 Poster: A snowHead
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Hopalong, I've never had any probs, nor with Alpin Resorts. I tend to see what outlets their websites throw up, then I go find that shop's website and satisfy myself that they look adequately equipped, then book. Depends on the resort as to which broker (for that is what they are) is best. Shops normally happy if you want to peruse the rack selecting what you fancy (in the category you've rented of course). So the answer is to keep saying "non" or "nein" until you are happy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In March, a number of snowHeads booked skis through skiset in Serre Chevalier. Firstly, the shop was ridiculously difficult to find with 3 separate groups searching for over an hour, locals had no idea there even was a skiset shop in the town.
When we found it, it turned out to be in the basement of an apartment complex catering predominantly to French families on a budget.
Being advanced skiers and having hired the most expensive category, our snowHeads were offered a choice of exactly one model of ski, of which there were 3 pairs in stock, in 2 different lengths that, as luck would have it, were 'perfect' for each successive snowHead regardless of weight, height etc. 
Handed a pair of skis whose edges had clearly not seen the glint of a stone for weeks and with bindings set completely differently to each other - I declared the scene to be a farce and we left the shop to go elsewhere.
In my opinion the skis offered, though the best the shop had to offer, did not warrant the standard that had been ordered and, it would seem, someone in the shop agreed with me as another snowHead, having scrimped a little and hired 'one down from the top' visited the shop alone and came away with those very same skis.
Now, did you hear me complain? No, because snowHeads had a very good relationship with skiset last year, so I simply contacted head office (at which most of the staff speak excellent English), explained the situation and a full refund was issued for the 3 hires that did not take place.
No problems there then - after all, the mark of a good company is how honourably they behave when things go wrong.
Unfortunately though, I do not believe the same would happen this year. The person who dealt so well with matters good and bad last year appears to have had rank pulled upon him this season and his superior doesn't have the same scrupulous approach to business. Suffice to say that until and unless I get some pretty hard assurances from skiset that his approach to business so far this season is atypical of the company's general policy, I would have to say that I no longer trust them to honour their commitments on any level.
Undoubtedly many shops under the network are fine, quality, hard working ski shops - the issue is, what happens when u get one that isn't? After all, how can you tell in advance?
Last year I'd have said, "No worries, I know the guy to speak to."
This year, as things stand, I simply say , "I, personally recommend against booking though skiset except as a last resort."
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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admin, great post.
Ive never had a problem with Skiset but maybe that was because when we were hiring with them it was from a very good shop in a very nice hotel in Courchevel 1850 - so the skis were fab in my very technical opinion.
Didnt know they were franchises.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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maggi, just clicked - I like people with principles 
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I use Skimium - new or good condition kit and great people and only pay 10% deposit. Works for me.
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| FionaTwice wrote: |
| I use Skimium - new or good condition kit and great people and only pay 10% deposit. Works for me. |
The other two in my group used Skimium last week in Brides Les Bains. No complaints at all.
Might it be worth pre booking with a credit card and then taking photos of the skis if they are rubbish as evidence for the CC Co?
and great post, admin. Nice link
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Shimmy Alcott wrote: |
admin, great post.
Didnt know they were franchises. |
I don't think they are even a franchise in the true sense, they are more of a booking agency and they get / keep a percentage or whatever of every booking that they pass on to the shops, over which they have no real control except as a, probably sometimes important, corporate customer.
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They aren't franchises, it's a network of associated shops.
Think of it like car dealers; BMW/Honda etc don't own all those showrooms, they just lend their logo and send people to Joe Bloggs motors so long as he keeps up certain standards.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Pretty happy with them in Selva and Arabba.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I've had mixed experiences with skis hired through Skiset but there seem to be a few tricks.
1. As someone else said in the thread Skiset are just an agent and you get to pick the hire shop, so check out the shops website.
If it doesn't have one/you can't find it/it's in the back bottom-end of the resort, don't use them - It's probably some tiny company that aren't going to have the range of equipment.
If it's a big place in the heart of town where all the other hire shops are, it's probably going to be OK.
2. Take printouts with you and stand your ground.
In La Plagne last Jan four of us got given general skis, not the ones we had booked. Two of us just shrugged and moved on but the other two said "No, I booked these skis, I want these skis" - and they got brand new pairs of the pre-booked skis with just a shrug from the guy.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi, 1st post on here!
