Why is paintball overpriced?

[HarrysSon]

why is paintball so expensive?!

[Vex]

Because humans like shiny new things and will pay outrageous prices for them. :eek:

[MedicDVG]

Because we consumers are stupid. We will pay through the nose to get the fastest, newest, and bestest marker. The industry knows this, and takes great advantage of the fact.

So in a sense, it is our fault.

[warbeak2099]

There are also things called production costs, r&d, and raw materials. It's not inexpensive to make a lot of the products in paintball. Some companies are overpriced, yes, but for the most part you have to factor in the costs to the company. Look at Palmers. $700+ for a mechanical gun (blazer)? Well, it's made with top quality materials.

[Lohman446]

Becauase we let it be, we have a feeling we need to have tournament style gear just to play.

Paintball is not overpriced really - not if you look at lower end gear. Its just it seems everyoen who plays needs some super-marker adn won'g just be happy with the less expensive gear.

[paullus99]

Law of supply & demand. As long as people pay the higher prices, the manufacturers will continue to charge them. The sport does not have to be nearly as expensive for the average consumer - as long as you do your research & don't plop down $1500 for a new marker every six months or so....paint prices have been fairly steady over the past few years (with only a few increases due to increased costs for petroleum products - which is what the shells are made of).

[peewee]

Its a lot cheaper than it was back in the day. decent Paints down to $45 cheap crap is $35 a case when cheap paint was $75.

[phantomhitman]

Because we consumers are stupid. We will pay through the nose to get the fastest, newest, and bestest marker. The industry knows this, and takes great advantage of the fact.

So in a sense, it is our fault.

i agree to that, as well as being an example :(

[fire1811]

Because we consumers are stupid. We will pay through the nose to get the fastest, newest, and bestest marker. The industry knows this, and takes great advantage of the fact.

So in a sense, it is our fault.
agreed

you also need to add greed

[Restola]

why is paintball so expensive?!
Its as expensive as you want it to be.

[yakitori]

I also believe that hype and ppl talking esp in online pb forums talk up the latest equipment. Im not saying that you HAVE to buy a gun just because someone says its better than this one or that one, but it does have some influence on ppl. Esp the type of ppl that must have the "best" of everything.

Thats why I am sticking to my gun I have now, and playing instead of buying/selling.

[Glickman]

theres only a handful of manufacturers, theres a little competition, but not alot.. if this was baseball, where theres hundreds and thousands of manufactureres, the prices would be lower :D

it should get both, less expensive, and more expensive as it grows.

[magman007]

Law of supply & demand. As long as people pay the higher prices, the manufacturers will continue to charge them. The sport does not have to be nearly as expensive for the average consumer - as long as you do your research & don't plop down $1500 for a new marker every six months or so....paint prices have been fairly steady over the past few years (with only a few increases due to increased costs for petroleum products - which is what the shells are made of).



for the record, the paint shells are made out of gelatin, not petroleum

[Glickman]

for the record, the paint shells are made out of gelatin, not petroleum

and yummy veggi oil as the filling...

to bad its not animal based anymore, im really in the mood for some steak, could get some free ones from peta :D

[txaggie08]

paintbal is expesnive because its an overtly eleitist sport that lends itself WONDERFULLY to an overtly price gouging oriented capitalist society. Im hoping the ION may start to reverse SOME of this trend

[yakitori]

paintbal is expesnive because its an overtly eleitist sport that lends itself WONDERFULLY to an overtly price gouging oriented capitalist society. Im hoping the ION may start to reverse SOME of this trend

not likely.

[Number13]

Paintball is an extreme sport with two personalities: tournament-style players and traditional-style players. Though more prevalent in the tournament scene, both parties have turned it into an image-based sport. We play for the adrenaline, and part of getting the adrenaline is attitude. We play to intimidate and subordinate our opponents. And many play to rebel. Paintball is not mainstream yet, and a large part of it's draw is the "minority" image, the "I'm doing something extreme and popularly stigmatized, and what are you going to do about it?" As an image based sport, people will pay a lot of money to craft and exuberate the self-image they desire. The popular paintball companies are not ripping us off, not making us pay through the nose, not cheating us of our money. They are giving the majority of players exactly what they want: an exclusory and elitist image. By charging high prices for equipment like DMs, Angels, and Timmys, companies like DYE, WDP, and NPS are providing their customers with a self perception of distinction for their purchase choice.

And paintballs are cheap, we just use a lot of them. They cost more at fields because it’s the only reliable method for a field to make enough money to stay open. It’s like paying for a gym. You could go ask a local farmer if you could restack his haymow if you wanted to lift weights (equivalent to playing outlaw), but people pay to go to fancy, hi-tech fitness centers instead (equivalent to playing at fields). A field usually offers better safety, better organization of games, and better venues than outlaw fields, not to mention “the experience” of going to a field adds to the enjoyment.

So paintball is only as expensive as you want yourself to appear. If you want a DM5 but are pissed at the price, maybe you should ask why you want a DM5. Is it perhaps because you can’t afford to have one? I believe it’s called mimetic desire, to want something because someone other than you has it and not because you have a personal want for the actual item.

Time to stop typing, I’m wandering.

[Beowulfs_Ghost]

Paintball is as expensive as one wants to make it. One could start playing for under $100 with a Spyder Victor, a 9oz co2 tank, and a plain JT mask. Compared to other hobbies, paintball isn't that bad on one's wallet. For some prospective, I paid $300 for a used autococker. That is the most I've spent so far on on single piece of paintball gear. I have an acoustic guitar that cost me $300, slightly used. I have a 47ci hpa tank that cost me $100, and a small guitar amp that cost about the same.

