Is paintball too cheap?

[Dusty]

...and then shoot you.

If you're saying you would like the sport to become more "exclusive" due to it housing fewer youths and poor people, you're probably in the wrong place mate. Try Bowls instead.

Nah I'm 31, not 61, and fitter than most of the youths who want to be the next big thing in PB. In fact I'll step on the field with anyone and be stood with a better than even chance. There's a couple on these forums will testify to that too, right Nickeroo

Paintball has never been as cheap!! and yeah its now too cheap. I can remember paying £700 in late 2004/2005 for a Nexus dc2 cocker secondhand!!! There always seemed to be a bigger base of players back when it was a lot more expensive.

I think the market is getting flooded with cheap markers, players who join thinking they will be the next ollie lang and then leave 3 months later when they realise its a lot harder to point the barrel in the right direction than they had firstly thought! there isnt the staying power nowadays than yesteryear? is it society, the cost, parents, etc etc so many factors but there is a big turnover of players!

There's the crux of it right there.

Any tom dick or harry can breeze in, spend 300 quid play for a few weeks, even months, then breeze out again just as quick. What good is that? What good is a player who relies on other people for lifts/training fees/tourney fees?

You think paintball is expensive? How much is a GOOD set of golf clubs? Green fees? Sailing? Following your footy team to europe to watch championship matches? Trust me, paintball for 90 percent of the people who think they are dedicated is NOT expensive.

Dedicated doesn't mean turning up to a tourney once a month, and turning up to "training" on the fortnight in between to play a handful of games and go home you know.

 

[Exile]

You don't HAVE to sell your kit. If you were planning to sell it from the moment you bought it, you probably shouldn't have.

So if you took up hang gliding and then quit three months later because you didn't like it anymore (according to our friends business model), you would keep the gear? You'd sell it because your interests have moved on, and you'd probably do it very cheaply as you would want to free up the cash and/or space.

That's just rude.

It's rude to make an assumption based on someone's posts? In which case I apologise.

 

[Mudafunka]

I mean think about it, back when a decent marker was a minimum of £500 for a start, there was a far higher class of player.

Now it's so cheap, students, kids, even the unemployed can still afford to play regularly and it's lowering the bar.

Make paintball exclusive again!

I get where you're coming from with this Dusty but might that not kill it off even more? I see punter sites struggling (sorry if punter offends) and tournie teams disappearing who have had no sponsorship and paid their own way all season. So make it harder and more expensive thin it out even more so people don't play i.e students, kids etc (future of paintball). Thought that's why we have divisions. Don't usually get involved with the politics just like to play. Cheers Corona

 

[samfrost1308]

There already is a committed core of people which is what samfrost has written, all he is saying is that without new blood, who is going to take over the old core of players? Also although there may be a small core of players, this is hardly going to keep a tournament - a business - going without new players to help expand and to use their money to fund these tournaments. I can't actually believe you're arguing that less, more commited players is a better scenario than committed players along side those who come and go.. As samfrost has said, surely new players, some albeit for not very long, is better than no new players at all.

exactly, youve phrased it how i meant to but couldnt.

dont fancy writing my A level english coursework for me do you?

 

[Dusty]

I get where you're coming from with this Dusty but might that not kill it off even more? I see punter sites struggling (sorry if punter offends) and tournie teams disappearing who have had no sponsorship and paid their own way all season. So make it harder and more expensive thin it out even more so people don't play i.e students, kids etc (future of paintball). Thought that's why we have divisions. Don't usually get involved with the politics just like to play. Cheers Corona

Don't worry, you won't offend me

Punter sites have a usually fairly low repeat customer percentage. Sure some people turn up twice a year, maybe three times. Doesn't make them regular players, but sites will always survive on the customers who only ever show up once, believe me there are plenty of them.

Students and kids are not the future of paintball. Go back ten years to when paintball was BIG and see what the average age of a player was.....

 

[leach]

Don't worry, you won't offend me

Punter sites have a usually fairly low repeat customer percentage. Sure some people turn up twice a year, maybe three times. Doesn't make them regular players, but sites will always survive on the customers who only ever show up once, believe me there are plenty of them.

Students and kids are not the future of paintball. Go back ten years to when paintball was BIG and see what the average age of a player was.....

I believe everyone who is arguing against this is referring more to tournament paintball as opposed to punter sites which is why people are saying new players are required to keep paintball/tournaments going.

 

[samfrost1308]

well making it really expensive and alienating anybody with less than a grand to spare is a very naive view. We need new players, even if they leave again, think about it if a lot of people come and go, everytime one leaves there will be someone else to replace him. If we only have a core group of dedicated players, there is no-one there to replace them when they leave, leading ultimately, innevitably, to the demise of our beloved sport

 

[Stencil]

So if you took up hang gliding and then quit three months later because you didn't like it anymore (according to our friends business model), you would keep the gear? You'd sell it because your interests have moved on, and you'd probably do it very cheaply as you would want to free up the cash and/or space.

Well, I wouldn't take up hand gliding, because I can figure out that it doesn't interest me. I see what you're trying to pose as an example, but I wouldn't make such an impulse buy if I didn't have the capacity to follow it up in the long term.

What I’m saying is, when you purchase a new £500 - £1000 marker, you have to realise that it won't be worth that again. From the second you transact to a couple of year down the line; you're not going to make the return. So, instead of worrying about losing value on your asset, you should just shun the trends (in the market and in fashion) and play Paintball. Because that is the main reason you bought it, right?

 

[Exile]

ok so having 100 core players, who play once a week and buy a 500 pound gun is better than having 1000 players who play once a fortnight and buy a 200 quid gun? apparently Mr.business and economics hasnt studied his maths

Yep, because the profit margin on a £200 gun is around £20 these days, whereas the margin on a £500 gun is more like £150, and you have to carry less stock, ship less and generally have less overheads. Plus even £500 is too cheap, let's talk about a proper high end price tag of £1k, which would net you £300, meaning you only need to sell 1 of those to 15 of your cheaper guns.

Now you tell me which you would rather do as a retailer?

 

[Mudafunka]

Don't worry, you won't offend me

Punter sites have a usually fairly low repeat customer percentage. Sure some people turn up twice a year, maybe three times. Doesn't make them regular players, but sites will always survive on the customers who only ever show up once, believe me there are plenty of them.

Students and kids are not the future of paintball. Go back ten years to when paintball was BIG and see what the average age of a player was.....

So the future of paintball is? Only asking as we struggled all last season to field a full X-Ball team even when i offered to cover costs of players out of my own pocket.