Whats so special about the $300 price point

[Lohman446]

Ok.. SP releases the Ion at $300 and everyone involved in paintball stops, take notice, and looks. Its an awesome "cheap" gun. Now it looks like Dye is going to get involved, and possible some others. EDIT: This is in error, it appears Dye's new marker, like most of Dye's stuff, is going to be expensive There using a composite material.

But $300 - this is by no means cheap, I can put together a Spyder package for this, or a number of lower end markers. Yet we seem to refer to it as entry level.

People are selling high end markers to downgrade to an Ion - have we tournament player wannabes been overinvested that heavily into the sport just to have the "tournament level" gun.

I'm just curious what others think - compared to the true entry level markers $300 is abotu twice what they are...

[Conversekidz]

Because its a hard step to go from a $150 tippman to a $1000 nerve, 1500 timmy, 1500 angel.....you get the idea.

300 dollars for a gun that can perform on the same level as the high end guns, yea still remain affordable is a good deal for someone that wants to take a step up in the sport.

[SpecialBlend2786]

I dunno. I think it started with the Impulse/B2k/bko price bracket. The point were you could get an electropneumatic marker as opposed to just a blowback sear tripper.

[TeamNausea]

If you are a tournament player then a good gun that costs the same as the amount of paint you shoot does look good. And don't start throwing "Oh well look at the wrath or the Evo" cuz i just don care.

[Lurker27]

Because $150 is honestly what it takes to produce a high end marker.

[Python14]

Yeah Lurker, if you fail to include the price of R&D, the price of the equipment, labor, etc.

[Ion owner]

why are pople complaning about the Ion just because kids with no money can afford a decent gun makes no difference. You should be able to beat unexpierienced kids no matter how fast they can shoot. i dont have a lot of money so the Ion is great for me and others in my situation.

[Lohman446]

why are pople complaning about the Ion just because kids with no money can afford a decent gun makes no difference. You should be able to beat unexpierienced kids no matter how fast they can shoot. i dont have a lot of money so the Ion is great for me and others in my situation.

Don't get defensive, who in this thread complained about the Ion?

[peewee]

I can still justify $300 with the wife. $1000 I'LL be standing on the curb......

[Ion owner]

its not this thred its just some people.

[Barfly]

this is a non-issue my roomate just bought a new b2k4 with pds and chaos for $325 shipped overnight. The ion isn't the only gun for around $300 that is set up for tourney. Also you can buy '04 freestyles for $400 which is more, but can be a kick *** gat if set up right.

[Enemy]

i just dont beleive how some people are down grading for ions!! but i do feel that the 15 bps limit alot of tourneys are going to has something to do with the acceptance that the ion only does 17 bps max!! remember when people got made cuz the emag was limited to 20!!

[Carbon]

SOme aspects of life in general includes capitalizing and seeking out ideal investment options.

the key word being options.

[deathstalker]

You raise a good point. SP don't refer to it as an entry-level marker, though. That honor has been bestowed by paintballers.

I don't think the $300 price itself is important, but what you get for that $300. It also makes it easier to market to a wider audience. When someone sees what they get for their $300, they say, "I can get that" rather than, "I wish I could get that".

Yes, for $300 I can put together a Spyder that has an aftermarket reg and barrel, motorized hopper, and nitro, and it would be a competitive marker. However, it's that much easier now to say, "For just a little more..." These types of posts are quite common in the STBB forums and up until recently, many people would say not to buy a Spyder and upgrade it because for the same amount of money you can buy a 'cocker. My counter to that (and still is, no matter what other marker is recommended) is that the upgraded Spyder will include universal accessories that the 'cocker won't (nitro, hopper, aftermarket reg, barrel), making the Spyder the much better value. Nothing says you can't buy a different gun later.

However, there are still a lot of people who are on the fence about what to buy with their money. A good marketing strategy will win over those people and also win over those people who are almost ready to step up to the next level of marker. Now, these players can take this step and save hundreds of dollars.

The $300 price point also forces other manufacturers to take action. They'll probably need to lower their prices on existing products and/or develop a new marker to compete directly with the ION. Oh, and if you want to make it an electro, well, we already know what goes on with that.

[OmniDynmc]

I don't think I've seen a high end marker that light.

The one thing I hate about all of the high end feature packed markers, the weight.

Greg