Author Topic: How much do you think it costs?? (Read 4642 times)

Rock77 · « **on:** July 30, 2003, 03:22:09 AM »

How much do you think it actually costs a ball manufacturer to make a ball?? All factors considered: materials, time, research and development, production etc... Lets use a high performance ball. You pick the ball and breakdown the cost.
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How am I supposed to knock all 10 down with one ball?!?

Rock77 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 31, 2003, 08:05:14 AM »

quote:
If you think bowling balls are bad, you've got, as they used to say, another think coming!
Try electronics (NOT made in Asia), or jewelry, or cars or watches.
Yipes! One could plotz!

Electronics, I know, I have priced parts to build my own stuff and it is dirt cheap. Cars are the same, normally a $15-20,000 car only costs about $5-8,000 to make.

quote:
On the BOWLING topic .. Agree with all the figures stated .. understand the final PRO SHOP is the guy who stands the MOST to loose .. but looking at ALL THIS .. WHY ARE LANE 1 BALLS SO EXPENSIVE?

Because Lane 1 puts diamonds in their balls!!

On the topic, bowling is a very expensive sport to play. Especially when unlike football or basketball, you cannot have just one ball. You need several balls to match up lane conditions. That in turn costs us more money, especially when you compare the shoe pricing. SST's or Tour Ultras cost about as much as Air Jordans do, and we dont get air soles in our shoes!!
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How am I supposed to knock all 10 down with one ball?!?

livespive · « **Reply #17 on:** July 31, 2003, 08:08:30 AM »

quote:
If you think bowling balls are bad, you've got, as they used to say, another think coming!
Try electronics (NOT made in Asia), or jewelry, or cars or watches.
Yipes! One could plotz!
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"Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it."

Yeah, I think markup on Jewelry is about 900%, Car stereo equipment is about 500%

A friend told me that about the jewwlry and I didn't really belive him so I put it to the test. I was watching a jem stone show where they were supposed to be selling at rock bottom prices straight from the mine. They give you the retail price then talk a bit, then give you their price. So I would take the retail price and devide by 9. Low and behold their price was the retail price devided by 9 +/- maybey 10% on a lot of their goods.
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Eric T. Spivey, P.E.
Visionary Test Staff Member

JOE FALCO · « **Reply #18 on:** July 31, 2003, 08:09:55 AM »

DIAMONDS .. THAT'S FUNNY!!
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Hit them light and watch them fight
J O E - F A L C O

michelle · « **Reply #19 on:** July 31, 2003, 08:27:01 AM »

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JOE FALCO · « **Reply #20 on:** July 31, 2003, 08:31:28 AM »

AGREE! .. WHY (aside from the DIAMONDS) is LANE 1 so expensive?
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Hit them light and watch them fight
J O E - F A L C O

Rock77 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 31, 2003, 09:31:56 AM »

quote:
IAccording to my inside track, The cost to make the Freak Out is $32.67.

That is ridiculous. Could you imagine buying bowling balls at the price it takes to make one!! Thats why Track had such a great year in sales. When it costs $32.67 to make a high performance ball and then the pro shops sell it for $150-$175, and tons of people are purchasing the Morpheus core balls.....that is good business for Track and many other companies!!

I am gonna start making my own equipment! Taking pre-orders now!! It costs me $35.00 to make, I sell to you for $135.00.....

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How am I supposed to knock all 10 down with one ball?!?

Rock77 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 31, 2003, 10:17:12 AM »

quote:
bowling is NOT the most expensive sport to play....

I agree, but by no means is it cheap either!!
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How am I supposed to knock all 10 down with one ball?!?

michelle · « **Reply #23 on:** July 31, 2003, 10:17:29 AM »

I didn't even think about pool...and I have a friggin table sitting upstairs at the house (and it was definitely more than I have invested in bowling equipment).

But it really brought the room together

JOE FALCO · « **Reply #24 on:** July 31, 2003, 10:53:52 AM »

Autos .. the difference between one manufacturer to another could be the engine or maybe the BRAKES .. someone said the PINTO to the FERRARI .. obvious differences. Pool tables .. you can get WOOD or SLATE .. pockets or returns .. all things that are obvious and expensive .. NOW .. BOWLING BALLS what can they do to make the cost go up on a bowling ball 50/70% .. especially for a BOWLER who is NOT A PROFESSIONAL .. something wrong with the cost of LANE 1 balls .. and if we keep paying it .. they WILL KEEP CHARGING IT! I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!
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Hit them light and watch them fight
J O E - F A L C O

michelle · « **Reply #25 on:** July 31, 2003, 11:09:41 AM »

First and foremost...simple economic theory enters into the picture- charge what the market will bear.

