[pct-l] Guide Book Gouging

Thu Jan 11 22:17:15 CST 2007

Hooray for the champions of the PCTA.  Let me reiterate what has
already been said.  Consider that it may not be gouging at all.
Amazon of course is a huge retail concern.  They can purchase by the
trainload, and sell them just above cost to drown the competition.
And while they might only make a nominal profit on each item, the
sheer numbers of sales they make reaps them huge profits.  The PCTA
can't compete with that.  For myself, I may chisel a used car dealer
for a better deal, but I'm a believer in what the PCTA is doing and I
choose to trust them.  I could easily have bought the books from
Amazon but chose not to.  Us hikers have a good saying, hyoh means a
lot more than just going for a walk in the woods.

Slow

On 1/11/07, K. Scott Parks <scott at delnorteresort.com> wrote:
> Oh yeah, the books are awesome! You wouldn't do the trail without them or
> the planning for that matter.
>
> It was the pricing. You can get the 3 guidebooks and data book from the PCTA
> for $75. You can get the same identical books at amazon, borders, etc., for
> $46.
>
> That's about a $30 difference, thus the gouging comment. :)
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Slow Comfort" <slow.comfort at gmail.com>
> To: <paul at bluebrain.ca>
> Cc: "stillroaming" <pct at delnorteresort.com>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 7:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Guide Book Gouging
>
>
> >I bought the data book from PCTA 3 monts ago at the start of my
> > planning stage.  I just got the first two available books in the mail
> > from the PCTA (50 bucks) I would have ordered the Washington book also
> > if it had been available.  I'm not kickin, and though I haven't had
> > that much interaction with them yet, the little that I have had has
> > been exemplary.  As to the cost of the books, in my estimation well
> > worth the cost considering the incredible amount of detailed
> > information included.  Of course I'm assuming it is still relevant,
> > but if there was a problem there, I'm sure I would have come across
> > some kind of noise about it.  As for me, I appreciate their presence.
> >
> > On 1/11/07, Paul Mitchell <paul at bluebrain.ca> wrote:
> >> Perhaps you think it's gouging because you think a business just
> >> arbitrarily
> >> decides a price?
> >>
> >> Let's remember that the PCTA doesn't exist to generate revenue and isn't
> >> as
> >> efficient and streamlined a money making machine as Amazon.  Their
> >> expenses
> >> are higher, their costs for the books themselves are likely higher, their
> >> revenue streams are very limited, they don't sell in high volume and
> >> therefore can't afford to only make a dollar per sale, and they likely
> >> don't
> >> have a team of accountants to help them find tax loopholes.
> >>
> >> PCTA - a non-profit organization that exists to support the trail
> >> AMAZON - a corporation that exists exclusively to benefit it's
> >> stockholders
> >>
> >> Like it or not, we vote with every dollar we spend, and sometimes with
> >> the
> >> dollars we don't spend.
> >>
> >> Too bad we don't even fully comprehend what it is we're voting for,
> >> because
> >> the actual cost of those low prices is more significant than we might
> >> imagine.
> >>
> >> Paul
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net
> >> [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]On Behalf Of stillroaming
> >> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 5:30 PM
> >> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> >> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Guide Book Gouging
> >>
> >>
> >> You're absolutely right. The trail can use all the funding it can get,
> >> from
> >> any source. I hear ya! :)
> >>
> >> However, given normal availability of guidebooks, charging 40% more for
> >> items over other sources reeks of gouging. If this type of gouging is
> >> justified under the guise of 'the best interest of the trail', it
> >> wouldn't
> >> be suprising if these tactics painted less than a rosy picture of the
> >> PCTA
> >> and had an opposite affect.
> >>
> >> Folks will donate to the trail or the bureaucracy running it if they
> >> choose.
> >> The enthusiasm of folks headed out onto the trail for a months long or
> >> day
> >> long adventure is not a signal for the unscrupulous trail pimps to stick
> >> their hands in our pockets. Folks who *think* buying from the PCTA is
> >> best
> >> because, well, it's the PCTA would be mistaken.
> >>
> >> Scott Parks
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Bill Batchelor" <billbatch at cox.net>
> >> To: "'stillroaming'" <pct at delnorteresort.com>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> >> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 4:41 PM
> >> Subject: RE: [pct-l] Guide Book Question ...
> >>
> >>
> >> > Someone mentioned this before, but if you can handle the few extra
> >> > bucks
> >> > and
> >> > the PCTA.ORG site has them in stock - it would be good for the trail
> >> > dollars
> >> > to buy them from the PCTA site.
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net
> >> > [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
> >> > On Behalf Of stillroaming
> >> > Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:58 AM
> >> > To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> >> > Subject: [pct-l] Guide Book Question ...
> >> >
> >> > Purchase your guidebooks as soon as you like.
> >> >
> >> > The books are updated every few years, with addendums made available at
> >> > the
> >> > Wilderness Press website annually.
> >> >
> >> > 2 or 3 months ago a rep (not Ben) from Wilderness Press stated that the
> >> > next
> >> > revision, a major overhaul, will not be available till 2008. So, no
> >> > sense
> >> > in
> >> > waiting to buy.
> >> >
> >> > Also, if you buy from amazon.com you'll save about $30 over buying them
> >> > at
> >> > the PCTA. Read this article for the details:
> >> > http://postholer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=107
> >> >
> >> > Hope that helps,
> >> > Scott
> >> >
> >> >> For those of you who have been out there for a while     ...how often
> >> >> are
> >> >> the PCT Guidebooks revised  ?   Next question    ...how far in advance
> >> >> of
> >> >> your hike does it make sense purchasing a set of the Guidebooks ??
> >> >
> >> >  Thanks in advance,
> >> >
> >> >  'Slogger
> >> > ------------------------------------
> >> > Trails : http://Postholer.Com
> >> > Journals : http://Postholer.Com/journal
> >> >
> >> > _______________________________________________
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