40 replies to this topic

[90Style10Skill]

How do you know?

At the couple LHSes I know and used to work for, Bauer are making it very difficult for small retailers to make money because they have to spend an absurd minimum during booking season and not every store has a large enough market to turn a sustainable profit.
 

You’re consistently pretty critical for someone that’s always looking for or wearing Bauer.

Just because they're my favorite brand doesn't mean that I feel obligated to praise them every which way. Plus, I am completely against their retail business practices which doesn't have any bearing on how I feel about their pro stock products.

[Kevin52597]

Unfortunately, I've heard this is not the case these days re: Bauer.

Guess it depends on where you’re hearing it from. May be an issue with the Rep. All of my stores company reps are on their A game and i have 0 complaints regarding any of them. I feel most people look for special treatment from reps and may bad mouth when they don’t get free stuff or super hot deals. That doesn’t make them bad at their job

[90Style10Skill]

May be an issue with the Rep.

Actually I think this is it, because they have a different rep than they did a few years ago and the previous rep was really good and this current one sucks and almost never returns calls/emails.

[PittFan8]

It’s funny how some guys don’t like Bauer. I’ve kind of always felt like their stuff being the hardest to get has always made it the stuff I want most haha

[edo]

I’ve been disappointed with all the Bauer product I’ve tried in the last ten years. It’s all preference though, I don’t dislike the brand it’s just far from my go to choice hard to get or not.

[jgp799]

Same here, I used to wear Bauer head to toe including sticks, only thing I still wear or use Bauer is 4500/Reakt helmets. Still a big fan of Bauer helmets but that's about it for me.

[Mapleleafs-13]

it's the opposite for me, Bauer gear seems like it's a more quality, nice finishes, better materials etc. when i hold ccm or warrior gloves it just doesn't seem on par with what bauer produces. 

[dimitrym91]

I'm Bauer head to toe, just think they produce the best stuff. The One95 Wings pants I have are by the far the most comfortable pair of hockey pants I've ever worn and the X:60 gloves I have are perfect although I'd love to get a clean red and white pair of newer Nexus mitts. I'm drawn to the Bauer pro stuff because as mentioned its way harder to find these days. 

 

Also want to put it out there, the Warrior and CCM stuff we see on PSH isn't pro stock in any way shape or form. It was made specifically to sell to us consumers, when you see "team stock" in the description it might as well just say SMU for retail sale. Theres nothing pro about it other than teams colors and logos. I'm kind of surprised PSH and the manufacturers get away with it. I can't believe a team hasn't issued a cease and desist to CCM/Warrior for selling stuff with their logo on it since I doubt the teams are getting a cut of the profits.

 

If Bauer thinks the pro market is cannibalizing the retail market imagine what CCM and Warrior must be having happen to them. Theres literally no Bauer pro stuff out there now so I'm not sure how they can get out of it any further than they already are. Don't be surprised when CCM and Warrior inevitably follow suit. Once that happens PSH is going to be screwed and this site will go back to becoming the trading place for pro gear like it was.

[edo]

The comment above about the team stock and there’s absolutely nothing pro about the warrior and ccm stuff on psh, yea maybe it’s made for retail sales and not intended for the player or team, however put a team ‘team stock hg12’ beside a pair of hg12’s direct from a team and there’s absolutely 100% no difference. Same goes for team stock QRL’s. I’ve compared from purchases and players I’ve skated with in the summer who get their gear directly from their respective ahl and nhl clubs. Also the warrior overstock gloves made for players on psh. So unless you absolutely need them to be made for whoever player you wish and the only intention of their production was for that person there’s no difference. There’s no special pro fairy dust sparkled on the gear made for and only intended for that player just saying. At least from ccm or warrior, I can’t speak for Bauer though or the retail vs pro stock consumer space becuase frankly who cares, we’ll all be searching for the pro gear regardless if it’s on psh or becomes hard to get and rare again. If I’m missing something here just tell me to cram it because I enjoy the pro stock game either way so just my two cents

[flip12]

