vladydude 0 #1 January 5, 2007 Hi ,guys i am doing a survey and would like to know if skydivers think another jumpsuit company should be needed in the industry to serve world wide skydivers. Which quality do you think a company should have, and what do dislike the most about skydiving jumpsuit companies? Thank you guys for your time, all answers are much appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Loonix 0 #2 January 5, 2007 What I dislike about many such companies is how incredibly superduper badass eXtreme they like to portray themselves. Just make something that works, and make it cheap. Then I'll buy your suit. Wether it is NEEDED or not, I have no idea. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeD10834 0 #3 January 5, 2007 Competition is generally good for the consumer... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BIGUN 1,486 #4 January 5, 2007 It "may" be a difficult market to penetrate. Most skydivers are brand loyal. Look at rigs for example. All rig manufacturers have quality products, equal standards, great customer service, etc. As to jumpsuits, I've strayed from my loyalty to Flite Suits and Tony Suits once and it was a BIG mistake (think Hawaii). I stick with them primarily cause they get it right for guys my size the first time and because they're always appreciative of my business. Another factor is endurance. There's been a lot of suit & helmet manufacturer's jump in and a year or two later are gone.Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites rehmwa 2 #5 January 5, 2007 QuoteIt "may" be a difficult market to penetrate. My wife is making suits and the local market is very good. That's not surprising as the ability to tailor something directly instead via correspondence is very important (especially for comp type RW suits) - measuring for a suit isn't fool proof and people that measure for themselves make mistakes no matter how good the instructions. Extending to mail order will be a trick as people are either loyal to their local maker, or to one of the big vendors. The real trick is to make the suit better. Simple as that. Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Butters 0 #6 January 5, 2007 QuoteMy wife is making quality suits ... Fixed it for you. "That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kallend 2,148 #7 January 5, 2007 Quote Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. That's it!... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites riggerrob 643 #8 January 5, 2007 Like I told you six months ago: ... start small ... ... start with free fly pants ... ... make loose-fitting freefly suits second ... ... stick to local customers (that you can measure in person) for the first couple of years ... ... introduce tight-fitting RW suits late in your learning curve ... ... wingsuits are the most complicated, so should be left for last ... In conclusion, those free fly pants - that you made for me last summer are GREAT! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites davelepka 4 #9 January 5, 2007 The biggest problem you're going to have is in fitting the suits in the beginning. Every suit that comes back for adjustments costs you money, and makes your cust, bit 100% happy. They might like the corrected suit alot, but they'll also tell all their firends about the poor fit upon delivery. Unless you have extensive experience with textiles, specifically pattern making, or you have worked for a big jumpsuit mfg for several years stealing secrets, it would be a tough market to break into. Starting small, just doing local customers as a part time job would be a good start. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DrewEckhardt 0 #10 January 5, 2007 Quote The real trick is to make the suit better. Simple as that. While making a better product won't hurt you the real problem is marketting. The skills to make things and the skills to run a successful business are different. The last suit I had my rigger make should stand up well to the national competition - more durable materials, reinforced knees and seat, there's no seam across the shoulders, etc. Turn arround time wasn't much over a week. I paid under $250 for materials and labor, Buying one for yourself would be difficult. No logo, no website, no exposure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites LouDiamond 1 #11 January 5, 2007 QuoteQuote Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. That's it! AMEN to that. I am still waiting for a simple pair of swoop pants 6 + months later. Had they told me ahead of time that it would take 6 + months I wouldn't be complaining. However, I never heard back from them once I placed an order and had I not called several times, I'd have never known that the ship date was moved back. In total, to date, the estimated delivery date I have been given by the mfgr. has shifted at least 4 times. Each time I expected to see a package at my door I had to make a call to find out that my delivery date had been moved again. So the best thing a mfgr can do is: 1. Provide honest, no BS delivery dates/times. 2. Provide good customer support ie: keep your customer informed on the progress or promptly let them know if there is a delay. 3. Keep the customer happy; The customer is always right. If the mfgr. can't deliver on thier promise they should do something to compensate or address the customers situation. In my case, I can honestly say that none of the above 3 things have taken place and I have let the mfgr. know how I feel about it. For the amount of money I paid for a simple pair of shorts, the continued delay and bad customer support, I don't care how great the product may be once I get it. I will simply not recommend their product to anyone in the future and I will not purchase from them again. Instead of gaining a loyal customer and future sales they have made one final sale and lost a customer."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Mr17Hz 1 #12 January 6, 2007 You could do it; the demand is there, the hardest part is going to be getting the attention of the demand. The best way to do that is to underbid the competition and produce equal or superior quality, while providing equal or superior service. Because experience of efficiency is not on your side – this means loosing money the first few years… After year two you’ll have repeat and word of mouth business coming in, and by year three you’ll have a little bit of branding on your side. If you can pull through those first three years aggressively – you could be up with the rest of the ‘big’ guys by year 4. Good luck.Matt Christenson mattchristenson@realskydiving.com http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
