Author Topic: The price wars continue ... (Read 8521 times)

charlest · « **on:** February 09, 2012, 02:05:15 PM »

Just saw Buddies post the new Ebonite Pursuits for $169.95, joining the ranks of Lane#1 balls as the most expensive balls on the internet (excepting for Bowlers Paradise's Elite line at $249 which I assume virtually no one in their right mind buys).

Pretty soon BTV's Quantum $300 balls from the late1990s are going to look cheap.

And all in the midst of a depression! Fascinating!!

"None are so blind as those who will not see."

BowlingChat.net

Edited by charlest on 2/9/2012 at 11:08 PM

northface28 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2012, 10:41:51 PM »

Funny, I was discussing this with colleagues tonight. The time is coming, bowling balls will be $300+ @ proshops. Im sure some honk will get on here saying im complaining about ball prices. Im not, just making an observation.

”Im a really good bowler, ask Ron”

Xx 12 X 300 xX · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:13:43 PM »

I knew this was going to start to happen once they made the balls 159.99 as the bottom floor price. Every new release was going to be $5 to $10 more than the last one. Truthfully they can keep all of these balls at these prices, they will discontinue them faster than you can blink an eye and then you can buy them for $80.00. Nobody is fooled anymore when it comes to the performance of the bowling ball. The ball that is 6 months old is just as good as the one that came out today.

Shop the close out racks, and save money.

If I was in business, I couldn't even afford to bring these in at the distributor prices anymore for "stock". The distributor price on some of these balls is $130 to $140. I don't see how any of these helped the pro shop. I think it's costing more money instead.

For instance the new Global 900 Train is $140.00 to $145.00, tack on shipping and it's the same as internet price. I would tell everyone to go buy balls on the internet and bring them in. Saves me the haste of ordering, stocking and having to put out cash to cover the cost of the ball.

How can you make a profit on these things if you are putting almost $150 into them. High preformance around here is $199.99 to $209.99 drilled/inserts.

Some areas your just not going to get $250 for a bowling ball.

This floor price is now costing the customers even more money. I thought the idea was to level the playing field so the pro shop could make the sale over the internet shop, without sticking it to the customer.

The way I see it, the customer is getting gouged with insane prices, and the pro shop is starting to get gouged as well. The balls didn't become cheaper for the pro shop, they are going up as well!!

Edited by Xx 12 X 300 xX on 2/10/2012 at 0:33 AM

billdozer · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:32:15 PM »

I think the joke is on the consumer...both should be called oxymoron, and the oxymoron-s. They put a recycling logo on the ball (which tells me the cover is not new, its recycled) yet they mention that its all new materials, aaaaaaand its the most expensive ball we have ever produced. The video is terrible as well..I understand everything has been done before...but I know just every other company is making some exciting stuff right now! I was one of the unlucky consumers that bought some of the garbage before the missions...like idk "the striking motion" perhaps LOL, and both of these balls look like they took a step backwards. I know I sound real negative, but I hope theyre both great equipment. Id almost rather see them keep the mission around to be honest, that line has much consumer confidence in it.

Don't throw strikes, throw BOLTS!

my arsenal..

http://s890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/_billdozer/My%20Arsenal/

Xx 12 X 300 xX · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:38:31 PM »

I don't know where people use these new "super" bowling balls. The proprietor doesn't put anymore oil out than he has been putting out for the last 3 years. The proprietor doesn't keep up on bowling ball technology. It's the same THS that hooks.

It's still only 60ft and 10 pins you got to knock down. It's still THS bowling.

Nobody bowls tournaments, to use the $250 bowling balls. Nobody bowls sport leagues to use them as well.

Who exactly uses all this new technology.

It's still a bowling ball, that rolls 60ft and knocks down pins. The ball only contacts the lane for a few seconds.

I should know, I am in charge of the up keep of a bowling center. I put out the max capacity of oil that I can now, without it being to difficult of a lane condition. There is no more oil that can be put in places where there is oil.

It's now out of hand.

Edited by Xx 12 X 300 xX on 2/10/2012 at 0:42 AM

billdozer · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:45:41 PM »

You are making some vaild points here....All of the manufacturers agreed on this minimum pricing strategy and it looks likes theyre getting more money per ball at the release date, and if they release more and more equipment the ball whores will buy more & more...its a great strategy to make money. Too bad it was "supposed" to help proshops..

