Is Backcountry Becoming Specialized???

Discussion in 'Free Zone' started by mtnbikej, Nov 2, 2019.


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  1. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
  2. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
  3. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
  4. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Bakcuntry.com

    It’s not an e-commerce site for outdoor gear, or for anything else. It’s a curated exhibit of illustrations of goats fukking people and animals.
     
  5. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Jensen has something going on with Specialized too.
    Didn't let the dealers know, afaik.
     
  6. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Don't hold back, @mike. Let us know how you really feel. :p
     
  7. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    I've noticed they have been carrying some Specialized items and my first thought was WTF?
     
  8. Danimal

    Danimal iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Mission Viejo
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    Epic Evo
    Heck we can trademark the word coffee, and food, and walking so now the can call it brown water, stuff for you stomach, moving legs.

    Hell, where does it end.....and where does common sense kick in.
    D'bags. Sueing those with small businesses and not the disposable capital to defend themselves.

    Hey @mike now I know where they got their name! Bakcuntry.com....Haha
    And the goat emblem backs it up. :thumbsup:
     
  9. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    Backcountry.com —> #frownedupon
     
  10. tick

    tick Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    Tick
    Current Bike:
    Process 111
    On the one hand, they have to create some space around their trademark or risk confusion (yeti comes to mind), or even the loss of their trademark. But this is just lawyers looking for an excuse to bill hours.

    I’ve seen this with patent trolls. You patent a bunch of barely patentable or dubiously patentable tech, then send lawyers from third tier schools off to look for possible “violations” of those patents, and let them try to extract protection money.

    The owners need to rein this in. The lawyers will destroy the brand faster than the marketers can generate revenue in the new markets they’re trying to move in to.
     
  11. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    I take some offense to our culture being co-opped by private interests. How many decades has the term been in popular use?

    Naming 101: Invent something you can own. Read: unique. I guess I missed the part where you just grab a random, popular word then start threatening a bunch of smaller/grassroots companies. But that does sound viable.

    F that company. They are no longer a vendor for me/us.
     
  12. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I bought a set of snowboard boots from them last year. It was a great experience. However, with this Sh!t, I will no longer buy anything from them.

    Oh the snowboard boot model was the Ride "Deadbolt." I wonder if Schlage is gonna come after Ride for patent infringement? But wait, "Ride" should come after all of us for using the word "Ride" as often as we do. Do you ever ride in the backcountry?
     
  13. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/538528110277900/

    For those not on FB, it's a newly created group called Boycott Backcountry.com. Not sure of the date of creation, but it's already at over 3,200 members. Though a FB group certainly won't be Backcountry's undoing, it sure is indicative of how much ill will they've created.
     
  14. evdog

    evdog iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    San diego
    Name:
    Evan S
    Don't bet on it. A big part of the problem is right here: "The 23-year-old Utah e-retailer — founded by ski bums but owned since 2015 by private equity firm TSG Partners"
     
  15. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
  16. Danimal

    Danimal iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Mission Viejo
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    Epic Evo
  17. Old&InTheWay

    Old&InTheWay Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Orange, Ca.
    Name:
    Steve
    Current Bike:
    2017 Intense Primer Pro
    Having to pay all those lawyers, they are probably forced to let their experienced professional customer service reps go and replace them with part time temporary seasonal employees paid minimum wage with no benefits. :oops:
     
  18. tick

    tick Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    Tick
    Current Bike:
    Process 111
    I mean, it doesn’t really matter who owns it, even a big faceless corporation shouldnt want to destroy the value of a brand it paid good money for...but yeah.

    Look at TSG’s portfolio, it’s a list of brands that have outlived their hipness. Yoga studios, Canyon bikes, Nuun, Stumptown Coffee, planet fitness, and PBR. What a bunch of garbage.
     
  19. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Them's fightin' words, mister.
     
    mike, mountaingirl sara, tick and 5 others like this.
  20. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    They definitely have a history of not playing fair in order to squeeze out the little guy. At least on the snow sports side for a few years they had this crazy no limitations no questions asked return policy, where they were totally turning a blind eye to people buying snow gear, using it for a season, and then returning it, seemingly eschewing short term profits in favor of taking sales from competitors, especially the mom and pop stores that simply couldn't afford to offer that kind of returns. They'd unload everything on geartrade.com, which they seem to have some affiliation with. You could cruise geartrade in the Spring and find full size runs of popular boards that were in many cases barely used for like 70% off. They were pretty famous for violating vendor agreements by discounting well below what was allowed early in the season.
     
    mike, mountaingirl sara, tick and 7 others like this.
  21. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I'm guessing that included Never Summer boards...
     
  22. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    It did as far as returns, and unloading on GT, but I will say that NS is known for having one of the most aggressive vendor agreements out there in terms of prohibiting discounting, and they've been known to pull the plug on a vendor for violating. As such they don't seem to get effed with much in that regard.
     
  23. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Guess I should remove my Goatworthy sticker from my bike rack :(
     
    Mikie, herzalot, DangerDirtyD and 2 others like this.
  24. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Or you could just put a thin piece of red tape on it diagonally. :cool:
     
    Mikie, SnakeCharmer, herzalot and 5 others like this.
  25. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Genius!
     
    Mikie, herzalot, Faust29 and 4 others like this.
  26. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    Lets see how this plays out when they have Santa Cruzez at 40% off!
     
    Mikie, buggravy, SnakeCharmer and 6 others like this.
  27. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Ho, man. Deep cuts!!!!!!!!

    Nice dose of levity. :thumbsup:
     
    Mikie, buggravy, Faust29 and 3 others like this.
  28. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    I can climb aboard the outrage train... I bought mine last year. :p
     
    Mikie, DangerDirtyD, buggravy and 5 others like this.
  29. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    I pointed out to the Facebook Group that a search of the Google Books archive shows the term used as early as 1807, and the passage specifically mentions commerce! I'd say that predates the present corporate interest.

    "Travels Through the States of North America: And the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada During the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797, Volume 1"
     
    Mikie, DangerDirtyD, buggravy and 7 others like this.
  30. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    Mikie, mike, DangerDirtyD and 2 others like this.


As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?