Living under a capitalist system, it is hard to gauge how much all the paintball gear really costs to produce. I went around to some machine shops to get prices on a custom mag body I designed, and either I was told they couldn't do it or that it would cost ~$200 for a one-off. Granted, if I wanted to order >500 the price came down to about $50 a piece, but that would require $25,000 on my part.

For a completed paintball gun, you have to factor in the costs of the material and labor to produce it, the cost in material and labor to transport it, and in our capitalist economy, the added costs of "overhead" and various managers and banks who don't actualy "produce" any thing, yet try to sqeeze "profit" out of every step in the process.

[Eatem Alive]

Its a lot cheaper than it was back in the day. decent Paints down to $45 cheap crap is $35 a case when cheap paint was $75.
back in my day, we paid $120 a case for rp scherer pink (2500 rds per case) but with pumps, pmi 3's and 100 rd pods, it would last a couple of weeks. compared to back then, it is way more affordable to play today...once you get the cost of a decent marker behind you.

[jewie27]

why is paintball so expensive?!


Because people are willing to pay over 1000 bucks on a shiny anodized marker that only costs 100 bucks to produce.

[SpecialBlend2786]

Paintball is expensive, but not as expensive as a lot of other sports.

main problem with paintball being expesive is having to shell out $50+ for a case of paint. blech

[Enemy]

look at other sports and then tell me paintball is expensive! and would people stop complaining!! look at like bicycling custom bikes cost upwards of 2500, auto racing: just a set of machined pistons cost 700-1200 custom turbo kit 8000, just mantaining your current car is more expensive than a whole week of play!!

compare and contrast do you really need the milling?? the lcd screen?? the newest technology!! a new gun compared to a used gun?? you can get a used led matrix for under 400 and these are fast really fast!! they are also ugly but do you need the looks?? really? you make this sport expensive not anyone else?

oh and to the guy that said it costs 100$ to produce a 1000$ gun go ask an auto shop to install something you already bought i bet you they qoute you more than 100$ for work that costs them nothing!

[SpecialBlend2786]

look at other sports and then tell me paintball is expensive! and would people stop complaining!! look at like bicycling custom bikes cost upwards of 2500, auto racing: just a set of machined pistons cost 700-1200 custom turbo kit 8000, just mantaining your current car is more expensive than a whole week of play!!

compare and contrast do you really need the milling?? the lcd screen?? the newest technology!! a new gun compared to a used gun?? you can get a used led matrix for under 400 and these are fast really fast!! they are also ugly but do you need the looks?? really? you make this sport expensive not anyone else?

oh and to the guy that said it costs 100$ to produce a 1000$ gun go ask an auto shop to install something you already bought i bet you they qoute you more than 100$ for work that costs them nothing!
quoted for truth

[teufelhunden]

Its not.

Supply vs. Demand- If you can change either of these two factors(supply or demand), prices will go down. Until then, they will remain where they are at.


Rogue, I like you, but 1/2 a semester into an economics class and I know that you've completely oversimplified that.

[ben-afficial]

because the difference in in brasseagles hellfire paint and voodoo is basicly the fill and that makes it so they have about $9 dollers in price difference. :dance:

[Codekevin0403]

why is paintball so expensive?!
Cause it freakin is

[Target Practice]

People are goddamn stupid, that's why.

[teufelhunden]

Macro or Micro? :D

A general question gets a general answer. I could have responded with an over-complicated answer. But, there wasnt a need for it.

Prices will remain the same until economic factors change(now Ive even simplified it more!) ;)


Macro. The professor is actually a great guy, so I'm thinking of minoring in econ.

And yes, touche.

[RRfireblade]

'Cause....it's not really?

Was- Case of Paintballs=$150+ and it all sucked

Now- Case of Paintballs= ~$40 and is pretty good or better

Was- Mid level pump gun= $500 and they all sucked

Now- Mid level Electro= $300 and works like a champ

And....

You can still go out w/ a pump and have a blast all day for less than the cost of a dozen good golf balls.

;)

[HarrysSon]

but still, the xmag is $1400 and it really shouldnt be that much aside to the other guns, but some pants are like $120! ahhhh! :tard:

(i have no other complaints for anything else :D )

[than205]

but still, the xmag is $1400 and it really shouldnt be that much aside to the other guns, but some pants are like $120! ahhhh! :tard:

(i have no other complaints for anything else :D )

If you like pretty milling then that's what it costs. Or you can buy a ULE Emag and save lots o' cash. Your choice.

[HarrysSon]

is there really a difference between a ULE emag and an xmag? (besides xmags lighter weight)

[Conversekidz]

is there really a difference between a ULE emag and an xmag? (besides xmags lighter weight)


Other than the CNC milled body, the interchangable breach and I think eyes??? don't quote me on that one, that is the difference.

[SpecialBlend2786]

Other than the CNC milled body, the interchangable breach and I think eyes??? don't quote me on that one, that is the difference.

Yeah, the Xmag has ACE and a different body w/ interchangable breaches. Not all of the Xmags were CNC though. There are some uncut ones.

Plus there's the novelty of owning an Xmag...

[Enemy]

lets see the xmag has milling eyes and integrated rail!! ule milling in gripframe too!!

oh and an all ule emag is .2 ounces lighter than an xmag!! theres less metal on ule body than there is on the prettier xmags body!!

you wanna know why an xmag can fetch 1400 go rent a 4 axis mill for 4 hours plus the cost of bits and tooling then go get that thing annoed!! oh then factor in the fact that there are less than 500 floating around!!


you know what you people have no concept of labor!!!!!!!!