Author Topic: Iron Pony  (Read 3879 times)

Offline Boonedawg

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Iron Pony
« on: June 27, 2011, 09:41:58 AM »
Cruised down to Iron Pony in Columbus Ohio...OMG I didn't realize HOW HUGE it was!!!  They had everything...I checked out the Sena SMH10 communication set, seemed to be very well built. I understand that they have a retail showroom to pay for but I thought the prices seemed a little bit STEEP, but they had it if you needed it, kinda like a Cabelas for hunters. 

The Sena dual set was $398 plus tax was gonna be around $425---I ordered them today from Revzilla for $299 delivered NO SHIP- NO TAX they be here Wednesday.  I understand that retailers have to cover overhead, however Revzilla is almost $100 cheaper and they are not giving them away either, they're making a profit...  Nice to see all the gear just thought it was a bit pricey on some things. 

I also learned that Klim made motorcycle gear. This I did not know.  I have some of there gear for snowmobiling, the jacket I looked at (I think it was a G4) was $1299.00 WOW!!!! I thought it was nice but damn...

I foresee Iron Pony being a fitting ground for future gear.

Offline Strawboss

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2011, 09:46:26 AM »
I tell eveyone I see in OH about IP. We go down a few times a year. The last being in Feb., the deals on coats were unbelievable! It seemd too good to be true. And, its a nice ride for me from Cleveland. Very easy to spend a lot. I'll be there on July 22nd.
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Offline JetJock

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2011, 11:27:51 AM »
I avoid them. Yeah, they have a lot of stuff, but everything except the closeouts are at full freakin' retail. And they don't deal.

Besides that, they've killed off a lot of the smaller shops in Columbus. As a small biz owner, I try to spend my hard-earned cash with other small businesses, not with the big box places.

Offline Cholla

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #3 on: June 27, 2011, 12:26:43 PM »
If they are charging full retail how are they killing off competition?
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Offline JetJock

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2011, 02:44:05 PM »
If they are charging full retail how are they killing off competition?

The same way Wally World and similar Big Box stores force out smaller businesses. Huge selection, lots of promotion and once you've spent an hour wandering around in there, you feel like you HAVE to buy something just to justify the time you've wasted. Their close-out section used to be enormous and was reportedly a multi-million dollar business unto itself.

They also get huge discounts from the distributors because of their order size, so they not only can sell at full retail but they make more per unit sale. There's not a lot of margin in motorcycle stuff, plus there's a lot of pricing restrictions from the manufacturer. So a small dealer's discounting options are few because he pays more up front (smaller orders, less margin) and then bumps up against the MAP (minimum advertised price) policies.

Offline Strawboss

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2011, 02:54:34 PM »
I too try to use local small places to buy things at. I'll agree, most things there are full price. Maybe when I go in Feb I must hit it at the right time, rows and rows and rows of jackets, gloves, boots, leather, textile, all the big names, $30-400, most around $50. I bought an HJC helmet. I usually don't buy much though. I don't have much to spend for the bike, I buy the important stuff at my local dealer, tires, OEM parts, etc...
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Offline Pokey

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2011, 04:59:51 PM »
I live maybe 10 min from there.......and they "were not" always the big massive successful business they are now, and they deserve everything that they have. And they will deal within reason......trust me.
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Offline JetJock

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2011, 06:37:14 PM »
I live maybe 10 min from there.......and they "were not" always the big massive successful business they are now, and they deserve everything that they have. And they will deal within reason......trust me.

True about their beginning, but now that they're the 800 lb gorilla, they're busy destroying other small businesses. That's the messy side of capitalism. There's talk they're opening stores in other cities, which in turn will wipe out more smaller bike shops.

Offline Pokey

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2011, 06:44:33 PM »
True about their beginning, but now that they're the 800 lb gorilla, they're busy destroying other small businesses. That's the messy side of capitalism. There's talk they're opening stores in other cities, which in turn will wipe out more smaller bike shops.

That is just the way it is.........and it always has been in one way or another. They still started out small, so kudos to them for where they are now. The internet probably kills more small businesses than anything else IMHO, but I try to do as much business locally as possible.....and the Iron Pony just happens to be local. ;)
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Offline ZG

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2011, 07:43:35 PM »

I also learned that Klim made motorcycle gear. This I did not know.  I have some of there gear for snowmobiling, the jacket I looked at (I think it was a G4) was $1299.00 WOW!!!! I thought it was nice but damn...


I bought these Klim gloves last year to wear in the winter on my bike, freakin awesome!! They have an insulation layer in them that you can put your hand under or over, ideal for putting all the insulation on the "top" of your hand using heated grips!! I totally recommend these gloves for temps in the 20's on a bike with heated grips.  :thumbs:
 
http://www.klimusa.com/product/Fusion-Glove,171,98.htm
 

Offline Boonedawg

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2011, 07:51:40 PM »
I run fusion gloves too on my SKI DOO!!!

Offline billhook

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #11 on: June 28, 2011, 06:15:33 AM »
They'll deal?  That's news to me.  I, too, live about 10 minutes up the road from them.  A few years ago, I bought, a jacket, gloves, helmet, and extra visor, probably $350 worth of stuff.  They had cheaper prices online, with free shipping.  I went inside, asked if they'd give them to me for the internet price in the store.  "No way".  So, I rode home and half an hour later, my online order was entered.  They had to pay for shipping and still sold it to me for the cheaper price - that's good business sense.  Following the tracking on the shipping, showed it shipped the other side of Columbus and back up to my house with the truck probably passing IP on its way. Yeah, I had to wait an extra couple of days to get my stuff, but I wasn't in a big hurry.  Also, even though you can find some good stuff, most of their closeouts are odd sizes, XS, XXXXL, etc.

And, I remember when they were in the converted gas station across the street and they had 3 rooms about 15' X 15' each and you had to walk sideways through the aisles.  Then, they moved into a closed office supply store and spread everything out to try to fill floor space.  Now, they're in an old KMart and they have it filled up so much that you're walking sideways through some of the aisles again.

Offline Cholla

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Re: Iron Pony
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2011, 09:32:40 AM »
If they are selling at full retail there is no advantage to buying frm them vs the local owned store.
Besides NO company can run another out of business. The customers are responsible for that.
Beware the Black Widows...Feared throughout the land!