CANOE CLUB - Official Affiliate Thread

[gaseousclay]

@Adroit

I agree on the measurements comment but not so much on competitive pricing. A lot of brands probably have MAP pricing (minimum advertised price), meaning that vendors can’t undercut other vendors selling the same product on the market. It also devalues a brand when everyone starts getting into a pricing war to appeal to frugal buyers. I’ll buy something from someone if I really want it and know the measurements. Price is usually secondary. I mainly buy stuff from Self Edge and Rivet and Hide. Both have the same pricing on product and carry similar brands. Of course, I won’t pass up a good deal on something but I’ll still buy new from either company.

 

[winston86dit]

The lack of measurements has deterred me from going forward on a handful of purchases as well.
I really dig what you guys are doing! Your buys are good, you have a good brand mix, and the way you style photo shoots is excellent.
It would definitely help to have as much information about the product as possible when purchasing.

 

[jet]

Not only does there need to be measurements but they need to be accurate not mrporter level fuckery.

 

[Adroit]

@Adroit

I agree on the measurements comment but not so much on competitive pricing. A lot of brands probably have MAP pricing (minimum advertised price), meaning that vendors can’t undercut other vendors selling the same product on the market. It also devalues a brand when everyone starts getting into a pricing war to appeal to frugal buyers. I’ll buy something from someone if I really want it and know the measurements. Price is usually secondary. I mainly buy stuff from Self Edge and Rivet and Hide. Both have the same pricing on product and carry similar brands. Of course, I won’t pass up a good deal on something but I’ll still buy new from either company.

I agree and disagree. My experience with Canoe Club is that their prices are very often higher than other legitimate, respected online retailers. Like I said, I have seen it multiple times. I do not believe this is a function of MAP. The other retailers are also authorized dealers and yet they freely advertise lower prices. Moreover, I am not talking about Japanese dealers -- that is a different issue. Therefore, from my perspective, it appears to be a case of Canoe Club simply marking up their products more than others.

I am not suggesting a pricing war, nor undercutting all competition. Rather, I am merely suggesting that Canoe Club take some time to survey their competition and price their products similar to other legitimate, authorized dealers. A few dollars here and there is irrelevant. On the other hand, 20% disparities are material and will result in lost sales.

I am a big fan of both SE and R&H -- in fact, I just purchased a Stevenson Overall shirt from R&H after SE sold out of it. SE and R&H face a slightly different problem. Some of their products can be purchased for less directly from Japan. However, when purchasing from Japan, returns are generally not available. Moreover, I am nearby a SE location and, therefore, I can try on their products. Therefore, I will often pay a premium over Japan retailers in order to purchase products from SE and R&H.

 

[gaseousclay]

Any retailer that is selling non-US brands is subject to import duties/taxes on top of shipping. The profit margins can't be big and for a retailer to survive they have to mark their goods up accordingly. It's up to the consumer to shop smart.

With that said, I think Canoe Club has a pretty decent spread of brands to appeal to most customers so they're on the right track.

 

[shopcanoeclub]

Hey guys,

We totally hear you on measurements. That has been a conversation we've had since day one. One thing is that we fear measurements can be as much help as they can be an issue when buying. You guys are all pretty involved with this stuff, so proper measurements can be great at quick glance for things like denim and all that, but can total deter people looking at something like Kapital for example, where the fit isn't always represented perfectly in measurements. Additionally, just like mentioned here already, if/when we do add them we don't want to them to be done in a half-assed way at all. Knowing the model is 6'1, 180lbs and wears a Medium isn't always super helpful to someone who has very different proportions, but would still wear a Medium.

All that said, this feedback is heard and noted. We will continue to get better in every way we can. For anyone that has been hesitant, please contact us via [email protected], use our online chat, give us a call, hit us up here, DM us, etc. We are easy going guys who are on one of those forms of communication nearly 24 hours a day, so we will get back to you as quickly as we possibly can with every detail you need to feel confident in your purchase. Also, we also cover all costs in returns/exchanges, so we make that try on process as easy as we possible so can make that decision without that shipping burden being on you.

As for pricing, we understand and try to keep an eye on that kind of thing. The main thing we take seriously is respecting requested MAP pricing. If that is what they want us to charge, it is what we do our best to stick to. However, we completely get that customers do their research before buying and if you ever see something at a different full retail price, just hit us up. We will match the best we can. Not every time can we match a sale or something that might be mis-priced, but we will always do our best to work with our customers on stuff like that, so please don't hesitate to reach out with pricing questions. We'd love for you to be a customer of ours, because similar to Styleforum, we want to create a cool community of shoppers who feel comfortable enough to shoot us a text when they have questions. Thank you for all the feedback and we will be sure to talk it out with the whole team.

