The ION and its effect on resale....

[paint magnet]

Old school timmys=the way to go, get a fully uped 2k2 for 600 bucks, I love low resale when I never got a brand new gun to start with.

Heh, sounds funny to hear 2002 referred to as "old school."

Anyway, the Ion doesn't seem to have affected the resale on Palmer's products much

[yakitori]

Im not selling my guns to go buy a gun that looks plastic. I think it is a fad, and I doubt that ppl will start selling all their guns just to get an ion. Some will, maybe a lot of ppl will, but they will eventually go back to nice milling and anodizing schemes. I think ppl are talking it up too much. Hell, half the ppl I meet at the dont say very intelligent things. I actually met a guy at the field today that is selling a DM4 and a dark timmy to buy Ions. Maybe its because he plays on the SP factory team.

I havent even had the interest to shoot one really.

[Carbon]

I have been looking, through the classifieds and have noticed that the introduction of this marker has completly gutted resale on most everything. Its really quite amazing how good a price you can pick up some GREAT past year models right now.

Its like everyone has caught this bug to get the Ion, and to come up with the $300 they need are willing to loose insane amounts of money selling great(high end) gear to get one. I realize that it is a great price on an entry level tourney marker, but people are acting like this thing is made of gold and the best thing available.

On the other hand you have every noob in paintball trying to get what they paid out of their entry level markers to "upgrade" to the Ion. Asking $300 for Tippys and Spyder packages, etc....

It will be nice when after a minute the new wears off, people take off their blinders and really start recognizing what they are getting into. Hopefully they will stop gutting the market and hurting EVERYONE with these low resale prices, or taking up space asking rediculous prices for stuff that isn't worth it....

welcome to america!

[Steelrat]

I have been looking, through the classifieds and have noticed that the introduction of this marker has completly gutted resale on most everything. Its really quite amazing how good a price you can pick up some GREAT past year models right now.

Its like everyone has caught this bug to get the Ion, and to come up with the $300 they need are willing to loose insane amounts of money selling great(high end) gear to get one. I realize that it is a great price on an entry level tourney marker, but people are acting like this thing is made of gold and the best thing available.

On the other hand you have every noob in paintball trying to get what they paid out of their entry level markers to "upgrade" to the Ion. Asking $300 for Tippys and Spyder packages, etc....

It will be nice when after a minute the new wears off, people take off their blinders and really start recognizing what they are getting into. Hopefully they will stop gutting the market and hurting EVERYONE with these low resale prices, or taking up space asking rediculous prices for stuff that isn't worth it....

Huh? I havent really seen any effect on the market. There are always people willing to throw money away for the latest and greatest, but the Ion isnt a giant killer, and isnt able to really impact the sales of the good markers. What it has probably done is clobber the low-end market.

[The Action Figure]

there nice, but honestly they feel like crap when you shoot them. they can compete, and im sure they will, but you gonna have kids with no skill shooting them and thinking there all bad cause the can shoot fast. heck i dont care more faces to shoot with my ir3.

[txaggie08]

I think the ion may finaly strike the death blow to this elitist BS that been going on since......well since the first angel came into the states. Aside from the fact that paintball is the ultimate example of diminishing returns, i hate the idea of ultra expensive markers. i think you may find with the ion that "production costs" realy werent cut as much as every elitist screeming "CRAP, and its junk" have been sying. I think , as much as anything, they fiured out that selling more units at less can mean a greater net profit in a high volume market. At one time, a gun commanded 1000$+ because the market for them was small. there were an elite group who needed, and bought them. now that market is massive, and manufacturers will beginto lower prices to move more units. the only thing i hate baout the ion, its playing hell with AGD and the mag

[Steelrat]

I think the ion may finaly strike the death blow to this elitist BS that been going on since......well since the first angel came into the states. Aside from the fact that paintball is the ultimate example of diminishing returns, i hate the idea of ultra expensive markers. i think you may find with the ion that "production costs" realy werent cut as much as every elitist screeming "CRAP, and its junk" have been sying. I think , as much as anything, they fiured out that selling more units at less can mean a greater net profit in a high volume market. At one time, a gun commanded 1000$+ because the market for them was small. there were an elite group who needed, and bought them. now that market is massive, and manufacturers will beginto lower prices to move more units. the only thing i hate baout the ion, its playing hell with AGD and the mag

The Ion is a good entry-level marker, nothing more. Its not "elitist," its the truth.

[minimag03]

If the Ion is a entry level, it is a high entry level. One ws being used today at our tourney. It was as fast as all the Imps. No one has had any major problems with them either.

[Steelrat]

If the Ion is a entry level, it is a high entry level. One ws being used today at our tourney. It was as fast as all the Imps. No one has had any major problems with them either.

