Post by Chinaman on Aug 9, 2004 22:41:52 GMT 8
Dear Bladers.
I am announcing my retirement I am quiting this site for good because I am not used to the swearing and the cursing that has been going on in here.
Beside I am returning to Australia and you won't hear from me anymore.
If someone by the name Chinaman writes in it is not me.
But I wish to give my final piece.
So long!
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLADE SHOP!
So you blade everyday and there's a shop in your area that you usually hang out at, do your blade shopping at and hook up with your bro's.
Is this a good shop or are you always complaining about how lame they are? Have you ever stopped for a second to think about their particular circumstances? Maybe you've gone in there and wondered why they don't carry a particular model or clothing item.
Being a blade shop is not exactly that easy. There might be 20 blade companies out there, each with 5 - 15 models to choose from. That would be about 200 models a blade shop would have to carry to get them all. And that doesn't include all the other stuffs a shop must have : Wheels, frames, clothes, videos. decals and all the other good stuffs. And the guy behind the counter may not exactly be the blade wizard you are.
Although you may live to blade, the owner may more interested in the business side of things. On top of this, add on the fact that most companies change their stuff so fast that by the time a blade shop can get something in, it might already be out of date.
Another fact for the shop to consider is while you may not really care about how much a Pro-blade might cost your parents might. Often it is the parents who will lay down the ringgit. A blade shop has to be somewhat careful not to offend these endless sources of cash.
Your mom may already mind the fact that you spend all the time rollerblading and she may not be stoked to walk into a blade shop and ended up with a "fortune" bill.
So the buyer at your local blade shop has to take all this into account. Another thing to think about is that blade shops generally don't make all that much money, sometimes barely enough to stay alive.
So the guy behind the counter may not be all that stoked to hear your griping about how lame they are, etc. There are some shops that are lame, don't get me wrong. But making money is what keep the local blade shop around and the owner knows that, he obviously can't give away all his stuff.
This is especially true for the few shops that has invested in a skate park. I've never been to a skate park where a large amount of kids doesn't somehow expect to blade for free.
Basically, it is important a blade shop and its customers mutually support each other. If you are a rad blader and you know what's up with new products, etc., offer to help the blade shop pick out the right stuff. If they are a cool shop, they'll at least listen.
Other things you can do is offer for you and some friends to organise some local events, like contests, maybe a school demo, etc. Things you could expect a cool shop to do for you would be to kick down some free accessories every once in a while if you had already done something cool for them.
It's pretty simple, if you support them, they will probably support you. Maybe one day your pro blade model will be hanging on that wall because of your local blade shop.
I am announcing my retirement I am quiting this site for good because I am not used to the swearing and the cursing that has been going on in here.
Beside I am returning to Australia and you won't hear from me anymore.
If someone by the name Chinaman writes in it is not me.
But I wish to give my final piece.
So long!
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLADE SHOP!
So you blade everyday and there's a shop in your area that you usually hang out at, do your blade shopping at and hook up with your bro's.
Is this a good shop or are you always complaining about how lame they are? Have you ever stopped for a second to think about their particular circumstances? Maybe you've gone in there and wondered why they don't carry a particular model or clothing item.
Being a blade shop is not exactly that easy. There might be 20 blade companies out there, each with 5 - 15 models to choose from. That would be about 200 models a blade shop would have to carry to get them all. And that doesn't include all the other stuffs a shop must have : Wheels, frames, clothes, videos. decals and all the other good stuffs. And the guy behind the counter may not exactly be the blade wizard you are.
Although you may live to blade, the owner may more interested in the business side of things. On top of this, add on the fact that most companies change their stuff so fast that by the time a blade shop can get something in, it might already be out of date.
Another fact for the shop to consider is while you may not really care about how much a Pro-blade might cost your parents might. Often it is the parents who will lay down the ringgit. A blade shop has to be somewhat careful not to offend these endless sources of cash.
Your mom may already mind the fact that you spend all the time rollerblading and she may not be stoked to walk into a blade shop and ended up with a "fortune" bill.
So the buyer at your local blade shop has to take all this into account. Another thing to think about is that blade shops generally don't make all that much money, sometimes barely enough to stay alive.
So the guy behind the counter may not be all that stoked to hear your griping about how lame they are, etc. There are some shops that are lame, don't get me wrong. But making money is what keep the local blade shop around and the owner knows that, he obviously can't give away all his stuff.
This is especially true for the few shops that has invested in a skate park. I've never been to a skate park where a large amount of kids doesn't somehow expect to blade for free.
Basically, it is important a blade shop and its customers mutually support each other. If you are a rad blader and you know what's up with new products, etc., offer to help the blade shop pick out the right stuff. If they are a cool shop, they'll at least listen.
Other things you can do is offer for you and some friends to organise some local events, like contests, maybe a school demo, etc. Things you could expect a cool shop to do for you would be to kick down some free accessories every once in a while if you had already done something cool for them.
It's pretty simple, if you support them, they will probably support you. Maybe one day your pro blade model will be hanging on that wall because of your local blade shop.