Businesses are in business to make money, unfortunately for us bowlers/consumers its all about the $ and not about bowling.
Idk about you but im waiting for the $174.95 balls to come out...you know there will 3 of those, and you have to buy all three! the $cam, The $cam-$, and the Scam-$$ LOL.

Xx 12 X 300 xX wrote on 2/10/2012 0:13 AM:
I knew this was going to start to happen once they made the balls 159.99 as the bottom floor price. Every new release was going to be $5 to $10 more than the last one. Truthfully they can keep all of these balls at these prices, they will discontinue them faster than you can blink an eye and then you can buy them for $80.00. Nobody is fooled anymore when it comes to the performance of the bowling ball. The ball that is 6 months old is just as good as the one that came out today.

Shop the close out racks, and save money.

If I was in business, I couldn't even afford to bring these in at the distributor prices anymore for "stock". The distributor price on some of these balls is $130 to $140. I don't see how any of these helped the pro shop. I think it's costing more money instead.

For instance the new Global 900 Train is $140.00 to $145.00, tack on shipping and it's the same as internet price. I would tell everyone to go buy balls on the internet and bring them in. Saves me the haste of ordering, stocking and having to put out cash to cover the cost of the ball.

How can you make a profit on these things if you are putting almost $150 into them. High preformance around here is $199.99 to $209.99 drilled/inserts.

Some areas your just not going to get $250 for a bowling ball.

This floor price is now costing the customers even more money. I thought the idea was to level the playing field so the pro shop could make the sale over the internet shop, without sticking it to the customer.

The way I see it, the customer is getting gouged with insane prices, and the pro shop is starting to get gouged as well. The balls didn't become cheaper for the pro shop, they are going up as well!!

Edited by Xx 12 X 300 xX on 2/10/2012 at 0:33 AM

Don't throw strikes, throw BOLTS!

my arsenal..

http://s890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/_billdozer/My%20Arsenal/

Xx 12 X 300 xX · « **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2012, 11:52:02 PM »

I talked to almost all of the pro shops in my area, and every single one of them is struggling to sell bowling balls. It's a combination of the prices of equipment due to the economy and the lack of oil on the lanes. I know a few pro shops that no longer stock Ebonite brand balls because its just too many bowling balls anymore and people in my general area are just not buying.

Some of these companies are raising prices and their equipment doesn't sell well to begin with. That makes zero sense to me. As somebody who was once around the pro shop industry, I wouldn't stock much anymore. To get stuck with some of this inventory really hurts your shop.

To me the whole thing was to floor price and give the pro shop a break, so they could make more money. The pro shop isn't getting a break unless they are high volume.

The only way the pro shop makes money is if they put in a large order, and get free shipping and then pay it with prompt pay. There is alot of IFs involved there. Any ball today for me to order through a distributor is the same price in the end as Buddies Pro Shop.

I wouldn't stock a single high end.

The way I see it, only the manufacturer is making out here. Exactly the reason why they did this in the first place.

Edited by Xx 12 X 300 xX on 2/10/2012 at 0:58 AM

Balldoctor · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2012, 12:07:28 AM »

See you have been back bowling for a bit. Could you tell me where is your Pro Shop? Didn't catch it in your profile.

Remember, ALL BOWLING IS LOCAL!

dizzyfugu · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2012, 12:46:13 AM »

billdozer wrote on 10.02.2012 0:45 AM:
You are making some vaild points here....All of the manufacturers agreed on this minimum pricing strategy and it looks likes theyre getting more money per ball at the release date, and if they release more and more equipment the ball whores will buy more & more...its a great strategy to make money. Too bad it was "supposed" to help proshops..

That's a good and probably true point: as anyone knows and experiences, ball "life cycles" are getting shorter and shorter. Remember the times when a high end ball like the Inferno stayed around for years, had its role in the manufacturer's arsenal and also somehow was a kind of flagship item. And that was just a couple of years ago.