I imagine you’re right Edo, and the thing is, the imaginary fairy dust or aura of the “Authentic Pro Stock” is part of the appeal for some people. It’s like collecting art: knowing its origin is a large part of the lure to it, where tracing it back to the inspired source makes it more valuable than a convincing replica or forgery. It wouldn’t make a difference to me because I don’t get that aura sensation for something coming from so and so or team X, and Bauer’s the brand which I am least interested in overall, with a few notable exceptions. I can understand the desire for collectors to want something from the actual empire which they so revere. For me, I’m much less reverent of that than I am of the design lineage. I get excited seeing how this idea leads to that one, which makes me a little leery of using certain items. I don’t care if, for instance, my mint condition Graf 501s come from old Red Wings’ stock or some forgotten stash in a rural German basement. What does it for me is the genius of their position in the evolution of skate design. For others that wouldn’t matter as much as the fact that they could find a pair with Leetch, Fedorov, Mogilny, or Coffey stamped somewhere on the boots of the their box. Like I said, I’m inclined to agree with you, but to each their own. Even if it’s a lament for their being less Bauer.

[PittFan8]

I think it comes down to personal preference a lot. Personally I’d rather have a pair of gloves for a particular player. Even something game used. To me it’s got some story and personality as opposed to new team stock off of PSH. Obviously I’ve bought from PSH before and it gets the job done. But I like being able to find pictures of players wearing the gloves you own now, and things like that.

[Ezazl]

Man appreciate all the replies! It makes sense that they're trying to pull out. Only thing I hate is that they're doing it so they can charge top dollar with retail equipment. It's too dang much. Absolutely love my adv sticks though. Guess it's the time to snag as much Bauer as you can now.

[dimitrym91]

Bauer has never really been readily available that I can remember anyways so I don't see much changing. Right now the big places its available is team sales and I doubt that's going to change since once the teams buy the stuff I'm sure they can do whatever they want with it especially at the end of the season. What probably will be difficult is finding new (or even near new) stuff. It'll be out there, the prices will just be a lot higher than a comparable CCM/Warrior piece of gear. At least until CCM/Warrior follow Bauer's lead

[Adam]

what killed the pro stock market was everything getting flooded into the market. "team stock" and "pro stock" are 2 different things to me. pro stock are individually produced with specifics. team stock is made in a team colour with the same specs.

PSH as well as manufacturers destroyed that when 26 pairs of Kovalchuk gloves become readily available instead of back in the day when you had to track down a most likely game worn pair.

I've totally lost interest in searching for gear because it's pointless at this point. I'll stick to my connects both on this board, through 3K and my local connections. I think I should be fine, especially when the gear sales come around.

[schneider57]

This is true. A bunch of my friends work in the industry and know Bauer reps/managers at the Bauer HQ. They all said they are getting out because it’s hurting their retail sales. It sucks but it makes sense for them to do it.

[schneider57]

I could see that, I see more people with prostock these days than with retail. I get it, prostock is beyond a dream come true... but bauer is losing money hard

[schneider57]

The thing I don’t get though, is with the prostock sales the industry is still making money. The teams mass purchase and sell it off at a higher price point sometimes. The companies still receive the money thanks to the original purchase, but the teams or prostock companies are probably making more. It’d be sad to see the prostock side leave. Let’s face it, prostock beats retail hands down

[Cavs019]

No to beat a dead horse and further the case for pro stock but the retail stuff these days is complete and utter trash.

I went to a pure hockey for the first time in god knows how long the other day - everything is over logo’ed, over priced, and feels like it’s stitched together by a 3 year old.

[Kevin52597]

No to beat a dead horse and further the case for pro stock but the retail stuff these days is complete and utter trash.

I went to a pure hockey for the first time in god knows how long the other day - everything is over logo’ed, over priced, and feels like it’s stitched together by a 3 year old.

What bugs me is how they’re doing the logos. I don’t want a rubber logo on my top of the line gloves. It looks so cheesy compared to a stitched logo. It’s comical that somebody with a voice at bauer thought that the 2S pro retail gloves look good with the material they used on the logo

[tfer717]

What bugs me is how they’re doing the logos. I don’t want a rubber logo on my top of the line gloves. It looks so cheesy compared to a stitched logo. It’s comical that somebody with a voice at bauer thought that the 2S pro retail gloves look good with the material they used on the logo

 

they are going backwards..  ccm was doing that stuff 10+ years ago. Always bugged me.