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Featured Replies

Is there really much IP into putting 75 lbs of polyurethane into a cooler that can hold a six pack?

Working with R&D, it always amazes me that pretty much every single step of every process can be/and is patented.  

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  • Grade of D as in David
    Grade of D as in David

    No big deal, Rtic was just going to IPO at half the price

  • PilotsError
    PilotsError

    Those of us who support the NRA don't give a fuck about nuance.  A discount program, all association...doesn't matter.  We reject ANY infringement on gun rights, and any movement away from the NRA is

  • Good business move or not, I like that they did it.  Five minutes of NRA TV will scare the shit out of you.  They are batshit crazy and I'm a lifelong gun owner and hunter.

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11 minutes ago, Kringelbert Fishtybuns said:

Is there really much IP into putting 75 lbs of polyurethane into a cooler that can hold a six pack?

Working with R&D, it always amazes me that pretty much every single step of every process can be/and is patented.  

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

Has YETI sued Microsoft for including "Arial Black" font in its software?

It must have taken the YETI logo designer five seconds to scroll to the "A's" in the font selection in Word.

 

 

Ha, I've never thought about it, but you are correct, that is one awesomely basic logo.

22 hours ago, Royalfan5 said:

A high priced durable good that fills a somewhat small niche has to be kind of a bitch to keep going, doesn’t it?

The market's now pretty much abominable. 

19 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

You are aware that Apple sued Samsung over the look of the iPhone?  Not quite silver laptops, but getting close.  And a jury gave Apple more than $1B for it?

19 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

You are aware that Apple sued Samsung over the look of the iPhone?  Not quite silver laptops, but getting close.  And a jury gave Apple more than $1B for it?

Did not know that.  

Maybe that's the precedent for the Yeti lawsuits.  They're basically saying no one can ever make a stainless steel tumbler besides them.

If they were smart they'd make them fall apart in five years so people have to re-up.  Or more seriously, they could always expand to licensing sports logos and colors so every fan can have their teams cooler. 

I think the biggest problem they have is everyone in the US already has at least one...most likely stolen...but they've got one just the same. 

I have a "Chetty" or Chinese Yeti that I bought 4 years ago for $120 vs $360 or whatever.  It's well built and does great.  It was baby blue...and I painted it white to stay cooler...and to look like shit. ;)  Where all my buddies with Yeti's have a log chain attaching it to their trucks...mine sits free as a bird in the back of my truck.  

 

  • 4 weeks later...

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

30742760_10212106285040789_5174206208831

“Suddenly, without prior notice, YETI has declined to do business with The NRA Foundation saying they no longer wish to be an NRA vendor, and refused to say why. They will only say they will no longer sell products to The NRA Foundation. That certainly isn’t sportsmanlike.

In fact, YETI should be ashamed. They have declined to continue helping America’s young people enjoy outdoor recreational activities. These activities enable them to appreciate America and enjoy our natural resources with wholesome and healthy outdoor recreational and educational programs,” the alert reads. “In this day and age, information is power. We thought you needed this information.”

On 3/26/2018 at 5:10 PM, Royalfan5 said:

A high priced durable good that fills a somewhat small niche has to be kind of a bitch to keep going, doesn’t it?

You just described Tesla. I agree. But sheep flock.

On 3/27/2018 at 11:37 AM, Aqua Buddha said:

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought they won a judgement against RTIC and that why they put all their shit on sale a year ago and redesigned many of their products.

I thought (and i could be wrong) : yeti's win over rtic had to do with rtic's website / advertising and referencing yeti ?

8 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

30742760_10212106285040789_5174206208831

 

 

Not sure the 75% of their customer base that identifies as "Strong supports of the Second Amendment" appreciates that move.  

Here's my YETI:

001080683-1?id=cNRQ_3&fmt=jpg&fit=constr

and, like, I can afford about 5 of them each summer.

10 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

30742760_10212106285040789_5174206208831

 

 

Making them bullet resistant probably wouldn't add much weight as an overall percentage. Throw on a seat cushion and a lock on the inside and walla. Personal shelter in place device. 

Not sure the 75% of their customer base that identifies as "Strong supports of the Second Amendment" appreciates that move.  
Talk about business suicide. What a moronic move.

I'm sure the millennial protest crowd in Berkeley appreciate this and will replace all lost business from this move.

They remind me a little bit of Crocs. There was a brief moment in time when Crocs were cool and that era extended even through their IPO but by then people were already turning on them. 

Dick’s: “Nobody can lose business faster than we can”. 

Yeti:  “Hold my tumbler”. 

Do they still offer factory blems?  I got a nice 45 for 30% off back in the day, before they moved.  Hell, I put more blemishes on it carrying it home than it came with.

Anyone know how active the P/E firm is re: management decisions?  An acquisition might be interesting...if IPO isn't in the cards.  They may have missed the window on that as well though...and you'd have to be willing to "let go" of your baby.

Anyone interested in buying them should wait 12 months. They'll be cheaper then.

On 3/28/2018 at 7:12 AM, Aqua Buddha said:

Did not know that.  

Maybe that's the precedent for the Yeti lawsuits.  They're basically saying no one can ever make a stainless steel tumbler besides them.

Yeah, design patents that are only illustrations and only protect the ornamental appearance of something.  The Apple Samsung deal was very controversial and has been reversed on appeal.

