.lenconSo what happens if you can't meet the payment? Do you send the skis back used or what?
The company that is providing this (Affirm) seems to be making a big Shopify push the past month, as they've been in our ear for awhile, so I think you are going to see this from a number of ski companies who use Shopify as their sales platform look into this. I know we are in discussions to roll it out with our new website that drops in August. We still have some questions to confirm how it works, but if it all sounds good, you'll see this on our new site as well.
From what I gather, you buy skis. Affirm pays brand. You pay affirm at 10-30% interest rate over 3/6/9/12 months.
As far as paying late, the product is purchased and paid for. It isn't returned if you don't pay. You are just taking on credit from Affirm, so if you don't pay on time, eventually like any other credit extension it will go to collections. From the sound of it, they don't charge late fees, so that is nice, but if you don't pay, it will show up on your credit report as an unpaid debt and will limit Affirm's willingness to extend you credit in the future.
steeze4daysNo? You should pay for everything you put for on your credit card at the end of the month usuall because that tends to be when your interest free period ends on purchases, this is different, there are no hidden fees or super high interest rates to worry about and it won't fuck with your credit rating
It is just an extension of credit. If you don't pay, it would be the same just as if you finance other purchases - furniture, mattress, car - unpaid credit would go against your credit score and eventually lead to collections if you don't get the account current. At ski pricing, I don't think they are going to send anyone to repo your skis, but it is just like any other extension of credit - just very clear and out in the open, which I think is great.
I think the best aspect with Affirm vs a CC is that a lot of people don't know their CC's APR or what a $600 purchase now will end up costing them if they pay it off over 6 months, ya know? You know your clear cut monthly payment right off the bat, know exactly how much extra you are paying to finance the purchase, and the process of seeing that is very easy.
afterbanginnI think its def a proper move to make in the ski game today. Because what alot of people that ski are short with dough even though its targeted and known for being an expensive sport
.MASSHOLE.This is immediately what comes to my mind.
I am guessing this is garnered towards a younger crowd (15-25) who most likely do not have the immediate funds at their disposal. If you ask me that is a very risky demographic to target when it comes to anything involving financing. Most college-aged young adults are already trying to pay-off other bills, why add another?
This is something we've discussed internally about whether this was something we wanted to offer. There is a bit of concern on our end that it will allow people who really can't afford skis the ability to get them, and then get in trouble. At the same time, that same scenario can happen right now with a credit card as well, so there really isn't all that much we can do. People need to be responsible and learn how to manage their financing.
When we asked everyone at ON3P if this is something you would take advantage of, everyone said yes, as I don't think anyone working here really has $600+ free to just spend outright on skis at any given time.
Like I said above, the aspect of this we liked the most was that it gives you a clear cut schedule and payment timeline.
FigNewtonIt would suck if you broke your skis and still had to pay them off. Then buy another pair while still paying for broken ones.
Just part of the game unfortunately. You're buying a tool and sometimes things break. Obviously, you don't want to see that situation come up, but besides the mental aspect of having to finish your payments with a broken pair of skis, it is functionally the same situation as if you had paid for the skis outright.
If anyone has any specific questions on how Affirm works, let me know. We're supposed to have our next discussion with them later this week and I am happy to find out the answers for you.
