Predictions for 2010, let's hear them!

[Missy-Q]

Please expand on this as I'm at a loss as to think of too many negatives regarding 50 Cal hitting the market.

I have a few, but I'm waiting until WC to finalise my position on this. I don't think enough people have thought about the impact this will have on stores/distributors. Bad enough that people put out 8 colors of gun, in 3 different models, but adding a bore-size? Thats an inventory muliplication of x2, and thats not going to be good for people.

I can't see that picking up Dynasty will significantly boost Dye sales Missy, if they do gain ground then it's due more to their brand resilience maybes.
As for Eclipse falling off the top?
I think nothing much is gonna change there Missy, mainly because Planet, much like Dye, have managed to maintain consistency of quality in their product lines. .

I think it's going to be more of a fashion thing myself. Few changes to the 2010 ego. More noticable changes in the Dye Line. If Dynasty do go to Dye, I think that will speed up the transition from one brand to the other. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling.....[/QUOTE]

I'm not so sure this makes any sense at all because Kingman sales have been declining for some now and their product line isn't exactly 'cool'.
If Kee buy Kingman, then Kingman are doing a lot better than I previously thought......

If Kingman were doing great, then they wouldn't be for sale... its during the downrturn that KEE will make more aquisitions. Thats what these corporations do. Besides, KGM have had a considerable lift with the Eraser and Chaser guns, which are selling extremely well.

As you know Missy, JT ceased to be cool when two things happened, their original owner sold the company, and then Dye grabbed the 'cool factor' baton and ain't stopped running with it - the only chance JT would seem to have of taking that back from Dye is when Dave Youngblood comes round to lap them [once again] and they hit him over the head with their baton.......

As with Planet/Dye, the product cycle keeps turning, and nothing can be cool once everyone has it. JT's 2010 line impressed me in Atlanta, and while you're right, there won't be a 'JT gets its market share back' headline anytime soon, I think they may have turned the corner.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL ...............................

Sounds ridiculous huh? Yet this may even be the only one of my predictions that holds true...

 

[The Agg Leprechaun]

All the sites in the UK HAVE ASTROTURF!

And paintball becomes cheaper and lots of more teams and paintball picks it self up again

i wish

 

[shifty26]

I really cant understand people when they moan about .50 cal, its going to make paint cheaper to buy and paint is your main outgoing when playing paintball. How many people buy a new gun every year anyway? Anything that can allow you to play more or the same for cheaper is surely a good idea. So yea my predicition is .50 cal will be great for the sport!

 

[Sid Sidgwick]

I really cant understand people when they moan about .50 cal, its going to make paint cheaper to buy and paint is your main outgoing when playing paintball. How many people buy a new gun every year anyway? Anything that can allow you to play more or the same for cheaper is surely a good idea. So yea my predicition is .50 cal will be great for the sport!

Is that a definate, how much is a box of .50cal? are we going to be getting paint cheaper? How much will it cost for a new gun or insert system for loaders and guns/barrels?

Is .50cal like renewable energy, will save us in the long run but will cost a small fortune to setup, will this cut down on people who cant afford to change.

I know you dont have to buy it but are paint companies going to stop producing .68 leaving no choice? Is the .68cal broken and does it need fixing or is this just a new way to revive a flogging industry?

Will it make paintball a better game to play....I wait with baited breath.

 

[shifty26]

30% cheaper apparently, and .68 call will still be around as long as people still buy it i guess. They wont change it over night it will take a few years. In the long run it will save you money so changing your gun and loader isnt going to kill you, like i said how many people buy new equiptment each year anyway. It will change paintball but in a good way i think. But we will just have to wait and see.

 

[Sid Sidgwick]

I agree it will change paintball but maybe im too cynical and still waiting to be convinced.

(I buy new gear every few months )

 

[shifty26]

How will it change it in a bad way? You will still be shooting paint at people the same as allways, you wont be able to see the paint aswell, and hoppers could be reduced in size or if you keep the same size hoppers you wont need to reload in a game or maybe only once. Use less air so maybe faster turn arounds in xball. Maybe im being naive but i cant see how its going to be bad? They say the hit mark is only a bit less than a .68cal and they brake near enough the same amout of times on a person, and are accurate. But like i said we will have to wait and see. World Cup is only around the corner.

 

[SAMUEL.D.RYAN]

30% cheaper apparently

I haven't seen any proof behind this, but i'm happy to believe the proof if it is there somewhere.

My main issue with 50 cal isn't the setup costs (that must have been overcome with 68 cal too) but it's that the quality control on a smaller sphere is undoubtedly going to impact the end price. If you want paint that has similar quality to the 68 cal we have now, but you want that paint smaller you're either going to end up with a larger number of rejects or a more consistent (and therefore more expensive) machine in the first place! I still believe it's an unnecessary change.

 

[Sid Sidgwick]

That it is im not a beliver in hype and from long discussions with people who have used the old .50cal and hated it I can see how it needs a lot of improvment to work. My reservations are that companies, who are in a falling market, use it as a life line by stopping .68 and stepping it to .50 cal only giving the user no choice and forces people to purchase to continue. That and if it doesnt break as often ill find im shooting 30% to elimate people therefore negating the price. Lets see how it pans out it will either be the complete saviour of paintball or fall flat on its arse (although the people championing it know what they are doing)

 

[Missy-Q]

30% cheaper apparently, and .68 call will still be around as long as people still buy it i guess. They wont change it over night it will take a few years. In the long run it will save you money so changing your gun and loader isnt going to kill you, like i said how many people buy new equiptment each year anyway. It will change paintball but in a good way i think. But we will just have to wait and see.

30% cheaper to what?
To manufacture?
To buy?
Doesn't that 30% include calculated shipping fee's? I heard it did.


The prices I heard were not 30% cheaper.

When you say this:

I really cant understand people when they moan about .50 cal.

Do you mean you literally can't understand them, or that you're not grasping the economics of it?
Surely to make this statement you miust have a very clear understanding of what 50 cal is going to do to the industry. You must also be convinced that this is not an elaborate cash-grab to make people re-equip. Therefore maybe you can answer some questions for me...

1. What patents have been taken out on 50cal equipment, who holds them, and therefore who are we signing the industry over to?

2. Do 50cal paintballs hurt more or less? Answer using the laws of physics please.

3. Do 50 cal paintballs burst more or less on impact? Use physics to answer this one too please, and not pre-prepared 50cal marketing materiels.

4. Has 50cal been tried before, and what was the outcome?

5. What general increase in inventory should a paintball store expect to take on, if new loaders, tanks, and guns are needed.

6. As above, what's the dollar amount of said inventory?

7. What percentage of stores are able to invest in the aforementioned additional inventory?

8. What are the legal implications of import/exporting even more realistic guns between countries. I know this will be an issue for S.America, some of Europe, and even Canada, but I'm sure you have multiple examples for us...

I have a load more questions, but I want to make sure you answer these ones first please. If you don't understand why people moan about 50cal, then you must already have considered and answered all of the above.