Ridiculous gas prices

[gmag]

Ok, first off, we are buying air. Whether its CO2 or Nitrogen, its still air. I think its ridiculous that we have to pay for it in the first place, and then for it to be so expensive is beyond words. It is AIR. We inhale it and exhale it everyday. I understand that there is some cost in the process of compressing it and thats fine. So charge me a dollar. I cringe everytime I hand 5 or 6 dollars to the guy who just filled my nitro tank. Its disgusting. If we want to introduce more people to our sport, than we should lower the prices.
Its the same concept as buying bottled water except worse. Is anyone else disturbed by these prices, or is it just me? Well, at this very moment I am heading a letter to my local paintball store to request lower gas prices. Unfortunately, I am SURE nothing will be done because I am ONE person and it takes many people to aquire change these days.
~Brett

[Gecko]

never mind the fact that mega boosters start around ~1000 bucks and bauer stand alone commpressors at ~3000 those bastards should fill our tanks for free.......
(the sarcasm light is on)
Gecko

[Gunga]

Not to mention the costs of buying/renting the big tanks, the hoses, fittings, gauges, and labor.

[Trunnion]

yeah, those compressors can run anywhere from 3000-10000+ dollars. if they don't charge you for it, how are they going to make the money back? as for CO2, it's a similar deal. a friend of mine gets a tank for about $21. if he didn't charge money for fills(albeit less than a field's price), how could he afford to continue buying the tanks?

[TheTramp]

You might also ask why a bar charges $4.00 for a pint of keg beer that costs them at most $.50. The answer is...that's how they make the money that keeps the place open.

Of course there is a big markup. If they charged $.50 a fill they would go out of business.

If you don't want to pay for it, fill enough tanks yourself to get you through the day. You'll have to blow pretty hard to get 3000psi into your tank

[gmag]

Ok, so lets keep paying 5 dollars for air. Yeah, that sounds good.

[gmag]

Geez, what was I thinking. How stupid of me! Only 5 dollars for air! What a deal!!
(sarcasm light is on)

[bushjumper]

Dude,

It really depends on how you buy it. Our 35 pound CO2 tank costs 8 bucks to fill with 35 pounds of CO2 and gives mucho fills of a 16oz co2 bottle. We routinely had 6-8 guys playing 4 full days a month and refilled it once a month or so. A 80cf Scuba tank costs 3 bucks to fill and 2 of those (6 bucks full) is enough for 6 guys to play on all day.

Wait a minute you say, I can't afford a scuba tank or a bulk co2 tank! Well, now you see why smaller shops such as paintball shops have to charge more for a fill. A good bulk CO2 setup or scuba setup will cost around $200 dollars for enough to supply one or several individuals. To fill at the volume a paintball shop or field fills, it's going to be WAY more expensive. You'll need more and bigger tanks. If the store/field actually has a compresser to fill HPA instead of bulk tanks, we are talking several thousand dollars. For that matter, How do you think the bulk air companys get the CO2 into the tanks? It's not going to get in there if they just open the valve and wait. We are talking specialized and expensive equipment.

My advice to you is this...either look for a field with all day air (HPA) for 5 bucks (these seem to be pretty common) or save your money and buy a scuba tank and fill adaptor.

bj

[Potatoboy]

Hey now, I think this is getting a little off track, so I'm going to try to bring it around.

I agree that some places do charge a little too much for air fills. Most of the fields around here average about $1/1K PSI. I think this is a fair price. Sure, it could be lower, but the field does have to make their money somehow, and it usually isn't on registration. Most of the time it's on paint, and fields with either a high volume of players or astronomically high paint prices usually charge less for air.

Sure, there is the cost of the equipment to fill the tanks, but this is an investment that the field *should not* rely on air fill to pay for! The cost of the air filling equipment should be factored into the cost of the field, and not just be paid for with fills. In the long run, the cost of the equipment to do fills is one of the smallest investments in a field. I mean, look at the rent/lease on the land or building itself! This is a fee that is usually paid every month.

I think the issue with air fills is that it is still seen as a premium on most Rec. fields. As HPA systems become even more popular and eventually start fully replacing CO2, then I believe the prices will go down. Let's face it, right now fields go through much more CO2 then HPA, and so it's a item they have to charge more for to cover their costs. When

[bofh]

Originally posted by gmag
Ok, so lets keep paying 5 dollars for air. Yeah, that sounds good.

You don't like it? You think they're ripping you off?

Fill you own before you go play. Go rent a 3000/3300/4500/6000psi 80cf tank, with the needed regulators, fittings and such, do it yourself. it'll prolly come out to about a buck or two a fill. Of course, you'll have to take the time to get the tank to and from the SCUBA shop, and store it somewhere, and have enough insurance to cover whatever happens if something goes bad.

more infomation can be found here about the prices of the tank et. al.

Now, making you own paintballs? That's a little tougher.

[Magsrule3]

Its the same with paint. At my last tourney, we payed $90 for a case of paint. You know what it was? Diablo seconds, worst paint ever. You know how much they bought it for? $25 a case. Thats more than 3 times profit.

[Gecko]

what tourney? pnl? mpl? local?
Gecko

[Magsrule3]

Local. It was at Paintball Heaven. The "newbie" tourny. Hey Gecko-You playing this weekend? My team will be at PNL indoor in Taunton-Check my thread in the friendly forum.

[gmag]

You don't like it? You think they're ripping you off?

No I don't like it, and yes they are ripping me off.

[bofh]

Cry me a river

Originally posted by gmag


No I don't like it, and yes they are ripping me off.

Then go fill your own.

Don't like the high price of paint? Go start your own field while you're at it.

Fields need money to run, and they can't just charge a $80 field fee. So instead they hide their costs in different items, such as paint, food and air. Mostly Paint.

You don't see the owners of paintball fields driving Ferraris and living in million dollar homes. I don't even see them in Porshes or BMWs.

You're complaining over a few bucks, in a hobby sport? Get a grip.