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Spicymemer45

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So I recently purchased a balaclava with a skull design.

Long story short, it F*cking sucked.

I had the thought "I could do better"

So I've decided I will do better.

Right now
.

I am currently answering quotes from suppliers on multiple sites.

I intend to sell off of Amazon, which is why I invite @biophase to watch my progress because who better to watch over me than Amazon-base Jesus.

So I intend to order 50 samples and I will post the images of the product soon.

Let's organize this into an actionable thread.

GOAL

1.) Sell Balaclavas on Amazon

HOW

1.) Import from supplier, fulfill via Amazon
a.) *Make sure to drive traffic to page*

WHY

1.) I honest to God think no man should EVER endure such a shitty balaclava while skiing, or doing anything where it's cold as balls.

Always analyze, but never as more than you have to.

It's kinda a progress thread, I'm really just looking for feedback AS I go

More to come.

 
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JByers210

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So I recently purchased a balaclava with a skull design.

Long story short, it F*cking sucked.

I had the thought "I could do better"

So I've decided I will do better.

Right now
.

I am currently answering quotes from suppliers on multiple sites.

I intend to sell off of Amazon, which is why I invite @biophase to watch my progress because who better to watch over me than Amazon-base Jesus.

So I intend to order 50 samples and I will post the images of the product soon.

Let's organize this into an actionable thread.

GOAL

1.) Sell Balaclavas on Amazon

HOW

1.) Import from supplier, fulfill via Amazon
a.) *Make sure to drive traffic to page*

WHY

1.) I honest to God think no man should EVER endure such a shitty balaclava while skiing, or doing anything where it's cold as balls.

Always analyze, but never as more than you have to.

It's kinda a progress thread, I'm really just looking for feedback AS I go

More to come.

What's wrong with the one you bought??
 

Longinus

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I would say that this is a very competitive and relatively cheap product, but I'm sure this will be an interesting progress thread. Good luck.
 
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BD64

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So, I'm a ski bum. And an avid balaclava (for the love of god just call it a ski mask) user. Honestly I don't really see where you could differentiate or position yourself in the market for this to be a worthwhile success. There are already so many out there with different styles and materials and all at a low price point. Based on Amazon there are also a shit ton listed there and plenty with good reviews, all pretty cheap.

I'd love to hear what you plan on doing to stand out, if anything don't compete on price. Provide value by filling a need and having a premium ski mask... what that entrails I honestly don't know. Looks like you may be trying to get a certain design but all those "ghost" designs that you mentioned are already EVERYWHERE.

I don't want this to stop you however, just tryna be real and give my honest opinion as someone who would probably your exact target customer. (College ski bum who has been shredding it for 20 years)...

If you want to build an online presence around skiing I suggest do it by branding yourself to a particular niche, that is what all the new industry successes have been doing here in CO and Utah. For example look up Vertika outerware, they been killing the apparel and gear game recently but have done some serious marketing stuff.
 
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ZCP

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How about a Ski Bum 'balaclava of the month' club?
You could partner with ski resorts for lower price lift tickets..... send out a box with a ski mask, premium chap stick, and lift tickets.

Then for summer send one with cooling packets.
Have one you could put heating or cooling packs into.
 

G-Man

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These things look like an accidental police shooting waiting to happen.

watching and good luck.
 
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Spicymemer45

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How about a Ski Bum 'balaclava of the month' club?
You could partner with ski resorts for lower price lift tickets..... send out a box with a ski mask, premium chap stick, and lift tickets.

Then for summer send one with cooling packets.
Have one you could put heating or cooling packs into.
This is a good idea.

I've gone to a ski resort annually in West Virginia and they sell pretty shitty Ski Masks.

And since @Bdenner64 has stated that quality masks are easy to find, I could do something similar to the "LOOT BOX" idea a lot of companies are doing

And @ZCP If I paired it with multiple ski resorts they could share some of the profits, etc and lower the price on lift tickets like you said. Everything you said is a good idea.

And since I can't compete with price or assembly quality, branding does sound good. I looked at Virtika Outerwear and I liked everything they're about.

What is everyone's thoughts on the LOOT BOX idea?
 

Bulgano

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How about a Ski Bum 'balaclava of the month' club?
You could partner with ski resorts for lower price lift tickets..... send out a box with a ski mask, premium chap stick, and lift tickets.

Then for summer send one with cooling packets.
Have one you could put heating or cooling packs into.

This is a good idea.

I've gone to a ski resort annually in West Virginia and they sell pretty shitty Ski Masks.

And since @Bdenner64 has stated that quality masks are easy to find, I could do something similar to the "LOOT BOX" idea a lot of companies are doing

And @ZCP If I paired it with multiple ski resorts they could share some of the profits, etc and lower the price on lift tickets like you said. Everything you said is a good idea.

And since I can't compete with price or assembly quality, branding does sound good. I looked at Virtika Outerwear and I liked everything they're about.

What is everyone's thoughts on the LOOT BOX idea?

@ZCP is really onto something there. I think "loot boxes" are a great idea, just for the love of God don't call them "loot boxes" and don't fall into the trap that all other companies do and fill them with complete shite.
Put stuff in it that you think hobbyist skiiers would find useful and stick to it. Reputation > *
 

BD64

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This is a good idea.

I've gone to a ski resort annually in West Virginia and they sell pretty shitty Ski Masks.

And since @Bdenner64 has stated that quality masks are easy to find, I could do something similar to the "LOOT BOX" idea a lot of companies are doing

And @ZCP If I paired it with multiple ski resorts they could share some of the profits, etc and lower the price on lift tickets like you said. Everything you said is a good idea.

And since I can't compete with price or assembly quality, branding does sound good. I looked at Virtika Outerwear and I liked everything they're about.

