Do you really spend more as you play more?

[FooTemps]

Yeah... um...

This is another thread that has to do with parents and paintball again. hahaha, it's been a while since I posted one of those. Oh well, what is your opinion on the matter?

The parent and money issue just recently came up when my parents started to complain that I spend too much. I know that there are other people who get into this situation sometimes so maybe this may help out others.

[LIGHTEMUP]

tell them would u rather have me spending my money on drugs and other illegal things

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by LIGHTEMUP
tell them would u rather have me spending my money on drugs and other illegal things

It's not that, they don't mind me playing so much it's just that they don't understand the money chart for paintball...

You know... kinda like this:

Newb - rental, less paint
Rec - mid/low-end marker and gear, about the same paint
Experienced - better gear, same paint, maybe more
Speedball player - good gear, usually more paint depending on position
Local tourney player - good gear, pays entry fee and paint etc. but might win prizes
Sponsored - cheaper good gear, cheaper expenses, still could win prizes

[Albinonewt]

It depends on the person.

My best friend and I got into paintball a year ago and we are constantly adding things to our rigs, whether they be goggles, Jerseys, marker parts, barrels, hoppers, you name it. I buy spare markers every once in a while on Ebay for anyone I bring with me to an event to play with and so on. So for us, we continue to spend money on paintball and owning the equipment really doesn't curb our spending.

But some of my other friends bought what they need and won't replace anything until it breaks. So you can do it both ways.

[paint magnet]

I'd consider myself somewhere in between the rec and local tourney player and here's how it has been for me-

As a newb a couple years ago, I spent the most money, namely fixing my POS Tippmann and upgrading every single part on it. I spent a lot on paint because the field I played at had awful prices, but was the only decent woods ball field around. A typical day consisted of:
a $40 gun part I bought the night before but didn't work,
$30 worth of paint (500 rounds of TC Venom and 100 proballs), $8 worth of Co2 fills and $10 field fee, plus 5 bucks for misc. stuff like orings and drinks. Also, playing during this period constantly sucked as I did not have a reliable gun and was stuck either cleaning soup out of my barrel or trying to fix the&)$@#&()*! thing.

Then I went through about 14 more guns. Some I liked (cockers) but again,the reliability thing just wasn't there.

Traded cocker for mag, mag arrived leaking, sent it to AGD. Got tired of waiting, bought Angel (took me 6 months to pay it off) and had a BLAST. Now I have no worries when I go to the field, just gas up, chrony and I'm set. I've also started playing speedball which I like a lot better (still like a woods game now and then though) because there isn't as long of a walk, no small furry creatures or large furry creatures, and no hills. Or mosquitos or poison ivy.

Anyway, now that I'm playing speedball at a much better field, I have gotten to know the owners and like it a lot better. Also since I come there pretty much every weekend, I get all day HPA (from Bauer fill stations as seen at WC, no less :) ) and field fee for $15, and last time I went, Draxxus Blaze for 45 a case. More money spent on paint, but you get a lot more paint, I play all day instead of half of it fixing my gun, and no chrono worries.

That's why I say I spend less. You could argue the point that it will take me a long time of spending less to make up for the $900 Angel though :D

[darklord]

of course my spending increased since when I was a newb to the last time I played pb... especially if you want to compete in tournaments (tourney fees, field paint, high end equipment all=more $). I can't picture myself "saving" any money by going to tournies instead of just newb rec, unless I had a scuba tank w/ a fill station, and I sold fills to kids a lot....

as far as the parent issue goes, my mom thought I spent too much when I first bought all my gear as a newb, but then I got more into it and she didn't really care.

[FooTemps]

Well, my mom is saying that I'm spending too much on field fee, air, and paint. Well, actually... I am, overpriced field, but it's the only speedball field...

[Curly]

I spent a lot of money when I first got into the sport. I was playing at a fpo woods field that cost me about 100 bucks a day to play. But as I moved from the that field to other fields my cost went down. Instead of buying guns I have always traded them (though I have bought a couple). Now after maybe 2.5 years of playing I barely spend any money on paintball compared to what I used to. Yet I have a top of the line gun and play pretty much every weekend. This is because I am now sponsored. Though its not easy to get sponsored its not as hard as you may think either. Start looking for teams in your area. Also go to your local stores a lot. Often if you hang out and get to know the people at the stores they will cut you deals. Eventually this can lead to some sort of sponsorship. Im not saying that it will always work, but its definitely worth the effort as it can really pay off in the long run.

