What's the deal with Mando's (the shop, not the tree)

[b-mart]

Okay, so the Seattle area has two disc golf shops: Chainbangerz and Mando's. Chainbangerz is closer to Seattle, more involved in the scene, and seem to have better selection. The only excuse to ever stop at Mando's is if you're playing White River, Riverside, or Fenwick. I'll go out of my way to go to Chainbangerz (and end up hitting Lakewood and SeaTac to make it not out of my way after all). Point of this intro being to say that I could care less about Mando's if I'm not in Auburn already....

Well I stop in there on Monday on the off chance that something will catch my eye and run into two jaw dropping flaws:

1. Their website is down. You're a disc golf shop. The only way to truly be profitable is to do online ordering. I don't know this for certain, but I'm pretty sure that Marshall Street, Clearwater, etc probably get the bulk of their profits from online sales.

2. No used discs. What? "That was a one time thing." Again: What? Doesn't this cut into your profit margins too? Example: I bought a beat Star Teebird there for $8 once. I assume that they paid the person before me $5 or less for it. Profit: $3+. Go to Chainbangerz and look at their used selection. Then go a week later and see how many of the same discs are still there. I've never recognized a repeat. Used. Discs. Sell. Period.

I'm no business genius, but I would think that these two points, if altered, would make a huge difference in your bottom line in such a small, niche market like this. The only thing they have going for them is that they don't pay out if you drop off a found disc. Chainbangerz gives you $2 for dropping the disc off and then charges the owner $2 to get it back... Which backfires when thousands of discs are hauled in from underwater at Lakewood and nobody comes to claim 75% of them. So I'll give the owners at Mando's that one, but other than that?

Any thoughts on this from someone who understands such things better than I do? I manage a business, but I don't do the marketing or make the huge decisions, so I'll gladly defer to someone who knows more than I do.

 

[mndiscg]

Maybe they just abuse the local chuckers who don't know any better?

 

[captain jack]

Tom and Mary, the owners, have been around alot longer than Keith and Adam have.

Both are active in the disc golf community, and without them, the game farm course would probably not exist.

I dont think an internet presence has ever been important to them, thier not trying to take over the world, they just like to help out local disc golfers.

They do have a practice basket there, you cant test putt on the internet.
They have a decent selection of most brands, and if you like to touch a disc before you buy it, thats important.
They also have a disc reward program, and a good relationship with Innova, so they can order stuff that may not be in the store.

It used to be Lowell up north, Brian at Lakewood, and Tom down south. Those were your choices for disc sellers.

Used discs are an inventory nightmare, and there becomes a point where the small amount of profit made doesnt justify the space required to display them.

 

[Knarfks]

I would say Keith and Adam would want to be done with the returned discs. They stop taking them after a while because they would have 500+ and people would blow up if the sold them after more than a month. If you call them they will hold it, but I can't blame them for selling them after a set time(>1 month).

I fish for discs and turn them in or call the #'s whether there is credit or not. I have turned in/returned well over 300 discs, I have gotten back exactly 3 discs in 2 years. People throw a disc in the lake right in front of me fishing and the get mad at me for not being able to get it back after trying.

Back to mando's. It isn't a bad shop and the owners do quite a bit for DG in auburn area. Used discs aren't a necessity. If you want used discs the marketplace here is a good place.

 

[Oklahyzer]

Used discs can be a nightmare and even when the markup is high (it's usually a lot higher than what you guessed) it's a total crapshoot and they aren't all that profitable for many people. We have five places to buy discs around here and only one does used. He pays $1 per disc, no matter how nice it is or what plastic it is. From a half shredded dx disc to a champ or star without even a scuff on it....$1. The dx discs sell from $3-$6 usually, champ and star from $8-$12...sometimes more if it's a special or nice disc. He makes them move ok, but he also has donated stacks of them to various dg programs because there's just not much profit in them overall - not compared to potential with sales of new discs. And ditto on taking up space. That's important from a retail standpoint unless you happen to have space to spare and aren't too caught up in per-foot profit.

I can't tell if this was just a rant or really a question, but it sounds like you should just back up and shop where you're happiest. No shortage of choices in dg vendors today!

 

[b-mart]

Keith and Adam DO want to be done with the returned discs. They stopped taking them for a while recently because there were over 1000 sitting in the pro shop at Lakewood. Part of that is their own fault for having random hours of course. I lost two over the winter, got called on them, and wasn't even able to get them because the shop was closed every single time I played Lakewood. That was winter time, but still... We still throw discs in the winter. If the pro shop is closed all the time, then take the discs to the Burien store.

And now I've gotten a knack for showing up at Chainbangerz when they're randomly closed (with no posting on the site or Twitter about it) or out to lunch... But I still don't complain or take my business elsewhere because they're great guys and do a ton for the sport, and their prices (at Burien, NOT Lakewood thanks to Seattle Parks taking a 30% cut) are fair.

As for Mando's not giving credit and Chainbangerz doing it? I could care less either. I've returned them both places, and neither place has given me store credit every time. I prefer it that way because I hate paying when I lose a disc... Which is why Lowell is so great. He never charges. The next time I throw a disc in the lake in front of you though? I'm going to run over your bag if you don't pull it out within five minutes. There's just no excuse why you shouldn't be able to pull an 8" piece of plastic out of a 30 square yard pond with a 10" Golden Retriever .

I don't have a major problem with Mando's. If they were local for me I'd probably go there. I was just curious about their business decisions. If that were my main source of income I'd do a whole lot more to compete.

 

[b-mart]

Used discs can be a nightmare and even when the markup is high (it's usually a lot higher than what you guessed) it's a total crapshoot and they aren't all that profitable for many people. We have five places to buy discs around here and only one does used. He pays $1 per disc, no matter how nice it is or what plastic it is. From a half shredded dx disc to a champ or star without even a scuff on it....$1. The dx discs sell from $3-$6 usually, champ and star from $8-$12...sometimes more if it's a special or nice disc. He makes them move ok, but he also has donated stacks of them to various dg programs because there's just not much profit in them overall - not compared to potential with sales of new discs. And ditto on taking up space. That's important from a retail standpoint unless you happen to have space to spare and aren't too caught up in per-foot profit.

I can't tell if this was just a rant or really a question, but it sounds like you should just back up and shop where you're happiest. No shortage of choices in dg vendors today!

My guess at the markup was based on the time I sold a stack of used discs in decent condition and got a whole lot more than I expected. And my experience with used discs has been PIAS (no more than three used discs ever) or Chainbangerz (where I've never seen more than 3' of space taken up by used discs), so all of this talk about space doesn't really tell me anything. I'm fine buying discs anywhere as long as they're fairly priced. I was just wondering if anyone had any insights that I was missing. Not trying to run anyone out of business or anything.