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Gear Testing Exchange

R

redhawk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
428
I saw this on another thread the other day, where members were wanting to try out the EZV sight and would ship it to other members to see if it would work for their set up. It got me thinking, what if we did that with other gear as well, such as platforms and such. We could set up a honor system where the member who is looking to try out certain gear could cover the shipping and handling cost to receive and return back the gear to the original owner. Would this be something people would be interested in doing?
 
I’ve seen this and also donated product for this use in another forum.
Things that worked best and things that didn’t
Worked best when vendors donated the product
Worked best when there was a thread with a who is next and one person made sure the item was going to someone ready to use it at their given time and ensured it was sent back on its way to the next person ready in line
each person gave a small write up and took pictures when using and done (vendors loved this and would use those pictures for more promotion)

what didn’t work
Didn’t work great if it was just people on a list trying to manage themselves
People sometimes sat on the product for too long (oh can’t get out this week to use it so will next etc)

overall i think it was fun to do and I would assume vendors would love to get the products in as many peoples hands as possible, but it was also a bit of work to keep moving it along and manage the waiting list of people
 
I did this on a fly fishing forum with fly rods. If a member liked the rod and wanted to keep it he paid the donor and the whole thing started over. We had the option to purchase or send it to the next person on the list. It seemed to work pretty well but the rods were cheap to ship.
 
Boomah21 said:
I’ve seen this and also donated product for this use in another forum.
Things that worked best and things that didn’t
Worked best when vendors donated the product
Worked best when there was a thread with a who is next and one person made sure the item was going to someone ready to use it at their given time and ensured it was sent back on its way to the next person ready in line
each person gave a small write up and took pictures when using and done (vendors loved this and would use those pictures for more promotion)

what didn’t work
Didn’t work great if it was just people on a list trying to manage themselves
People sometimes sat on the product for too long (oh can’t get out this week to use it so will next etc)

overall i think it was fun to do and I would assume vendors would love to get the products in as many peoples hands as possible, but it was also a bit of work to keep moving it along and manage the waiting list of people
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I could see the line of names being an issue, great point.
 
I would be up for it..

I actually posted an ad in the classified about wanting to do a swap to try with my currently camera arm (4th arrow talon) to try out someone's LWCG pocket arm..

I
 
Nutterbuster said:
What if we rented gear in the classifieds? I've got a closet full of gear i don't need this summer. $50 plus shipping to play with a hickory creek mini for the week?
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Seems like a good idea as long as the person you're sending it to is trustworthy to fix something if they break it.
Another thought, we'd have to make sure it's a responsible person too and not little Jimmy renting it to shoot the neighbor's cat.
Get a Hickory Creek background check written up!
 
Jtaylor said:
Seems like a good idea as long as the person you're sending it to is trustworthy to fix something if they break it.
Another thought, we'd have to make sure it's a responsible person and not little Jimmy renting it to shoot the neighbor's cat.
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Hmmm. Theoretically I suppose you could ask for a deposit of the full replacement value. But then the whole process becomes as expensive and tedious as buy, try, resell.

Maybe a sort of "club" with a membership where the dues went towards reimbursing lenders for any loss not willingly covered by the member? You break my bow and don't fix/replace it on honor, you're blacklisted and the pot pays for my bow?
 
I found there was never a loss just delays
We were shipping and sharing items in the $100-$400 range tho
 
I honestly feel most of these saddle companies would be more than happy to donate items for it if someone actually put it all together.

especially if there was a way to track their return on investment like a code they used to purchase if they ended up liking it?
 
Nutterbuster said:
Hmmm. Theoretically I suppose you could ask for a deposit of the full replacement value. But then the whole process becomes as expensive and tedious as buy, try, resell.

Maybe a sort of "club" with a membership where the dues went towards reimbursing lenders for any loss not willingly covered by the member? You break my bow and don't fix/replace it on honor, you're blacklisted and the pot pays for my bow?
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Seems feasible for sure! I've often thought it's a waste half my gear isn't being used during off seasons. I let friends borrow things with no money involved and they seem to borrow indefinitely once and awhile. A late charge past due dates might be an idea too.
A saddle hunter/hunter gear trade/loan app...location sharing so items could be loaned and traded locally and a nationwide database for shipping items. Seems like this should already exist?
 
