BallReviews
Equipment Boards => AMF => Topic started by: Bowl_Freak on December 18, 2015, 01:18:42 PM
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No hype or teasers on any new stuff? I personally would like to see an Unreal Pearl or Hybrid. Or maybe something completely new. The Pure's already are complete and the Encore is a great piece by itself. If it was going along the lines of a retro ball to go along with the NightHawk SE, id like a Radar SE.
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900 Global had 16, yes sixteen, new releases in 2015 according to the approved balls list on Bowl.com.
AMF had 4. No, that isn't a typo. FOUR. That is downright disgusting and is NOT indicative of a company that cares about this brand. 900 Global really should have this contract taken away. Qubica-AMF is not getting it's money's worth for the license it has with 900 Global.
Lowly, ABS Bowling had 13 new balls in 2015 on the list and no one that I know has ever used their bowling balls. Yet, I know plenty of people using AMF.
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To be fair, no one else would give this much respect to the brand. Also, they have a slower release schedule probably due to the national tour not being able to use AMF, just regional. Also, lots of releases does not a good ball company make. I wish Global would slow down .
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Also, I'd wager to say you're going to see a Pearl Unreal and maybe a high end release with the CFT core. Which I would love. Still want to get my hands on a Protocol.
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To be fair, no one else would give this much respect to the brand. Also, they have a slower release schedule probably due to the national tour not being able to use AMF, just regional. Also, lots of releases does not a good ball company make. I wish Global would slow down .
I wish ALL of them would slow down. AMF, BRUNSWICK, COLUMBIA, DV8, EBONITE, HAMMER, MOTIV, ROTO GRIP, RADICAL, STORM, TRACK, 900 GLOBAL. 12 companies, releasing 6-12 balls a year. That is anywhere from 70-140 balls a year if you include the multi-colored entry level reactive. How can anyone keep up with this? Consumers are missing great releases, because the next ball is 45-60 days away. It's been this way for years, but it is catching up to the Pro Shops. Has technology really improved leaps and bounds in the last 3 years? Some companies believe so. Meanwhile, the Black Ops (garnered quite a bit of love here), Hy-Road, Cell Core, Gas Mask Core, Predator Core, among a few other balls/cores, are almost 10 plus years old and still going strong. My biggest question is, how many more motions are possible from a bowling ball?
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It's been that way in the pro shop business since resin came out, and it's gotten worse.
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I like the way AMF doesn't flood the market with unnecessary equipment, but would like to see a little more from them. I know with the Bowlmor/AMF merger, im pretty sure the equipment has gone on the bedside and not an important factor for them. As far as the other companies go, it is getting crazy with all the new balls coming out every 30 days and so forth. Id love to see an Unreal Pearl or another retro ball come back with updated cover. A solid Encore with F70 solid cover would be $$ on THS I believe. I hope there is something in store though soon.
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I use to pride myself a few years ago in knowing everything there was to know about
every new release from all the companies. But, I can no longer do it, just to many releases. How many times can you re-invent the wheel.
I know a lot of bowlers who are so confused with all the releases that they are just keeping what they have and making it work. Our two different PSO state they can't even keep up with all the releases.
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I like the way AMF doesn't flood the market with unnecessary equipment, but would like to see a little more from them. I know with the Bowlmor/AMF merger, im pretty sure the equipment has gone on the bedside and not an important factor for them. As far as the other companies go, it is getting crazy with all the new balls coming out every 30 days and so forth. Id love to see an Unreal Pearl or another retro ball come back with updated cover. A solid Encore with F70 solid cover would be $$ on THS I believe. I hope there is something in store though soon.
Bowlmor didn't purchase the actual equipment side of AMF, 900 global still owns and runs AMF300. Bowlmor only bought the center side of AMF
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You are right SV. I do hope 900Global/Storm does help out AMF with some new stuff. Maybe some new stuff is on horizon. We all can hope.
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900 Global does not "own" anything AMF. They merely have a license from Qubica-AMF to produce a line of consumer bowling equipment under the AMF brand name.
As for 900 Global, if they do not come up with some frequent, new and innovative AMF bowling balls in 2016, this lifelong AMF bowler will be dropping them. As for me? I really need a good hybrid bowling ball. They work great for me. And not a hybrid Encore or Unreal, but a ball designed from the bottom up to be a really good hybrid bowling ball.
