BPL Products Out of Stock

I had the same experience few times myself. Buy the stove from www. bushbuddy.ca

Website shows Snowclaw Guide is in stock for the Black/Red Handles combo. Same is true for Space Pens.

I've noticed it as well, though I haven't ever tried purchasing any of the higher priced items. A while back I was looking at picking up a handful more Ti skewer stakes and some Aqua Mira with the mini droppers. BPL had the best price I could find and I was all set to buy but I could never catch both of them in stock at the same time. I ended up paying a little extra to get it all from Gossamer Gear just because these was actually in stock there.
I know BPL is first and foremost a place for us to learn about and discuss UL backpacking and its gear; but if you're going to sell gear too it might be helpful to actually have the gear in stock, not just tease us with it :).
My parents are small business owners so I've seen things from your end and know that you can just get completely swamped sometimes. I'm glad to see that BPL has been able to maintain quality content and make innovative products but as always there's room for improvement in other areas.

Adam

Steve,

Thanks for the tip.

Unfortunately when they were out of stock I purchased locally. What I mentioned above was just examples. Basically what I'm getting at is the less gear we get on BPL discounts the less our memberships are worth. I know I can buy elsewhere and unfortunately I do when the items I need aren't in stock here. I guess I'm just lamenting that I have to shop elsewhere or in some cases purchase less ideal items elsewhere instead of the gear I want from the shop I prefer to due to inventory levels.

I been waiting one year for something as simple to produce as the nano stuff sacs

And about two years for the Bozeman Mountain Works FeatherLite Vapor Mitts

and still waitingggg
patience ………….

¡sigh!

:-(

I just bought the membership hoping to get a discount on a possumdown vest and a bmw bivy sack, but was a little disappointed to find out that they are out of stock in my size for the vest and the bivy sack is out of stock. The first point is perplexing, from my standpoint, because PossumDown items aren't exactly small-batch items. They are even available from other web-based merchants for not too much more money. So why is BLP out of stock of them when they could simply order some more? The bivy sack…OK, I can live with a wait period on that, but I'd like the option to be put on a wait list. Hell, I'd even be willing to pre-pay for one if I were given a time frame of when to expect it. That's how Mountain Laurel Designs operates and it seems to work out pretty well for them. Then there's all these things I come across that BLP used to sell, presumably before I became a member. For instance, I'd have bought one of the ultralight fly fishing reels in a heartbeat, and the BMW Arc-X variable girth down sleeping bag in several hertbeats, but these are no longer available or visible on BPL unless you do a google search and stumble upon the defunct product pages for them.

Come on guys, it's to your advantage to let us buy things from you. Saying nothing about having a membership vs not having a membership, why not just make it easier for people to buy things from BLP? I know it sounds like too-simple advice… There are three easy ways to do this, though. 1- Set up a wait list for the BMW/Cocoon items, and let people pre-pay for this gear. That way, the manufacturer will have the money to work at a decent speed and the buyer won't feel like he was tempted and then excluded from buying these items for no reason. It would also be a good idea to have differential wait periods for things like stuffsacks vs bivy sacks. I hate to say this but there is just no excuse for a stuffsack to be perpetually out of stock: they are so simple to sew! 2- Don't let the non-cottage industry items go out of stock for too long or at all; 3- Allow custom orders for items that have been "phased out" in the past like the UL fly fishing gear or the variable girth down bag.

While I'm dishing out advice…why not do reviews of the custom gear available on this site? Sure would make it easier to buy things like the FeatherLite Vapor Mitts that use technology I'm not familar with or the Cocoon quilts that don't have temperature ratings.

I do believe that BPL has a policy of not reviewing unique items they carry as it would appear biased. Even if it was unintentional if they have direct feedback into how an item is made, they are more likely to be happy with the item knowing it was designed specifically for their use or at least acknowleging the compromises in designs.

That said, what I'd absolutely love to see, their unique items put up for testing on http://www.backpackgeartest.org for indepth field testing of their items from independant parties.

