Has negative public opinion hurt SP's sales?

[lather]

Since smart parts isnt exactly the most popular manufacturer lately, Im wondering if their bad publicity has affected thier sales. Anyone have any educated guesses on how well/poorly they are doing?

On a related note, does any company ever release their unit sales on a yearly basis for their markers? Its possible to track car sales from manufacturers yearly, but I havent ever seen any numbers on how many markers are sold.


Im curious on seeing hard numbers of how many Tippmans, Dm4s, Cockers, Mags, Imps etc are out there.

[AGD]

Thats a question I would like answered since the fate of the pantball world depends on it.

AGD

[Got_Paint]

I highly doubt it has even scathed them, it's only the on-line forum people who know about all this stuff, and they have thousands of sales...doubt it hurting them at all, especially from the money made by royalties.

[GoatBoy]

Well, the funny thing is, I've noticed a lot of people in these very AO forums have purchased SP guns/products since the whole debacle started, in full knowledge of what was going on.


I don't have any numbers, but I don't think SP is reeling in any way.

[afultz075]

Most SP owners I know are fully aware of the whole situation, but they're now starting to turn away from the company not because of that, but because all of their guns are constantly giving them trouble.

[teufelhunden]

I keep seeing new shockers, new imps, and i even saw a nerve...


sales can't be doing that bad at all.

[bokraham]

I will still buy some smart parts stuff, however I will not buy stuff of theirs that they plaster alot of logos on ie bottle covers, jersies. But I am proud to sport logos of AGD or NXe or something. oh yeah I also don't sport evil. For some reason the guys at my field are way anti evil. (peer pressure peer pressure peer pressure)

[MindJob]

People are a lot of talk when it comes to this whole Smart Parts thing....

Outside of the internet community there appears to be very little negative backlash against them. The only thing that can possibly affect public perception would be if some of the companies that SP sued would either team up or on their own launch some kind of ad compain. Judging the mentality of some paintball companies, i doubt cooperation of any kind would be possible. Not to mention no one really knows the details of any of these law suit settlements, OR of the licencing agreements.

Personally, I ditched my SP stuff. There are plenty of other options out there.

[shartley]

I don’t think it hurt them as bad as some people would like to think, or want.

That is the funny thing about internet hate, it often does not extend past the keyboard, no matter how many are typing.

SP will do fine. And I believe they have been doing fine. Drops/dips in sales happen for many reasons and a slow economy is something to fear much more than internet hate groups.

[Muzikman]

Well, rumor in the Latrobe area (where SP is at) is that they are building an entire new complex with even bigger facilities, fields, store, etc. So my guess is they are not doing too bad. But, we'll see what happens with the recent WDP ruling.

[slasherdan]

Thats a question I would like answered since the fate of the pantball world depends on it.

AGD

And what would the fate be if SP was hurt? Just curious what you mean ....

I can understand how it would hurt, and I can see how it might help too ...

[Muzikman]

Slasher, he is talking about how SP is trying to rule the paintball world. If they succeed, it will put a lot of small companies out of business. Ie. "the fate of the paintball world"

[slasherdan]

Slasher, he is talking about how SP is trying to rule the paintball world. If they succeed, it will put a lot of small companies out of business. Ie. "the fate of the paintball world"

Then this will make you wanna puke .... Staged Elims, dancing chicks in jersy's .... I wanna know how many times they use the word patent in this thing. Funny seeing how the latest ruling basically said they don't own squat .... at least to my understanding ...

enjoy and be grossed out by the Hilters of paintball ..

http://furby.pbcproductions.com/smartparts.wmv

[_tMAN]

slasherdan - I want the last 7 minutes of my life back!

[slasherdan]

slasherdan - I want the last 7 minutes of my life back!

I'll try to get them back for you after I get mine!! :D

[BlackWeenie]

SP is doing just fine. the sales of the 03 shocker have been very good as far as i know probably because it offers a lightweight, low profile package with an ACE system at a very competitive price. now, i hate smart parts as much as the next guy, but i am even looking into a shocker as my next marker. mainly because i am looking for a lightweight marker as i play front. so to answer the question, theyre doing fine.

also, where can i find one of those "i hate smart parts" stickers? if i do end up getting a shocker, i want to put a couple of those on it ;)

[Evil Bob]

SP started breaking ground on the new complex a while ago, they had the plans for expansion in the making over a year ago, a move like that doesn't happen overnight.

