Goodbye REI

[Tuffus]

I have done business with REI since the 80's. They are boycotting selling a lot of the very products that I would normally buy from them because of their gun control stance even though those products aren't really gun related except for the fact that Vista Sports makes them. I really only buy during special sales anymore anyway because their everyday prices are as high as you can find anywhere but it's time to cut the cord altogether. Getting a new credit card from somewhere else then cutting up the REI card.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/03/robert-farago/outdoor-retailer-rei-temporarily-bans-vista-outdoors-non-gun-products/

Edited March 2, 2018 by Tuffus
typo

[monkeylizard]

Me too. Cancelling my REI-branded credit card tonight, and calling REI to let them know I did it and why.

Edited March 2, 2018 by monkeylizard

[gjohnsoniv]

Anyone want to take bets on how long the boycott lasts? This seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face. 

[Johnny Rotten]

Who?

[tnhawk]

27 minutes ago, gjohnsoniv said:

Anyone want to take bets on how long the boycott lasts? This seems like cutting off your nose to show their liberal @$$. 

There - fixed it for ya.

[Garufa]

20 minutes ago, Johnny Rotten said:

Who?

REI peddles outdoor goods.  One of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the country.

[Omega]

39 minutes ago, Johnny Rotten said:

Who?

 

17 minutes ago, Garufa said:

REI peddles outdoor goods.  One of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the country.

I think he meant REI, their boycott won't last long since Vista has a lot of outdoor stuff that is popular.  Us?., Many of us have a long memory.

[tacops]

Never dealt with them but I will add them to my list along with, Dick's, Delta, US Bank and brussell sprouts among others.

[Wingshooter]

I always liked going into an REI, browsing around and handling the merchandise. Then I would order what I liked online at a MUCH cheaper price. Kind of like Gander Mountain 

 

It’s a cool hiking, camping, outdoor store but expensive. It’ll now add them to my “no-buy” list for their actions.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Wingshooter

[hipower]

15 minutes ago, Wingshooter said:

I always liked going into an REI, browsing around and handling the merchandise. Then I would order what I liked online at a MUCH cheaper price. Kind of like Gander Mountain 

 

It’s a cool hiking, camping, outdoor store but expensive. It’ll now add them to my “no-buy” list for their actions.

Ditto. Wanted a nice waterproof jacket a few years ago. Went into REI and had a real shock. Left quickly.

[digger]

[No_0ne]

I'm a bit confused.  If you only go into REI (whatever that is) to browse gear to order online, how exactly do you boycott them?

[Johnny Rotten]

2 hours ago, digger said:

Come on, lets cut Dicks some slack!!! AND give the local guy some credit!!

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2018 by Johnny Rotten

[-boatman-]

I don't think I've ever heard of REI before today and don't know anything about them.

[monkeylizard]

High end outdoor gear. Think North Face, Mountain Hardware, Kuhl, etc. Great quality and knowledgeable staff. It's a shame. I like going in there, but I can find the same stuff online for less these days.

[pitt2magic]

I have been wanting an REI in Chattanooga forever, then just a few weeks before we get one they pull this mess.  I like shopping in their stores when I travel but F'em, plenty of other places to get what I need.

[Wingshooter]

3 hours ago, No_0ne said:

I'm a bit confused.  If you only go into REI (whatever that is) to browse gear to order online, how exactly do you boycott them?

They won’t feel the sting of my boycott for this reason, but add me to the list.

I’ll show ‘em by deleting their app from my phone 

 

[analog_kidd]

One of the biggest Vista Sports brands is Camel Back. They have enough name recognition that people will go looking for that brand for a hydration pack. When they can't find it on REI, they will go straight to Amazon, where they will find it at a better price anyway, as well as a better selection. And, they will find other things on Amazon, they didn't even know they needed, and buy them there. REI is creating their own boycott, without even knowing it.

In a few months this latest tragedy will blow over and get forgotten about by most people, and REI will still have this Vista Sports Boycott in place. Nobody will remember why, the only thing they will care about is that they can't get their backpack from REI and move on to somewhere else. So REI will be stuck with their bad decision, and CamelBack will be affected very little. It will serve them right.

Sometimes (most times) as a business, it's best just to remain silent on these issues.

