What the price data says
Two a month, written from the tracking database. The first season's reports are planned below; the sample shows the shape.
Planned for season one
Each report is drawn from the same price history the catalogue carries: every model we track has its own page with the prices behind these figures.
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Planned
Black Friday is the wrong week to buy skis
What the four big sale weeks actually discount, category by category, from the first season of twice-daily sweeps. Early answer: Black Friday is for brands that never discount otherwise, and skis wait for March.
Read the sample report -
Planned
The size curve: which sizes go first, and how fast
Sell-through by Mondopoint and length at closeout across every store we read, so you know whether to wait for a deeper discount in your size or buy at the first blue square.
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Planned
Cross-border, honestly
Every double black we sent to North America from a European store, with what members actually paid at the door against our landed estimate.
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Planned
State of ski prices, season one
The yearly report: average discount by month, by brand and by category, which brands held MSRP, and which stores delivered the most black diamonds.
Sample report
Black Friday is the wrong week to buy skis
Every November the outdoor press publishes the same list, and every November the list is mostly jackets. The reason is structural. Black Friday is when brands that hold minimum advertised prices all year get to discount in public for a week, so the real action is in apparel and accessories from Arc'teryx, Patagonia and the helmet makers. Skis and boots do not drop meaningfully until the model-year clearance begins in March, because retailers are still selling the current year at full price to people who are skiing that week.
| Category | Black Friday week | March to April | Best week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skis, current year | 12% | 38% | Mid-April |
| Skis, closeout year | 31% | 52% | Mid-April |
| Boots | 9% | 33% | Late April, odd sizes |
| Bindings | 18% | 30% | March |
| Shells and bibs | 34% | 41% | Black Friday, for MAP brands |
| Helmets and goggles | 29% | 35% | Black Friday |
Figures are placeholders until the season's data exists; the published report uses the tracked prices.
The practical rule: buy the shell in November, the skis in April, and the boots whenever your size appears at a blue square, because sizes do not wait for the calendar.
Back to the planned reports