#1 - I'm pretty sure Ninthward couldn't pull that off a few years ago, when they had been an established "business" for a few years at that point. Taking orders for clothing, promising to deliver, then ignoring people and business' who placed orders, because they couldn't get their shit out at all. That was good "business". All they have for sale on their site is basketball jerseys. They show hoodies and t's but I couldn't find anywhere online to purchase them.
#2 - I'm pretty sure Ninthward was hyping their shit like crazy way before they were selling skis to anyone. This hyping included stickering the shit out of Vail and probably ever other mountain/village their team visited over the winter. You couldn't walk 5 feet in Vail without seeing a Ninthward sticker stuck somewhere in January of 04. This hyping also included promoting their shit on NS as much as they possibly could, which big surprise when they had to pay they entered a contract, and never paid.
#3 - Retail price for First Bloods $750, Compte skis on sale at Getboards for $650, Max Peters Pro on sale for $600, Silva Pro on sale for $680, etc, etc. Do you want to keep talking about over priced products?
Empire has been around for less than a year. Give them some time to get everything together and get the gloves out to the public. No point in pushing a product right out of the warehouse into the publics' hand without being sure it's a worthy product. There is this part of a real business where you create products and test them before you start selling them to the public. Add in the fact that the owner spends the majority of his time traveling and working, and you're not exactly rolling in time to get things done.
Thanks though...