Updated 3/18/2015:
I decided to to an update and bump this to the top. I'd like people to know my Oakley history since almost all my action has been on the sale threads.
One thing about the story above is how personal Oakley was at the time. The rep was one of the coolest guys I knew. He'd walk in the room and it was like slamming a 12 pack of Red Bull. My office cubicle world will never compare to those old days. Maybe I need to look into repping Oakley. LOL.
Around the year 2000 I had an ongoing bet with the Oakley rep that I knew I would never win... The deal was that if I could ever spot a professional athlete playing a sport that involved a ball and they had on glasses other than Oakley, I would be paid cash for identifying that athlete. This was a great deal to a 17 year old at the time but I don't think I ever once found someone to help me win the bets. The rep would say, "When a baseball comes at you at 95mph, you have to know where it really is." When a putt on the golf course is worth a couple million dollars, your ball better be exactly where you think it is... No exceptions..
So a couple years after the bike shop closed... I made a comment to my friend about needing shoes. He said come out to the barn and that is when I made a fantastic purchase I bought 13 pair of Oakley shoes from shoe two (i think) to Nails (i think) and a sweet pair of flip flops.. FOR $100, all of them in their boxes. Here is where it gets sad. I had no idea Oakley shoes meant anything to anyone. I couldn't even get my friends to buy them at discounts when I was at the shop. I threw out the boxes because they take up more room. I wore them like $10 shoes.... I even put on a new pair of Nail's just to go ride my four wheeler because I knew they would be durable and power wash. I burnt through them all, abusing almost each and every pair.
Around three years ago someone somewhere saw my Juliets and made a comment, somehow that lead me here and I found out about this world of Oakley that I didn't know about, but should have assumed existed.
About a year ago my friend that had the shop was wanting a new bicycle and I said "hey, that Oakley stuff you have is worth something, more than you think" and that is when I started helping him move stuff out. I sold stuff of his, stuff of mine. Neither of us ever meant to be collectors, we just had stuff.. <--hard to explain that part. LOL. When you work in store that sells clothes, you tend to shop at that store when things are available at cost. A $40 O shirt had a cost of $20... So why not wear a new shirt on Friday night.
This year, currently: My other friend, our cross town bike shop friendly rival stopped dealing with Oakley. Because we're all friends he knew I had some outlets for his old stuff. Or really I pressured him into digging it out of drawers and not letting it sit around in a backroom like it had been doing.
So as of this exact moment: I hope this helps anyone that is curious to know where I'm coming from with Oakley stuff. I get a thrill off selling the stuff just like I did 13+ years ago. I've never cared about the money side of it although it's part of the game.. I really do enjoy knowing that some of you folks are getting things that you really appreciate and will help an item continue to live on and remain as perfect as you can.
Thanks for checking out my long winded message that I'm yet to proof read I've sold a few things and I think it's good that you know where it came from. I'm not slinging O stuff just for the heck of it...
Original Post From 2012:
Member of mountain bike forums, jeeps forums, etc.... Never even thought there could be a forum for Oakley's.
Very cool!
I decided to to an update and bump this to the top. I'd like people to know my Oakley history since almost all my action has been on the sale threads.
- I worked in a bicycle shop from 1996-2003ish.. We sold Oakley in the glory days of Oakely, in my opinion.
- Even while passionate about the brand I never knew the stuff was or would be collectible. All we knew was that Oakley made optical grade glasses for people that didn't need glasses.. Nobody should be putting on glasses that make their vision worse or increase the risk of face injury while wearing them.
- We rocked with Oakley... Our small bike shop in a town of 35,000 people was pretty serious for 15+ years ago.. We had multiple towers, counter top displays, huge frames, banners, everything.. We had what at that time was very rare, an Oakley cart on massive wheels. The thing had clothes and shoes with a double wide case on one side.
- We moved Oakley like it was our only job... Wearing a pair on our head, a pair on our neck, Oakley clothes had come out, and I would rock bright red Oakley shoes anytime I was working. I was living the brand like an extension of Jim Jannard, and I couldn't even have told you who the heck Jim was at the time.
- Oakley discussed with us our expansion and their creation of one of the first Vault stores due to our location next to a destination sized mall. Sadly we just didn't think the market in Southern Indiana was ready for us. And honestly now looking back, I don't think we knew the dedication of Oakley enthusiasts.
- A few poor decisions, a post 9/11 economy, the owners short health battle, all lead to closing down the bicycle shop. The store was his dream and passion from childhood.
One thing about the story above is how personal Oakley was at the time. The rep was one of the coolest guys I knew. He'd walk in the room and it was like slamming a 12 pack of Red Bull. My office cubicle world will never compare to those old days. Maybe I need to look into repping Oakley. LOL.
Around the year 2000 I had an ongoing bet with the Oakley rep that I knew I would never win... The deal was that if I could ever spot a professional athlete playing a sport that involved a ball and they had on glasses other than Oakley, I would be paid cash for identifying that athlete. This was a great deal to a 17 year old at the time but I don't think I ever once found someone to help me win the bets. The rep would say, "When a baseball comes at you at 95mph, you have to know where it really is." When a putt on the golf course is worth a couple million dollars, your ball better be exactly where you think it is... No exceptions..
So a couple years after the bike shop closed... I made a comment to my friend about needing shoes. He said come out to the barn and that is when I made a fantastic purchase I bought 13 pair of Oakley shoes from shoe two (i think) to Nails (i think) and a sweet pair of flip flops.. FOR $100, all of them in their boxes. Here is where it gets sad. I had no idea Oakley shoes meant anything to anyone. I couldn't even get my friends to buy them at discounts when I was at the shop. I threw out the boxes because they take up more room. I wore them like $10 shoes.... I even put on a new pair of Nail's just to go ride my four wheeler because I knew they would be durable and power wash. I burnt through them all, abusing almost each and every pair.
Around three years ago someone somewhere saw my Juliets and made a comment, somehow that lead me here and I found out about this world of Oakley that I didn't know about, but should have assumed existed.
About a year ago my friend that had the shop was wanting a new bicycle and I said "hey, that Oakley stuff you have is worth something, more than you think" and that is when I started helping him move stuff out. I sold stuff of his, stuff of mine. Neither of us ever meant to be collectors, we just had stuff.. <--hard to explain that part. LOL. When you work in store that sells clothes, you tend to shop at that store when things are available at cost. A $40 O shirt had a cost of $20... So why not wear a new shirt on Friday night.
This year, currently: My other friend, our cross town bike shop friendly rival stopped dealing with Oakley. Because we're all friends he knew I had some outlets for his old stuff. Or really I pressured him into digging it out of drawers and not letting it sit around in a backroom like it had been doing.
So as of this exact moment: I hope this helps anyone that is curious to know where I'm coming from with Oakley stuff. I get a thrill off selling the stuff just like I did 13+ years ago. I've never cared about the money side of it although it's part of the game.. I really do enjoy knowing that some of you folks are getting things that you really appreciate and will help an item continue to live on and remain as perfect as you can.
Thanks for checking out my long winded message that I'm yet to proof read
I've sold a few things and I think it's good that you know where it came from. I'm not slinging O stuff just for the heck of it...Original Post From 2012:
Member of mountain bike forums, jeeps forums, etc.... Never even thought there could be a forum for Oakley's.
Very cool!
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