The problem here in the UK is that ALL bowling balls are imported by only 2 or 3 suppliers in the whole country, therefore they have the monopoly on sales and while they may give the occasional special offer or discount to the larger pro-shops most of the time the cost price to a pro-shop is quite high.
I work in a bowl part time helping to run the leagues and recently had to order replacement ball for a damaged one, we have no pro-shop but the centre can order balls in certain circumstances,the ball in question was one of the high end Storm balls, the cost wholesale to the centre was approx GBP120,this is over $200 at current exchange rates,and this is what the pro-shop would pay then they need to add thier costs for overheads,drilling etc you can begin to see why we end up paying about $350+ for high end balls.
Importing balls etc from US online shops can be a bit cheaper but when shipping,tax etc is added the saving is not a lot,the only cheap way is to but used as we then don't pay the tax,but very few people are willing to go to so much trouble to sell overseas when it's quicker and easier to sell within the US,and I don't blame them.