Right now, things have gone IMHO much more generic, and equipment without any proper profile (except for "hooks more than ever", "we did years of research" and the like) is pumped out, at a ridiculous rate. Buy a ball and it is last generation - at least when you look at the marketing blah. Additionally, due to the ever faster life cycles, money HAS to be made much quicker, so it is no wonder that prices soar. But IMHO this money is, from a customer's point of view, not justified are results in any added value or premium which makes the xtra bucks worthwhile. The only thing WE can do is not to buy any new crap, esp. the high end stuff. Not only does the "last generation" suffice, with so many new generations coming you can even "have fun" with older stuff. I find the development alarming, from various perspectives. It's a bubble that will burst.

DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
2010/11 Benrather BC Club Champion
Confused by bowling? Check out BR.com's vault of wisdom: the unofficial FAQ section

Shaggy · « **Reply #9 on:** February 10, 2012, 06:43:22 AM »

The Elite Platinum is selling for $299 shipped. Buy two Elite Plantinum bowling balls and get a free microfiber towel

You will not see me on the PBA Tour, but I love the game!!!

Edited by Shaggy on 2/10/2012 at 8:45 PM

Xx 12 X 300 xX · « **Reply #10 on:** February 10, 2012, 07:30:01 AM »

Don't have a pro shop that is a business. My opinion is purely hypothetical if I was going to open up a business that had a pro shop in it. I'm a bowling center mechanic/lane man these days, thus I get to see the whole complex problem from alot of different sides.

Balldoctor wrote on 2/10/2012 1:07 AM:See you have been back bowling for a bit. Could you tell me where is your Pro Shop? Didn't catch it in your profile.

Remember, ALL BOWLING IS LOCAL!

ImBackInTheGame · « **Reply #11 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:01:59 AM »

Thanks to some wonderful programs from companies like MoRich and Jet, I will not have to pay these insane prices for new equipment, for a while anyway. I'll just never buy a Storm/Roto, Big-B, Ebo International, or 900 Global ball I guess unless they come up with some sort of program like the Jet Crew or bowlingchat.net/MoRich deal.

Pinbuster · « **Reply #12 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:21:45 AM »

When a bowler throws a big score what is generally one of the first questions asked? What ball were you using?!

As long as bowlers continue with that mentality that is is the ball more than the bowler then ball prices will continue to go up and new models continuously introduced.

Since many maufacutures of bowling balls have gone bankrupt over the last few years (FAB/Hammer, Columbia, AMF, Track, plus many other small manfuctures I'm sure) I doubt profit margins are very high.

JOE FALCO · « **Reply #13 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:53:36 AM »

All of this gives me a BIG LAUGH .. I hope you all remember I'm that CHEAP GUY ..

Xx 12 X 300 xX · « **Reply #14 on:** February 10, 2012, 08:56:19 AM »

I was in favor of the floor pricing and it helping pro shops. Now it just seems like it's starting to steer off into a new direction. If the price floor stayed fixed for a while, that was fine. Now that it seems to be creeping higher and higher with every release. This to me is a bit alarming. If the floor price prices would stabilize for the pro shop, that would be helpful, but if the new releases are going to be more money even for the pro shop to get in, how does this help at all?

The consumer is paying all time record prices. The pro shop is paying all time record prices. The ball company is making all time record sales. I still do not see this influx of ball whores that everyone talks about, that keep the pro shop open and justify the price increases. I bowl in a few centers in some good leagues, and I don't see any ball whores. I see a lot of 2-3 year old equipment, with a mix of new every now and then.

Not many pro shops these days have $10,000 laying around for inventory and to get the price breaks.

I find it comical that the price war is the prices going up against each ball release, instead of the prices going down to entice customers to buy or try their product. A price war of increasing prices.....hmm.

Edited by Xx 12 X 300 xX on 2/10/2012 at 10:09 AM

Author Topic: The price wars continue ... (Read 8521 times)

charlest

The price wars continue ...

northface28

Re: The price wars continue ...

Xx 12 X 300 xX

Re: The price wars continue ...

billdozer

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Xx 12 X 300 xX

Re: The price wars continue ...

billdozer

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Xx 12 X 300 xX

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Balldoctor

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dizzyfugu

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Shaggy

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Xx 12 X 300 xX

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ImBackInTheGame

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Pinbuster

Re: The price wars continue ...

JOE FALCO

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Xx 12 X 300 xX

Re: The price wars continue ...