Silicon valley is full of empty office spaces that have never been used simply because they were planned for and built just before the bottom fell out of the market boom, it happens.

SP may have simply got caught with its pants down in a similary situation as many silicon valley companies and have simply made a poor decision in expanding to quickly. Unforseen events unfold and cause you to change the directions you go in.

We all know what SP will do, they'll throw alot of money and high price lawyers at the problem and try to get their way with it again. The question that everyone wants to know now is "what will WDP do?" They dont have the presteen, shiny happy past that we'd like them to, they've had their fingers in the cookie jar just like SP, the question is, have they learned from their past mistakes or have they seem the potential money to be make and are wanting nothing more then a cut in on the SP gig?

I hope they decide to do the right thing and end the whole SP patent ligation BS and just license it out to anyone who wants it for a shiny penny.

-Evil Bob

[Steelrat]

I'd bet it really hasn't hurt them at all. But I'll be damned if they'll get even one cent off of me :mad: I'd rather not play then give those turkeys my hard-earned money.

[NukeGoose]

I, for one, didn't buy an 03 shocker because of it, so count their sales down one.

[minimag03]

I dought that sales have went down. I'm not going to support them by buying one of ther ew products. I will however buy one secend had so they don't make any porfit.

[GT]

We all know what SP will do, they'll throw alot of money and high price lawyers at the problem and try to get their way with it again.

this isnt silicon valley, this is little ol paintball. BTW, I am sure SP isnt a dime out of pocket on this deal since I am sure they carry some kind of insurence. Thier insurence carrier will fight all of thier battles while they sit atop crappy guns and piles of cash.

AGD,
all the wishing in the world aint gonna fix this problem. Do what you do best and innovate, or...

jb

[FragTek]

I dont have any numbers or hard facts to throw out here... but lately I have noticed a rise in Smart Parts supporters once again.

Directly after SP started going sue happy almost EVERYONE was on SP's bad side and rebelling against them. I do believe sales have started to pick back up after the initial response from the community to their actions.

That's just what I've tended to notice recently.

[BlackWeenie]

I dought that sales have went down. I'm not going to support them by buying one of ther ew products. I will however buy one secend had so they don't make any porfit.

these are exactly my thoughts. but mine have proper spelling.

[angelpena]

I'm P/o'd at K2/WGP after the letter they sent to Action Markers http://www.actionmarkers.com/amNews/amNewsArchiveMain.htm
And plan to spend all my money on AGD, Palmers and CCI products.
Be sure to check out Glen Palmers letter to K2!

Can I still keep my Freak kit and 96' cocker?

[Lohman446]

Ok.. let me tell you this, I do not like SP as a company, I have in the past avoided buying there products (pants in specific) even though they were very nice.

When I needed a low profile marker, lightweight, with the ability to get reasonable efficiency, with an ACE system.... I frankly could nto come up with one better (for the money) than the Shocker. WIth the addition of a bolt kit and stiffer detents I have been nothing but happy with it. I will grant it has its own issues, but I restate, for the money I dont think there is a better marker out there for me (easily arguable).

In the end, there "advancements", price, and proof of function (Strange - watching Strange shoot those things at Chicago) overcame my dislike for their business practices.

[punkncat]

I have a freak kit that I bought new. Its the only barrel I use on all my personal markers. Lucky they are all cocker threaded now....

I don't personally care for their markers , so not buying one is more of a personal choice rather than a statement. It is unfortunate that they felt they had to run this particular path to operate buisiness. Paintball has always been built by standing on the shoulders of the guy before.

Hopefully , if they are stopped from shutting down all the small shops , someone will stumble across something really innovative. This pneumatic trigger thing may be it....?

[Rather]

I personlly wil never buy use or reccomend a SP product to anyone (only prob is bosses at work are sponsored by SP... go figure...).

And it was brought to my attention that I was wearing SP pareprenalia that one of my bosses donated to me to work in (RASE pants). need to get that fixed. :argh:

[Doc Nickel]

No, Smart Parts' sales, I'm quite certain, haven't been affected in the least.

