K-mart now sales the ir3

[Havoc_online]

I think it's a step forward for paintball in general.

[zach rumchak]

yeah they sell b2k2's in mcsports too

[billmi]

Originally posted by kevmaster
dont worry, thats internet olny sales, dont expect to see one at your local kmart....

Why should it worry me, or anyone else that an IR3 would be available in a local K-Mart?

Is it really so scary, the idea that you could walk into a store and buy a product you might want to purchase?

What is the world coming to if consumers can get what they want?

Of course my local K-Mart is no more. The company that ownet the K-Marts in this part of Florida went belly up.

See you on the field,
-Bill Mills

[Havoc_online]

well I read this on www.247paintball.com

someone else just posted "They've been selling Angels on-line for about 2.5-3 years now. When you buy them from the K-Mart web sight, you're really buying them from an on-line affiliate using K-Mart as a third party who gets a percentage of the sale. " which makes sense.

[joeyjoe367]

Originally posted by billmi

Is it really so scary, the idea that you could walk into a store and buy a product you might want to purchase?

What is the world coming to if consumers can get what they want?

LoL, Yeah really... Do you think that perhaps by being sold by K-Mart, the quality of the product will somehow go down?

Personally, I can't wait 'till I can go to the mall and pick up a case of paint, not having to wonder if it's been sitting there for 3 years or not.

[shartley]

[Dern]

It would be nice if I could go to the mall and pick up some paint...except paintball-online is closer

[TequilaMockingbird]

Really it's an issue of "do we want to be so mainstream that any idiot can go into a corner store and purchase a paintball gun with no information or guidance?".

Activities are more fun when they are on the fringe. People that are "in the loop" are generally more knowledgable about what's going on than the average participant of a "mainstream" activity. Heck, look at the internet. I first started using local BBSes in 1985, when I was 14. Back then home computers were a "new" enough thing that only people with a good general base of computer knowledge used a modem, and as a result, the average BBS member was fairly intelligent and worth talking to. Commercialism followed, and with increased accessibility, the dweebs flooded in. Spammers, jerks, and all-around general idiots infest the web, and far outnumber the knowledgable users. Once the commercial interest took things over, the government was not far behind, because suddenly there was a financial interest to protect.
Paintball can very easily go downhill if it follows the same path. When the game was on the fringe, it had the advantage of being under the public radar. Very few people knew about us, simply because they weren't exposed to us. Now that we're being more high-profile and some companies have decided to mass-market gear, we have a larger number of paintball-uneducated using equipment in unsafe or unlawful ways. As injuries, property damage, and assaults climb, more restrictions will be placed on us because it will be widespread enough that cops, property owners, and local agencies will be tired of dealing with it.
Look at fireworks. When I was 5, I remember my family being able to set off fireworks in our suburban backyard. But now in most municipalities there are total personal firework bans because enough people have mishandled them, that insurance companies got tired of paying for injuries and property damage, police and fire departments got tired of answering nuisance and fire calls, and local governments got tired about hearing from angry constituants. Mass-marketing and "taking the sport mainstream" is asking for trouble, because of the lowering standards of the average participants.
But hey, at least someone made a buck off of it, right?

[joeyjoe367]

Originally posted by TequilaMockingbird
Really it's an issue of "do we want to be so mainstream that any idiot can go into a corner store and purchase a paintball gun with no information or guidance?".

When was the last time you went to a store, and without knowing anything about what you were buying, dropped $1500+ for it?

...yes, I do understand that we're talking about "Any Idiot" here, but most idiots are not $1500-on-a-whim stupid.

...or I would hope so

[Havoc_online]

no, I think TequilaMockingbird is right, it was a very good thought out post, thanks. There are some ppl from kids to adults who are quick to think that since it's that expensive it's the best and will make them better. These ppl need to be prepared to be able to handle that type of responsibility and the average Kmart cashier with the key to the counter isnt going to be able to prepare them for it.

there would have to be some type of responsibility/training/sensitive course before being able to purchase one.(IMO)

[bornl33t]

my question is, if somone buys one and returns it, can I discount it and buy it? hehehe

[shartley]

[FalconGuy016]

I had no idea kmart sold anything paintball at all









and it seems like all kmarts went out of buisness, over here they did too

[ogre55]

Shartley, you are on the $$.

What on earth is the problem of being mainstream? Mainstream means accepted by the general public as a legitimate activity, rather than the unfortunate stereotypes that we face today.

K-Mart, for whatever you may think of it, is an american institution. Being associated with them is a GOOD THING. Sure there's a thrill to being "in the know" about "edgy" activities. But it is much better to be able to have our fun without the possibility of censure, bans, or arrest.

And as for the idiots, well there is no difference between an idiot marking up signs with paintballs and another idiot bashing cars with a baseball bat. At least not to me, nor, I would think, to most on this board. However, the general public does not think so. We have to suffer under the stigma of using "guns". Well folks, what if paintball became mainstream and a marker was viewed as just another sporting good, like a bat or a golf club.

This way, the next time some fool decides to mark up a street sign in rainbow colors and gelatin, only the fool will be punished, not all of us. After all, you don't see public outcry against baseball when some retard decides to use a bat as something other than sporting good.

Ok, maybe that last part was just wishful thinking.

Ogre

[joeyjoe367]

Originally posted by shartley


I think it is time for people to take personal responsibility for their actions, and demand the same of others.. period.

Wow SHartly, You just asked for a Hard-Copy of the internet, If you know what I'm saying...