Members –

Your comments are valid and let it be known that BPL is aware of this situation and working on alleviating this aggravation. As a small company which produces both media material and sells hardgoods there have come times when one aspect receives more attention than another.

When you buy a membership to BPL you have access to a great mass of articles, podcasts, instructional materials, et al as well as a great discount in the store. The items you want in the store will not always be available because of small production runs and lack of available materials with which to produce such items.

BPL is currently doing some re-structuring in terms of the operations of the store and along with those changes will come more up-to-date product offering. We do apologize for the lack of availability of some items but also ask you to remember that when you do make a purchase you are often getting a discount superior to what could be paid elsewhere which we hope you consider a worthwhile advantage.

Sincerely,
Sam Haraldson

Sam,
thanks for the update. I've heard many people on this site indicate they'd rather buy it from a BPL or other small businesses (SMD, MLD, GG, etc), than go to larger retailers, clearly a pro-small-business crowd.

One recommendation I'd like to proffer is to provide some type of backorder date for items not in stock: If I need something (like whackable TI stakes right now), I'd rather know up front so I can determine if I can rely on BPL or need to look elsewhere.

Addie and the BPL store are incredibly customer focused and customers really like that. A little more info would help.

Thanks,
MikeB

Very good points Sam, and I should say that I didn't get the membership just for the discounts. The articles are impressively in-depth and I really enjoy the level of criticism and experience you guys bring to the reviews. I certaily understand that BLP is a small company and, with that in mind, I appreciate all the articles, podcasts and other media all the more. I'm of course no finance whiz, but what I was saying is that there are some small problems hindering the retail sales that, if fixed, could potentially increase sales and overall income. Again, I'm no expert, so perhaps I shouldn't be dishing out advice like that (unasked for), but I want to see more articles and reviews just as much as you guys and retail sales of the high dollar items seems like a built-in sort of back up funding mechanism for the magazine that's currently not working as efficiently as it could, and I want to see BPL succeed in the long run.

> I do believe that BPL has a policy of not reviewing unique items they carry as it would appear biased.

Not strictly correct.

BPL will publish reviews of third-party items which they sell, although the internal vetting of the review is strict. See for instance my review of the Helix Potty Trowel.

BPL will not publish Prooduct Reviews of items which Bozeman Mountain Works makes (same company). That would risk a conflict of interest. So I published my owner review of the BMW Cocoon at BackpackGearTest instead. But READERS can publish their own reviews of any of these items in the Reader Review section. Go for it!

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Senior Editor for Technology
Backpacking Light

Robert,

BPL used to have pre-pay on their out of stock items but it was phased out a couple of years ago after user complaints:

Pre-paying meant you were essentially making an interest-free loan for several months. When delivery times inevitably slipped the consternation was dramatic, and the staff had to go out of their way to mollify anxious customers.

If you didn’t pre-pay you ran the very real risk of getting left out. Some items barely made it to the “shelves” because pre-paid customers had reserved nearly the entire stock.

I agree that the long (sometimes +1 year) wait times are agonizing. Ryan Jordan mentioned in an earlier thread that reducing this is a major goal of the company over the next year. Hope so.

I missed the UL fishing rod but Nunatak still makes the Arc X. They call it the Arc Specialist and will gladly make it for you in whatever thickness and with whatever modifications you desire. Tom’s great.

. . . the loss of the good old days when "free shipping" was available for a great many BPL products.

Not only do you now save money by avoiding payment of any shipping expenses when a product is not available, you also save money when you don't order an available item because the shipping expense is equal to, greater than, or a bit out of proportion to the cost of the item.

Of course, can make shipping expenses more reasonable by just buying a lot of stuff at each time. That's a plan!!!

JRS

Any discount – irregardless how significant – is meaningless if the item isn't available when the customer is ready to purchase.

