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Tricia

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With the retirement of the current Pallavicini Lift, and the plan to auction off some of the chairs at various events starting with the Enduro Party on April 8th, which didn't happen. The second was to be auctioned off on April 25th at the Palli Party, which didn't happen. Two other chairs were to be auctioned off some time this month.
Since things went sideways for the end of the ski season, I'm sure they had to put another plan into place, and I heard that the first 10 chairs were going for upwards of $2000.00 (we're currently looking for the source)

From Al's blog on February 14th, before this craziness blew up.

We are going to auction four of the chairs. The first chair will be auctioned at the Enduro Party April 8 in the 6th Alley. The second chair will be auctioned at the Pali Party, a going away dinner for the Pallavicini Chairlift April 25 at Black Mountain Lodge. The final two chairs will be auctioned online in May. All proceeds from the four Pallavicini chair auctions will be donated to the Summit Foundation, FIRC (Family and Intercultural Resource Center), Summit Community Care Clinic and a couple of A-Basin employees going through some significant medical challenges this season.


P1040854.jpeg

Me and @Philpug on Pali

The other chair from Arapahoe Basin that went a few years ago was the Norway Lift, which held sentimental value for people.
See announcement here - Your chance to purchase a chair from Norway
Pay $5 to win a chance to purchase a Norway Lift chair; all entry fees will be donated to the Summit Foundation. Each chair will cost $550 + tax (limit one chair per person, per household). You can donate more if you wish, but your name will only be entered once. Your entry fee does NOT go toward the cost of the chair. In addition to us donating the entry fees, we will be donating a portion of the total lift sales to 13 local charities in Summit County.


That being said, what establishes the value of a chair?
Do you have a favorite chair that you'd pay a premium for?


Personally, I'd rather have a Molly Hogan chair. Lots of Pugski memories on that one.
IMG_8345.jpeg

Me and @DeAnn Sloan on Molly Hogan
 

Philpug

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With the retirement of the current Pallavicini Lift, and the plan to auction off some of the chairs at various events starting with the Enduro Party on April 8th, which didn't happen. The second was to be auctioned off on April 25th at the Palli Party, which didn't happen. Two other chairs were to be auctioned off some time this month.
Since things went sideways for the end of the ski season, I'm sure they had to put another plan into place, and I heard that the first 10 chairs were going for upwards of $2000.00 (we're currently looking for the source)

From Al's blog on February 14th, before this craziness blew up.

We are going to auction four of the chairs. The first chair will be auctioned at the Enduro Party April 8 in the 6th Alley. The second chair will be auctioned at the Pali Party, a going away dinner for the Pallavicini Chairlift April 25 at Black Mountain Lodge. The final two chairs will be auctioned online in May. All proceeds from the four Pallavicini chair auctions will be donated to the Summit Foundation, FIRC (Family and Intercultural Resource Center), Summit Community Care Clinic and a couple of A-Basin employees going through some significant medical challenges this season.


View attachment 102382
Me and @Philpug on Pali

The other chair from Arapahoe Basin that went a few years ago was the Norway Lift, which held sentimental value for people.
See announcement here - Your chance to purchase a chair from Norway
Pay $5 to win a chance to purchase a Norway Lift chair; all entry fees will be donated to the Summit Foundation. Each chair will cost $550 + tax (limit one chair per person, per household). You can donate more if you wish, but your name will only be entered once. Your entry fee does NOT go toward the cost of the chair. In addition to us donating the entry fees, we will be donating a portion of the total lift sales to 13 local charities in Summit County.


That being said, what establishes the value of a chair?
Do you have a favorite chair that you'd pay a premium for?


Personally, I'd rather have a Molly Hogan chair. Lots of Pugski memories on that one.
View attachment 102381
Me and @DeAnn Sloan on Molly Hogan
Yes, chair #3 from the Dread Molly Hogan
Screen Shot 2015-05-13 at 3.21.47 PM.png
 

SBrown

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Same as anything, whatever people will pay for it.

Will be interesting to see how the $2500 thing goes. Seems a little steep, but if they can get it, great. At first it seemed stupid to charge $50 for a lottery that most people won't even enter, since few people will be able to pay for a winning chair. But it's only 100 of them, so I guess they feel like whatever they lose in entries will be easily made up in the exorbitant chair money. Oh well. Kind of a sour taste with this one, but times have changed and there is no room for sentiment. Just high bids.
 