 

[jet]

Guys the bottom line is measurements > no measurements. The best way to go about this is having an inconspicuous link to the product measurements instead of broadcasting it in an obvious manner. The first thing I look for is an actual product measurement link. Not having product measurements while selling products that depend on measurements is financial suicide in this internet age regardless of how helpful you guys are. This is just advice from a consumer and you can choose to do with it what you will.

You guys do have the sf affiliate discount which is nice and I'm reminding the readers of this thread that there is that as well.

 

[schuermang]

Of course!

Are there any brands you're personally feeling heading into Spring? Anything you're curious to see if we get?

Very much looking forward to your SS EG delivery, hoping to snag one of those patchwork Bedfords!

 

[shopcanoeclub]

Guys the bottom line is measurements > no measurements. The best way to go about this is having an inconspicuous link to the product measurements instead of broadcasting it in an obvious manner. The first thing I look for is an actual product measurement link. Not having product measurements while selling products that depend on measurements is financial suicide in this internet age regardless of how helpful you guys are. This is just advice from a consumer and you can choose to do with it what you will.

You guys do have the sf affiliate discount which is nice and I'm reminding the readers of this thread that there is that as well.

Totally hear you and we will work towards a solution that hopefully satisfies the needs and concerns of everyone. While we figure all this out, please don't hesitate to reach out via any of our contacts for help with fit. Appreciate your input and know that is noted on our end! Appreciate the constructive criticism!

 

[shopcanoeclub]

Very much looking forward to your SS EG delivery, hoping to snag one of those patchwork Bedfords!

Same! Hoping to see some SS19 deliveries arriving soon. We will be posting some teasers from our FW19 buying trip next week too, so stay tuned!

 

[kjb]

Agree with the measurement comments. I like the stuff you guys carry, just can’t determine how it could fit. Even it’s its supposed to be oversized, or have nontraditional perportions, you can get a general idea on your size from a combination of model photos and the measurements.

As a personal anecdote, Unionmade basically stopped posting measurements with their platform switch (whether they were accurate before is another story but at least they tried) and I’ve basically stopped visiting the website altogether since then.

 

[gaseousclay]

I did a quick check on other online shops and it's a mixed bag when it comes to measurements. I looked at Franklin & Poe, Berkeley Supply, and Division Road. F&P and Berkeley Supply have measurements on some stuff but not everything. Division Road posts measurements for most things from what I can tell. Mild Blend Supply might have measurements on some things but not everything.

The easiest solution, and this is what i've seen other retailers do, is take the posted measurements from whichever brand you're carrying and put those up along with the product pics. Most brands should have this info.

Other than that, you guys seem very engaged with customers so I think that's cool.

 

[g transistor]

Re: price

If you want good stores to continue to exist, especially stores with customer service you appreciate and people who are passionate and seem to genuinely care about the hobby, stores with nifty buys that aren't normal, then you gotta put your money where your mouth is and support them. This is an expensive hobby already, and Canoe Club's pricing is on par with most other stores similar. I honestly don't see a ton of difference to retail pricing, which is what it should be judged by. Comparing prices during sales season isn't indicative of anything.

re: measurements

I don't use measurements when I buy, but I buy conservatively. What @shopcanoeclub says makes sense in terms of measurements dissuading people, but after hearing everyone else, I think measurements would be a good thing.

If you're still taking feedback, one thing I really dislike about the website is that when I click on a designer, it doesn't load everything but instead does a really, really awful thing where you have to scroll down and then wait for it to load more, with no indication that there are more products. Not only does it not do it instantly (you have to "hit" the bottom of the screen, wait a second, and then wait for the little circles to pop up, and THEN it loads new products), but it just hides that you guys have more cool stuff there.

It's incredibly annoying to me and I think makes the webshop very unwieldy to use. In my opinion, just load all the products at once unless you have a TON of products, and then maybe have some indication on there that there are more products to be loaded

Also I got this in my last order which is fantastic, really enjoy it!!!!:

 

[g transistor]

Also I can't ******* get over how godamn GOOD these loafers are!!!

 

[gaseousclay]

Re: price

If you want good stores to continue to exist, especially stores with customer service you appreciate and people who are passionate and seem to genuinely care about the hobby, stores with nifty buys that aren't normal, then you gotta put your money where your mouth is and support them. This is an expensive hobby already, and Canoe Club's pricing is on par with most other stores similar. I honestly don't see a ton of difference to retail pricing, which is what it should be judged by. Comparing prices during sales season isn't indicative of anything.

Agree 100%.