Inventory control is an issue for all companies. If a vendor can not supply you with an item within a reasonable period of time, why are you trying to sell it for them? You as the seller are the one who looks like an idiot to your customer base, not the manufacturer.

Technical knowledge founds a company but good business skills make it grow. Perhaps the time has come to hire a professional business manager to handle the day to day operations. It may well be that running a retail outlet is not in the best long term interests of BPL.

Wandering Bob

A great place to buy Fisher Space pens at a great discount is http://thewritersedge.com/fisher.cfm

If you buy the bullet, make sure you get the $3 leather pouch as it prevents the pen from slipping out of your pocket. I find it to be the best gift to give another man as many men wear shirts without pockets. I'll meet someone 1-2 years later after giving him a bullet Fisher space pen and they'll have it in their pocket.

Maybe I just have bad timing, but it seems to me that the stocking situation has not improved. I became a life member, and if memory serves, changing the situation around the lack of availability of gear for purchase was supposed to be a high priority in the new incarnation of BPL…

Am I the only one frustrated by this?

the shop is being closed it was announced last month

I guess I didn't get the memo…

The only thing I found after this thread was an email of 7-20-2011 with the Subject: BPL News: SALE + ZPacks Review + Backpacking with Kids Part 2.

At the end of the email was the following.

"INVENTORY LIQUIDATION SALE!
We recently made the decision to redirect our energies from the gear shop to our publishing/editorial, and trekking school/services divisions. If you are a BPL Member, you can read more about it here (note: you must be logged in with your Member account to view this forum thread).
Last week we began the process of liquidating remaining inventory in our Gear Shop (Members were notified early). This is a gambler's sale – which means that every day a few deeper discounts will be made available until the inventory is gone. Take your chances: grab something while it's in stock now, or take the risk on a price drop and more limited availability later on.
Since the shop is closing, we will no longer be accepting returns on goods. The last day to purchase something in the BPL Gear Shop will be Friday, July 22 – the shop will close at 9AM MDT.
Thanks for your support and feedback to us during this process. We're looking forward to new opportunities that open up in response to untethering from our gear shop!
Best Regards,
Ryan Jordan
Publisher / CEO"

The "here" refers to a page that results in he following. "The specified forum thread no longer exists or never existed." http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=50021&m=00604KPUKWQQN7NG2O-N1Dscv3A

I looked at BPL news and did not see anything. I can understand the decision, even if I regret the loss. What I do not understand is why there is not better coverage about it. Hopefully there is better coverage, and I just missed it. On the other hand I do not seem to be the only one who did not notice. I'm not sure how the difficulty in finding out the news relates to a plan to start devoting more energy to publishing. I would think there would be a clear notice, and some helpful links and forum comments as to alternative sources. I'd settle for finding a source for the, "Backpacking Light Firelite SUL Short Handled Titanium Spoon." ;-)

You can't read the thread you have in your post because you have to be a member to read it,I can read it and it does exist.

As a new member (and a recent UL convert), this is the only place I could find that stated the store was gone. It's really too bad, because a lot of Google searches will link to out-of-stock items that the BPL articles reference.

I guessed that the Gear Store was closed, but hoped that it was just closed for the winter or something while it was being upgraded for v2.0.

I don't suppose there's an article that points new people to places to find UL gear? Things like the BPL Eye Droppers, or the BPL Cocoon Pro 90 Quilt?

The BPL Gear Shop is closed indefinitely. All inventory was liquidated and the physical warehouse location has been closed. In the future I suspect there will be small production runs of specific gear made available to community members but the general public sale of gear is almost certainly gone for the forseeable future.

The online store seemed like a much greater help to the UL community as a whole than the lessons currently offered. Is anyone anywhere attempting to fill this gap? If BPL isn't going to support that market anymore it would stand to reason that the market still exists and someone could make steps to cover it. So has anyone? I'm new-ish to the forums and haven't read anything yet about any alternative webstores. Thanks!

"The online store seemed like a much greater help to the UL community as a whole than the lessons currently offered."

How so?