With regards to rental ski's has anyone used precision ski in Tignes Val Claret?
Used Intersport last year as the we get a 20% discount due to where we stay but decided to try booking on-line this year as saw the advert on the Tignes.co.uk website an not sure now if I've made the right choice-I may have naively thought all I'll have to do is walk in and grab the equipment I've ordered and be on my way.
Has anyone had any dealings with these-good or bad?
Thanks 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Intersport have always been fine in my experience - but then they are a single company with multiple shops, so have a degree more control if one shop's letting the side down and hurting the brand. Skiset are just an agent so don't have the same sort of direct control over the shops in the resorts.
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Poster: A snowHead
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The shop we have been using in Chatel for 10+ years became a Skiset member a couple of years ago (one of two Skiset options in the village). I had a chat with the owner (who has always given us very good advice and service) and his wife (who is in charge of the till!) and mentioned that there were lots of offers giving different discounts for booking through Skiset. This ensured our loyalty discount was a bit higher than usual (probably higher than available from Skiset for premium equipment which seems to be lower than beginners packs). We agreed not to book through Skiset as it is better financially for them to collect the (discounted) hire charge from us than to have to pay away a large proportion to Skiset.
They have three grades of kit and I always have the top grade which has usually been of top quality (not always brand new as they seem to get a few seasons out of some of the gear which is not hired out each week) and suitable for the prevailing conditions. Clearly I don't know what the service as a Skiset customer is like but from being in the shop pretty often they don't seem to discriminate.
I think it is just a matter of lucking in with a place that runs a decent business. We tipped the ski technician after last years lad's trip and that seems to help as well!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mjit, Intersport are a bit more complicated than that, the shops in big towns aren't quite the same as the shops at altitude - no giving of fidelity points or accepting gift vouchers, for example. I used to work in one owned by one guy, not a group.
One difference between intersport and eg skiset is that the owner of an intersport branded shop also buys shares in Intersport, so he has some say on group level decisions.
A good example of how mixed they all are is the French group Danisport. They control around 30 shops in the Tarentaise which include ones labelled as Sport2000, Skimium, Precision, Freeride and Oakley. I don't know if it's still the case, but a few years ago in Les Arcs 1950 no matter which ski shop you went to, they controlled it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Cool - didn't know that 'badger.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Used skiset and the 'Model Guarantee' last week in Alp d huez. The skis we selected were not available, nor where they (apparently) available in any outlet in Alp d huez. I was a bit peeved and asked them why have a model guarantee if you cant adhere to it. I got a shrug of the shoulder, was told they only guarantee something equivalent and that the ones we had selected were rubbish anyway - the shiny Rossignols in stock were much better! Not alot I could do especially as we had waited about an hour already by this point and were extremely tired (junior was close to tears).
In short wont use again. Be warned if you want a specific ski.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Peterjones3 wrote: |
Used Skiset and the 'Model Guarantee' last week in Alp d huez. The skis we selected were not available, nor where they (apparently) available in any outlet in Alp d huez....
In short wont use again. Be warned if you want a specific ski. |
On the flip-side I've not seen any other rental sites that even claim to offer specific skis - most are just "Blue/Red/Black" or "Blue (like ski X), Red (like ski Y), Black (like ski Z)".
Intersport were doing it last year (and I got the skis I booked) but didn't seem to be doing it any more when I was booking for March.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The opposite thing happened to us other week with Ski Olympic, we'd paid for the cheapest standard skis, and they'd run out of the right size for one of our group... So they gave him the a pair of brand new premier skis instead.
but also have to say that the standard ski were freshly waxed and edged and in very good condition... so we were very happy with them. We've always been suspicious of chalet hotel ski hire but no complaints with Ski Olympic.
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Skiset was the 90's brainchild of Avoriaz's own Annie Famose, owner of nearly all of the resort's shops bars and restaurants, and ruthless competitor to the remaining hold-outs. She started out with a 48% holding in Skiset but a few years ago increased her stake to 65% giving her full control, and evidently the power to introduce her special recipe [French businesswoman (in the biological sense  ) of the year 2005] of maximizing profits at any cost.