As above, the "anti-SP" movement is composed largely, if not entirely, by what could be called "online activists". The sort who will spend a few minutes clicking a link and filling out an online petition, but that's it.

The fact is, the Anti-SP movement is limited to no more than several hundred, perhaps as many as a few thousand, semi-vocal but very widely scattered people. Period, end of conversation.

Smart Parts, on the other hand, spends millions of dollars a year on advertising. Every PB magazine has two or three or even six or eight or ten full-color, full-page ads for SP gear. There's no comparison.

One guy giving away a couple of hundred of those SP-logo-inside-a-red-slash stickers simply cannot compete with a company selling 75,000 SP-logo jerseys every year, plus giving away 100,000 SP-logo posters, another 55,000 SP-logo barrel condoms, and, for that matter, driving up in a huge, fancy, well-stocked SP-logoed semitrailer and having a bunch of well-endowed young ladies in skimpy clothing selling gear.

SP has their fingers in too many cookie jars. They're tourney promoters, they make (now) three different guns, plus jerseys, pants, shoes, pads, harnesses, they make air tanks, barrels, squeegees, they sell repair parts, upgrade parts, parts from other companies (loaders, pods, etc) and more.

Look in any issue of Facefull or on any WARPIG tourney report- you see all sorts of players shooting Imps, Shockers and now, soon to come, Nerves. You see players with Angels and Intimidators shooting through Freak or AA barrels, or they run the gun off a Max Flow.

The fact of the matter is, they're a huge company, they earn millions a year, and a few hundred people deciding they won't be buying SP gear due to SP's business practices, won't even register a blip on the fiscal year reports.

Personally, I still have some SP gear, but with the exception of the Impulse I bought in 2000, it was all purchased used. My only response to them is to vote with my wallet, and I will not be purchasing any additional new gear from them for the forseeable future.

Will that have any effect on them? No, probably not. At any one large event, they'll give away free more gear than they'd make off anything I might be able to buy in a year, but that doesn't mean I should give up and buy from them anyway.

Because I have principles.

Doc.

[lather]

I may be mistaken but wasnt NPS a greater threat to paintball in the mid to later 80's? Didnt they control almost all distribution of paintball products at that time? Paintball was a fledging industry back then and it has survived. I would think that the paintball industry is a lot more diverse now and better able to rebound from whatever threat SP may pose to smaller compainies.

Im sure all this litagation is expensive for SP and it is entirely possible they may not be quite reaching whatever projections they set for units sold. Its feasible that they have projected 12,000 markers sold in a quarter but have only sold 8,000 or so. (These numbers are arbitrary to provide an example.) While this may still be considered profitable, it may not be quite as profitable as they have hoped. I am sure though marker sales are not the end all for SP as they have an extensive array of products. Being fairly simple to manufacture I am willing to bet the Freak system is a HUGE money maker for them.

Moving to a newer and bigger facility is usually a good sign that a company is doing well but thats not always the case. From personal experience a company I worked for went bankrupt soon after moving to a bigger and costlier facility.

A large portion of the players that I talked to here are aware of SP lawsuits---(even out here in the middle of the Pacific) :) Im not sure how many of them are internet surfers but I bet a lot of information has spread solely from word of mouth.

[Glickman]

Totally Agree with Doc,

unless online activists do something over the top, like crash a companies site, or direct all sales to www.ImaHorneyPig.com (gonna get someone knocking at my door for that) then online activists havent really changed anything in most cases. Also, as said above, SP makes royalties on TONS of stuff we prolly dont even know about,

Screw u who say screw smart parts :clap:

i would like to point out how well everyone is pertaining to the subject so well.

[ilikePB]

now, i hate smart parts as much as the next guy, but i am even looking into a shocker as my next marker. mainly because i am looking for a lightweight marker as i play front.
Get a Freestyle, most places they are only a $25 diff between the vision Shocker and the Freestyle.

[riooso]

I know that the winners of a tourney here in Northern California that won some 03'Shockers refused to put them in their vechicles and sold them for cheap, on the spot, and were very vocal about why!


Rio Oso

[Got_Paint]

And here is our answer!

http://invisionfree.com/forums/StockClassPaintball/index.php?showtopic=3464


Last few sentences of the first post.