A Yeti design patent on a tumbler.

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f3/6d/d5/b4f7b38a94e1f6/USD804905.pdf

A lot of their design patents are on weird stuff that I don't think anyone imitates.

Edited by TwiceHorn

13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

A lot of their design patents are on weird stuff that I don't think anyone imitates.

I've never heard a patent attorney say, "I can't get you a patent".

Anyone interested in buying them should wait 12 months. They'll be cheaper then.

Gonna be tough to beat the price of an ozark trail one from Walmart though.

There's about a million used ones posted today on all the outdoors oriented facebook groups I follow. I guess the average redneck doesn't understand sunk costs.

This might go down as the most idiotic business move since New Coke.

I saw two new YETI's at the Habitat Re-Store the other day (pretty much a goodwill for building supplies). A retailer had dumped them.

Unless a gun company dumps the NRA....this is going to be the 'high water mark' for stupid.

The best part is they waited...found out that in the Hogg vs Ingram debate Americans told Hogg & his ilk to GFT by upping her ratings 20%.

Then after seeing that YETI still decided to jump on the bandwagon.

The right doesn't make a huge deal about things...they don't turn up to march or whatever.  They just fuck up or reward your financials.  IE Target vs Chick-fil-a.  

I you or anyone you care about are depending on Yeti money from a job or sales...you're going to want to get a resume out.  Things are about to get really fucking tough over there. 

I’d like to see someone startup a new stainless cup Co called YEREN just to see what YETI does.

 

 

WTF were these guys thinking? My cousin owns a farming supply business and has been a Yeti dealer since day one. Over the weekend he notified his sales rep he’d no longer be selling Yeti. 

Not to go all Cloak Room, but Yeti might look pretty smart after Mueller's investigation is done.

3 hours ago, 3adays said:

WTF were these guys thinking? My cousin owns a farming supply business and has been a Yeti dealer since day one. Over the weekend he notified his sales rep he’d no longer be selling Yeti. 

Yeah....I can't see how this was an intelligent BUSINESS move.

Look, I'm an outdoorsman, I'm their target market.  I haven't been a fan of the NRA for a while now (it ain't the NRA of my youth), but I damned well know that the overlap between "outdoorsmen" and "NRA fans/members" is pretty high.

This is one of those cases where Yeti would have been wise to just keep their trap shut, and not take ANY position.  I really don't get it.

Just now, kevwun said:

Not to go all Cloak Room, but Yeti might look pretty smart after Mueller's investigation is done.

Then wait till it's done.  Look, if it comes out that "the NRA is a willing collaborator with the Russians to interfere with the American electoral process," THEN you drop 'em like a hot potato.

Good business move or not, I like that they did it.  Five minutes of NRA TV will scare the shit out of you.  They are batshit crazy and I'm a lifelong gun owner and hunter.

Statement from Yeti:

Quote

“Truth is, we did not cut ties with the NRA or the Friends of the NRA. We changed the structure of our discount program to better align it with the business. I’m not happy that the NRA would choose to mischaracterize and sensationalize this. Know that we do support the Second Amendment, gun owners and their pursuits. Please stick to these talking points publically and feel free to point out your own experience with our brand and people. See below: As you know, YETI was built on a passion for the outdoors and, as we always have, YETI continues to actively support hunters, anglers, and the broader outdoor community. We believe in the Second Amendment and the Constitution of the United States. Recently, we made a number of business, pricing and dealer decisions to simplify and clarify our product distribution. Based upon these, we ended a wide range of legacy vendor programs, which affected a number of different organizations. The conclusion of these programs in no way impacts our ongoing support of our consumers’ passions, as YETI continues to work with many organizations that promote the conservation and management of wildlife and habitat restoration.”

So this whole Yeti Breaks Ties with NRA!!!!" headline (That came from the NRA) was about a discount program....

I am shocked that the NRA would sensationalize something.

5 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Statement from Yeti:

So this whole Yeti Breaks Ties with NRA!!!!" headline (That came from the NRA) was about a discount program....

The issue is the optics, not how they were doing business together.  

There are plenty of nice coolers that are actually made in the USA too.

ETA- YETI products are made in the US, China, and Philippines.

Edited by Heavy 6

On 3/26/2018 at 8:34 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Funny thing is though, all the accurate observations of their limited business model applied with equal force six months or a year ago, which begs the question, what the hell were they thinking?

Interestingly, they made their first public filing almost two years ago and never updated (or resolved any renaming SEC comments they may have had). Looks like this has been dead for some time and they finally got around to withdrawing the S-1. 

58 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Good business move or not, I like that they did it.  

I would not like to see you in a management position of any company in which I own stock.

You might be glad they did it, but their employees won't be when they start getting laid off.

31 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Translation: "We fucked up royally and now we gotta backpedal."

Your translation app must be broken.

The NRA's statement makes no rational sense (as noted by the numerous "why would you do this from a business perspective, Yeti?" posts). They didn't tell the whole story. Yeti had to chime in and fill in the gaps. I don't think this is a case of backpedaling and trying to cover up a mistake.

When was the NRA taken over by a bunch of hysterical women?

Those of us who support the NRA don't give a fuck about nuance.  A discount program, all association...doesn't matter.  We reject ANY infringement on gun rights, and any movement away from the NRA is a political statement that you support gun confiscation.  Ergo, go fuck yourselves.  

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