As a NEWP member, you must also be an ACA member, and one of the benefits of being a member of ACA is access to ExpertVoice. You might not have heard of ExpertVoice (I hadn’t).
- So, what is ExpertVoice?
- ExpertVoice is an online marketplace for outdoor industry professionals.
- Brands on ExpertVoice want people like you to have firsthand experiences with their products. To do that, they offer substantial discounts.
- To put it another way, you are considered a knowledgeable person (an “industry professional”) and when others see you using these brands, it lends credence to others that this brand must be good.
- Great, but I’m not an industry professional.
- All ACA members are considered “experts” in the field of paddling, so the ACA team (that includes us) has access to discounts on over 300 outdoor (and some non-outdoor) brands. The discounts are as much as 60% off retail prices.
- What are some of the brands where I can get discounts?
- I, personally, have used this program to purchase from Malone, Big Agnes, Prana and Lenovo (not an outdoor brand, but I still have access to it and received a nice discount).
- Other brands in this program include Garmin, Aqua-Bound, CamelBak, Columbia, Kelty, Mountain House, and Nalgene, plus MANY MORE!
- How does it work?
- First you have to register with ExpertVoice. As part of the registration process, you provide your ACA number. ExpertVoice will verify your ACA membership (it might take a day or two) before granting you access.
- You also select your areas of interest (paddling, camping, hiking, biking, fishing, etc.) and ExpertVoice will tailor their offers accordingly.
- Once in, browse the brands and see what they are offering.
- Many of the discounts are available directly from the manufacturer, but you must get there through the ExpertVoice site in order to get the discounts.
- Ok, I’m interested, but what’s it cost?
- As an ACA member, the cost is $0.00! That’s right, it is a free benefit of being an ACA member.
- Where can I get more details?
- Here is the link to the ACA Partner’s web page, which includes a link to ExpertVoice. While there, check out the other organizations that partner with ACA.
- https://americancanoe.org/community/partners/
Check out what’s offered. When you are ready to buy, compare the discounts to what you can get elsewhere. I did that with each of my purchases and found nothing as good as the pricing through this program.