Bat Deal Questions

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CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
I figured as a dealer you got a fair shake on demo bats. Never expected you to take a bat off the rack and use as a demo.
I saw previous posts where you had many demo’s used and unused for sale. I figured it was a service you provided. No worries.

Hell no...hahaha. Only Mizuno gives people fair shakes at demos. Rawlings and Easton are like pulling teeth to get anything.
Easton actually was great a couple years ago. But bigger store abuse ruined it for everybody. The reps that handled
the bigger store accounts let those stores order 50+ demos at a time...and all the stores did was resell them. So the demo
program was thrown away...it killed the stores that actually played nice with it. And im not a small seller, but we still dont
get a fair shake. Rawlings gave stores a few 2 years ago...but that went away as well...just like their advertising to help sell
their bats.
I was promised ONE Ghost in June to demo...still waiting on that :rolleyes: …luckily not holding my breath.

My posts only had Mizuno demos the past couple years. After a little while we get rid of them, thats when
we can unload very cheap. A long time ago when I dealt Wilson, they used to have a decent program as well,
but I believe that took a crap as well.
 

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Plain and simple...if you are buying on ebay and expecting warranties and the whole nine yards. Ask the person a few easy questions
to protect yourself down the line. Sounds kinda basic for the guys here that have bought 100 bats and know warranties and all that stuff. But for some, its not common knowledge which is when you can get bit. This post isn't for the guy that's buying a used bat or some 100 dollar bargain that they don't really care either way because its a good deal. For some folks, last years 150 dollar bat
is a lot for their family to dish out, and if it breaks and they find out its not covered, its rough for them.

1) Is the bat returnable or is it a no-return? If they beat around that answer, be skeptical. Lots of people have new NR bats for sale,
and leave that off the description to get a few more bucks as they know they will get more money. My friend
bought a bat just like that...never asked and he got stuck with it as the person he bought for didn't want a NR bat for the price
paid...so always good to ask.

2) Does it come with a receipt, is the receipt recognized by (whatever bat maker) for warranty purposes. If I buy
this bat and it breaks, can I send it back with your receipt and have it warrantied by them, and will the receipt
have a current date? Again, they can say it comes
with a receipt, but if its not recognized by a manufacturer, the receipt isn't worth anything. Or the receipt is expired
already...hahaha...but it came with one. Lots forget the current date thing when buying. Just back yourself up on this.

3) What is the name of the company on the receipt? You can then look up the manufacturer site and find who they
accept. Or just call the manufacturer and ask them.

Im not a huge ebay shopper, so Im not even sure what you can do 6 months down the road if something isn't right, but
you can at least gauge the seller's answers on these questions and proceed from there.
 
Last edited:
Personally, I find sites that offer last years model or end of model year at a significant savings. Many buy the hype that they need the latest and greatest. If status is important (i.e. I just got my daughter the new Ghost) then these deals might not be for you. In my opinion, the technology doesn't change greatly from year to year. I have 2 daughters that have played and always bought from closeoutbats.com
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
Hell no...hahaha. Only Mizuno gives people fair shakes at demos. Rawlings and Easton are like pulling teeth to get anything.
Easton actually was great a couple years ago. But bigger store abuse ruined it for everybody. The reps that handled
the bigger store accounts let those stores order 50+ demos at a time...and all the stores did was resell them. So the demo
program was thrown away...it killed the stores that actually played nice with it. And im not a small seller, but we still dont
get a fair shake. Rawlings gave stores a few 2 years ago...but that went away as well...just like their advertising to help sell
their bats.
I was promised ONE Ghost in June to demo...still waiting on that :rolleyes: …luckily not holding my breath.

My posts only had Mizuno demos the past couple years. After a little while we get rid of them, thats when
we can unload very cheap. A long time ago when I dealt Wilson, they used to have a decent program as well,
but I believe that took a crap as well.
Mizuno was what I was referring to. I personally wouldn’t buy Mizuno without a demo.
Core- Maybe you can speak to this. I’ve heard some say manufactures have a separate production line for demo/college bound bats. They are supposedly hotter out of the wrapper and better performing than typical “retail” bats. Is this BS?
 

CoreSoftball20

Wilson = Evil Empire
DFP Vendor
Dec 27, 2012
6,215
113
Kunkletown, PA
Hahahaha, this comes up in slowpitch all the time.

There is no diferrence in bats being used by college and what you buy off the shelf. Complete BS...same standard. College
bats arent hotter than whats being used by any other player.

Demo bats given to dealers are no diff than shelf bats either.

Slowpitch is another animal.
 
Mar 20, 2019
115
28
I've had decent luck with Play It Again Sports. I know I'm not getting a mfg warranty and the bat is used but for my 10 year old they work just fine. We recently got her a 18 CF for less than $100 and it looks like it's barely been used, (stock grip with no wear and only one or 2 ball marks). She's just starting her travel ball journey so not looking to break the bank until I see her commitment level. They can be hit or miss depending on what they have in stock. ( They had a ton of NIW baseball bats last time, looks like Dicks or someone dumped on the secondary market, may have been pre USA baseball stamp models) The ones around here it's usually an owner of gm in there running it so they are open to negotiating a price.

Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using Tapatalk
 
Jun 6, 2018
305
43
Mizuno was what I was referring to. I personally wouldn’t buy Mizuno without a demo.
Core- Maybe you can speak to this. I’ve heard some say manufactures have a separate production line for demo/college bound bats. They are supposedly hotter out of the wrapper and better performing than typical “retail” bats. Is this BS?

My two cents - I think this is fiction because the girls playing in college are bigger faster stronger and they can take the same bat my daughter has and do things (hit it further) that she can not, given the age difference.

Bats in college go through stringent testing so I don't think they can make a bat hotter for college simply because the bats these days are pretty darn hot to begin with and push the boundaries for testing.

What I will say is the manufacturers are field testing bats ahead of time with colleges and they use this to their advantage. Also, most bats get hotter over time and the college girls bats typically are well seasoned by the time the season starts.

Lastly, law of physics. Does not take as hard of a swing to hit a 65mph+ pitch 230 feet as it does to hit a 50mph pitch 230 feet.
 
May 23, 2015
92
18
Personally, I find sites that offer last years model or end of model year at a significant savings. Many buy the hype that they need the latest and greatest. If status is important (i.e. I just got my daughter the new Ghost) then these deals might not be for you. In my opinion, the technology doesn't change greatly from year to year. I have 2 daughters that have played and always bought from closeoutbats.com
Exactly why they need to hurry up and release the new ghost advanced electric or whatever...need a blowout deal on the 2020s....or someone that wants to trade for a lightly used rxt. Lolz.
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
Exactly why they need to hurry up and release the new ghost advanced electric or whatever...need a blowout deal on the 2020s....or someone that wants to trade for a lightly used rxt. Lolz.
22L- Interested to hear your take on the RXT.
 
May 23, 2015
92
18
22L- Interested to hear your take on the RXT.

Picked this up after DD swung well with it in a cage this Spring Hit well with it in games too. Performance wise it trailed a little behind a well seasoned 2014 Xeno and 2015 LXT (33 drop 10s). May not have given it time to break in though. Out of those 3 she prefers the Xeno. Enter the 2020 Ghost and she will take that 10 out of 10 times now.

However, she just didn't love the RXT. There's some dampening due to the connection maybe? She said its balanced but doesn't feel like the LXT...at least on contact.

She likes feedback/feel on contact and probably a slightly heavier or even end loaded bat. So, that probably answers why it's not her favorite.

So, not a bad bat but probably looking for a niche. Not sure it's worth the slight premium over the lxt or Xeno for that matter.
 

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