Blems?

[Sdspeed]

Thanks to OEX for taking the lead and helping so many of us get a new kayak with their joint efforts with Malibu Kayaks.

So what happens to the Blems from all the other manufactures?

[danjor]

Also interested since I want a hobie.... A blem would make the price easier to swallow the upgrade

[CaliShark]

Blem hobie!!! Sign me up!

[MrM]

Originally Posted by Sdspeed

Thanks to OEX for taking the lead and helping so many of us get a new kayak with their joint efforts with Malibu Kayaks.

So what happens to the Blems from all the other manufactures?

I think they all become versions of the "corn hole" game that we saw at BnB earlier this year. Really, I think there's a picture floating around here somewhere.



But honestly, a blem Hobie sale (example) would dent their business model I think. People would take the attitude of "Why pay $3000 (after tax) for a bare-bones PA when you can wait and buy a blem for a significant amount less?" I don't think we'll see it. I wouldn't complain one bit, but I don't think we'll see it.

Consider this: There's also something to be said regarding the used market. These blem sales have put a pretty large dent in the value of a used kayak. Let's say you buy a PA at the $3000 price tag, brand new. You go home, the market starts getting diluted with blem models of PA's that have a scratch here or there, maybe a misspelled word, all the used "non-blems", (you could argue even the new ones in a show room) lose their value. The Hobie owners would probably revolt after the huge price they paid for their yaks.

Back to your original question- For most manufacturers, they probably get melted back down and re-used. At least that's what I would imagine. Malibu seems to have found something that works for them with these blem sales at OEX, though.

[Sdspeed]

"Quote" Back to your original question- For most manufacturers, they probably get melted back down and re-used. At least that's what I would imagine. Malibu seems to have found something that works for them with these blem sales at OEX, though.
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I was thinking that some may recycle their blems but I've also seen on more than one occassion Blems of 2 other manufacturers offered by a couple large
retailers but not in any quanity and I found them by accident while looking for
other related items or deals in general.

That is kinda what really got me thinking about this. To Malibu's credit I'm sure that it hasn't hurt their market share otherwise I doubt we would have seen it more than once. Plus by working with a top notch retailer like OEX doesn't hurt either. Big picture, name recognition when someone is considering a kayak and also the associated accessories that go with the addiction

[skrilla]

Rental fleet.

[food4less562]

No retailer is allowed to advertise Hobie sales. If you go to a dealer and talk to them in person, they've more than happy to give me 10-20% off. Hobie "blems" become "demo" kayaks.

[Siebler]

Other manufactures do different things with Blems. Hobie does not release blems to the general public and use them as Demo and Signage boats. Wilderness Systems and Ocean Kayak do on occasion offer blems to dealers howewer many of them go into Outfitter/Livery sales, Demos, Pro Staffs, etc.

Also the much larger companies that have been around for a long time tend to have a very low percentage of Blem boats as they have rotomolding experts on staff to help eliminate issues in the molding process.

If you are ever looking for Blems you can definitely check with us and we will see if anything is available. The discounts form most manufactures on blems is nowhere near what Malibu does however and you will likely find that the discount is not worth giving up the lifetime warranty.

After molded it is a much bigger process than simply melting down the kayaks for recycling. I know malibu did have a bunch of non-sellable blems that they cut up and sell back to the plastic manufacture to be refined into usable powder again. I would assume that other manufactures have this opportunity as well however if the amount of boats with such issues isnt high enough it likely isnt worth their time and they will become signage boats or displays as well if not just trashed.