Ski Delivery; The New Norm?

From Chinese food and pizza to bags full of groceries, it seems like everything can be delivered these days. That list of everything now includes ski and snowboard rentals. The concept is not new, but more and more ski shops are jumping on the bandwagon… or rather, the ski delivery van.

The cost of delivery varies widely between ski shops. Some offer free delivery, but the daily ski rental is a few bucks extra to cover the costs of gas, the vehicle, insurance, and extra employee hours. Some offer their regular ski rates and a delivery fee per ski rental, for some it is per ski rental – per day. It is important to clarify what you are paying for. A delivery fee of say $12 per day, as you might find, can really add up.

You also want to make sure the company you choose can bring you extra items you might need, including a selection of gloves, hats, and jackets and pants in some cases, and evenhand warmers.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a ski rental delivery company is what happens if you have trouble with their gear on the mountain. Most companies will say they “never” walk away from fitting someone in their boots and bindings unless the fit is perfect. That very well may be true, as far as they know. Most rental shops take their customers’ fit, comfort, and safety very seriously, however, there can be instances when someone may get up on the hill and change their mind about how tightly they

want their bindings set, or decide they want to ski more powder than expected and want a fatter ski, or they didn’t judge correctly how their feet felt in their boots during fitting and may want a different size.

The best bet for a quick change is working with a shop that has on-mountain support. If you have to wait for a delivery van to finish its rounds before it gets to where you are skiing – if that is even an option – you could miss out on an entire day of skiing. However, rental companies that have shops at the ski resort will have everything you need with nothing more than a quick walk from the hill to the shop. Some even offer overnight storage – to continue that level of convenience.

Remember that ski rental delivery might require some extra planning. If you want that convenience to be truly convenient and have them work around your schedule, you won’t want to wait until you get to town to call for the service. Reserve your skis and set up your delivery now.

As most people know however, you often have to pay for convenience and, at times, pay big. But, as the demand for ski rental delivery rises, the costs go down. And, if you subscribe to the notion that time is money, saving time from standing in line at the ski shop might be worth it.