15bps means I'm broke in 5 minutes

[Chronobreak]

There is no plastic in todays paintballs . I believe a paintball is made from gelatin capsules...which is mineral based...and non toxic. Just like your Tylenol caps... and as someone else above stated, we used to pay .05 each back in the day. If we could get a box for 100 back then we were stylin' for the day. More often then not it was 125-130 bucks a case. You guys don't know how lucky you really are at 30-40-50-even 60 bucks a case. Thats cheap.

no we do, its just the ones posting the "why isnt paint cheaper" the dont get it, and or dont remember the old paint cost

as more people buy more paint the price could dwindle a little, although i dont see paint at most places(fields) atleast going down anytime soon, since they need the $20-$30 profit per case to keep things running

[CoolHand]

There is no plastic in todays paintballs . I believe a paintball is made from gelatin capsules...which is mineral based...and non toxic. Just like your Tylenol caps... and as someone else above stated, we used to pay .05 each back in the day. If we could get a box for 100 back then we were stylin' for the day. More often then not it was 125-130 bucks a case. You guys don't know how lucky you really are at 30-40-50-even 60 bucks a case. Thats cheap.

Actually, gelatin is 100% protein (the protein collagen actually). It is generally found as the connective tissue that holds bones together (the part that keeps all the little chucks of calcium together). If you've ever had chicken noodle soup, you've eaten collagen from chicken bones. It's the same stuff that makes Jello and meat stocks go giggly when they cool off.

When I started playing we had to call out of state to order for RPS Marbs, and gave $145 a case for it. There was zero guarantee it would make it here intact (which is how we got so good at salvaging broken cases), and when it did get here, four (4) of us made that case (of 2500 IIRC) last for a week.

I took a break for about three years, and came back to find paint at the sub $70 mark, and I was jump up and down happy about it.

Unless you can do it for yourself, do not begrudge a man's profit, regardless of how big or small it is. If you don't like what he's charging, learn to do it for yourself. Otherwise, you might want to make peace with it.

Lohman - There is another reason that the oil companies profits go up when gas exceeds $3 a gallon. What can it be besides obvious price gouging? That is the go/no-go mark for pumping American crude. At ~$3/gal Texas and Kansas crude becomes profitable again, and since most of those wells are owned by those oil companies, they are paying much less for the raw material. Lower cost of production yields higher profits at the same price point. Simple as that. When pump prices dip below $3 they just stop production on those wells, and refine cheaper foreign oil instead.

Not every price increase is the result of some monopoly or wide sweeping conspiracy (though the oil/mining/gas companies are favorite targets of such theories).

Also, be aware that ~10-20% (depending on where you are) of the cost of a gallon of gas at the pump comes from federal, state, and local taxes? That percentage is much higher on diesel fuel.

[Mind'sEye]

If we could get a box for 100 back then we were stylin' for the day. More often then not it was 125-130 bucks a case. You guys don't know how lucky you really are at 30-40-50-even 60 bucks a case. Thats cheap.

True That! We used to use a dried flower wholesale license to get RPS for 90 and rejoice, even though it wasn't on the up and up to use the license for that purpose.

[A-Tach-One]

True That! We used to use a dried flower wholesale license to get RPS for 90 and rejoice, even though it wasn't on the up and up to use the license for that purpose.

Hahaha, I remember that! And split the case 5 ways, 500 for you and 500 for you, and...

[Commissar_Loki]

If you want paint at those costs, become a dealer. Only way to get it that cheap that I'm aware of. Since the paint makers need to make money, and then the wholse salers (maybe even another) then it gets to the store. Which, has to pay its bills and employees. In the end, at least in Michigan, the owner makes little to nothing and it is usually a hobby and a way to GET things cheaper.


BTW you can get paint for $20 a case. It's called seconds.


-Butch

[latches109]

There is no plastic in todays paintballs . I believe a paintball is made from gelatin capsules...which is mineral based...and non toxic. Just like your Tylenol caps... and as someone else above stated, we used to pay .05 each back in the day. If we could get a box for 100 back then we were stylin' for the day. More often then not it was 125-130 bucks a case. You guys don't know how lucky you really are at 30-40-50-even 60 bucks a case. Thats cheap.

[CoolHand]

Which is why Perfect Circle doesn't make paintballs. They make empty shells that are used to create pepper balls, SFX balls, and stink balls.

If you think paint is high now, imagine what it would be if they used polystyrene as the shell. Plus, since the plastic is more rigid and has a higher yield strength, it takes more force to break (which mean you need to shoot it at a higher muzzle velocity), not to mention how much it would hurt to get hit with a plastic shelled ball (can you imagine how bad that would cut up soft skin, like around your adam's apple or on the underside of your upper arm).

/cringes
//no thanks
//would rather have soup stock based paintballs any day

[sithos]

Which is why Perfect Circle doesn't make paintballs. They make empty shells that are used to create pepper balls, SFX balls, and stink balls.

