Either yesterday or today there was a great article about a fellow in Md. making a living selling used ski equipment via the web...Anybody else catch it?
The Colonel

Wash Post Article

Buyer beware when purchasing used skis, especially bought over the Net from a source you don't know well or don't know the exact history of the ski. Personally, I'd not pay more than 25-33 percent of new list price for a set of demo skis/bindings used for a season. Even if they've been tuned. Skis have a limited set of days in them (75-125?), plus a limited number of base grinds before the bases and edges are worn away. Wouldn't be surprised if a demo pair got 45-60 days of use during the season and several base grinds. Plus, people often treat demo skis like they treat rental cars...

But if the price is right ...

Thanks for the link. It's sort of informative that none of us have heard of this man. Sounds like his bread and butter is selling low to mid-end used rental ski gear on ebay to not-so-discriminating buyers. Also sounds like he works pretty hard to make modest, honest profits.
I bought my last pair of new straight skis in 1993 at the brick and mortar place he was once affiliated with, Ski and Skate formerly on Rt 50 west of Seven Corners, VA.

have bought young kids skis and boots from his ebay site - decent enough stuff....

some of the kids boots have the names of local resorts on them

Sounds suspicious...

i think its just old rental/demo gear that he buys in bulk after it gets old

So is there a good place to get end-of season deals? I'm a reformed snowboarder looking to buy some boots & skis for next season.

I saw the article. There was a guy who ran these kinds of stores in the Rockville area for a few years. He was always going out of business and then reopening next year in another location, going out of business again. The business model is sound. Buy bankrupt ski shop inventory and used rental fleets when resorts/shops swap in new gear. Buy it for pennies on the dollar and sell it at slightly above normal markups from cost. The end result is a good deal. The business model does not scale. Only a few guys can do this because they suck up inventory on a national scale.

I actually came very close to buying a pair of used Apache crossfire skis from this guy off of ebay. That was before the article in the post.

Since I didn't get the skis, I can't vouch for the quality of the skis he sells. He does put a good bit of information on the condition of the skis in his ads and has an excellent ebay seller rating.

I'm going to be buying a new (at least to me) pair of skis for next season and I plan on checking out what he has for sale when it's time to for me to buy. If I can get a good deal on new skis at the preseason sales at Ski Chalet or another store I'll do that, otherwise there is a good chance my next set of skis will come from this guy.

We we started several years ago, I bought all of most of our boots and skis from him and the remainder from a similar place in baltimore.

Allowed us to get started in the sport and learn about gear in a budget-conscience way.

I've upgraded slightly but still buy used online. Last skis were from Evo Gear. As such I find JohnL's comments above sobering. I cant say I disagree with his assessment but I'm still pleased with my purchases (like he said...when the price is right (and sometime it is))

for young kids - it cant be beat (just read descriptions carefully)

i have bought all of my kids skis from these guys, at the dulles ski expo. the demo skis are perfect for kids. easy to adjust to different size boots, even on the slopes. and the price cant be beat.

need the ski expo to come back next year, their warehouse is too far away from me.