I had idea that I think all manufactures should try for pro shops. To cut down on inventory and increase all product awareness why not send shops blem balls to display on the shelf to show product and then pro shops could order the ball with the correct pin placement from the distributor. Now I am not saying like the plastics and such just the high and mid performance balls. Think about how many shops carry $ 10,000 - $ 25,000 in inventory and what happens when you come out with a new ball I have to mark down the older stuff and margins are cut, profits are down and now its hard for me to carry all of the line. I know this needs more thought but what do you think?

How many shops would carry product line if you could cut your cost in 1/2 for shelf appeal??



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Clarke Hill
King Pin Pro Shop
****2010 KING PIN SCRATCH OPEN
$ 5,000 GUARANTEED FIRST PLACE
JANUARY 9 & 10, 2010

So here is a response from a sales rep on the subject that I emailed directly:

Not all blems are created equal. I don't want the consumer seeing blems
on a regular basis. As far as sending blems out for free, there is a
market that does buy seconds, blems, pro pins, what ever you want to
call them. In order to send out blems at no charge, the cost would have
to be absorbed somewhere. In the end it would cost more to do it that
way. We do have "shelf load" programs that help merchandise the store at
a significant discount. The 4 ball packs for each of Ebonite
International's four brands are sold through distributors at 20%
discount. That on top of trade shows and other programs really does make
it pretty easy to merchandise the shelf and keep some amount of
inventory without killing the wallet. Most distributors are 1-2 days
shipping time. That is another reason to not have to have more than 2-3
of a particular performance ball at any one time. Over the past couple
years ALL manufacturers are coming out with many releases in a season.
The only reason for this is consumer demand. We as a manufacturer would
love to have the Widow syndrome every year. The original Widow was in
the line for 3 years. The Widow Pearl was not released until a year
after the original. That is great for the entire pipeline including the
manufacturer.


I took off the person it came from, did not feel it was right to publish that.



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Clarke Hill
King Pin Pro Shop
****2010 KING PIN SCRATCH OPEN
$ 5,000 GUARANTEED FIRST PLACE
JANUARY 9 & 10, 2010

The problem with the ball programs and specials is that I have to buy too much product to save too little.  Many times I have to buy 4 or 6 balls to save $2 a ball.  The investment is not worth the outflow of cash.  Its the same for the bag deals and shoe deals as well.  The bag deals especially tend to provide 1/2 product we want and 1/2 we don't.  So we get some product we are really not interested in to save a very small amount.  

Now if you are a very high volume shop or one that has two to four locations then the outlay might be worth it.  But for me, I cannot really afford to pay $450+ to save $8 and get 4 balls that may or maynot sell.  Sure two of them may sell, but by the time it comes to sell the 3rd and 4th, the next generation of balls has come out.  

Erin

When I worked in a shop the majority of our customers wanted a ball then, not 3 days from now.

You have to have some inventory onhand available for sale to impulse buyers.

Many want to see, feel, touch, and even smell the product before they are going to buy.