Why do local paintball shops charge so much?

[shartley]

Originally posted by halB
dont blame the stores, blame national paintball supply. they have a naziesque hold on the industry forcing prices to be high. also, maybe its because your local store sucks, mine does price matching with any store online, only bad part is that they include s&h, so after you add that all in the prices are actually so close ive never had to use that price matching. usually its off by 2 dollars, and its not worth the time of pulling up the website fer that.

i think these guys can tell this better than i can

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=129754

this is a conversation regarding nps, pay attention to the last two posts, its between two store owners by then and they go by why they have to charge more, its not just because of rent

[TheBigRaguPB4L]

Doesn't NPS own or at least run half of the major internet stores anyways? 888, PBGear, 800, all NPS? A few people and I were just talking about this and i really wasn't sure so i just kept my mouth shut. I assumed that they get their orders from NPS, but i didn't think they were run by NPS. Any care to elaborate?

Also, what i would think most stores could make up for it is to offer a warranty program with the guns they sell. People would keep coming back if any problems they came accross could be accomadated by the store they bought from instead of sending back to the manufacturor. My local store has this setup. Not to mention most stores really don't make money off of the guns. All the money comes from the paint. Most paintball business'(stores, fields, ect.) really make thier money off of the paint they sell. The guns really don't bring in anything compared to their paint sales.

[magman007]

OK, Date line... August 2001... Zap IAO ... Diablo booth.

After speaking for a week on line with Mr. Paul Bolenbach of Jax Warriors (also works for diablo, remember this was also before the big buy out) I decide, i can get an rt pro online for 589 at 888paintball. I ask paul what he can do with that price, and he tells me he cant touch it. I said thats ok, id rather spend the extra 50 some dollars, and support you and your company, because you took the time to talk it over with me.

Then again, i havnt ordered any thing from the internet for a while. My last major purchases were with modified, i havnt supported a big company for a while.

THe last few things i am buying, are a halo, some dye shoes, and a few odds and ends that im getting from TAG. the next thing where i actually have to support a big company will probabally be getting my barrels, and for them im probabally going to cp or jj.

[Kevmaster]

you can consider 888 and 800 paintball the "crapper" for NPS. the ideas behind the two were this: oh, damn, a slightly dinged angel came in from WDP....ok, lets sell it online to a player who buys one thing, not a field owner who buys 5000 cases a year.


and PBGear is in no way affiliated with NPS

[Trench]

They need money, but sometimes it gets unreasonable...

[shartley]

Originally posted by Trench
They need money, but sometimes it gets unreasonable...

I agree. But that is the same in any industry and business. We as consumers have to make sure we know the difference.... and spend our money accordingly.

[boomerfoxtrot]

well.. want cheeper paint..?

get the ones who buy it *would be thoses who have to pay for it, not the sponcered teams who never pay for paint*

and hold a picket..

just don't buy paint untill it get's under a dollar ammount... but the thing is.. untill you are willing to sit out for a month or two or three... then there really isn't a thing going to happen...

it would be like AGD,and every other Gun Maker out there selling no gun for under $1000 and everyone PAYING $1000 for the lower end guns... even though.. they would make alot of money and would help the sport out by making paintball more affordable ... why would they lower the prices? ??they have no reason... everyone is PAYING ...

[Shirow]

I dunno, I buy ALL my stuff locally and I'm always sold it as cheap as I can get it online.

I think the sales people just have to be creative - sure, if you have a huge, beautiful store and you don't sell hundreds of guns a month, you are going to be in trouble.

[Kevmaster]

Originally posted by trench

They need money, but sometimes it gets unreasonable...

dude, tey need to BREAK EVEN....i heard the figure from my sales rep at Paintball Inc that 7/10 fields fail after the first year, and only 1/5 of the ones that survive(7/50 of the total) are around after 5 years....a paintball field(in general) is NOT profitable...the owners are just trying to break even

[Smokee_2_7]

After reading through this thread, I feel like chipping in my 2 cents. I am the assistant manager of a paintball field/ proshop. I have been working there for less than a year. Before that, I had reffed a bit for another field back home. I have been playing paintball for about 6 years now.

Even before I worked in the 'industry' (if you want to call it that. . .) I tried to support my local shop. I understood that, by them making some money off me, I would have a place to play that was professionally run. Yes, I knew that I could get paint cheaper at wal-mart. Yes, I knew that I could get my gun cheaper off the internet. However, I knew that the amount of money that a field operator could put into improving and running their fields was directly related to the amount of money they made off the products and services they sold.

Yes, I have bought some things offline. Usually I resort to this when the field/shop does not have what i want, or they do not have a dealership set up with the company that makes the product I want.

Yes, I still was a bit 'ticked' that the prices for the field were noticably higher than what I 'COULD' be paying.

Until one day I bought my first nitro system. I was in the shop, looking at some screw in systems, and reallly wanting to get one. The price on the one I wanted was somthing like 325 or so. (please keep in mind this was about 4 years ago.) All I had was 300 dollars.
I told the owner that, and that I really wanted the system. I even said that I was going to come back in the next 3 days with the rest of the cash and get it.

He then offered it to me for 300. I was a bit suprised, but I said that I'd love to take it, but All i had was 300 TOTAL. I didnt have enough for it even at that price due to tax- - And that I really didnt mind paying full price for it in the next couple days.

He then figured a price for me where, after tax, the tank came to almost exactly 300 bux. I bought it.

