The people on this newsgroup have been very supportive of my ski tuning
business venture and I appreciate the feedback I've received from this forum
a great deal. So much, in fact, that I'm hoping you guys can help me on a
fairly specific issue. I need a decent "formula" for assigning a value to
used skis. Here's the background:
Next season I'll have a limited (as in small) retail operation. It'll
actually be a separate business from the grinding operation on paper. But
I'll be working with Atomic, Fischer and Madshus selling hand-selected skis.
As some of you may recall from earlier posts, I'd like to offer customers
credit for their used and possibly mis-fit skis toward new well-fit skis.
The trick is to figure out how much to offer. This is difficult because I'm
not terribly familiar with the used-ski market. And I think I'll be adding
significant value to the existing used ski market since everything will be
flex tested and comprehensively refreshed on the grinder.
I've got a formula worked out and I'd really like to hear your thoughts
about it. I've got three main concerns. I want to be fair to the seller -
ensure that they're getting good value for their used equipment. I want to
be fair to the buyer - ensure that they get the right ski at significant
savings over new-ski prices. And I want to be fair to myself - ensure that
I'm appropriately compensated for my time evaluating, grinding, and
flex-fitting the ski for the next customer. At this point I'm trying to
build a $100 margin for myself into each pair of skis. This has to be
upfront knowledge. I work hard for the money I make, and while this number
may have to go down I can't afford to run the program too cheaply.
The formula is in the form of a series of adjustments based on a careful
inspection. I'll go through them in order. This may take just a little
while. I'll use a couple of hypothetical pairs of skis for illustration.
Note: It is assumed that all skis are top-model racing skis that meet a
certain standard of quality. I don't like working with crap, and I'll turn
stuff down if it's not worth the time.
Hypothetical pair 1: '03 Fischer skatecut
Hypothetical pair 2: '98 Madshus Classic
Starting Value: Used ski devaluation - 30%
As soon as you put binding holes in a ski I'm assuming that its value in the
marketplace drops to 70% of its original retail value assuming it shows no
signs of additional wear. I've arrived at this number by trying out a whole
bunch of different approaches. This just ended up looking about right. But
I'm open to suggestions.
Pair 1 - $429 X 70% = $300.30
Pair 2 - $379 X 70% = $265.30
These numbers serve as "starting" values for any further adjustments. Some
skis may have an alternative start value. For instance, the original Atomic
Beta Race skate skis were an interesting experiment but they have been
surpassed by so far that I would hesitate to asign a starting value of $265
to them. Maybe something closer to $200.
Adjustment 1: Generation
What generation (graphic/construction) is the ski?
Current: No adjustment
Last: -10%
Previous: -20%
"Old": -30%
This adjustment is meant to take into consideration primarily the "model
year" concerns of changing technology and (let's face it) graphics.
Pair 1: Last generation, -10%
Pair 2: "Old", -30%
Adjustment 2: Evaluation
This is where I flex test the ski and take a guess at its performance
characteristics and desirability. Categories are -
Perfect (a "special" ski): +10% (yup - value added)
Good: No adjustment (well matched, up to expectation, but nothing
remarkable)
Fair: -5% (maybe they're not perfectly matched, or one wax pocket is a bit
longer, but basically they're a pair and they'll work well)
Poor: -25% (a ski that would have to be sold with a disclaimer, and is
likely to be rejected in any case)
This should be a big category, but the vast majority of skis will fit into
the "good" and "fair" categories, so it doesn't end up doing much.
Pair 1: "Good", no adjustment, still -10%
Pair 2: "Fair", -5%, now -35%
Adjustment 3: Base
Perfect: No adjustment - Freshly ground, very little work necessary to
rehabilitate the ski.
Good: -5% - normal use, a few scratches but a grind will make them
"perfect".
Fair: -10% - heavy use, a lot of work involved to grind them, some
scratches may not come out.
Poor: -20% - trashed, definitely won't look pretty again, but can be made
skiable and maybe race worthy.
Pair 1: "Good", -5%, now -15%
Pair 2: "Poor", -20%, now -55%
Adjustment 4: Cosmetic
How do they look? Did this person turtle-wax their skis, or leave them in
the back of the pickup truck all winter?
Perfect: +5%
Good: no adjustment
Fair: -5%
Poor: - 20%
Pair 1: "Perfect", +5%, now -10%
Pair 2: "Fair", -5%, now -60%
Adjustment 5: Flex/Size
Evaluation aside, are these things pretty common or are they extremely
soft/hard, or do they have a really strange combination of length and flex
characteristics? In other words, will I ever find a buyer for these things?
Common: no adjustment
Odd: - 5%
Ra - 10%
Pair 1: Common, no adjustment, Still -10% resulting in a value of: $300.30 x
90%= $270.27
Pair 2: Common, no adjustment, Still -60% resulting in a value of: $265.30 x
40%= $106.12
Adjustment 6: Bindings
Pilot in excellent condition: +$75
Pilot in fair condition: +$50
Other in excellent condition: +$50
Other in fair condition: +$30
Pair 1: Pilot in excellent condition brings the value to $270.27+$75 = $345
Pair 2: NNN in fair condition brings the value to $136
OK - so here's the test. Say you're the seller. After subtracting my margin
I'm going to offer you $245 for the pretty new and well cared-for Fischers
and $36 for the old and relatively beat-up Madshus. Is this fair? Probably
not worth the shipping on the Madshus, but heck, if you're sending the
Fischers anyway maybe they're easy to get rid of. Are we in the ball-park?
Now, say you're shopping for some used skis. These things have been
comprehensively evaluated - you know exactly what you're getting and what to
expect from them, and they've been ground to your specifications. Is that
pair of Fischers worth $345? New ones would run you about $530 by the time
you've got bindings on them. How about the Madshus? Would you pay $136 for a
five year-old pair of skis that have had some serious use, but have been
lovingly restored to the best condition they'll ever see again?
Please, let me know if you have any suggestions for adjustments to this
system. I think the program could work well if it's set-up right. I think
there will be a market for reconditioned used skis. But am I hoping to get
too much out of this by making it (marginally) profitable?
Thanks for your time.
Zach
http://www.engineeredtuning.net/