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Jtaylor said:
Seems feasible for sure! I've often thought it's a waste half my gear isn't being used during off seasons. I let friends borrow things with no money involved and they seem to borrow indefinitely once and awhile. A late charge past due dates might be an idea too.
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Yeah, first thought is just a 3 day or a week grace period and then if there isn't a shipping number, you agree to be billed the full price. I think that would help jog folks' memories. Kinda how we handle borrowed textbooks here at the uni
 
I was in a group way back that traded hunts. I had a buddy host a turkey hunt and the recipient had him out to another state for a pheasant hunt. Several guys did that over the years. That was a long time ago in a nicer world though.
 
I would be interested in renting a one sticking stick...To see if the hype is worth it...I think with high dollar items a refundable deposit should be a must and a strict deadline
 
It’s just like subscription services. You pay 10.00 a month at beginning of the month. If you cancel the service(return the product or ship to next user), you’re not charged for the next month.

monthly fee should be 10% of the cost of the product new. You pay any shipping forward.

the actual mechanism to enforce this is beyond my scope.

my honest opinion is to properly execute this, you’ve just created a government program to support the awesome classifieds we already have. You can try gear for cost of shipping all day every day
 
kyler1945 said:
It’s just like subscription services. You pay 10.00 a month at beginning of the month. If you cancel the service(return the product or ship to next user), you’re not charged for the next month.

monthly fee should be 10% of the cost of the product new. You pay any shipping forward.

the actual mechanism to enforce this is beyond my scope.

my honest opinion is to properly execute this, you’ve just created a government program to support the awesome classifieds we already have. You can try gear for cost of shipping all day every day
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For you, maybe me, and lots of guys I think you're spot-on. But for some guys there is a perceived risk of loss to buying and trying if you know you're gonna resell. And, theoretically, a rental requires less liquid assets than the outright purchase of an item. The second issue is I think the more relevant one. $500 for a lwcg stand is hard to come upnwoth for some people (like me.) Especially if you're not even sure it's worth eating Ramen for over the course of a month or two. But $50 to try it out and then paying $500 once you know it's the cat's azz is a completely different looking thing.
 
kyler1945 said:
It’s just like subscription services. You pay 10.00 a month at beginning of the month. If you cancel the service(return the product or ship to next user), you’re not charged for the next month.

monthly fee should be 10% of the cost of the product new. You pay any shipping forward.

the actual mechanism to enforce this is beyond my scope.

my honest opinion is to properly execute this, you’ve just created a government program to support the awesome classifieds we already have. You can try gear for cost of shipping all day every day
Click to expand...
I do think though that the easiest way to do this is for a few guys to just post a "for rent" listing on classifieds. Who's going first? Help a brother out and make a few bucks is capitalism at its finest.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I do think though that the easiest way to do this is for a few guys to just post a "for rent" listing on classifieds. Who's going first? Help a brother out and make a few bucks is capitalism at its finest.
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I'd be willing to put my klein spurs up and a shikar mini with aider/rappel gear. What happens if someone breaks their back while renting my gear though? Is it a use at own risk or as is deal? I'm not selling it so I'm not sure how that all goes down.
 
Jtaylor said:
I'd be willing to put my klein spurs up and a shikar mini with aider/rappel gear. What happens if someone breaks their back while renting my gear though? Is it a use at own risk or as is deal? I'm not selling it so I'm not sure how that all goes down.
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You ever let a guy shoot your bow or borrow your saw?

If you're genuinely worried about that, I think the idea is dead in the water. I'm guessing it's next to impossible to fully negate all risk of a lawsuit and that goes for selling or renting.

How did I know @kyler1945 wasn't going to play hide the pickle with me when I met him for the first time in the literal middle of nowhere under a tractor shed at 11pm on a dark and rainy night? I didn't. I just intuited that posing as a saddlehunter to lure victims was statistically unlikely compared to the odds of him legitimately just extending the offer to enjoy hot coffee and a cold hunt, and that intuition proved correct.
 
Well this took off! I would pay for shipping and return shipping for a WEI perch if someone has one they are willing to "rent out". could paypal invoice for upfront shipping cost.
 
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