There is obviously money to be made by allowing a gap to develop between what the website sells and what the shop can get away with providing. A cold-blooded calculation balancing this increased revenue against the cost of complaints and refunds may well have taken place. No doubt the shops are operating on small margins once Skiset have taken their cut, and the temptation to under-deliver must be huge. It is Skiset's responsibility to police that, but if by turning a blind-eye they can get better pricing from the shops they are quids-in, even if they do have to refund a few people. So go elsewhere, or COMPLAIN people!!
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My experience at Christmas in Les Arcs matches up to a few others posting here - booked with Skiset as was convenient as based in apartment block... Paid more for my skis than husband's but was handed something that looked as though it had been dug out of an old store cupboard. Refused to accept them so they went and took the sticker off someone else's skis and gave them to me. They were obviously banking on some people not making a fuss..... Whoever was there last was going to be disappointed as they would be given what was left!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We have found that the package you book and pay for with Skiset bears no relation to the stuff you actually get. We hire for the kids and for friends - sometimes booking basic stuff, sometimes better - one year brand new straight out of the box good quality stuff although we had booked basic, other years we have booked advanced kit and been disappointed with the age and quality for the price. We learnt that if you book the basic stuff then tell them you are a good skier when you get there it does the trick. Even now we book online for our son, giving all his measurements and still they have to look through all the skis to find some for him. He's going to get a nice present next Christmas...he's stopped growing at last! (We only use skiset because the next nearest shop is 10 mins walk away from our apt). However the service is always with a smile, and they fixed my new bindings onto my new skis for me for a couple of euros!
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It does seem that a lot of people confuse "new" skis for "better" skis. A pair of Atomic D2 skis that have done a season already and suffer a tatty looking top-sheet remain much better skis than a pair of shiny new Head Shape Ones, for example.
It smacks a bit of all-the-gear-no-idea when people turn down good skis only to walk away happy with a crap, albeit shiny, pair worth considerably less.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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5Red, +1 for Michaud Sports. I used them the first 2 times I ever went skiing, and they were very helpful.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Although I've done a few trips I'm not knowledgeable or skilled enough to pick out my own gear and rely on the shop. I've always ended up with kit that I'm happy with, although I guess a lot of this is because I don't know any better  Being 6ft 7 doesn't help either - in St Anton they pretty much just take one look at me,laugh, then pick out the stuff reserved for giants...
Have been with Skiset a couple of times this year for one day weekend rentals. In Chateau D'Oex in Switzerland we went to a very quiet shop, but the kit seemed decent enough. Towards lunchtime I went over on an innocuous turn without really knowing why, and one ski just carried on down the black. As I went to retrieve it I turned and noticed the bindings in a pile where I fell! They hadn't broken off, and I guess they they just hadn't been tightened up properly. Trudging down the black was an interesting experience... They guy who ran the shop want there when we got back, but they were apologetic. There was mumbling about it being due to my height and weight though, which has certainly never been a problem before. It's a very small ski area and Mrs Rhoobarb was feeling the cold so we weren't bothered about carrying on, so I guess I'd be more annoyed if we had planned a full day.
As has been noted it's just a network of shops so the quality is bound to vary. They shop we got in Leysin through Skiset was great.
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I've used Skiset before and never had any issues, however I'm not an experienced skier so don't know what to look for.
I presume this is what they rely on, and simply get a high volume of people through the shops so hand out whatever to whomever.
How does one know what to look for, other than through experience? And if one has skied on a pair of skis and liked them, try and get them again or even buy them?
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You know it makes sense.
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My god I cant beleive all the horror stories on here. I have recommended Sport Rudi in Kirchberg for 7 years and have never heard anything but praise. Unfortunately Rudi died last year and Andi the manager decided to set up on his own at the bottom of the flekenbahn in the old Rudi shop for anyone who knows it.
You can get what you ask for. He doesnt charge for all the days if you tell them you are only skiing certain days, ie we watched the Hahnenkamm downhill on the Saturday. You can change the boots/skis as often as you like if there are problems, even going skis/board/cross country if you want. If I had any issues the guys in there just get on with it and change anything. I had a guest whos strap broke on a board, changed it straight away, no quibble. No arguing about mis use or anything. Maybe the Austrian experience with ski hire shops is different, as reading the thread it all seems like French resorts in the main
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| jafa wrote: |
| Maybe the Austrian experience with ski hire shops is different, as reading the thread it all seems like French resorts in the main |
I think so. From what I've seen, Austrian shops are considerably better equipped, designed and have more staff than their French equivalents. Although it's very rare/strange business sense to agree to only charge people for the days they ski even if they keep the skis all week - imagine trying that one with a car hire company!
