This is a transcript from the previous forum. Due to technical reasons we weren’t able to directly transfer the posts to this new forum.

---

Jack
Posted: Oct 13 2005, 09:11 AM

Hey, I’m looking to buy a pair of Easton Synergy 1300c skates, and the only place i could get them from in Dunedin is fro the rink if I’m really lucky.
Does any one know if there is a easton outlet store in Auckland?

---

Ryan
Posted: Oct 13 2005, 10:14 AM

http://www.rageproshop.co.nz
http://www.iceandinline.co.nz
http://www.justhockey.co.nz

I don’t think these actual sites are particularly helpful, but those companies do sell Easton gear.

AFAIK Ice and Inline is the whole saler, Rage Pro Shop is the retail division of them, and Just Hockey is a seperate retailer who purchases from Ice and Inline. There prices are pretty horendous though, SK8 is much cheaper. I’m guessing the Dunedin Ice Stadium also gets their gear from Ice and Inline.

On another note, if anyones looking for Bauer or Nike stuff, there’s also http://www.bauernz.co.nz.

I wouldn’t recommend any of these though unless you desperately want a particular model of a particular brand. SK8 is way cheaper and gives way better service IMO.

---

Jack
Posted: Oct 13 2005, 01:00 PM

I agree also that SK8 gives much better service and are much cooler in general. But, they don’t sell easton!! sad.gif and sucks to be me cuz my foot only fits basicly easton molds…. i dunno why, maybe im cursed!!!

---

Ryan
Posted: Oct 13 2005, 02:48 PM

I forgot one other option for purchasing Easton gear.

Phil Pielak-Jones used to run a Rage Pro Shop in Gore and AFAIK still has connections with Ice and Inline so may be able to get them for you.

---

matt a
Posted: Oct 14 2005, 04:32 PM

hey man, any specific reason to have easton skates? i mean if you have like wide feet or something then tour skates are generally the widest a – just a thought.

---

Jack
Posted: Oct 14 2005, 07:40 PM

I’m one of those unfortunate people that have wide, as well as flat feet tongue.gif

None of the Nike/bauer ones i’ve tried have flat enough soles…. same goes with the majority of other brands as well, except the occasional CCM….

---

Ryan
Posted: Oct 14 2005, 11:55 PM

Where the heck can you buy them from though? Tour inline hockey skates aren’t too hard to get hold of, but I’m not sure where you’d find Tour ice skates.

---

Jack
Posted: Oct 26 2005, 11:19 AM

Holy crap… talk about price difference…. Getting the Easton Synergy 1300C in NZ will currently cost you roughly a grand… where as if u were to nop onto your computer, whip out the trusty credit card… on some of the US sites, they are being sold for around 400 US….. and with the currently conversion rate between ours and the US dollar… thats barely 750 dollars plus shipping…. yes, it would take around a month to get here but hey, its like 250 dollars of saving…… Cummon New Zealand!!!! stop ripping us off!

---

kyle
Posted: Oct 26 2005, 04:12 PM

QUOTE (Jack @ Oct 26 2005, 11:19 AM)
Holy crap… talk about price difference…. Getting the Easton Synergy 1300C in NZ will currently cost you roughly a grand… where as if u were to nop onto your computer, whip out the trusty credit card… on some of the US sites, they are being sold for around 400 US….. and with the currently conversion rate between ours and the US dollar… thats barely 750 dollars plus shipping…. yes, it would take around a month to get here but hey, its like 250 dollars of saving…… Cummon New Zealand!!!! stop ripping us off!

I bought my shoulder pads through e-bay earlier in the year. Cost me $4 US brand new. Great buy. Cost me $29 US to get them here (airmail, but surface mail was only $6 cheaper, but 4 weeks longer). Was still cheaper than buying shoulder pads here.

The problem with NZ prices isn’t that they’re ripping us off, to my knowledge, it’s that their turnover in gear is really low. In order to cover overheads they therefore have to make a bigger margin. So they might be marking them up 70% on what they buy them for wholesale, just to make a profit. Big stores in North America are probably marking up at less than half that.