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Well, to be fair, AMF has been a way for customers to use older good 900 Global cores.
What kind of motion are you looking for that isn't in the current AMF lineup?
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900 Global had 16, yes sixteen, new releases in 2015 according to the approved balls list on Bowl.com.
AMF had 4. No, that isn't a typo. FOUR. That is downright disgusting and is NOT indicative of a company that cares about this brand. 900 Global really should have this contract taken away. Qubica-AMF is not getting it's money's worth for the license it has with 900 Global.
Lowly, ABS Bowling had 13 new balls in 2015 on the list and no one that I know has ever used their bowling balls. Yet, I know plenty of people using AMF.
To be fair, 900 Global basically re-branded their entire lineup for 2015 as it was their first year in a while being registered on tour. Not sure if you have drilled an Encore or Unreal, but those two releases are extremely good. We drilled a ton of Encores for the US Open for burn and double burn squads. AMF doesn't come out with a ton of releases, but why not drill some 900 global balls and have them fit into some holes you feel your arsenal has?
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900 Global does not "own" anything AMF. They merely have a license from Qubica-AMF to produce a line of consumer bowling equipment under the AMF brand name.
As for 900 Global, if they do not come up with some frequent, new and innovative AMF bowling balls in 2016, this lifelong AMF bowler will be dropping them. As for me? I really need a good hybrid bowling ball. They work great for me. And not a hybrid Encore or Unreal, but a ball designed from the bottom up to be a really good hybrid bowling ball.
Bring back the Shred-It !!!!
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>> AMF doesn't come out with a ton of releases,
Which is why another ball manufacturer should have the contract. 4 balls a year is a joke. Obviously, 900 global doesn't care about the history of the AMF brand. If you're not going to take the brand seriously, give the contract to someone else. It's obviously not part of 900 Global's profit plan. You're not making much profit on only 4 balls with no national TV exposure.
>> We drilled a ton of Encores for the US Open
How is that possible when AMF is not approved for the national tour, only the regional tour.
>> why not drill some 900 global balls
I had no problem with AMF until this year. I'm an AMF lifer (thanks to Dick Weber) unless 900 Global pulls this crap again in 2016. If that's the case, then 2017 may see me move to Motive and support a Michigan based company since that is where I live.
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900 isnt pushing amf300 cuz clearly they don't sell. Storm might be influencing a rebranding of sorts, maybe amf300 is next.
Gotta make $ to stay in business.
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>> We drilled a ton of Encores for the US Open
How is that possible when AMF is not approved for the national tour, only the regional tour.
The U.S. Open isn't a PBA event. Only requirement is the ball has to be on the USBC approved list.
But if my memory serves me right, if one were to make it to the televised portion, you then fall under PBA telecast rules which then requires PBA registration.
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I don't mean to sound snippy, but for the last 8 years, 900 Global has been AMF300. In the current lineup, Xcite is a Hook, which is a modified Code weight block. Pure is a Train with a stronger cover. Pure Adrenaline is a Freight Train with a weaker cover. So you're already throwing a 900 Global ball rebranded as AMF300. I understand your frustration, but the fact is that no other big company (EBI, Brunswick, Storm (proper) or Motiv would treat it with any more of the respect you feel it deserves.
You know how to get them to make more equipment? Keep buying. I've already put pen to paper to see how I can get both Pures and I wreck with the Night Hawk. I'm also about to put holes in a Mamba Hybrid and Incinerate. Use the brand and show shops why they should stick it. If shops won't carry it, the brand will suffer. It's economics.
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Tell em doom
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I'm sure I'll get a lot of flack for this, but in my opinion 900 Global is doing it backwards anyway. They should be putting they're money into promoting a brand with a long rich history in bowling, AMF, and use their in-house brand, 900 Global, as the development brand. AMF has a history of innovation: 1st urethane (Angle) and 1st flaring ball (Ultra Angle). AMF is a thousand times more known to the bowling and non-bowling (general) public then 900 Global. If they want to expand their bowling ball sales to bring average bowlers and non-bowlers into the fold, the AMF brand would be their top brand. If nothing else it should be 50/50 in order to take adventage of and expand the AMF brand. It can ONLY increase 900 Global's profits to do so.