BIGUN 1,486 #4 January 5, 2007 It "may" be a difficult market to penetrate. Most skydivers are brand loyal. Look at rigs for example. All rig manufacturers have quality products, equal standards, great customer service, etc. As to jumpsuits, I've strayed from my loyalty to Flite Suits and Tony Suits once and it was a BIG mistake (think Hawaii). I stick with them primarily cause they get it right for guys my size the first time and because they're always appreciative of my business. Another factor is endurance. There's been a lot of suit & helmet manufacturer's jump in and a year or two later are gone.Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #5 January 5, 2007 QuoteIt "may" be a difficult market to penetrate. My wife is making suits and the local market is very good. That's not surprising as the ability to tailor something directly instead via correspondence is very important (especially for comp type RW suits) - measuring for a suit isn't fool proof and people that measure for themselves make mistakes no matter how good the instructions. Extending to mail order will be a trick as people are either loyal to their local maker, or to one of the big vendors. The real trick is to make the suit better. Simple as that. Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butters 0 #6 January 5, 2007 QuoteMy wife is making quality suits ... Fixed it for you. "That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,148 #7 January 5, 2007 Quote Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. That's it!... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #8 January 5, 2007 Like I told you six months ago: ... start small ... ... start with free fly pants ... ... make loose-fitting freefly suits second ... ... stick to local customers (that you can measure in person) for the first couple of years ... ... introduce tight-fitting RW suits late in your learning curve ... ... wingsuits are the most complicated, so should be left for last ... In conclusion, those free fly pants - that you made for me last summer are GREAT! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #9 January 5, 2007 The biggest problem you're going to have is in fitting the suits in the beginning. Every suit that comes back for adjustments costs you money, and makes your cust, bit 100% happy. They might like the corrected suit alot, but they'll also tell all their firends about the poor fit upon delivery. Unless you have extensive experience with textiles, specifically pattern making, or you have worked for a big jumpsuit mfg for several years stealing secrets, it would be a tough market to break into. Starting small, just doing local customers as a part time job would be a good start. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #10 January 5, 2007 Quote The real trick is to make the suit better. Simple as that. While making a better product won't hurt you the real problem is marketting. The skills to make things and the skills to run a successful business are different. The last suit I had my rigger make should stand up well to the national competition - more durable materials, reinforced knees and seat, there's no seam across the shoulders, etc. Turn arround time wasn't much over a week. I paid under $250 for materials and labor, Buying one for yourself would be difficult. No logo, no website, no exposure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #11 January 5, 2007 QuoteQuote Turn around time is the biggest complaint I hear about for the big vendors. Skydivers want their toys now, not 8 weeks or 6 months from now. That's it! AMEN to that. I am still waiting for a simple pair of swoop pants 6 + months later. Had they told me ahead of time that it would take 6 + months I wouldn't be complaining. However, I never heard back from them once I placed an order and had I not called several times, I'd have never known that the ship date was moved back. In total, to date, the estimated delivery date I have been given by the mfgr. has shifted at least 4 times. Each time I expected to see a package at my door I had to make a call to find out that my delivery date had been moved again. So the best thing a mfgr can do is: 1. Provide honest, no BS delivery dates/times. 2. Provide good customer support ie: keep your customer informed on the progress or promptly let them know if there is a delay. 3. Keep the customer happy; The customer is always right. If the mfgr. can't deliver on thier promise they should do something to compensate or address the customers situation. In my case, I can honestly say that none of the above 3 things have taken place and I have let the mfgr. know how I feel about it. For the amount of money I paid for a simple pair of shorts, the continued delay and bad customer support, I don't care how great the product may be once I get it. I will simply not recommend their product to anyone in the future and I will not purchase from them again. Instead of gaining a loyal customer and future sales they have made one final sale and lost a customer."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr17Hz 1 #12 January 6, 2007 You could do it; the demand is there, the hardest part is going to be getting the attention of the demand. The best way to do that is to underbid the competition and produce equal or superior quality, while providing equal or superior service. Because experience of efficiency is not on your side – this means loosing money the first few years… After year two you’ll have repeat and word of mouth business coming in, and by year three you’ll have a little bit of branding on your side. If you can pull through those first three years aggressively – you could be up with the rest of the ‘big’ guys by year 4. Good luck.Matt Christenson mattchristenson@realskydiving.com http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
