BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Polish_Hammer on November 06, 2014, 12:33:34 PM
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Maybe I'm not hip. Maybe I'm a little old school. . I just don't get all the chatter about buying or not buying a ball because of the color scheme, the fragrance, the swirl pattern, the scary name, etc. I know there folks in marketing departments getting paid way too much money to come up with a clever name, fragrance, or color. Money I would rather see in R&D or in price reduction. Personally I'm not choosing a ball based on anything other than it's specs and how it performs. My wife likes pretty colors but for me, if it's good I'll throw it even if it's pink (loved the old pink hammer) or smells like lindberger cheese. I would however rather see the bowling balls only come in solid colors. That way my finger & thumb inserts help me pick up when my ball loses its axis rotation. Awful tough with those swirly color schemes :) Maybe I'm too practical.
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You're not too practical and most people don't choose based on smell. The marketing departments are most likely trying to ingrain long term thoughts about their company.
You are not in the minority with your opinions.
In some ways, bringing up smells or colors (positive or negative) is doing exactly what the these companies are trying to get consumers to do. Buzz is buzz.
Also, anything that brings buzz to the sport is good for the sport.
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It is all personal preference. Your preference is one thing while someone else is different.
In today's environment, could you imagine the confusion is all bowling balls were black? Not such a big deal when each bowler had one ball. But with tournament arsenals being 6+ for a lot of people, it would be difficult to know which is which.
If it were me, I would use particular colors to represent performance points in my line-up. I might use a basis of green for high performance, red for medium performance and maybe blue for low performance. (or hook potential). The solid would be solid, the hybrid would be mixed with say black and the pearl with say silver for each range.
But in the end, it is pretty boring if everyone used just a couple of main colors and that was it.
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I've always thought the scented balls to be pointless. While most of them actually smell pretty good, there are some that are just down right brutal. IQ Tour Fusion is one that did not smell great and while it is a good ball, I think sales suffered a bit just because of the smell.
They HAVE to get the scent right and then you have people that just cannot stand scented bowling balls and refuse to buy them, which limits your customer base. I'm sure there are a few, but I don't think many, that buy a ball because it smells good.
I don't care about colors, my favorite ball is the Radical Reax. The all black original. I'll probably get a Guru as well, which of course happens to be all black as well. I don't want it because of the color though, I want it because it's "hook in a box"!
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Hard to say that the fusion lost sales because of the scent. At least in my area, it sold like crazy. It's also the top seller on buddies, so i doubt it was just my area.
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A little off topic but since color was brought up. Color pigmentation does effect ball reaction.
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The colors don't bother me but the scents do. I am allergic to most of them.
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Color matters/patterns matter. It can make the ball appear to be doing something it is not or vise versa. I have had this happen with a few balls here and there because of color or pattern. There is a great piece with PBIII on above180.com where he talks about that exact thing with a Brunswick Ultimax and how it has happened with different bowling balls from time to time.
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Personally, I am loud and proud. I like to be the center of attention and have a good time. Bright, flashy colors appeal to me. I don't want a ball that is all one color, unless it is really THAT good and fits what I am looking for. Picking between two balls, I would lean toward the color scheme that gets noticed. I don't want smelly balls though. Leads to entirely too many "smell my balls" jokes on the league I bowl on.
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I just care whether or not they are poured in UTAH ;)
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For me personally, its all about the performance, and how the ball will fare on the conditons I face, HOWEVER, certain colors does catch my eye as well; I mean think about it, If you can get that PERFECT ball, with GREAT SHELF APPEAL, who would turn that away to have the best of both worlds?
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Limburger Cheese Scented..... Now that would be a fun ball to own without a doubt. :o To each their own on what they desire in a bowling ball. Different strokes for different folks. :P Different choices makes the Capitalistic World go around. Buy, spend, consume. ::)
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The Sigma Sting I picked up this year was for the functionality. The downside was that this ball smells awful. It has the worst chemical smell that I have ever come across in a bowling ball...but I keep using it because the results are there.
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The Sigma Sting I picked up this year was for the functionality. The downside was that this ball smells awful. It has the worst chemical smell that I have ever come across in a bowling ball...but I keep using it because the results are there.
I have the same issue with my 2Cruel. Highly chemical in its smell.
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The Sigma Sting I picked up this year was for the functionality. The downside was that this ball smells awful. It has the worst chemical smell that I have ever come across in a bowling ball...but I keep using it because the results are there.
I have the same issue with my 2Cruel. Highly chemical in its smell.
Yeah, the Octane I just got smells like purple jelly beans. I didn't know Motiv did that.
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The Jackal has a powerful odor as well.
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Maybe I'm not hip. Maybe I'm a little old school. . I just don't get all the chatter about buying or not buying a ball because of the color scheme, the fragrance, the swirl pattern, the scary name, etc. I know there folks in marketing departments getting paid way too much money to come up with a clever name, fragrance, or color. Money I would rather see in R&D or in price reduction. Personally I'm not choosing a ball based on anything other than it's specs and how it performs. My wife likes pretty colors but for me, if it's good I'll throw it even if it's pink (loved the old pink hammer) or smells like lindberger cheese. I would however rather see the bowling balls only come in solid colors. That way my finger & thumb inserts help me pick up when my ball loses its axis rotation. Awful tough with those swirly color schemes :) Maybe I'm too practical.
Sir...Ebonite and Track are bringing out New Models in black...The Salute and the Tour SiC...I think they both look pretty sharp...enjoy...
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It's all personal preference. Most Storm balls have rolled well for me, so I stick with them. Some of them smell/look good. Others smell/look bad. My decisions as to which balls I keep versus which ones I ditch have to do with ball performance and usefulness in my arsenal, not the smell or color. With that being said, as others have mentioned, if the ball looks cool and makes my bag smell like something other than old bowling shoes, that's a bonus. The scent additives are a talking point, marketing, plain and simple. I think you would be hard-pressed to find any serious bowler who selects equipment based upon those factors. It's just something to draw in the casual bowler and to get/keep people talking about the brand.
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I agree with you. However the catchy names, crazy colors, and goofy scents are what draws in the average league bowler. They could care less about performance. They want the lastest ball, and if they like the name and/or the color, they will buy the ball.
It is truly amazing how well a bowler bowls with a ball they like versus a ball they don't like. No wonder this sport is mental.
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You all would actually be surprised how many people decide what ball to buy based on ball color or scent. Scent doesn't matter as much as color, but I'd bet 90% of my customers or more buy a ball based on the color.
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Maybe I'm not hip. Maybe I'm a little old school. . I just don't get all the chatter about buying or not buying a ball because of the color scheme, the fragrance, the swirl pattern, the scary name, etc. I know there folks in marketing departments getting paid way too much money to come up with a clever name, fragrance, or color. Money I would rather see in R&D or in price reduction. Personally I'm not choosing a ball based on anything other than it's specs and how it performs. My wife likes pretty colors but for me, if it's good I'll throw it even if it's pink (loved the old pink hammer) or smells like lindberger cheese. I would however rather see the bowling balls only come in solid colors. That way my finger & thumb inserts help me pick up when my ball loses its axis rotation. Awful tough with those swirly color schemes :) Maybe I'm too practical.
Sir...Ebonite and Track are bringing out New Models in black...The Salute and the Tour SiC...I think they both look pretty sharp...enjoy...
I bowl with a Track staffer and the Sic is dark blue. It looks like an IQ Tour Solid color wise.
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Many of the recent Brunswick balls have been single color and will continue that trend in the future.
Melee's
LT48
Ringers
Strike Kings (black/emerald)