Secondly, smaller companies do not get the same pricing on raw goods as the larger companies. Seems to me that Lane#1 was having the additional hand to pay in the name of Brunswick.

Third, quality R&D doesn't come cheap.

Smash49 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 31, 2003, 12:52:38 PM »

There are many things involved besides the actual cost of making the product. Add in all the info sheets that are sent to the Pro Shops, printing cost and materials, advertising in magazines and other media, accounting cost, Patents, lawyers, machinery, packaging, dealing with the PBA, travel cost, electric and gas bills, salaries etc.etc.... There are a lot of cost besides production. I would be curious how many of a certain ball units sell and their numbers. Let say you sell 10,000 units of a ball @ $32.67 or even $60.00 that's not a lot of money. Sure there are tax deductions etc.

Smash49
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Smash49
robert@bowlersslidesock.com
www.bowlersslidesock.com

Mustang Guy · « **Reply #27 on:** July 31, 2003, 01:57:41 PM »

Poor Joe Falco keeps asking the same question and it isn't getting answered. Joe the reason why Lane 1 balls are some damn expensive is because:

1. They have to buy balls from brunswick (as I buy balls from storm) and since they aren't OWNED by brunswick, they can charge whatever they want. Brunswick probably makes a hefty penny per ball on lane 1 balls.

2. They don't sell to distributors only Pro Shops so they actually wholesale out their product. So instead of marking it up the traditional 40% they would to a distributor they probably tack on an extra 20% that the distributor would to a pro shop. So they make a hefty markup to the pro shops because there isn't any distributors involved in the mix.

This is all best guess, but I'm sure that is pretty damn close.

Thanks,
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Roger Noordhoek
Technical & Customer
Services Manager
Roto Grip, Inc.

channel surfer · « **Reply #28 on:** July 31, 2003, 01:57:51 PM »

But pro bowlers who are sponsored get the balls for free! Hmm....
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My Bowling Clinic Site: http://channelsurfers.vze.com

ASK A PRO:http://channelsurfers.vze.com/atp.shtml

Bowl.. Grab life by the balls.

Money is no object to me because I dont have any...

michelle · « **Reply #29 on:** July 31, 2003, 02:13:43 PM »

quote:
But pro bowlers who are sponsored get the balls for free! Hmm....

Surely you realize that not every one out there on either tour has a deal. There are a fair number of players on both tours that are writing a check for truck services on a regular basis...

mumzie · « **Reply #30 on:** July 31, 2003, 02:32:40 PM »

Michelle is right.
For a "pro" to get a ball off the truck is $50-$100, then $30 for drilling - grips and slugs? Add another $10-$20. Granted - not what you pay at your local center, but when you may need to drill up 3-4 a week just to stay in the hunt - NOT CHEAP!!!!

Second thought - remember the big flap over the space shuttle toilet seats a few years ago? The government was being billed $700 apiece for them? Well - simple economics. When you manufacture a product, you have to AT LEAST cover your R & D and production costs - that's to just break even. When you make 10 toilet seats over the life of the project, they're gonna be expensive...

So when you're talking bowling balls - I don't know how many of each model are made, but I'm sure that each one isn't in the 100's of millions... They're gonna be a bit more expensive than golf balls - which I'm sure are made in at least the 10s of millions for each design.
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Bowling? Of course it's a sport.

Author Topic: How much do you think it costs?? (Read 4642 times)

Rock77

How much do you think it costs??

Rock77

Re: How much do you think it costs??

livespive

Re: How much do you think it costs??

JOE FALCO

Re: How much do you think it costs??

michelle

Re: How much do you think it costs??

JOE FALCO

Re: How much do you think it costs??

Rock77

Re: How much do you think it costs??

Rock77

Re: How much do you think it costs??

michelle

Re: How much do you think it costs??

JOE FALCO

Re: How much do you think it costs??

michelle

Re: How much do you think it costs??

Smash49

Re: How much do you think it costs??

Mustang Guy

Re: How much do you think it costs??

channel surfer

Re: How much do you think it costs??

michelle

Re: How much do you think it costs??

mumzie

Re: How much do you think it costs??