[LaW]

When I started playing when I was 12 and until I was about 17 my parents always had a problem with my expensive hobby, especially when I turned to local tournaments when I was 16. Now that I am 20 they fully support me playing. I think once they saw the passion I have for the sport, it changed their mind on things. It does cost more now since I have played a few bigger tournaments as well as local tournaments... the parts that cost the most earlier now cost less like rec ball and practice but tournaments will always cost more for me now.

[TigerMan]

Maybe try and explain it as a grocery analogy. Like when your a baby, you don't need as much food and therefore spend less, like a newer player would. As you grow, you need more food, therefore you spend more. Just like experienced players spend more as they need more and shoot more. It's part of it really. Basicly anytime you play, your going to spend. There things that can cut cost like playing hopper ball, buying a field's season pass, ref at the field, buying paint by the case and using when needed, or conserving air.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by TigerMan
Maybe try and explain it as a grocery analogy. Like when your a baby, you don't need as much food and therefore spend less, like a newer player would. As you grow, you need more food, therefore you spend more. Just like experienced players spend more as they need more and shoot more. It's part of it really. Basicly anytime you play, your going to spend. There things that can cut cost like playing hopper ball, buying a field's season pass, ref at the field, buying paint by the case and using when needed, or conserving air.

Hmmmm, good analogy to use. I'll try running that by them sometime.

[AlabamaMan]

I've paid about $300 playing paintball this summer, and i've probably played at least 20 times. All the money has gone into paying for tournies. One of the guys i have been playing with, owns the local paintball field(and about all paintball in a 80 mile radius). I pay him $85 for each tournament that he doesn't run, and play for free in each tournament he does run. At the tournaments the $85 pays for my entry fees air costs, and a little of the paint. Then i can shoot as much as i want. At the first turnament i went through 3.5 cases of evil/pmi premiums(and i'm a front player too). Funny that with that paint alone for me to buy it would cost me almost $300. On top of that i play for free on wednesday's and sunday's for team practice.

The guy just loves to play, and he likes to play with me. All that didn't really awenser your question. But now as a tourny only player i pay alot less than i used to for paintball. On top of that i have alot more fun. I guess you just need to find a suger daddy.

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

I spend much less now that I have all my gear and I play much more. It took me 3 years to finally get settled with all my equipment, and I've probably spent around $9k counting all the times I've played and all the gear I've purchased, but now, all I have to do is buy paint, I ref at my field so I get free air and entry fee.

[dinger]

i started playing 4 months ago. i spent ~230$ on all my starter stuff.

here i am 4 months later loving the sport, a "broken" collar bone, and a birthday coming up on the 14th. im not too sure, but i was almost thinking that spending another 300$ on paintball stuff is kinda extreme :D but hey, new gun, finally a harness, and hopefully a job at a nearby restaurant :D

wish me luck at Winking Lizard ;) and hope that when i get my bko it isn't gonna fall apart :mad: [only because of my bad luck]

[Crazy]

Originally posted by FooTemps


You know... kinda like this:

Newb - rental, less paint
Rec - mid/low-end marker and gear, about the same paint
Experienced - better gear, same paint, maybe more
Speedball player - good gear, usually more paint depending on position
Local tourney player - good gear, pays entry fee and paint etc. but might win prizes
Sponsored - cheaper good gear, cheaper expenses, still could win prizes

i'd have to say the most expensive is the local tourny, because you pay for EVERYTHING. which is a killer, when sponsored, you don't have to worry about the most expesive part-paint. and it just gets cheaper from there.

[Miscue]

From a responsible point of view... there are many costly things that are more important than paintball that you may want to consider.

I'm 23, and I don't get to play much at all because of my priorities and poor college student status. I just had to wait... a LONG time. I'll finally get to play after my job situation is squared away.

Believe me... when you're hurting on gas money and stuff like that... you'll think about how much money you wasted on things you didn't need - money that you could use right now... on stuff you do need. Paintball will be there...

[Marek]

Originally posted by Miscue
From a responsible point of view... there are many costly things that are more important than paintball that you may want to consider.

I'm 23, and I don't get to play much at all because of my priorities and poor college student status. I just had to wait... a LONG time. I'll finally get to play after my job situation is squared away.

Believe me... when you're hurting on gas money and stuff like that... you'll think about how much money you wasted on things you didn't need - money that you could use right now... on stuff you do need. Paintball will be there...

Amen. I am having the same problem right now. No equipment, or money for paint. Just graduated and money became tight. So bye bye gear. Hopefully get a job tommorrow, and change all of that. That, and would also be nice and helpful getting the ULE XRTP from AGD. Hopefully J&J will finish annoing the barrels to ship them out soon.

[MrWallen]

I'll tell you one thing, the BEST way to save money in Paintball is to work part-time for your local field. This is what I do, and for every one day I work, I get one day free EVERYTHING (thats admission, one case of paint, unlimited air, free food and drinks, etc.)