The assistant manager was there also. after paying for the tank I was hanging around talking with him. About five minutes later, the manager said he had to go run an errand, and would be right back. While he was gone, the assistant manager told me (keep in mind that I was pretty good friends with these guys) the reason the manager had to go out for a minute. He had to go pay the electric bill.

He then explained to me, that business had been a bit slow, and there was not enough cash in the company account to pay the power bill for the month, and that It was already a couple days late. The money I had just handed over Immediatly went to the electric company. That was why he didnt want me to wait a few days: Even though the shop didnt make as much money off of me as it normally would have, the lights stayed on.



Yeah, Im sure some of you are thinking somthing like " nice sob story, now go cry me a river."

If thats the case, Then how about if you could never play another local tourney, or meet a bunch of your firends up the field for some 'ball this weekend, or if there couldnt be anymore church group parties to bring new people into the sport. Think about it, and if you still think I'm full of it, well. . .nevermind, I'll just leave it at that.

That was all years ago.

OF course now, Im literally on the "other side of the counter". I know How much gun 'X' costs me, and I know how much I sell it for. I also know how much many online places sell it for. In many cases, there is no way we as a shop can meet those prices. In some cases, WE can't even buy the gun for that cheap. As a result, we try to get as close to the 'internet prices' as we can. the result of THAT is that we basiclly make jack crap off of gun sales. In most cases the profit from average gun sales for a week is not enough to actually pay my wages for the time It took me to sell the guns. It DEFINITLY dosen't bring in enough money to pay the additional refs for weekends and parties. Paint sales pay for alot of that stuff.
Yes, we make most of our profit off of paint. Yes, we TRY to remain relativly competitive with wal-mart and sports acadamy. Yes, our paint is a little bit more expensive(although ALOT better quality) at the case price. and YES, this is why we are a field paint only facility. Simply put, It keeps the field there.

We know that we cant beat prices for internet stores. Heck, we cant really even beat prices for some local sporting goods stores. (i.e. tippman 98 prices at sports authority or wherever vs. ours)

I tell this to potential customers before they buy a gun from me. I encourage them to look around online before they buy. I also tell them that they will find whatever they want cheaper on the net. and then I tell them why.

Most importantly (in my opinion) We try to make this up to the customer. Any gun that you buy from us comes with LIFETIME warranty on labor through the shop. Normal labor rates for guns not bought from us range from a $5 minimum to about $20 an hour, depending on the job. FREE if you bought it from us even 4 years ago. We handle any and all communications with the manufacturer if your equipment is beyond our ability to repair. You dont' have to deal with anyone on the other side of the country to get your gun or tank fixed.

We also give a customer 10% off on any accessories they buy at the time they get the gun. (like goggles, tanks, ect.) We also fill all tanks free when you buy them. All accessories that require installation have it done free- - all to the customer's specifications. (i.e. warp setup, ect.)

Customer's also get a free one year membership when they get a gun- - - these things normally sell for $30. What it gives you is this: normal field fees are $10. Members are $5. Additionally, for about 2 months a year, each sunday is NO field fees for members. If you play alot, this adds up to be a good bit of cash. . . . .

So, in conclusion:

Can you get you "supermarker" online for $75 less?
--yes.

However, is that worth:
paying shipping, having to deal with people on the phone over problems, having to pay full price to come out and play, having to pay alot to have your gun fixed, Having to mess with (and potentially mess up) adding on new drops and airlines, installing aftermark stuff, replacing seals, valves, ect ect?

is it worth POSSIBLY being stuck playing backyard ball because the paintball field in your town just closed down even though "ME and all my friend LOVE paintball, why'd they close down?"


You decide.






Carl

[Kevmaster]

amen brotha!

[boomerfoxtrot]

well.. I'll tell you what I know...

for the MOST part, it's not the fields, and proshops that make the prices high...

how can they afford to sell you something at $20 a case, when it cost them $30 ...? or better.... and not only that.. there is a price control on most types of paint...

now, there are places... Like here in Atlanta.. Paintball Atlanta... who charges $110 a case.... and other stores who charge $80 a case.. (with no options on different paint) ...
and.. I can get paint a few buck more at my proshop then I can off line... and to me.. walking in and buying 2 cases at $50 .. from them... and being able to check the paint before I leave is worth the extra ...

if paint is really to high for you, and you have a TEAM, talk with the proshop/field... most places around here have team rates on paint... for team practices... yeah, it's not going to be the top of the line paint.. but it works well for what your using it for....

but then again.. that's just how it is around my neck of the woods... I don't know what goes on in your area...

[Bulldog]

heard the figure from my sales rep at Paintball Inc that 7/10 fields fail after the first year, and only 1/5 of the ones that survive(7/50 of the total) are around after 5 years....a paintball field(in general) is NOT profitable...the owners are just trying to break even

This sounds like normal statistics for just about any business. Paintball or other. Running a small business is hard. My wife owns her own, and I'd never want to. Be your own boss, yeah right.

[langrage]

You should always support the local man. The prices might be a little higher but there is one simple benifit. You get what you are shopping for TODAY. Not in 2-3 days maybe or with some online stores when the item is "back in stock". How many of you are really going to be upset about buying ball dents, springs, hoses, ect for a few more dollars and getting your gun working again? I mean saving $2-3 waiting for a package hoping it will be there before the weekend worth it?