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Swift canoes demo day

Bill had a free demo day in Saranac Lake on May20. Then again he showed up at Paddlefest in Old Forge on June 3, but mountainman charged everyone $50 for each carbon and kevlar boat for a demo paddle, $30 for all others. I don't understand why the difference, even though that charge can be applied to a purchase. I ordered a 15.8 Cruiser from Bill earlier, I am told it will be built and he will bring it down sometime in July. Bill is quite the master salesman of his boats, just watch his videos.
 
yknpdlr said:
mountainman charged everyone $50 for each carbon and kevlar boat for a demo paddle, $30 for all others.
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The Collinsville ad says $20 for demo with no stated distinction for type of layup, refundable upon purchase of a Swift boat. I guess Mountainman is just greedier than the family-owned Collinsville store.
 
I know it's post pandemic but at Mountain Man's paddlefest in 2019 it was $20 for all weekend paddle as many as you want, many manufacturers, in First Lake. $50 to test paddle pushes the limit.
 
Mountainman's usual charge for a demo, outside of Paddlefest weekend is $30 for any and each boat from their tiny dock. My wife paddled a kayak there the week prior to Paddlefest and was charged $30, which could be applied against purchase price. Each boat you test paddle would cost you another $30 for each demo. I do recall that in prior years of PF when it was held at the Old Forge lakefront park there was a single flat fee of $20 to demo paddle as many boats as you like from the Old Forge beach. But some manufacturers who came in past years who you might like to see have not participated in PF in several years (Placidboats and Hornbeck as two examples)

Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters in Saranac Lake had a demo day a couple of weeks earlier (both Bill Swift and Charlie Wilson were there to lend advice). Paddle as many boats as you like for free.
 
Adirondack lakes and trails is a really nice shop. Always nice and helpful.
 
Raquette River Outfitters in Tupper Lake let me test paddle a couple Swift's. Very good folk. I did end up buying one from them.
 
I thought the 2019 paddle fest was fair - $20 for as many boats from many manufacturers - as you can paddle in a weekend. Included shuttle bus between "trade show" and beach. But for one manufacturer or a lot more does seem a little too much. If it's just Swift, Swift should pay for it.
 
I don't know that Bill has anything to do with charging for a demo paddle fee. As I said above, when Adirondack lakes and trails earlier had their demo day with Bill Swift and Charlie Wilson both present on site, there was no charge to demo any and all boats from AL&T you wanted to try regardless of manufacturer.

But in Old Forge, long time previous owner John Nemjo had a bit of a reputation of being difficult to work for. Now with new owners taking over, the sales employee who helped my wife demo just one boat was very nervous and insistantly stating that his job depended on collecting $30 for each and every boat taken out on the water and recording for who and what was paid. The demo receipt could be turned in for $30 off a boat purhase price on that day only. On a positive note, MM does offer a 10% veteran's discount, but not in addition to of the 10% Paddlefest discount that was claimed to be in effect during that week.
 
yknpdlr said:
I don't know that Bill has anything to do with charging for a demo paddle fee.
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Didn't mean to imply it was their fee. Just thought Swift should just pick up the expense for whatever that fee was for. They're the only beneficiaries of the event. Seems like their marketing expense, but that's my experience in other industries: the manufacturer picks up the tab. If it's just the dealer profit, I'd think as a manufacturer I'd wonder if I wanted to retain them as a dealer.
 
The owner of Mountainman is an interesting individual if it's still John Nemjo. I met him years ago and was always struck by his need to make every $$$ possible. Repeat business from the college I was working for never brought any sort of discount and eventually I stopped doing business with him since he was unwilling to let anything go without a fee; sometimes a hefty one. I see this increase in paying for a demo paddle to be another one of his quirks.

Now, if another person currently owns the business, then I'd say that John taught them well.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
Charging for a demonstration of premium gear is reasonable. Basically you're renting their best stuff so it makes sense. And having that fee put towards purchasing something you demo is pretty standard. In that regard, I see no problem in asking for a bit more cash to try out several (many?) of their best models. But to charge an additional fee for every piece of gear you try out is kind of weird in that the whole idea behind demos is to try several models and decide which one you want to buy. Otherwise they're not really demonstrations, just expensive short-term rentals.
 
It is a sad commentary on canoe marketing that to test out a canoe which one is considering purchasing, one must pay a $30 to $50 fee for each individual canoe that you are comparing. If you want to test and compare several similar models to see which fits your needs best, that policy could get quite expensive; enough so that I would spend a bit on gas and take time to drive to another dealer!

Imagine if you are ready to buy a new car or truck, but when you get to the dealer you find that he is charging $300 to $500 (cars and trucks being more expensive than canoes) for a test drive of each vehicle that you are considering. How long do you think that dealer would be in business?

Demo boats are, and historically have been, a way for manufacturers and dealers to give prospective customers a way of trying out their new designs. I have paddled many whitewater canoes and kayaks with a “DEMO” or “BLEM” label molded or scratched into the hull. These less-than-pristine boats served their season and were sold off at the end of that season (for a profit) after giving paddlers a chance to see if that boat was right for them.

Last year I went to Hornbeck Boats while in the Adirondacks. I had purchased a 10’ “Lost Pond” model for my wife and am considering a pack canoe for myself. I paddled several different models that I was considering and found that the one that I enjoyed most was not the one that I expected to top the list. I have not purchased yet, but when I do order I know which one to get thanks to their demo policy. If I had to plunk down $90 to test three boats, I would not have tried them. Since none of my friends have a selection of Hornbeck pack canoes, I would have had to guess which I would like and would have likely made the wrong choice.

I believe that the marketplace will determine if Mountainman’s policy will be profitable. If people are willing to pay to test out potential canoes and kayaks, it may work. If not, then sales will drop but they will never know how many customers they missed due specifically to their demo policy. Let’s see if their demo policy continues and how many canoes they are selling in a few years; time will tell.
 
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I can maybe understand charging for demo day as a means of dissuading time-wasters and unserious Sunday loafers from going lily-dipping for something to do, besides snooping through open houses just to see how others live; but as a way to nickel and dime canoe shoppers I find it runs counter to what I hope is the open mindedness and genuine generous character of the canoe community at large. But maybe I'm naively hopeful in the dog eat dog commercial world. Feck me, if we can't trust one anothers' handshake and good naturedly kick tires under an afternoon sun then I'd just as well take myself off to quieter more trustful waters.
And before too many suns set I'd like to wish you all a Happy Canada Day (1st) and a July 4th!
 
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Mountainman used to charge $20 for three test paddles, but I have squeezed out a fourth on a few occasions. Where else can you get access to Wenonah, Swift, Esquif, and Northstar in one place? Only bought one boat from them though, as they store most of the canoes outdoors, exposed to the elements. If this is their new policy, I guess I'll pass.
 
Glenn MacGrady said:
The Collinsville ad says $20 for demo with no stated distinction for type of layup, refundable upon purchase of a Swift boat. I guess Mountainman is just greedier than the family-owned Collinsville store.
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I just got an email from Collinsville Canoe & Kayak that says the demo fee for their July 9 Swift Demo Day is $50! — even though the ad on their website still says $20. I would never pay this. A very disappointing development in canoe retailing.
 
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