I can guarantee to you somebody at home said, "Who is 900 Global" during the PBA telecasts this year. They would not have said anything like that if the bowlers were using the same balls with AMF as the brand. You market the same ball to the average Joe Bowler who knows nothing about bowling balls (we know lots of these people), one labeled 900 Global and one labeled AMF, and I'll bet my life the AMF ball sells first 75% of the time.
This is Marketing 101 folks. Brand awareness and history. It's the same reason Ford renamed the Ford 500 the Ford Taurus back in 2007.
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I have supported both 900 and AMF over the last number of years. I also wondered why more emphasis was placed on the 900 Global name which I find very few of the middle age and older league bowlers even know or heard of vs. the AMF name which is an industry icon.
I guess 900 Global felt it made more sense to market to the younger up and coming bowlers with the 900 brand who will be the future of bowling.
Even so, there are still a ton of middle age & older league bowlers out there who would more than likely purchase AMF bowling balls based on brand identification, if there was more advertising/marketing for the brand. Many don't believe AMF even exists anymore.
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I am willing to bet sales numbers indicate otherwise.
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Money talks, gentlemen.
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Sales numbers are down, weak, non-existent, whatever because there is basically no advertising or marketing, for the AMF brand of bowling balls.
A few years ago Motiv was a niche brand with not a whole lot of interest compared to the other brands. Then Motiv started to advertise, put it's product in pro shops (that's how I bought my first Motiv ball), signed some very good players, sprung for PBA product registration and low and behold Motiv is now considered a company who's balls can compete with anyone's.
The formula exists, the AMF iconic brand can be resurrected but, the powers to be have to want to do it. Apparently, they don't.
I will continue to buy AMF balls. In my opinion, the AMF Solar Flare (2013/14) was an awesome pearl ball for medium conditions (one of the best I ever owned), to bad so few apparently either knew about it or purchased one. And from what I read here on BR, a number of people love the AMF brand of balls. Try one, you may like it.
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Motiv follows an entirely different marketing philosophy compared to 900G/AMF. And it isn't a guarantee the same philosophy would work for 900G/AMF. A lot of what dictates success in bowling ball sales is luck. You can have the right professional presence (Storm/RG). You can have a breakthrough appearance (Ebonite/Mission). You can have a longstanding successful line (Hammer Widow). Or you can get kinda lucky with a successful up-and-comer (Russel-Motiv).
It isn't a guarantee today's successful companies will be successful in 10 years. Perhaps AMF will become successful. But for right now, AMF is not as successful, which is probably the reason 900G isn't pumping a lot of money into it.
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I like reading what everyone has to say. I believe everyone has some valid points on this subject. I'm no top level executive or marketing guru, but doesn't demand drive ball production? Obviously the bigger companies are constantly able to produce numerous balls during the year, but demand and sales are a huge part of that. Likewise due to their demand and sales, they can afford a release that isn't well received among the bowling community.
Although the majority of bowlers aren't throwing AMF doesn't mean there aren't great releases here. Bowlers are getting some great products as a majority of balls produced are re-releases from the 900 Global line of years past. The current line up from fills the holes in the 900 Global line as has been since 900 Global has poured AMF. I hope to see something from them in the near future because I absolutely love the Pure, Unreal and Encore.
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>> The current line up from (AMF) fills the holes in the 900 Global line
And therein lies the problem. If that is all AMF is going to be to 900 Global, then my days of using exclusively AMF will be over after this year and I won't reward 900 Global for doing so by switching to 900 Global balls. With AMF's history it should be better than this and should be fully PBA registered. They should bring back the "AMF Staff of Champions."
Columbia Industries, when they poured AMF, did not treat the brand this way and up until this past year, I never felt that way from 900 Global.
In reality, 900 Global is likely killing off the AMF brand whether it intends to or not.
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I really fail to see the issue, other than the name. If you like the ball reaction from them, why does it matter if they're fully PBA registered? Is that stopping you from bowling national events? 900 Global has given as much room to the AMF brand as should be expected from a smaller company. They're not a Storm/Roto pairing, nor are they an EBI or a Brunswick. They share core designs between the lines, and coverstock technologies.
Would you prefer they just off the name, and you never saw another AMF brand again, as opposed to the treatment you feel they're getting?