raytseng

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I think a some major points are
  • A worthwhile charity to donate too.
    • Beer fund for the ski patrol not really high on the list, or anything to do with employees actually, the company should be taking care of that.
    • Veterans/Wounded/Disabilities/Sick Kids/Underprivileged usually better.
  • Background of the item is inherently combined with the vibe of the resort it came from, the more scrappy it is the better.
    • If for example the chair came from VR, you'd be like why doesn't vail just pitch in the $100k to that charity, why do they need my money?
    • If you pay $150 for lift tickets to that resort, you'll feel that was transactional experience anyway; not something you connect with or feel exceptionally grateful for. There is no feeling of debt to "give back" or "pay it forward", I paid $$$$ for my experience.
    • Item: Something custom about the chair or limited may help pricing.
  • Donor targets:
    • Are there rich donors that have a connection to that resort? Those give you the high-$ auctions
    • But how to engage the common man, the lottery helps to give those a chance at winning. In a live event, there are ways to bundle the raffle with the party entrance fee, or with a beer purchase or something similar, plus other prizes.
 
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Chris Walker

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I have so many wonderful memories connected with the Pali chairlift. I spent several winters skiing 100+ days at the Basin before they had a lift on the backside, so I’ve probably spent more time on that lift than the next five individual lifts combined. Every time I ride it now, I get a flood of nostalgia for old friends, old loves, great powder days, and fun times.
But I wouldn’t pay $2,500 for an old rusty chair. Or $50. I just don’t see the point. I have no use for it, no place to put it, and separated from its environment, it doesn’t seem to have any special meaning for me.
I’m a sentimental person, just not about objects.
 

raytseng

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What would you do with one? Seems a very limited market...
I think most become deck /porch hanging chairs /benches or hanging from the garden/tree of your estate.

Perhaps also some that are purchased on the company's dime as a tax-writeoff are used in mountain themed Retail or Bars if the company wants to associate their culture with skiing (and with local charity).
 

fatbob

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The value is solely in the nostalgia. I bet if you really want to source an old chair you could find a decommissioned resort in rural France for a couple $100. In fact there are antique junk yards around Albertville IIRC where you can take you can take your pick of ski scrap.
 

KevinF

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Some quick googling indicates that when Mad River Glen retired the single chair that at least some of the chairs were selling for $3500 each.

That was back in 2007... Google's inflation calculator indicates that that's $4300 today. Pali chairs are a bargain in comparison.
 

jmeb

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Kind of a sour taste with this one, but times have changed and there is no room for sentiment. Just high bids.

My feelings exactly.

Abasin does an exceptional job of trying to hang on to a vibe long since past that they are a locals focused ski area. Let me know what ski bums, ski area workers, paid patrollers, Summit Co wage earners have $2500 to burn on sentiment. Especially at a moment like this. At the end of the day, this reeks of their ownership by a publicly, traded billion dollar, international real estate development group out to make money. Not to benefit its community of skiers and local organizations.

I'm not trying to fault Al or any of them. I bet they don't like it either. The copy plays up how a few donations will be made to nonprofits. Meanwhile Vail resorts donated the entirety of the two lifts worth of chairs it sold last year to local non profits.
 
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Thread Starter
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Tricia

Tricia

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We do have a thread here about members who have a back yard ski lift chair.

And here's a place where someone was selling chairs salvaged from the abandoned ski resort in California.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Some quick googling indicates that when Mad River Glen retired the single chair that at least some of the chairs were selling for $3500 each.

That was back in 2007... Google's inflation calculator indicates that that's $4300 today. Pali chairs are a bargain in comparison.
IMHO the Single chair was more valuable, but still, I wouldn't pay that much.
 

Tony S

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IMHO the Single chair was more valuable, but still, I wouldn't pay that much.

Part of what rankles about this is that for most of us - certainly for me and I'm guessing for you too - saying what we "would" pay is just talk. In reality we can't afford to compete with the many people (as @scott43 points out in his post) for whom $2,500 or $3,500 is relative pocket change. I desperately need to replace a disintegrating kitchen floor!
 

Guy in Shorts

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Paid $95 for a chair from the old Bromley #1 chair back in the 90's. First time I ever recall chairs being sold. Normal protocol prior to that was go find the location that mountain dumped the old chairs and grab one.
 

Jack skis

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I purchased a T-bar from an old lift at Crested Butte, and one of the Poma platters (along with entire cable attachment) from the North Face Lift at auctions benefitting the Ski Club. Don't recall the amount paid in either case but as the money paid all went to the ski club, the value of the T-bar and Poma platter were not considered when making the winning bids. So fo me, buying an old chair when the money goes to a non-profit has little, or nothing, to do with the market value of the of the item. Sorry I never got a chance to bid on one of the old 3 person gondola cabins when CB sold them.
 

Tom Co.

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I got my chair from Crystal Mountain about 2012 and paid $250 for it. At the time, I knew they were going to sell them and bugged management to put me on a list for one which the did. They sold out quick. If I remember correctly, the money went to the ski patrol.
The current value of my powder coated and rehung chair ---- priceless.
 

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