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Poster: A snowHead
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My experience with Austrian ski hire (in St Anton) is that it was eye-wateringly expensive.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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When you tell them that you are handing the skis back in because you are not skiing the next day but youll need them again the following day, there would be the servicing costs to them and having staff tied up ensuring the settings are correct again on handing them back out. As the cost in most shops for 7 days is the same as 6 its not really the cost but the good customer service. Of course there is always the risk they will take them back in, its not something they do at the start of the week!!
Oh and as far as money back is concerned, if you return the skis early due to the weather or injury, they just recredit the days not used back on the card, or cash if thast how they were paid. In fact when Im there with guests myself, they dont even charge them anything until the skis are returned. That way only the days that are used are charged for.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've used skiset twice now and both times i suspect i'm being fobbed off. I booked online and i booked a performance ski because i wanted to try something more "advanced". When i got to the shop (Les Arc 2000) i gave them my booking reference and the guy proceeded to ask me questions, weight height etc. He then gave me a set of skis that were the same as the standard ones i'd hired the year before. I then saw him locate some skis that had a tag on them with my name of it, he took the tag off and binned in. When asked he said these were the ones i needed not the ones he'd took the tag off. Anyway i've progressed a lot since the year before and just couldnt get on with the skis didnt like them, ended going back and swapping for something more "advanced". Oh and interestingly when i swapped them i was told they were an advanced ski, on taking them back he said they were a good intermediate ski.
Ill be taking the advice given in this thread in future and not pre booking.
Btw the week before this i used Rental Republic in La Plagne and there gear seems much newer, its serviced and best of all they come to your chalet to fit your kit.
http://rentalrepublic.co.uk/
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It all seems a bit hit and miss. I usually ask for recommendations, either on here or from the chalet. Chalet companies that look after their guests don't usually want to upset their clients by sending them to an overpriced or badly run hire shop.
I've hired through Skiset a couple of times, and had generally good service - I think it's down to the individual shop rather than the reseller. Often, there is only one shop listed for a resort, so they're going to get all the business that Skiset bring to that resort. They may not like giving them a cut, but I suspect it's a lot of trade to potentially lose.
Northland in Canazei have 3 racks of skis labelled gold, silver, bronze on a sign next to them. We booked performance (black), and were taken to the gold rack to choose from. My only issue was that they seemed to have a lot of very long and very short skis, and it took a while to find something of appropriate length - the pre-booking made no diference, though I never select a specific model in advance. Maybe it was a busy day? After a big snowfall, my OH went back to swap for something fatter. They handed him a slightly battered and rather long pair or Dynastar Sultan 85s, but his smile said it all when we hit the powder the next morning!
At the Ski Bar in San Cassiano, our skis were all waiting for us with our names on, all appropriately sized and barely out of the packaging. No complaints there either.
I am more nervous about booking with Intersport - someone in our chalet was handed a board with a crack right through it at one shop, and from another I've had what can only have been used as rock skis. Although it was a poor season, so all the skis may have looked like that...
Will probably use Skiset again for our Ischgl trip - had a look at AlpinResorts but they don't have any shops in the resort.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Actually, this was a major reason I just bought my own last season, for the first time after 10 years of skiing. I got sick of getting given rubbish. Last year, after returning to the shop every day (hassle) until I got something akin to what I wanted, and then having to wax the damn things as well (more hassle), I bought my own skis and started learning how to tune (thanks Spyderjon for your website!).
Same experience when we went to Morzine last weekend. Web pre-booking for some of the group. No-one got anything like what they had requested. I don't know what "or equivalent" is in web-rental parlance, but I don't think that requesting a mid-fat twintip and getting a battered intermediate piste ski is really what the skier wanted.
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Alpin-resorts are just intersport agents, they don't have any shops themselves.
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Harry Flashman, I'm curious but how did you 'request' mid to fat twins? Was it not just a case of picking green through to black on the categories, albeit with stupid names such as Easy-cruise, or Ultimate..
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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That's not so, albinomountainbadger. Alpinresorts do cover many intersport shops but also many others too. It's a network similar to the Skiset booking network.
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My apologies admin, I was informed by an intersport owner they were just for them.
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