Read your own previous post again, it makes very little sense... Might have something to do with the lack of things like full stops and commas in it though. It was very hard for me to make sense of what you were trying to say, that's why I asked.
However, YOU are the person that first mentioned price increases, and I have no idea where that came from. Experience shows that most of the struggling sites tend to lower their prices, do special coupon deals and what have you. Since many of these people struggle because they are not that good at selling themselves, they will struggle even more, since they will have an only marginally increased business, but at lowered turnover per capital.
If you research the problem, I think you will find (like I did) that the cost of booking a day's paintball is not what is holding these companies back. Rather it is a lack of ability in profiling themselves.
Please guys, can we get past this money thing? It ain't the problem! I understand that most of you mean well, but you really have no idea what's going on past the counter where the punters pick up their paint.
It is funny and sad at the same time that you are still discussing the money issue, rather than a real problem like promotion of walkon days and whatever comes next. If you do not understand the importance of that issue, you really have no clue, you are at least as short sighted as many of the site owners... (Ooh! Maybe we can get paint for cheaper, that'll be ace for ME!)
For the last time, money is not the issue. If it were, how come YOU are playing? How come so many of us fork out buckets-o-cash every six months for the latest marker? How come many of us MUST have this year's Dye clothing, rather than last year's? Does it improve your game?
And so what if some people can't afford to play paintball because they come from a low income situation? As sad as it is for these people, most of these people won't join a soccer club either, because they would rather buy food than spend a month's rent money on contribution.
ok not my best piece of english writing but there where still some full stops and I'll admit you'll have had alot more experience of the problem than me but all I was doing was commenting on sites that I have seen that due to struggling to break even raised prices these sites might be in the minority if so fine.
Yet moving onto a new point I think your right it isn't the problem but I think it could combat the problem that I see that is value to work ratio.
so lets have some fun formulae with stupid values to this
Lets use the equation
Desire to play (D)=Fun value (Fv) divided by (/) Cost (C) x Time required to organize (T)
with C in £s
and T in minutes
so comparing paintball to football (both played recreationally) we'll give paintball a FV of 100 and football 3 (exagerrating slightly)
so for football
fv=3
c=£50 (football boots shin pads)
T=20 (time spent walking to the park and phoning a mate)
so
D=3/50x20
d=3/1000
D=0.003 (I didn't pick very good units but never mind)
while paintball
fv=100
c=£400 (just checked everything needed to play on planet eclipse and thats what it came to or there abouts so not even including paint here)
D=1 month so 30daysx24hoursx60minutes =43200 (time required to research what stuff to buy where to play when to play etc I think this is a reasonable time between a punter experiencing paintball and then getting into it)
so
D=100/400x43200
D=100/17280000
D= wont show up on a calculator!! but its small
now I know this formulae is utterly rubbish as buddha will come and say that if it was right none of us would be playing and hes right because it is a **** piece of maths by me but if it was done correctly it would hold water because people enjoy paintball to different levels and value there time and money differently so the desire would fluxuate between people. But it does illustrate the problem (and was fun to make up
) as people are lazy and all other sports are just so much easier to play than paintball and thus are more populour.
As like portoX said most punters will say that paintball requires just too much work to get into with only a few (the people who REALLY REALLY enjoy it, who have a reasonable wealth and have lots of time on their hands) getting into it.
So I think you are half right budha. As lowering costs would make it more attractive to get into for alot of people (but this isn't going to change). But your bang on saying that more advertising of walkons and stuff and MORE of them would massively increase the popularity of paintball.
(I jumped about there abit didn't I? so sorry about that and I'm going to stop now)