What is everyone's thoughts on the LOOT BOX idea?

I really like this actually... Their are a lot of "loot boxes" in the car industry right now, the one which comes to mind first is Tuner Crate. The cool thing here is that many of the younger guys out here skiing/boarding are also into cars. Street cars, drift cars, stance, etc. Which is largely what things like Tuner targets so I think that there may be a good market for similar ski stuff out there.

Tuner Crates contain things like car decals, stickers, clothing, basic maintenance stuff, etc. Really basic shit, much of it is swagger which is a BIG thing in the car scene. There is a lot of crossover here to the snow-sports side of things. For example kids tend to love there stickers and there is definitely an aspect of swagger, especially in freeskiing/park.

I could bounce this around some of my homies and see what they think about it.
 
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Spicymemer45

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@ZCP is really onto something there. I think "loot boxes" are a great idea, just for the love of God don't call them "loot boxes" and don't fall into the trap that all other companies do and fill them with complete shite.
Put stuff in it that you think hobbyist skiiers would find useful and stick to it. Reputation > *
Ah yes, validation. The thing my father never gave me lol.

Thanks @Bulgano :)
 

Spicymemer45

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I really like this actually... Their are a lot of "loot boxes" in the car industry right now, the one which comes to mind first is Tuner Crate. The cool thing here is that many of the younger guys out here skiing/boarding are also into cars. Street cars, drift cars, stance, etc. Which is largely what things like Tuner targets so I think that there may be a good market for similar ski stuff out there.

Tuner Crates contain things like car decals, stickers, clothing, basic maintenance stuff, etc. Really basic shit, much of it is swagger which is a BIG thing in the car scene. There is a lot of crossover here to the snow-sports side of things. For example kids tend to love there stickers and there is definitely an aspect of swagger, especially in freeskiing/park.

I could bounce this around some of my homies and see what they think about it.
Awesome, much appreciation!
 
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The-J

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What is everyone's thoughts on the LOOT BOX idea?

Good model in theory. However, the loot box craze has died down a bit and the power players in the industry are pretty well cemented.

People have gotten used to shitty boxes filled with crap they don't want.

Now I've never done a loot box so take my ideas with a grain of salt. But I would guess that you can overcome the main objections by (1) offering a free trial box, and (2) being open about the next 6 months of loot in the boxes. Straight up tell people what they're getting (along with an approx. dollar value) and they won't think they're getting crap. Constantly updating people on what to expect from their boxes in the future might help reduce churn rates as well.

The free trial box will allow them to see quality for themselves, too. But you'll be dumping serious coin on free trial boxes.

Again, just some ideas: I'm neither a customer nor a provider of loot boxes
 

Bulgano

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Good model in theory. However, the loot box craze has died down a bit and the power players in the industry are pretty well cemented.

People have gotten used to shitty boxes filled with crap they don't want.

Now I've never done a loot box so take my ideas with a grain of salt. But I would guess that you can overcome the main objections by (1) offering a free trial box, and (2) being open about the next 6 months of loot in the boxes. Straight up tell people what they're getting (along with an approx. dollar value) and they won't think they're getting crap. Constantly updating people on what to expect from their boxes in the future might help reduce churn rates as well.

The free trial box will allow them to see quality for themselves, too. But you'll be dumping serious coin on free trial boxes.

Again, just some ideas: I'm neither a customer nor a provider of loot boxes

An alternative to this is to give the first x amount of users a "trial box". Other people after that I would still offer a "trial" box, but they would have to sign into a plan before receiving it, preferably with a payment processor like Stripe since it's significantly hard to cancel/chargeback on that than PayPal. This way you can be certain they are actually signing into a plan rather than being stingy buggers and trying to get free shit.
 

Spicymemer45

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Kickstarter

If I crowdfund this thing and offer a free box to people who donate a certain amount and I also showcase in videos what kind of value people will be getting and I can also use it in a multitude of marketing ways.

Thoughts?​
 
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I swear I thought this thread was about baklava but then spelled weirdly.
BAKLAVA_11884.jpg


got very confused as to why this would be sold in a skiing area

Interesting ideas in here, following to see where this goes. Taking the plunge can be so rewarding in terms of knowledge and experience.
 

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i snowboard, spent the season on the mountain pretty much every day. mixed feelings on your idea, i think its cool and could work, although on the other hand you need to place yourself in my position as a customer.

me personally? i do not shop online, so my opinion may be biased, when we snow birds buy our gear. we typically buy everything at once. so last year i went to mountain warehouse and looked for a package deal. bought pants,jacket, gloves, hat all at the same time. did get a plain mask to for 20 bucks i think

i think a big part of your success would need to be some type of bundle deal like i mentioned above, i paid $150 or so for *everything* super cheap and lasted me the whole season...

a big problem i had with snowboarding was my goggles... they would fog up leaving me blinded on the lift which was super annoying, the solution to this problem is goggles that came with a mini defogger inside. saw some retail for $300 bucks would love to try those sometime!

some difficulties you'll run into are your masks are not very unique, and feel as if it could be more convenient to buy an item like this in person. going shopping for a snowboard/skis/ clothing a person will stumble upon a product like yours in a retail shop and could find it easier to pick it up there. just some thoughts.
 
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Good luck man! Congrats for taking action :)
 
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mike24601

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Good to see you back and fleshing things out. Cant hurt to give it a try and see how it sells. Considering what @ChrisJHarrington said above and after looking at
a few listings, this is what you have to compete with. #1 BSR ranking in multiple categories, these move a metric ton of volume, are lightweight and probably have good margins, but competition is FIERCE. upload_2017-11-2_15-35-3.png
 
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