So for me, yes, the price has gone WAY down. Of course, this is just rec ball, and so the price would go way up if I ever started to enter tourneys ("What, you mean I have to PAY for the paint???:rolleyes: ")

[Skoad]

Originally posted by MrWallen
I'll tell you one thing, the BEST way to save money in Paintball is to work part-time for your local field. This is what I do, and for every one day I work, I get one day free EVERYTHING (thats admission, one case of paint, unlimited air, free food and drinks, etc.)


or you can get a real job and make 6 times as much money ;)

[kumijia]

i think it's all in the person, and most hobbies are expensive, it's just that some are more expensive then others. My friends and i play and we will buy a case of good paint, and then spilt it up, so we get good balls for walmart prices. We play recational, so we built our own field...that saved money, so we dont have to pay fees, it also helps get others involved in paintball, cause they come rent one of my guns for cheap, and buy balls, so for like 20-25 dollars, they can play all day or as long as they want. on the equiment...what you pay for is what you get. Even on rec ball, you want to hit your target..so better balls are worth the price, that's probally the best way to "upgrade" your gun, without actually buying many different modifications. Now, on the guns...it's alot better to spend the day playing paintball, instead of fixing your gun every round, so the way i see it, once you get your gear and your gun the way you want it....you only need air and balls, LOL. I spend alot casue i want a very good gun, and the best equipment...but i do it over time. so it isn't that bad. I'm starting to like my Rt the way it is now, and it's almost done, now i need to upgrade my mask so it doens't fog up.;) Just look at it like this, It's only money...and you can't take it with you when your gone. Also don't be affraid to use your expensive gear, take your gun off the wall and play with it, cause when your gone, some punk will probally get it, and beat the hell outta it. lol

[aaron_mag]

Originally posted by Miscue
From a responsible point of view... there are many costly things that are more important than paintball that you may want to consider.

I'm 23, and I don't get to play much at all because of my priorities and poor college student status. I just had to wait... a LONG time. I'll finally get to play after my job situation is squared away.

Believe me... when you're hurting on gas money and stuff like that... you'll think about how much money you wasted on things you didn't need - money that you could use right now... on stuff you do need. Paintball will be there...

Miscue is totally right here. Paintball is expensive but it doesn't have to consume all your money. You have to be a little smart. I once overheard a player complaining that he lost his job because he couldn't afford to fix his car to get to his job. Yet here he was complete with the latest marker, jersey, etc.

Even when you can afford things you still have to be disciplined because other priorities come into play. You may want to have your house paid off in so many years.....set up the college fund for the kid......etc. Paintball is extremely addicting and I like it quite a bit but you can really screw yourself in the long run if you aren't careful....

EDIT:
As for expense when the entire family goes paintballing it gets REALLY expensive. Try multiplying everything you pay by four! Sheesh. Still if the whole family goes snow boarding it is a similar expense so its worth it...... :D

[FreakBaller12]

i think the life of pball goes like this



/\
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \________________
/
/
the base is a newb the top is to the point where u play big tournies that cost alot and the downward slope is when u start gettign sponsered and there ends up beign one flat low fee per tounry to you(very little)


edit:messes up my diagram but it goes liek a hill to a point

[SyntaxError]

Nope, I'm paying less now (if anything) than ever due to sponsorships. Its really an incentive to practice, knowing that eventually you can get good enough to play for free.

[NJPaint]

I pay less per day then when I first started. Gear wise I have about 5-6 times the ammount invested.

Pre-tourney stuff:
$80 Case of paint
$25 pass
$6 CO2

Now:
$40 Case of paint
$15 pass
$10 all day air

Note that I found a place that is BYOP!!!

[-=Squid=-]

Ya, it sucks...every cent I spend (besides practice) on gear has to be run by them. I could have any gun I wanted if they let me buy at will :(

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Here is my problem, I refuse to satisfied. I also buy stuff on Impulse that I really don't need. I have been playing for 2-3 years, and this year I have went through around 15 markers. The timmy I have now I have a 1000 bucks in. This is just from loseing moneys on sales. I didnt pay that much but its about the same. I also noticed unexpected expenses come up sometimes, IE I droped my egg last weekend and it broke, I had to shell out 40 bucks for a new one :( this next weekend I had already planned on playing at my local field, buying a case of proball and buying a scuba for my self. But this crap happens and I'm short on cash.

Here is something I can say though. If you are addicted to paintball like most people our around here. And you get some extra cash and think you want something that doesnt have anything to do with paintball, your wrong do not buy it, because less then a month down the road you will wish you bought a new tank with that or a new loader or a new jersey. Just my advice.