hard enough for me to think a mainline by itself is worth that much). I just went and added the Syndicate Omega and a pair of XL Tail 41’s and the site suggested a deep V handle and a woman’s vest. I don’t know how much data you can program into your barcodes, but “level” would be a place I would want to group my products for relevant pairings.

[aupatking]

And a free t-shirt ;)

[chris55]

Leaving in Europe (Geneva, Switzerland) it is almost impossible to try and demo new skis. Most of the skiers end up with what we can buy from 2 places. In the snow ski business, there is a guy from Canada (Images Pro-Motion, PDS) and he tries a lot of differents skis and then he post a youtube (5-8 minutes) explaining the ski etc...and if we can have that for the waterski, it would be very great and I would ad that if we can have some comments from "normal"skiers (15off to 32off 34mph) that would be the best.

Beside that Perfski really tries to help us out when we ask for it, so thank you and good luck @mike_mapple FYI I am still riding my T2 and love it

[Mick04]

@chris55 “ he tries a lot of differents skis and then he post a youtube (5-8 minutes) explaining the ski etc...and if we can have that for the waterski, it would be very great ”

 

There used to be a guy who did that exact thing for water skis. Maybe Horton knows what happened to him. ?

[Than_Bogan]

He got a c-75.

[BraceMaker]

@Than_Bogan last I saw was something like a EP with a 94 Prostar

[chris55]

@Mick04 yeap...it used to be and it was only the brand who would send the ski to....him.... :(

But it was great