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Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

nytimes.com

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Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#101

Post by Tiktaalik »

sedachv wrote: post #35
Tiktaalik wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I especially appreciate this when I visit REI as a Canadian. Our REI 'knock off' MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) was inspired by REI, but in the last few years has diverged away from enthusiast mountain equipment and a lot more toward urban oriented fitness activities such as running, yoga and cycling. I still like MEC, but I like how committed REI has been toward hiking, camping and more backcountry activities.

That is a shame to hear. As recently as 2011 I thought that MEC's house brand gear was much higher quality and had better design and features than REI's house brand. The MEC stuff I bought was comparable to some of that made by more specialist outdoor manufacturers and was a fraction of the price. I still have most of it, and the things I gave away are still in use. I think REI very much caters to the car camper and…

Quality at both places seems all over the place.

I bought a great bag at REI a few years ago that was praised by the ultralight hiking community for being a great, cheap ultralight pack, but now I've heard that REI discontinued it and everything available is a lot heavier.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#102

Post by calbear81 »

hueving wrote: post #31
ejlangev wrote: post #14

What a great company, always feel like they have good products, good sales, and helpful employees. Never regretted buying something from REI.

Except for the insane prices for everything, sure. It's great for people with money to burn, but it's definitely not a good place to shop if you're into outdoor activities and not rich.

Their REI-branded stuff is a pretty good value and has consistently become better and better winning several awards annually in Backpacker's magazines Gear of the Year. It used to just be the tent (Half Dome) that was well regarded but I think this year, both the tents, their backpacking packs, and down sleeping bags are considered some of the best gear and usually 20-30% cheaper than the bigger name brands that they also sell.

Also, I generally use my 20% member's coupon for things that never go on sale such as bear canisters and climbing shoes.

For budget outdoor enthusiasts, I would recommend Walmart's Ozark Trail brand. You can find a sub-4lb backpacking tent for $30 on sale (which is still twice as heavy as a high end backpacking tent but costs $30 vs. $300). They put out a lot of decent gear but never the lightest or the most durable.

If you want better quality gear but only clearance/outlet, try sierratradingpost - basically the TJMaxx of outdoor gear.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#103

Post by Paul-ish »

lastofus wrote: post #77
Paul-ish wrote: post #75

Why aren't more businesses run as coops owned by either the workers or the customers?

I would imagine it comes down to having the initial capital to start such a venture. Those with the capital retain ownership and reap the future returns. If there was a way coops could raise significant funds to start say a big box chain store, we might see more of them. I don't think small business loans quite cut it here.

If this is true, I wonder if this is inherent in the way markets work, or a result of the way we (government, society, whatever) have structured things.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#104

Post by ada1981 »

Paul-ish wrote: post #75

Why aren't more businesses run as coops owned by either the workers or the customers?

I've been a member of the Park Slope Food Coop for about a year. We have 16,000 co-owners, do about $50MM / year in revenue; and have the freshest, most local and affordable food in NYC.

You have to work 2:45 hour per month (I do childcare), and we have monthly GA meetings to vote on things.

We also have a fund / capital, training, and even labor available for others who want to start cooperative grocery stores in their area.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#105

Post by avar »

up_and_up wrote: post #59
avar wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of mountaineering gear costs a lot , but lasts for a really long time. It's like buying a car in some ways. So your go-to solution should be to buy used. There's no shortage of people who bought an $800 backpack along with $2000 of other gear, who thought they'd be using them regularly, who later find out that they made a significant investment in a hobby they don't care much about. Unless you're swimming in mo…

> So your go-to solution should be to buy used. Unless you are talking about mountaineering gear like anything climbing related: ropes, cams etc. How in the heck can you trust that used gear will work 100%? I would rather spend more $$ to reduce risk.

I'd buy that used too.

You know there are climbing gyms where you're using both dynamic ropes & carabiners used by thousands of people before you? Those places aren't death traps.

Ditto mountaineering tours etc. for newbies that usually have every incentive not to report if they damage some of the equipment.

Carabiners, ropes & the like are tested when they're manufactured. Any damage likely to damage their structural integrity is usually going to be quite obvious. E.g. the carabiner won't close, or the rope will look like shit (although puncturing the core of a rope with crampons can be a subtle exception).

All other things being equal you're likely to be better off with brand new equipment, but you're also probably way better with used equipment where you spent that extra $500 you saved on some safety course & expert instruction, than skipping that and buying a brand new rope & carabiners.

Failing to properly secure a knot to a used carabiner is a way more likely cause of death than the carabiner itself failing.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#106

Post by ghaff »

Bartweiss wrote: post #97
ghaff wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People abuse these sorts of guarantees. Always have. Always will. But it hasn't made LL Bean get rid of theirs. And, especially for many of the sort of goods REI sells, I may not use them much and if they blow a seam or something after a couple of years after they've been used a couple dozen times, I don't think I'm abusing anything by asking them to repair or replace. So, yes, I understand why they cut the guarantee…

For whatever it's worth, I've never had issues. They seem to have mostly cut the 'lifetime' part of "lifetime guarantee", and still deal with defects even outside of a one year window. I suspect it's mostly a matter of REI employees having more discretion than most retail workers - they're usually quite outdoorsy and have a decent eye for what's an unreasonable failure.

That's good to know. I've been annoyed a few times over the years when I've run into someone who was basically boasting about how he wore stuff out over a number of years and just took it into REI for new kit. Why we can't have nice things and all that.

I agree that REI staff are much better than average.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#107

Post by helthanatos »

Aloha wrote: post #11
rwc wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Dude" is typically understood to be male.

Where I grew up Dude is typically non-gendered.

Yep. I've never seen anyone get offended by it unless they were joking. Dude is normally the same as saying yo.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#108

Post by cies »

dikdik wrote: post #95
iamatworknow wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because that means less money for the people on top. Most people don't start a business out of altruism.

...but I thought most entrepreneurs wanted to "change the world" with "revolutionary" businesses?

Haha. That's the "get everyone to look in the same direction, aren't we a lovely family, infesting a take more ownership than you take shares" story that private business tells. In the end the ones making equity investments in the business walk away with the surplus (both in profit and in valuation). :)

I think coops are more suitable for that "change the world" while being "revolutionary" story. In fact many anarchists (and market socialists, and mutualists) envision a big coop sector to democratize work life. I think it's pretty revolutionary in that way. Noam Chomsky and Murray Bookchin promote these ideas.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#109

Post by subpixel »

jonknee wrote: post #64
subpixel wrote: post #48

As a member, I get an annual dividend from REI. I can assure you that sending customers money is a great way to engender loyalty.

Well your "dividend" is simply a portion of what you bought. Sort of like a rewards credit card, they're not actual dividends.

Sort of like a rewards credit card, but without having to apply for, or carry around, or remember to use an additional credit card.

Re: Mary Anderson, a Founder of the Outdoor Cooperative REI, Dies at 107

#110

Post by regulation_d »

subpixel wrote: post #48

As a member, I get an annual dividend from REI. I can assure you that sending customers money is a great way to engender loyalty.

I guess it depends on how you look at it. I think technically the "dividend" is a refund on an overpayment. Which is kind of like them saying, "Hey, why don't you give us money as membership fee and and we'll give you a 10% discount. Then you're going to overpay on all your goods by 10%. And we're going to hold on to that money, interest-free for you for like a year or whatever, but eventually we'll give it back."
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