This year, New Moon’s Annual Customer Appreciation Sale will be moving online and on the phone. For everyone’s safety, we’ve made the decision to offer our 15% Customer Appreciation Discount to online and phone shoppers in order to reduce the risk of in-person transmission of Covid-19. Shop in the comfort of your home or office Nov. 12-Nov. 15 and receive the 15% discount on current clothing and equipment by using the code CA2020. It’ll be as easy as skiing on a blue wax day!
Can you really get the perfect skis (or boots or base layer) if you’re not at the shop? You sure can! And New Moon has 40 years of successful mail orders to prove it.
To those folks who are newer to the Moon, you may not know that New Moon is one of (if not the) original mail order ski shops in the country.
“New Moon started serving customers through the mail around 1980,” New Moon founder, Steve Morales, explains. “People who had been in the shop because they were in the area skiing the trails or skiing the Birkebeiner had started to contact us by phone from home. They often didn’t have a source for the Nordic dedicated product New Moon has always specialized in.
We decided to put together a catalog of our inventory and mail it to people who had signed the guestbook in the store or to friends of theirs who had become aware of us. We started with a 16-page black-and-white catalog of photos and drawings with descriptions we wrote explaining the product’s best use and why we would choose particular products for our own use. People knew we not only talked to talk, but we skied regularly with the gear. That was a bit unusual in those days, as Nordic track skiing was fairly new in much of the country and most of the equipment was sold by general sporting goods stores.”
“Even back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, a large percentage of sales came over the phone. Steve continues, “We spent a lot of time on the phone with our customers to make sure we understood their needs. It wasn’t long before we had two people who were doing nothing all day but answering phone calls. It was fun and satisfying talking to fellow skiers over the phone. Soon we had friends who shared our passion all over the nation. I think everyone who ‘turfed the phones’ like the job.”
“We got lots of satisfying calls from customers after the sale thanking us and expressing their appreciation for spending as much time as they needed to get them the right skis, waxes, clothing, etc.”
It wasn’t a surprise to Chris that New Moon had a catalog business-he was an avid reader! “I first became familiar with New Moon living about an hour away – just far enough to visit the shop only every week or two. Being very much in the ‘can’t get enough xc skiing’ phase of the sport, I relied on the New Moon mail order catalog for product research. This was the heyday of traditional catalog mail order, just before the internet and ecommerce became so ubiquitous. I had the luxury of visiting the store back then, but I met skiers in the Lake Superior region who would regularly order from New Moon and receive products through the mail. When I began working for New Moon, the magnitude of the mail order business wasn’t much of a surprise. I still regularly speak with distant customers who I met over the phone way back in the mid ‘90s! That’s really cool.”
But how are New Moon techs able to get such good results when folks aren’t at the shop? Chris explains, “Interestingly, helping customers is no harder with remote customers as compared with in-person shopping. While it’s fun to be right there, in-person, to buy skis, that’s simply not practical or possible for many shoppers. For the remote shopper, New Moon ski techs find mail order ski selection a reliable and exacting process with ski flex testing being conducted after hours without the energy and distractions of a busy ski shop getting in the way.
As important as the actual ski pick is the discussion with a skier about one’s needs, goals, experience, and any other pertinent information about the skier. After gathering this information about the skier and their circumstances, a variety of methods are used for remote ski selection, including digital pressure testers, manual flex test platforms, and a bit of intuition. These are all important selection methods but are used variously depending on the skier, snow conditions, and the customer’s goals and needs.”
Joel says that buying online is convenient for customers and agrees that online sales are really no harder for techs, “A lot of folks don’t have time to go to shops or shops are too far away. An online sale is mostly a matter of finding the common terminology. Our experience and our process usually results in a great fit, and if the skis do not fit correctly, New Moon has a liberal return policy.”
Chris adds, “No matter how one purchases ski equipment from New Moon, all shoppers receive the same, ironclad, ski-fitting guarantee. If your skis don’t fit properly, we’ll stand by them, period.”
The same goes for accessories, apparel, etc. Our staff offers personal, expert help with your purchase because, Joel explains, we still “continue to be a part of the sport so we are current in knowledge and passionate about the feeling of the sport.”
“In the Amazon.com age, the advantages of phone or online shopping at newmoonski.com are abundantly obvious: It’s easy, convenient, efficient, and as a HUGE bonus, you can speak with an actual human skier that uses and tests the same gear you’re interested in,” Chris says, “Shoppers can call or email – we’re here to help!”
So, quick recap: get 15% off winter, in-stock product that is not already on sale with the code CA2020. Use online or mention it on the phone. Remember, we also have Free Shipping on purchases over $100 (not including oversize packages)! Get first pick and great pricing on new product Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15 without leaving home! Note: shipping times may be delayed due to Covid-19. Curbside pick-up is also available for folks who live close by.
Sadly, we will not be holding our annual Ladies’ Night this year, but have something planned a bit closer to the holidays that we hope you will love!
New Moon thanks all of our customers over the years and wishes you a fun, safe, and healthy winter ahead. And, of course, Think Snow!
