Keeping the dojo supplied!

[Nishi]

Hi there, just a question regarding the supply and demand issues in the dojo...

As most of our students are over eighteen years old, when the time comes for any type of purchase, we are able to provide sound advice regarding what to order from where, and when. However, with growth of the club comes under age students and those who wish to have supplies ordered for them.

Im trying to get a bigger picture regarding how your dojo supplies its student body....wether it points out the items and lets students or parents of students purchase them at their own risk...or does your dojo purchase the supplies when requested and have the students or parents reimburse the club?

Im sure there are many options for suppling a dojo, and i'm aware that some dojo even have inventory on site, that is sold on with a mark up. However im interested in supply and demand from a non-profit point of view, and am not interested in keeping any inventory.

I am looking to put some kind of formula in place so that others in the dojo will have a standard routine to follow when anybody in the dojo needs supplies of any type....

Thanks in advance.......!

[Neil Gendzwill]

We stock only shinai related stuff as it gets consumed regularily. Once or twice a year we order uniforms. I recommend a particular keikogi and hakama and offer the people the option to select other models but usually they just buy what I recommend. We require everyone to pay the money up front - the club can't afford to float that kind of money, and we certainly can't afford to have people quit and leave us holding the bag on expensive stock.

For bogu I guide people through the catalogs, size them and do the order but again they pay the bucks up front.

[elfboy]

At our dojo, we just have sensei order us the stuff we need, esp. bogu, and then we hand him a check, which he then uses to pay for the equipment, and he takes care of the rest. In this way, there's still a need for a middleman but the process works real nice. One instance of this system working out well was when sensei and I had to go through three different keikogis before we found the right size for myself. It was painful back and forth, back and forth, back and forth from Koei Budogu to the United States, but I had already paid, and sensei took good care of the entire process. So I think this system works out real cool. My 2Cents of course. :D

[A P]

Does buying equipment from the dojo help the dojo or help the instructor??

Do they usually mark up the price???



I bought my Aun shinai for $35 online, but I will buy another shinai from my

kendo dojo and it will cost the same. All thought I haven't see the shinai

it self yet, so I would have to see what type of the shinai I get first to

compare them. Hopefully it will be as good or better.

[Pichit]

At my dojo, we have shinai in stock ( 20-30 of them) for sale. For keikogi and hakama, we make the mail order from the shop in Japan and it is just for those who request for it. For bogu, usually for beginner we suggest to use our club bogu first without any charge but they have to put £50 in cheque for deposit in order to make sure that they will give it back once they stop play kendo. We do have profit on Shinai but not that a lot.