I did just last week shop at the Knoxville REI. I bought a pair of hiking boots for $160. If REI doesn't want deplorables like me, who buy and own guns to do business with them, and don't need my money, I'll be happy to oblige them.

[Grayfox54]

REI has always catered to the tree hugger, ultra environmentalist crowd. You know, the kind of people that like to take selfies with bears.  I can't remember the last time I bought something from them. I won't miss 'em one bit. 

[Grand Torino]

17 hours ago, Johnny Rotten said:

Come on, lets cut Dicks some slack!!! AND give the local guy some credit!!

 

 

 

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha...

[monkeylizard]

9 hours ago, analog_kidd said:

One of the biggest Vista Sports brands is Camel Back. They have enough name recognition that people will go looking for that brand for a hydration pack. When they can't find it on REI, they will go straight to Amazon, where they will find it at a better price anyway, as well as a better selection. And, they will find other things on Amazon, they didn't even know they needed, and buy them there. REI is creating their own boycott, without even knowing it.

I don't think it will hurt them much. I never saw a lot of Camel Backs in the Brentwood REI. There were some, but mostly they have higher end brands like Arc'teryx and Osprey. The folks looking for Camel Backs will continue to find them at Academy, Dick's, and Wal-Mart. REI's sales staff is knowledgeable and will direct customers looking for hydration packs to these other brands and show them the features.

[battleop]

REI is like an over priced Bass Pro and Cabella's for Hipsters and Millennials.     Chattanooga is getting one thanks to this I know not to waste my time.

[Danger Rane]

I've always had a love/hate relationship with REI and can't say I'm really surprised by this latest twist.

When I was a young Army private getting ready to ship out for my first trip to Afghanistan our squad leader told me to go to REI (a store I'd never heard of up to that point) and ask an employee to help me pick out the appropriate layers and gear for a mountainous trek. He made sure to tell me not to mention that I was in the Army (as if the stylish high and tight wouldn't give it away) both for reasons of OPSEC but also because "they're a bunch of damn granola eating treehuggers that don't like what we do!"

Treehuggers they certainly were, but proper advice on outdoor mountaineering I certainly got. I had to buy layers that could be worn underneath my issued equipment, which was at that point in the GWOT fairly ill prepared for sustained operations at high altitude. When it was all said and done I spent a little over $400 on a base layer, mid weight layer, my first of many MSR pocket rocket stoves, and a sleeping bag that was about two times warmer and four times lighter than my issued version.....all at the advice of a nice lady that smelled like she used hemp oil for perfume and probably had longer armpit and leg hair than I did.

That was alot of money to spend as a young Private but it was worth every penny, and that pocket rocket stove got passed around my platoon like a joint at a Grateful Dead concert.

Fast forward several years and I was no longer a private but a Platoon Sergeant trying to outfit my guys for a trip to another region that required specialized equipment. I was with our Supply Sergeant who had the credit card and the authorization to purchase 26 complete sets of gear for the platoon. As we were finalizing everything the Supply Sergeant did his due diligence to save the tax payers  some money and asked if we could get a bulk discount and/or a discount for being a military/gov customer......this was at the REI parent store in the heart of liberal Seattle.... you would have thought we just told the manager and the several associates helping us that we just ate a baby for breakfast. Not only was there not a discount to be had, but that POS manager at that point started making things difficult to the point that if he could have told us outright he wasn't going to sell to us than he probably would have.

Despite our baby killing temperament we left without incident and without spending a dime, leaving the triggered (that's what they were, despite the fact that the term didn't exist back then) associates to deal with the 13 overflowing carts of gear we had amassed. We promptly went to a mom and pop competitor of REI and after the discount that they were happy to give us came out paying about 1/3rd less than it was going to cost at REI, they even let each of our platoon members come in at their leisure and personally fit them for their gear.

I did eventually figure out at least in part why the REI prices are so dang high on everything, they have a fantastic return policy that they have to financially account for. I've seen people take back shoes that look like they've walked the A.T. in its entirety and turn them in saying they didn't fit just right and walk out with brand new shoes.....I guess that's how tree huggers view recycling and conservation

 

[hipower]

16 hours ago, battleop said:

REI is like an over priced Bass Pro and Cabella's for Hipsters and Millennials.     

LOL! Love this!