If you think paint is high now, imagine what it would be if they used polystyrene as the shell. Plus, since the plastic is more rigid and has a higher yield strength, it takes more force to break (which mean you need to shoot it at a higher muzzle velocity), not to mention how much it would hurt to get hit with a plastic shelled ball (can you imagine how bad that would cut up soft skin, like around your adam's apple or on the underside of your upper arm).

/cringes
//no thanks
//would rather have soup stock based paintballs any day

Actually, its like an eggshell. It shatters rather than collapsing, causing LESS force on the object it strikes. I was reading an article the other day where TOM stated that they could (and did) shoot perfect circle balls at neon light bulbs and the bulbs didnt break (until budd tried).

[Tunaman]

Actually, its like an eggshell. It shatters rather than collapsing, causing LESS force on the object it strikes. I was reading an article the other day where TOM stated that they could (and did) shoot perfect circle balls at neon light bulbs and the bulbs didnt break (until budd tried).

If you guys could only see the dents in the 16 gauge door at the end of the 200 ft hallway(target range testing area) at AGD. These were no little dents either.

[sithos]

If you guys could only see the dents in the 16 gauge door at the end of the 200 ft hallway(target range testing area) at AGD. These were no little dents either.

tuna.. you sure those arent from the nylon dimple'd balls tom made? i swear theres a thread where tom (not someone else) states that the shatter rather than pop, making the hit much less painful at 280fps. the issue arrizes because the balls will tollerate MUCH higher than 280fps

[minimag03]

I have gotten blaze for national for $23 per case. It wasn't the best quality paint, but it worked.

[tae]

I do understand that were lucky for having prices where they are. Things would be tragic if there were no players out there to give interest and propel things to where they are now. I know my girlfriend wouldnt play if the cost was any higher than it is.
I have loved paintball for years and untill now havent had too many friends that shared that interest. Back in the day, I hardly played at all. It was a huge orchestration to get enough money and people together to have good fun.
People can sell whatever for whatever. Fine by me, I just want to understand why. The price of paint will come down even more as time passes. Im sure were all sure of that.
So when paintballs become cheaper there will be more fools like me on the field asking dumb questions or shooting you when your out or too close or hiding outa bounds or peeing behind bunkers or some other form of cheating/annoyance. I should have been more specific about wanting to know what paintball materials in bulk cost alone.
I have done some research that has given me the impression its really cheap to make balls. It seems any paintball manufacturer is producing at extremely high volume thus, I believe its cheaper than people tend to think. Could they take a price cut to gain more customers? Im sure they would if they though it would work. How many paintball players are even out there these days?

So...how about how cheap do you think paint will get in the year 2020?

I do appreciate everyones input. Sorry if anyone was put off.

[yingyang]

Well you all seem to have fun dumping a case in a day, or do what I do and pick up a stockclass pump!

[PhilABowl]

Why it costs money for paintball

Refs need to eat, and thus need to get paid.
You need to have phonelines and websites so people can find your field and call you.
You need to buy paintball guns for renters, and keep em up and running
You need to keep your CO2 and HPA fill stations functioning properly
Land costs a lot of money, because there is very little new land being made these days.

Last, but certainly not least, INSURANCE. People sue insurance companies. Companies that carry paintball insurance, may carry car insurance too, and offload some of the car insurance burden onto them. In any case, even if they are 100% paintball insurance companies, they are going to charge within a certain range of what everyone else is charging.

Advertising.

Paintballs - You have to buy gelatin and paint. You need to pay engineers to design them better than the other guys. You have to have the machines and gelatin and paint delivered to your plant. This costs money, and it costs even more money when gas goes up, to address that issue. Then you have insurance THERE too, because some clown goes and plays in his backyard with no goggles, loses an eye, and his Mommy sues the company for making paintballs instead of taking responsibility for not watching her children.

My local field charges $70 a case, and is field paint only. Thats 3.5 cents per ball. You can't even buy a piece of gum for 3.5 cents. Even the cheap kind that burns your throat. Now, factor in the places that let you BYOP, and playing on your own property, and cut that price in half.

If you're shooting 15 balls per second, then you're either playing as a fully sponsored team that gets free paint, or you're rich, or you're just a spendthrift idiot. There is NO NEED (ive heard the supressive fire crap... I'll run out of a bunker on a guy with 15 balls per second LONG before I'll run out of a bunker on a guy that shoots 2 or 3 well placed shots in a row. I know if I can zig and zag that hopper is gonna be empty in a few seconds) for that many shots in a row. There really isn't.

[Death of Rats]

I pay 40 a case for Nightmare to play some rec-ball so Im not going to complain. However I am going to butt in on the issue of gasoline.

About six months ago I went over to Norway (one of the largest oil producers in the world) as well as fishing. The country itself actually ends up paying slightly less for oil than we do here in Texas however the price is THREE TO FOUR TIMES as much.

The government over there actually taxes the gasoline to raise it to that level to promote public transportation and to pay for public education.

So as you see the gas price rise over here just remember how bad it could be unless you consider riding the bus fun. (I HATE BUSES)

Just some food for thought.