Fast does not equal quality. And I don't hold the impys up as the pinnacle of paintball technology

[GT]

I think the ion may finaly strike the death blow to this elitist BS that been going on since......well since the first angel came into the states. Aside from the fact that paintball is the ultimate example of diminishing returns, i hate the idea of ultra expensive markers. i think you may find with the ion that "production costs" realy werent cut as much as every elitist screeming "CRAP, and its junk" have been sying. I think , as much as anything, they fiured out that selling more units at less can mean a greater net profit in a high volume market. At one time, a gun commanded 1000$+ because the market for them was small. there were an elite group who needed, and bought them. now that market is massive, and manufacturers will beginto lower prices to move more units. the only thing i hate baout the ion, its playing hell with AGD and the mag

not gonna happen,
if anything the ion is a gateway drug into faster electros, remember it is capped at 17bps and most people believe that they can shoot faster than that, hell there are people on this board that think they are faster....

[Lohman446]

not gonna happen,
if anything the ion is a gateway drug into faster electros, remember it is capped at 17bps and most people believe that they can shoot faster than that, hell there are people on this board that think they are faster....

Highlighted for emphasis. VERY FEW people can exceed 17 BPS, the Ion is a brilliant marketing move by SP.. lets look

SP brings out the Shocker and sells decently
SP brings out the Imp - a "cheap" (for its day) electro
8 billion people make upgrades for the Imp and you can buy custom Imps that are more prestigous than the Shocker - Shocker sales fall year after year.
SP redesigns the Shocker - sales sky-rocket.
Custom Imp sales fall - they exist but not to the level before the 03 Shocker.
Custom Shockers begin to exist and sell.
SP brings out the Nerve - high end to compete with the DM4 in price. Nerve sales are abysmal.
SP drops the price on the Nerve - people still are not buying them over a Shocker.
SP, unable to compete with Dye in the Matrix price range... goes the other route.
SP introduces the Ion - sales of the Ion far exceed anyone's expectations and it will likely take SP most of the season to catch up with production.

What's next
Custom upgrades and custom Ions are coming - allowing the Ion to compete with nearly anything out there in the ways it doesn't (I beleive funcitonally it already does)
SP will have a large share of the low and mid price range marker sales. The Nerve still will not sell against the DM.X but it doesn't matter.

What I see here is SP looking at a market and shifting with it, rather than yelling at the wind and preaching to the choir.

[GT]

What I see here is SP looking at a market and shifting with it, rather than yelling at the wind and preaching to the choir.

You would have to ask one of our marketing gurus around here, but I think making a "mid range" guns is pretty frutile. Sp is changing the market, just taking advantage. You make more money by offering a low end cheap gun that everyone can afford or by making an expesnive high end low volume gun, this is the current problem with AGD. Where does a 4-500 mech fall into the mix? Right in bewteen the low end electoros, bko ion and the high end stuff, b2k, matrix, cyborg, shocker. Personally I dont think the mag, as we know it, will survive in this enviroment.

[Lohman446]

You would have to ask one of our marketing gurus around here, but I think making a "mid range" guns is pretty frutile. Sp is changing the market, just taking advantage. You make more money by offering a low end cheap gun that everyone can afford or by making an expesnive high end low volume gun, this is the current problem with AGD. Where does a 4-500 mech fall into the mix? Right in bewteen the low end electoros, bko ion and the high end stuff, b2k, matrix, cyborg, shocker. Personally I dont think the mag, as we know it, will survive in this enviroment.

My point is, SP has to be disappointed with the Nerve sales... so they have gone an entire differetn direction. Why did the Nerve sales suck so much? I don't know. I am sure many people at SP want to compain that it was stupid paintball players fault, but rather than complaining... they did something revolutionary (for them).

[Baby Huey]

My point is, SP has to be disappointed with the Nerve sales... so they have gone an entire differetn direction. Why did the Nerve sales suck so much? I don't know. I am sure many people at SP want to compain that it was stupid paintball players fault, but rather than complaining... they did something revolutionary (for them).

So do you believe that the ION concept was thought up after the release of ther Nerve (what was that last June). I dont really know but I think that the ION has been in the works for more than 8 months. But if there is somebody from SP in the forum they may know different. Just an opinion. God Bless.

Baby Huey

[Lohman446]

So do you believe that the ION concept was thought up after the release of ther Nerve (what was that last June). I dont really know but I think that the ION has been in the works for more than 8 months. But if there is somebody from SP in the forum they may know different. Just an opinion. God Bless.

Baby Huey

Good point on timeline. The Ion appears to be very well tested. However, I will note that there is nothing new idea wise on it - the spool valve is minially different from what I can tell from the Shocker and the electronics are very simplistic in nature. I think it could have been reasonably quickly thrown together, but I do see your point in that too, it would have been an effort.