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Author Topic: Pro Shop location..  (Read 2118 times)

jimensminger

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Pro Shop location..
« on: March 17, 2004, 01:12:11 AM »
could a pro shop survive outside of a bowling center..??  Years ago a friend of mind had a pro shop in a little mini-strip mall, about 6 blocks from a bowling center, which also had a pro shop.  He did a great business until his health made him retire. He had more space, big display windows, a waiting area with TV, nice place,..and the rent was much cheaper than in any of the nearby centers...is it necessary to be cramped into a center to make a pro shop profitable...
does anyone know of pro shops not in centers,..and how are they doing and where are they located...
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kingswingin

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2004, 05:43:41 PM »
The pro shop I go to is not located in an alley.  There are 4 alleys within 7 miles from it, however...
I am only recently starting to have some reservations about it because I am getting a little more serious about bowling.  I think my PAP has changed since the first ball that I have had drilled there and they are still using my original measurements.  I would like to have a pro shop in the alley I bowl my leagues in so that I could build a rep with my driller and he could suggest other drillings for me based on how I throw (all the stuff he has drilled for me is very close to label-leverage).  I threw him a curveball recently with a pin-in ball purchase and it has caused some problems: ball rolling over track, having the bring the ball in every week after league to have it adjusted until we get it to stop rolling over holes.  I think if he could have watched me throw the ball prior to drilling, we wouldn't have had this problem.  
On the other hand, there are some fantastic bowlers at my lanes that use the same pro-shop and they do a great job, so I don't know.
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oracle3410

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2004, 09:14:19 PM »
i bought my very very very first ball (8 lb urethane with my nickname engraved in it) from a pro shop not inside a center..

Smash49

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2004, 09:18:13 PM »
A few years ago Craig Hoyle had one about 6 or 7 blocks from what is now AMF Irving and it died.  That was then and there are a lot of differences now.  The first being the internet and not having to totally rely on the traffic a center brings to your door.  Look at some of the internet pro shops and notice where they are located.  Some are most likely nothing more than 2 guys with a couple of distributors catalogs and a phone.  No overhead other than the rent, a website and everything is ups'd out or drop shipped.  The second thing would be location.  From what i understand many states like Virginia it is hard to find a center with a pro shop.  Some centers do not want the headaches.  An example may be like a bowling/arcade/pool center.  The one big thing that would be lost is the place where most of the profit would be made.  People won't go to the mini strip mall for ez slide before league night.  Also testing ball fittings could be a hassle.

It could be done and probably better but the first few years would be really rough depending on where it was located and the time to shake the bugs out.

Smash49
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TheBowlingKid25

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2004, 09:19:20 PM »
Bowling is not real big around here, there are only 2 centers within a 20 mintues drive, let alone self standing proshops, and actually come to think of it, only one of those centers has a pro-shop.
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Nollster

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2004, 10:35:23 PM »
The pro shop I use has been around for years (at least 30, I think) and they aren't in an alley.  They're pretty much the premier spot in York -- wouldn't go anywhere else.  They have a real nice jr. program where we can trade my boys' balls back in for 50% of their original value towards a new ball until they're 18.....They always give me at least 10% off and are always willing to make the little adjustments or just talk bowling.....

Brickguy221

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2004, 11:25:55 PM »
If a person has a good reputation at drilling and customer service, he can survive away from a bowling center without any problem at all. One example is Steve Szambina of Ebonite. He opened a Pro Shop away from all bowling centers and I believe he had more business than he could handle. You could go into his shop any day of the week and he was "on the run" from the minute he opened to the minute he closed......and he was an excellent/super driller along with excellent prices. In fact, I wish he was still here drilling balls in OKC.

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Pinbuster

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2004, 07:15:48 AM »
While it would be possible to run a proshop outside a bowling center, it would be a tough way to get started.

Someone with an established reputation would probably do ok. But the extra traffic you get from just being in a center with their league bowlers means a lot in sales. Particularly for wrist braces, rosin, tape, etc.

The real problem comes down to doing a good job. It is often difficult to evaluate a new customer without actually seeing them roll the ball, see the oil lines for their track, get a feel for their approach, timing, etc.

The other problem is they don’t generally have a place to try a ball after drilling to see if it is worked out right. And it isn’t right to expect the bowling centers proshop to finish a ball up. The guy selling the ball made the money so they should do the work.

If they had a lane in the shop they could do this but I doubt if they do.

serice

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2004, 08:48:06 AM »
My favorite driller runs his shop from his basement in Zion, IL and I know of another good rep shop in Darien, IL that is in a strip mall.

Brickguy221

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2004, 08:57:21 AM »
Serice, the drillers you mentioned is similiar to the example I just gave above. However, althought it never crossed my mind, Pinbuster also has some valid points. Especially when it comes to driving some where after drilling to try the ball and them find it needs some adjustment, so back to the Pro Shop, back to the lanes, and etc. I guess this thought never crossed my mind because when Steve drilled my balls, they were perfect and needed no adjustment.

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Pinbuster

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Re: Pro Shop location..
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2004, 09:12:12 AM »
After working out the ball we have the roll it on the carpet in the proshop to see how the release looks. Then if lanes are available we take them out on the lanes to try them out.

9 times out of 10 we can get it pretty good there but that one time can be doozies. The timing is simply different on the approach than inside on the carpet. Some will stick some will drop at that point.

The worst appearing are the stickers. We’ve had some launch the ball 15 or 20 feet down the lane. But those are generally easily fixed. The droppers are bad in that you can’t add any back and have to start helping them with tape.

Our motto with this is “Try it tight, sandpaper is cheap and we can always make it bigger”.