It would be easy to say “more people would buy the gear if it was cheaper” but the reality is that it’s not a problem of there being people buying elsewhere because it’s cheaper, it’s a problem that there aren’t enough people playing hockey, to create the sales for the few shops that supply the gear. If we had three times as many people playing both forms of hockey in NZ, I’m sure prices would fall, because total income would go up without overheads going up as much.

I’m hoping to go to Canada in April next year, and I’ll be probably taking orders for stuff that people want to buy, within reasonable limits of what I could bring back as ‘personal equipment’.

---

Ryan
Posted: Oct 26 2005, 04:28 PM

Bring back lots of sticks. I’ve heard of people returning with like 50 sticks for sale. You can always argue that you break them constantly – which is fair enough as they are fairly brittle things.

---

kyle
Posted: Oct 26 2005, 04:52 PM

QUOTE (Ryan @ Oct 26 2005, 04:28 PM)
Bring back lots of sticks. I’ve heard of people returning with like 50 sticks for sale. You can always argue that you break them constantly – which is fair enough as they are fairly brittle things.

By sticks do you mean shafts, blades, or one-piece sticks?

---

Ryan
Posted: Oct 26 2005, 09:37 PM

QUOTE (kyle @ Oct 26 2005, 04:52 PM)
By sticks do you mean shafts, blades, or one-piece sticks?

I know of people who have brought back 50+ wooden one piece sticks. Personally I brought back 7 sticks, all composite, either one piece or two piece. Plus a whole stack of blades. I also brought back almost two full sets of hockey equipment. I think the limit will be more how much you can be bothered carrying/what your weight limit is. Direct from Nth America to NZ you have a limit of two bags which can be up to 32 kg each plus a carry on bag. That’s an absolute crap load of stuff and I’d be impressed if you brought back anywhere near that amount.

---

Azzy
Posted: Oct 27 2005, 03:02 PM

Kyle is right with the margins, plus if you buy stuff worth over a certain amount, not sure what, but anyway when it comes in you get hit with duty,and gst etc…Which New Zealand companies already have incorporated into there prices.
So you have to be careful comparing prices overseas and in New Zealand.

---

Azzy
Posted: Oct 27 2005, 03:14 PM

Okay I know I just posted like 4 minutes ago but I just did some research and well

NZ Customs
All goods being brought into New Zealand attract tariff duty [where applicable] and GST on arrival. However you don’t have to pay anything in cases where the duty and/or GST on a single consignment amounts to less than $50. The same is true if you’re ordering goods over the Net from overseas. As a general rule, revenue collection would only be made if the declared value on the parcel exceeded $NZ399. GST of 12.5% is the only charge. Clothing and footwear, however, attract fairly high tariff duty as well as GST. The value threshold with adult size shoes or clothing is roughly $NZ145.

So if you are looking at anything over 399 NZ you have to add 12.5% to the quoted price, plus shipping to get a comparable price hopes this helps

---

kyle
Posted: Oct 27 2005, 04:44 PM

QUOTE (Azzy @ Oct 27 2005, 03:14 PM)
Okay I know I just posted like 4 minutes ago but I just did some research and well

Actually Aaron, I don’t think that’s entirely true.

From http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/A … ffects.htm

Wearing Apparel and Other Personal Effects

Your clothing, toilet articles, personal jewellery (including watches) will be admitted free of duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST), irrespective of whether they accompany you or are sent separately, provided they are:
– intended for your own use or wear
– not intended for any other person or persons or for gift, sale or exchange.
The term “personal effects” covers new or used articles which travellers may reasonably require for their personal use during a journey, or which returning New Zealand residents have acquired in the course of an overseas trip. Commercial quantities of individual items of apparel (including footwear) are not covered by this allowance

I suspect the way to go about it would be to claim they’re personal effects, not for commercial use. That is, you could come back with a few sticks, and a complete set of gear etc. People have been lucky if they’ve been able to get 50 sticks into the country however, as you’d struggle to explain how you’d ever use 50 sticks yourself personally.

However, you could probably bring a complete set of out gear, a complete set of goalie gear, with sets of sticks for both. Not that you could fit it in your luggage of course!