CD has manufactured and sold a wide range of good boats for a long time and there will be a lot of them around for years to come. A change of ownership always brings unknowns, but hopefully Sanborn will be able to inject some new life into the brand and keep it among the better choices in its markets. IMO, the risks of buying a discounted end of season CD are minimal and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so for the right boat.
5 Likes
I’ll add that the profit margin on kayaks and canoes is quite small for dealers, especially considering the labor expense of receiving and handling them and the fact that they take up a lot of space in the store.
Back when I was working in the biz (we were a Perception dealer) the margin was only about 20% (if we sold a boat for $1000 we had paid $800 for it and markup was 25%). Compare that with “soft goods” like clothing and paddling/camping accessories which were usually “keystoned”, meaning you sold them for manufacturer’s list price which is twice what you paid wholesale for them as a dealer, or a 100% markup/50% margin.
So when you buy a boat that is marked down more than 20% you are usually paying less than the dealer paid for it. But it’s better for the shop’s bottom line in the long run to get that boat off the floor for several reasons (some stated in my prior post).
Money-wise, if you sell that $1000 list price boat at the end of the year for $600, though you have “lost” $200 on what you paid for it and sacrificed a potential $200 profit, you can take that $600 and buy a bunch of sweaters and down jackets that will sell over the winter season for $1200. Even factoring in your “loss” you are bringing in twice what selling the boat for list at $1000 would have yielded ($400 profit on the clothing vs $200 on the boat.)
And when you sold that boat below your cost, chances are the purchaser also bought a paddle, PFD and other gear at either regular prices or on sale with enough margin to make up for the “loss” on the discounted boat sale AND now you have a new entrant to the sport (or one who has upgraded their boat) and they will likely return over the years for more stuff. You also created a very happy customer who got that deal, and people who get a “bargain” tend to be more willing to spend more on other stuff not on sale than they normally would.
As to the “risks” of buying a boat from a company that is changing hands, quality kayaks retain their value for a long time with proper care and maintenance. I have still been able to get parts for boats I have that are more than 20 years old and not in production for that long. Like with cars, models change all the time. And there are few “warranty” issues with higher end kayaks and canoes.
IMHO, the company change would not keep me from buying a CD if I was inclined to want one. Lovely boats but all of them are heavier than I care to deal with (besides which I have 11 kayaks already!)
8 Likes
Wealth of knowledge as so many of you are … Thank you for the awesome response.
need a bakers dozen!
1 Like
I have 2 CD boats in my fleet. The composite Squamish (kevlar or whatever) weighs in just below 40 pounds. The fiberglass Slipstream is ~49 pounds. But I am a small paddler and can use such small boats comfortably.
1 Like
buy buy buy 
2 Likes
I have gotten great deals on nearly every boat. Only ever paid full list for the first one. And have sold several over the years, sometimes for more than I paid for them. I calculated that in the 21 years I have been using touring kayaks, I averaged $200 a year for my paddling hobby (and that includes adding in boats I gave away as gifts). I know plenty of people who spend twice that per year on lottery tickets or Starbucks.
4 Likes
From the email I received this morning I understand that in the US at least, they will all be direct sales, no dealers. You can order custom also but I guess you’ll have to know which kayak will fit you as there will be no place to try one for fit.
2 Likes
Could lead to a downward spiral, with no places for folks to try. Dealers/Outfitters are great for introducing high performance kayaks to interested paddlers. Maine Island Kayaks and Waveology/CT have and use demo models of Brit boats in their lessons and symposiums.
Alder Creek/Portland have Sterling Kayaks in their demo fleet. Some of the videos of Alder Creek’s annual symposian and sponsorship of the “Hobuck Hodown” are what first introduced me to Sterling Kayaks (also helped to have Sterling vouched by some PNet members).
sing
2 Likes
Possibly hurt CD but not many dealers around NYC Metro area have had demo or rentals of CD sea kayaks for at least 10 years and then some. Place close to me sold off about 10 various hulls CD hulls because people stopped renting them and buying them . Now they just sell Eddyline and Hobie, lot’s of Hobie’s. CD yanked their dealership because they wouldn’t order a minimum amount of hulls per year.
They have a map for shipping cost in continental USA.
Seems like if you want one you’ll need to order it custom built.
Seaward has about 3 dealers but seems to kick out al ot of boats. They also seem to have many in stock also.
Yes, I think it could lead to a possible downward spiral for CD. Personally, I am only interested in CD’s “Danish” line of performance boats, specifically the Karla LV. When I inquired about ordering a Karla, I think it was over a year wait. So, I checked on and subsequently went with Sterling (glad I did). I think interest in the Danish line will continue with the sea kayaking “play” contingent because of these videos:
sing
2 Likes
Looks like Sanborn is trying to keep their foot in the door on marketing kayaks to the performance oriented public. This ad popped up on my Facebook feed when I searched Marketplace for “kayak for sale”.
OR they are just trying to dump the current inventory of the higher end boats (hence the “in stock” promotion) so they can drop them from production and concentrate on mass-market plastic bathtubs like so many other manufacturers…
1 Like
Sanborn will continue to make composite hulls.
Someone else said another roto molder of kayaks is taking plastic molds.
Someone who works there told me composite molds were moved to Sanborn which is down the block.
1 Like
Sanborn took over the original CD website and blocked access to the retired CD kayaks and QCC kayaks page.
1 Like
Still advertising as CD on FB. I ask a few questions to see if I get a response.
1 Like
it would serve the kayaking community better if they would do as Perception has done and maintain an online archive of old catalogs and/or model data. It has been immeasurably helpful to me in identifying and eventually buying used boats to be able to dig up original specification pages on them, particularly in determining what the optimal paddler size is for an obsolete model. Feathercraft folded up operations nearly 10 years ago but their spec pages are still accessible online – I just checked one out last week when I spotted an earlier FC kayak for sale on line. Have not checked recently but their owner assembly manuals were also downloadable for years after they no longer made and sold boats.
Of course, providing something like that doesn’t directly increase Sanborn’s bottom line so they would have no other reason to do it than overall good will (which is missing from most of the big sporting goods industry corporate consolidators). I can almost hear the finance and advertising drones at HQ saying “Why would we want to do that? We’re marketing new boats.”
4 Likes
Well you nailed it they’re building and selling new. They’re looking to survive in a tightening market for luxury items in a declining economy.
They are still working on getting their custom builder program to work properly on a cellphone and tablet.
I’d buy a custom Nomad/Extreme but they probably can or won’t make it anymore. Delivery prices are marked off by each State not distance. No clue who they use for shipping and how they’re protected. Last thing I’d want is a custom kayak to arrive with fancy gelcoat patterns banged up. Coastal states are 500 to ship to easy to see your costs. Didn’t notice any weights listed but it may be there I just glanced around. Anyway good luck SANBORN / CURRENT DESIGNS. P
2 Likes