Because of Covid-19, REI to Sell Its New Iconic HQ

wsj.com

3 points·eplanit··4 comments

I was curious, having seen REI stores with the "Co-op" branding lately in my area... turns out they consider themselves a consumer's cooperative.

From the REI Wikipedia page[1]:

> The Andersons originally established the co-op structure to secure reduced prices for its members

I am not a member of REI, but I shop there a couple times a year.

Am I missing out on some serious discounts or something... because in my experience, REI is definitely the most expensive place around to buy outdoor gear.

Obviously I miss out voting for board members... but I don't really care about that (and I assume most members likely don't either).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_Equipment,_Inc.

I'm a member and I certainly don't regret it. I also only shop a few times a year, I paid the $20 dollar lifetime fee to be a member about 4 years ago and I've earned over $150 in dividends. I primarily choose to shop at REI for their 1 year return policy, that buys a lot of piece of mind when you buy a different type of shoe, a backpack that you want to test out, or maybe a sleeping pad that looks comfortable in the store but may not be comfortable in the wild.

From what I've read, the dividends are only 10% of what you spent in the previous year, so if you've earned $150 over 4 years, that's a total spent of $1500.

In my experience, everything in REI is overpriced, sometimes greater than 25% over Amazon or even Bass Pro Shop.

So... did you actually save any money? Even with the "trial" period for products (did you actually return something 9 months later?).

I have had products that I’ve returned after 9 months. Many of the brands they carry are price controlled, yeti, osprey, Patagonia, smart wool, etc. I wouldn’t go there for everything but when price is controlled that extra 10% is nice.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com