Black Friday

[kiekiec]

Does anyone know if there are ice skate deals on black friday?

[Mrs Redboots]

Sorry, but what on earth is Black Friday?

[Isk8NYC]

The american Thanksgiving holiday is always on the fourth Thursday of November. Some, but not all, companies give their employees both Thursday and Friday off as a holiday; other people take a vacation day to make their own four-day weekend.

Many stores have "Thanksgiving Weekend" sales, but to get people off their turkey-filled tushies and into the stores, many stores offer these "Black Friday" sales with early-am special sales. It's called "Black Friday" because many people do the bulk of their Christmas shopping, thereby putting the stores "in the black" on their accounting sheets. (I used to work for JCPenney corporate - we worked on the Friday after Thanksgiving. lol)

The shopping event is insane. There are people who camp out overnight in the parking lots. When the doors open, there's a crush of shoppers trying to get in first and get to the aisle for the best deal that they want. The staff is usually frazzled, the stores are a mess, and the cashier lines are insane.

I never knew there were websites dedicated to Black Friday! :roll: Unbelieveable.

Back OT: Some of the online/mail order retailers will offer sales, but it's more a "Holiday Season" discount than a "Black Friday" blowout. Not so much with pro shops, but you can always call and ask. (Call in the late morning, when the owner/manager might be there.)

Most really good skate sales occur towards the end of the season. If a skate model is being discontinued/remodeled, you'll find some good sale prices on those skates. That's how my kids got started in Bronze Medallions - they were being remodeled with heat-molding, so the Riedell and the pro shops put them on sale.

If you're planning on getting Klingbeil's, late Nov - Dec is a good time because they aren't as busy. My customs were ready in about three weeks at that time of the year. I would think that to be true of the other custom makers as well. (No sale prices, though, sorry!)

Good adult skates typically last at least two years. If you 'do the math' on a pair of $200 skates over 24 months, the cost of owning the skates is about $8 per month. Skates are the only piece of equipment for this sport that you MUST buy, and owning your own is the same as renting for a year. (Hopefully, we all take better care of our own skates than the rental skates can ever hope for, lol.)

[RinkRobot]

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where most retail stores have sales. They usually are pretty good. I've never heard of skates being on sale (except for recreational ones at department stores) but some shops will have dresses and gear at discounts.

[sue123]

I never heard of pro shops having black Friday sales, but I bought my skates around March/April and the owner gave me my skates at pretty much 50% off because he was trying to clear out his inventory, and fortunatly for me, he had the skates my then coach recommended (it was the last pair and my size) and a blade one level up from what my coach recommended. I got Coronation Ace blades, so it's not like I went up to Gold Seals or something, but again, he just happened to have my size. So I got lucky in that respect.

Not sure why he wanted to clear out his inventory though, but it worked out for me.

[Sessy]

Last end of season, a pro store in the Netherlands did their Risport RF1 Super models out for under 100 euro (like, 125 USD). That's less than 30% of its original price. But those would NOT be good beginner's skates at all.
Also, at the end of the season, over here it was impossible to get Coronation Ace and blades of compareable grade over here in adult sizes, only kids' sizes were left, and they weren't stocking till august.

Overall skating shops don't participate in the general dynamics most stores participate in. That's because buying skates is more dictated by the need for skates than by anything else, so it makes more sense for them to focus on keeping customers rather than luring them. Although some skating shops over here do have sales on fancy stuff like bags and cute polar-bear themed clothing and such before christmas.

[Mrs Redboots]

Thanks for the explanation of Black Friday.