Backcountry.com not playing nice

Emailed them today. They lost my business for good.

Either you care or you don't. There is evidence to suggest BC did a bad thing (or at least the law firm they hired did) and since they haven't piped up and responded, people who care will stop shopping there and people who don't care will still buy their stuff from Moosejaw (Walmart) or wherever is cheapest. To people saying it's standard practice to intimidate small organizations who can't afford to fight things like this in court, scroll up and read the reasoned responses to that argument.

It isn't like there is a whole lot of money to be saved shopping at BC since other retailers (Campsaver) match prices and have rewards programs that are not ActiveJunky. Hopefully you take some of that money you are saving and put it back into your community or something else worthwhile (like REI does).

Also @Joe Trabucco if you just shop wherever is cheapest, why do you feel the need to pipe up? I know you don't work for bc since that would be too easy but what are you hoping to gain here aside from the disapproval of people who think corporations should behave better?

Edit: The great Tim has spoken. Sorry, Joe. As you were! <3<3

Aidan Raviv wrote: 

Also @Joe Trabucco if you just shop wherever is cheapest, why do you feel the need to pipe up?

Wait, if guys like Joe didn't pipe up, how are we to craft such great zingers in response? Really, I think you need to reconsider what you are saying here. Plus, you know, free speech brah.

lost my business

For those interested in substantive discussion instead of name-calling, have a look at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21452266.

I bought about $140 worth of shoes from my ​brick and mortar backcountry store....now known as Boise Gear Collective, for less than $100. One pair brand new, two pairs used.

Guys? When you can, search out the former backcountry places and buy from them. Just a thought.

Best, Helen

Also, some local shops price match. Everyone wins! 

Some empty words from the CEO: ​Backcountry CEO breaks silence over trademark dispute​​​

Wes Martin wrote: Not related to their douchey lawsuits, but I keep seeing backcountry.com internet ads that show for example a pair of climbing shoes at 67% off and then you click on it and its not on sale at all, just a lie to get you to their site. More douchebaggery tactics from them?

I used to be a Gearhead right after they were purchased by that private equity group in 2016 and leaving this company was the best choice I ever made. As for this phenomenon, the 3rd party they use to disperse ads relies on your browser cache to know what to show you (usually items you've browsed for before), and then it also pairs it with the highest % discount from your previously-viewed item's category. Sometimes it's accurate, sometimes it's not. I got in trouble at the call center for honoring an ad that a customer called in about, and that's how I learned the ads aren't always accurate.  So yeah, basically douchebaggery, but unfortunately really common with a lot of online retailers. 

I've been buycotting them since I walked out of the Gearhead offices for the last time, but that started more due to my personal issues with them. A cursory Glassdoor review will tell you all you need about this company's character. It was only a matter of time before their toxicity started affecting other companies too and I'm glad they're being called out on it.

I got some smoking deals from them between 2000 and 2007, after that it went downhill and basically had the same all around prices as REI (and that aint good). I'm thinking a 50% off coupon could sway my opinion though.

The CEO's message is like the South Park episode of "we're sorry."

They're dropping one lawsuit, not even touching on the damage they've caused, and even made themselves a bit of a victim.

They pay back every penny of the bs bully lawsuits or they'll go out of business. People are contacting suppliers now trying to get them to stop using them as resellers.

Moreover I think this is great for the outdoor community so major brands will think twice about how they operate in regards to IP, stewardship, and overall management.

I didn't read the whole thread but the AAC and Backcountry have a very close relationship. You get 15% off pretty much everything at Backcountry with your membership.

Any pressure on the AAC to try to partner with someone else?

"In 2017 and 2018, San Diego-based attorney John Kim (on behalf of Backcountry) expanded the service mark’s scope and the various trademarks by listing hundreds of types of outdoor gear, from heart rate monitors to mountaineering gear."

As expected, the private label gear is just a way of expanding their IP footprint.

Briggs Lazalde wrote:

Are you by chance still in contact with current employees? Do you know how many people, if any, have walked out and left the company very recently due to all this? If I was a gearhead and got email or live chat messages, one after another of disapproval I know it would shake my trust in staying w a company like that.

With what I imagine they pay their employees I'd be surprised if people had the financial resources to just dip.

Josh Kornish wrote: Some empty words from the CEO: Backcountry CEO breaks silence over trademark dispute

I do agree with the above poster that dropping a single lawsuit as a consession to the backlash is too little, too late.

While I’m glad he responded, this response is an obvious attempt at damage control not from the kindness of their heart, but at minimizing lost profits. But, they could not NOT respond. So it’s a no-win situation once they implemented their IP strategy.  What a sudden 180 after the story broke, after years of quietly squashing others. And what if the story did not break?

I bet someone’s getting fired. Maybe their IP firm. It seems like someone in an IP vacuum’s “great idea” to shut down all other retailers and organizations in an effort to strengthen their trademark/tradename (earlier someone asked why they would do this because it only will provide very small marginal profits shuttering others) which is so generic it has a high risk of dilution. But then again, the USPTO already registered it. This person in an IP vacuum, who only thinks about profits & trademarks, does not understand marketing and public perception, and more importantly general morality. Even if this were the case, ultimately the CEO signed off on it. 
If Moosejaw sent a cease and desist letter, it would make sense. another outdoor moosejaw is surely a copycat, and not being able to name your outdoor store/class “moosejaw” is less damaging to the public. 

it's funny that people just now come around to the fact that Backcountry dot com sux

It's kinda reminiscent of this bear that is too obese to escape it's dumpster buffet.  it'd be funny if it were not so depressing and we did not all sorta have some kinda hand in the whole thing.

Fun Police wrote:

Who is that handsome man??? <3

Joe Trabucco wrote:

Who is that handsome man??? <3

As we've already pointed out once, it's a grown man-child with a fragile ego that likes to try to rally people he doesn't know for support on the internet to help him learn how to cope with the mean things a bad old man said to him one day when he was punting at the crag. 

M Mobes wrote:... I'm thinking a 50% off coupon could sway my opinion though.

Not me, I'm finished with 'em. They won't actually change the actual corporate thought process, just some outward appearances in order to re-gain some short sighted buyers.

Joe Trabucco wrote:

Who is that handsome man??? <3

Check water supply.

Mercury contamination indicated.