Ok, this was actually going somewhere before everyone got goofy on each other. I slogged through all of it, hopefully Tom will too.
Tom, thanks for this thread, you obviously invested some time on it, and it cleared a lot of things up for me. So much in fact, that I apologize if it seemed I was bashing on the other thread. For one, I wasn't aware that AGDUS is dependent on AGDE for the bodies and was unable to supply them itself. (Many of the regular AOs seem to think everyone knows what's previously been hashed out on the forum.) Mostly I was venting some frustrations at seeing AGD miss out on a really good opportunity to put to rest a lot of the flack it takes from non-AGD fans and gain some market share. I realize you've got a company to think of, and it's much easier for the rest of us to be "armchair CEOs" without knowing all that's going on.
(General thoughts):
The X-Mag definitely gives the Angel a run for its money as top dog, but since the X's debut, other guns have greatly improved as well. Timis are hot with a lot of people, the Orracle is up-and-coming, and SP is releasing the Shocker and Nerve. Paintballers are a weird lot, some easily buy into hype, some only go by personal experience. For a long time the Mag had a bad rep as the AutoBlender, and it still surprises me how many people cling to that when the Level 10 is so widespread. (Personally, I never chopped a Mag before the Lv10 came out. A Cocker is another matter, I'll shortstroke one in 3 shots. Go figure.) The X-Mag flies in the face of this rep, but only if enough people get to try it or see it in action. The E-Mag is essentially the same gun, but a lot of current non-AGD people either don't realize it or find it ugly. Silly reasons not to get a great gun, but the missed sale is the important thing. The ULE stuff is a nice way to skirt any possible non-compete issue with AGDE while offering most of the same benefits as the X (weight/appearance). It's just frustrating to know that you can open a paintball magazine and see an X-Mag, but it won't be on a dealer page.
Manike's logic on the car analogy is fatally flawed. A Viper may get people into the door of a Dodge dealership, but that doesn't guarantee that someone will buy an Intrepid because the Viper's on backorder. Someone looking for a Viper isn't going to settle for that. They're probably gonna walk over to the Chevy place down the street to buy a Vette or go over to the Porsche dealership. They're gonna make that same trip down the street if there's a Viper in stock, but it's baby-poop yellow with a peach lace interior. X-Mags that sat in a shop could very easily have been passed over because someone wanted blue rather than red or green. If someone's gonna plop down $1,500 on a gun, it's going to be exactly what they want.
Lastly, guys this is already a 6-page sticky for God's sake. Do we really need to get into personal bickering? Debate a point with someone if you don't agree with it, but at least be mature about it.
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