Why is it shocking for someone to pay $200 for a new high end ball? Just because your overhead is low doesn't mean you should devalue your services. Even if you buy the ball online your looking at least $190 drilled with no inserts. So dealing with a customer face to face is worth giving THEM $5.
This is why I say it is crazy to want to get into the pro shop business.
There is a reason I've never bought a ball online, its cheaper to buy it from him and I can get the exact weight and specs I want. Now we aren't talking a ton cheaper ( usually the 5 dollar range or so), but when you have almost zero overhead you can make the same profit margin as other shops do with higher prices. People come from around the area to buy from him, so those slightly lower prices are netting him more sales.
Basically his deal is if you buy a ball from him, you get a bit of a break on the drilling cost. However if you buy it online and bring it, his services come at a premium. I honestly think its a pretty smart setup.
I know he once told me though, that once a ball breaks that $160 dollar mark the sales drop off pretty drastically. It drops to almost non-existant once it breaks that $200 mark.
Your average bowler just has a hard time fitting $200 balls into their budget. While $185 may not be that much cheaper, in a buyers mind it sounds a whole hell of a lot better and it might be just right to get them to buy it.
Companies spend billions a year just studying that very thing.
