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Peddling poles, paddles, pedals
Outdoor gear consignment shop outfits region’s frugal adventurers
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: May 19. 2009 4:00AM PST| order photo
Chris Grier sells a mix of new and used recreational equipment at the Gear Peddler in Bend and Redmond.
Dean Guernsey / The Bulletin
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Customers trickled into the Gear Peddler on Monday morning, with the regulars checking out the new inventory.
There’s plenty of new and used gear to choose from in the Bend consignment shop, where owner Chris Grier has more than doubled retail space since opening in May 2005.
One customer looked at bikes, asking how much one bike weighs. A family walked in, seeking to outfit their kids for the summer.
“We get a lot of return customers just to see what’s new,” he said. “The inventory changes regularly. It is just eye candy for them.”
Customers are invariably looking for a good deal at the shop, which sells a mix of new and used bikes, camping equipment, bicycle accessories, kayaks, skis and snowboards and other outdoor gear. Most of the new stuff is priced below the full retail price.
“Business has been down a bit, but we are still hanging tough,” said Grier, 35. “Last year, people were buying anything that rolled because of the high gas prices. But people still like to recreate. They are just buying more frugally.”
The Gear Peddler has two locations — one in Bend and one in Redmond. The Bend store has higher sales, but Grier still hopes the Redmond outlet, which opened in May 2008, will grow, he said.
“We thought we should do it because no one else had,” he said of he and partner Scott Harrin’s decision to open in Redmond. “During the winter, we got a lot of Redmond folk who would buy ski-related gear. We thought we could fill that void.”
Gear Peddler takes in used equipment on consignment and works on a bartering system, which allows buyers to offer less than the suggested price as long as it does not go below the seller’s lowest price, Grier said.
Those people who sell their items through the Gear Peddler range from individuals trying to move out of town to local retailers who want to offload last year’s merchandise, Grier said.
What the store does not do is buy items outright. Grier advises those selling on consignment to price their items realistically, he said.
“You try and talk them down because you don’t want the merchandise to sit for a while,” he said. “Eighty percent to 90 percent of the time, sellers don’t know what something is worth.”
Once the seller determines the price range for an item, Grier will mark it up from there. That’s where he makes his profit, and that’s where bartering begins, he said.
“We want to do the sale right away,” he said.
The online site Craigslist has taken some business away from the consignment shop, but the Gear Peddler still gets business from people who want to use credit cards and those who want to leave the work to someone else, he said.
Gear Peddler also is trying to increase the number of close-out items it buys from manufacturers. Those are last year’s goods that are typically reduced in price, he said.
Each close-out item’s price tag states its retail price and its Gear Peddler price.
The items are often marked down 30 percent to 50 percent from suggested retail price, Grier said.
Grier answered the following questions via e-mail:
Q: What is your background? How did you get into the gear peddling business?
A: This was the perfect business for me because I have always sold my old toys to neighborhood kids growing up, and I have been in and out of bike and ski shops since I was 16 years old. But this was Scott Harrin, my business partner’s, idea, and we made it happen together with the people we both know around the area and in the industry.
Q: How does your business work? Describe the consignment process.
A: The customer comes up with the price for their item, and we put our price on top of that one so they get what they are expecting. We also use the Internet a lot to see what items go for new so we know that the person buying the item is getting a good deal.
Q: How do you compete with larger retailers such as REI, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Wal-Mart? Do you focus on quality or price?
A: We focus on quality and are very picky on what we take in and make sure everything is in good working order. We only take in products from specialty stores in the outdoor world and stay away from big department store products.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in your business? What are the biggest opportunities?
A: The biggest challenge is trying to have what everyone wants, so we take the bulk of what people want and hunt it down for the next person looking for those items. The biggest opportunity is outfitting a family that moved to Central Oregon to play, but cannot afford to buy everything new. They are able to get slightly used, good gear for half the cost.
Q: What are your most popular items? What sells? What doesn’t sell?
A: Well, in the summer, it is bikes and bicycle parts, and in the winter, it is ski and snowboard boots. Also, whatever is kid-oriented sells whether it is summer or winter. Kids’ ski and snowboard items and bikes move fastest. Golf clubs take up too much real estate, so we stopped doing golf gear.
Jeff McDonald can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.
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