Equipment Frustrations!

[nanotech14]

Talk to coresoftball20 he can help you. He is more then likely is playing by the rules.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Yes...remember individual stores do not place the order when you are a chain big box store like Dick's or SA. They care more about buying power than product.

Sure I understand the individual store not having the power and everything. BUT if they can stock some high-end items and sell them at a BIG margin then where's that bad business case in that? I guess I am thinking there are more "I need it now" TB dads out there than there really are.....

 

[BobInMadison]

Let me see, I just spent a long time going through MC Sports to see if they had any softball cleats. Nope. They don't stock them in the fall. A handful of soccer cleats in odd sizes marked for clearance.

So, DD #3 got out the duct tape to fix her cleats. DW asked DD #3 why she didn't just borrow DD #1's cleats. DD #3 explained that those WERE DD #1's cleats. So, if DD #1 decides to play softball again, we need to buy 2 pair in the spring.

Now, let's see if Dick's has any, or else that specialty shop right off the Beltline (a highway in Madison), where the guy at the store once gave DD #3 a discount for pitching equipment because DD #3 is a pitcher, and the owner's DD is a softball pitcher.

 

[laker]

I guess we're lucky in the Twin Cities. Despite the fact that this isn't exactly the center of the stick and ball universe, we've got two baseball / softball dedicated stores within 10 miles of my house. I picked up a new Rawlings HOH catchers mitt for my Son today and stashed it away for a Christmas present. The GAS is strong with me. Perhaps your pocketbook is a little heavier without access to loads of quality equipment on a whim. Consider it a blessing?

~Laker

 

[dbronstein]

Sure I understand the individual store not having the power and everything. BUT if they can stock some high-end items and sell them at a BIG margin then where's that bad business case in that? I guess I am thinking there are more "I need it now" TB dads out there than there really are.....

The stores sell tons more of the cheap stuff than they would of the high-end stuff, and they have limited shelf space. The business model is to use the shelf space to stock the stuff they sell a lot of even if it's lower markup. The low-end stuff moves a lot faster. People who buy they high-end stuff tend to be pickier about models, sizes, etc., so if the store stocks only a few things, the customers probably won't find what they want. The person who is buying a $200 bat probably has a specific model and size they want, and if the store doesn't have it, they will go elsewhere. Meanwhile, the people who are buying $50 bats are willing to choose from the selection in stock and will buy whatever is there.

 

[medicpelle]

BOOM^^^^My man hit it right there except for the $200.00 bat part..more like $299.99-$349.99. It's simple economics 101. It's been 20 years since I took it it in college but that's about the most simplistic explanation that fits today's business model as your gonna get. It's all about volume, lower overhead, and e-commerce today. Shop online and know when the sales are coming which is not hard to pattern and your made in the shade.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Sure I understand the individual store not having the power and everything. BUT if they can stock some high-end items and sell them at a BIG margin then where's that bad business case in that? I guess I am thinking there are more "I need it now" TB dads out there than there really are.....

Well, you have to understand what a manufacturer will charge for a bat. There is no give in FP bat prices. You have 3(sometimes 4) levels depending. I am on the same level as any big store out there. So lets just say a certain bat costs 200 bucks. No more play on it from the manufacturer. But you can buy a ton of cheaper stuff and get more money off of it, plus get some buy one get one deals or buy two get one deals from the manufacturer. You can make way more money on that crap stuff and have more of it than putting a ton of money in one bat.
And like some have said, majority of buyers for high end bats have more knowledge than people walking into a chain store blindly purchasing a 300 buck bat.

Also, you dont even know what high end bats you will even get. Did you ever notice a certain store that always has the heavy weights nobody buys? haha. People buying for the Chain...do not know bats. They know profits, margins and sales.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Talk to coresoftball20 he can help you. He is more then likely is playing by the rules.

"The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook."

You learn fast that playing by the 100% rules gets you sh!t on by all the big names that dont. You have to play in the gray area and learn the tricks.

 

[Westwind]

EVERYBODY in here is innocent. Didn't you know that?

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Lawyer ------ me