BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Lord Field => Topic started by: tmoore300 on December 31, 2013, 11:20:17 AM
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So I've heard just about every excuse as to why people shy away from Lord Field products. I then get some of the same people inbox me on my take on the equipment and why are our products so high. Me doing all the research and what not, i find our equipment to be fairly priced to the general public, fairly priced to the pro shops compared to any other brand, and definitely fairly priced to staffers seeing our equipment is imported compared to some staffers i know on other companies staffs. So my question to the board is what seems to be the issue with our equipment? We put up the same scores, our equipment outlasts some if not most on the market, its fairly priced considering where it comes from, and you can purchase it either directly or from buddies at pretty much a comparable price as you could the competitors. But seems bowlers give there opinion, assessment and everything in between and they have never even thrown one for themselves. Should we change our name? Whats the problem?
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By all means I'm not begging for anyone to buy nor am i trying to start a heated debate, I'm simply asking to the bowling community what whys you away in public eye, but leads you to inbox myself or a fellow staffer to work out a deal?
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I dont understand it quite either and I have nothing to do with Lord Field. The prices are fair and staffers try their hardest to promote the company while also being resourceful members of our community. I haven't heard any complaints against the equipment really, I was going to try some but my proshop guy didnt have a "great" reaction with the couple he tried and my style is similar to his so I passed
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As a pro shop owner, I look at a few things:
1 - ease of obtaining
2 - price
3 - where made
4 - marketability
A couple if years ago, I had a employee that was throwing Seismic equipment and thought we should get some. Getting it was a nightmare as my regular distributors did not carry it. Once I got them in, they were quite pricy and I could not get rid if them. I also prefer to stock and sell balls made in USA. Marketability is another big issue. People very rarely come in and ask about smaller companies. They want to know what ball was bowler X using on TV, or I received an email on company y's new ball, when will you have it in stock?
Not to put Buddies down, but as a pro shop owner, I will not order my stock from an online retailer. I will continue to support my distributors as they go above and beyond to help me out as a small business. Can't imaging the hoops that would have to be gone through if one cracked on getting it replaced.
Not trying to create argument, just giving you a small business perspective.
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As a pro shop owner, I look at a few things:
1 - ease of obtaining
2 - price
3 - where made
4 - marketability
A couple if years ago, I had a employee that was throwing Seismic equipment and thought we should get some. Getting it was a nightmare as my regular distributors did not carry it. Once I got them in, they were quite pricy and I could not get rid if them. I also prefer to stock and sell balls made in USA. Marketability is another big issue. People very rarely come in and ask about smaller companies. They want to know what ball was bowler X using on TV, or I received an email on company y's new ball, when will you have it in stock?
Not to put Buddies down, but as a pro shop owner, I will not order my stock from an online retailer. I will continue to support my distributors as they go above and beyond to help me out as a small business. Can't imaging the hoops that would have to be gone through if one cracked on getting it replaced.
Not trying to create argument, just giving you a small business perspective.
So do you carry Brunswick line?
Our company is easy to work with and of course your never going to see us on tv due to being non pba registered equipment, but with that being said our equipment is great reaction is always controllable. Our prices are not bad as a whole compared to other companies. Or equipment lay longer than most all other equipment. You won't get one of our balls in and have it crack on the press. And our equipment is designed in usa and produced in Korea. There is no silence between us and Brunswick. Or equipment clears the heads like all other equipment. I think you should give our stuff a try and then make an observation based on that I am sure that there will be ball demos close to your area here soon.
As gar as marketing goes or stuff has great shelf appeal our just comes down to do you want to push our equipment?
1) Our stuff last longer that other equipment.
2)We have a cover stock that pushes oil out off the ball and gets better the more you throw it.
3)Continuation through the pin deck.
4) versatile covers
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I Agree with Perfect....When Lord Field starting accepting staff apps I submitted one and was accepted for the position. At that time buddies wasnt stocking the equipment, so for me to get their stuff it was a 5 day ship to my location, being a small shop that doesn't stock a ton of stuff, that was way too long for me to wait. Even the "staff" pricing wasn't all too much different from my normal distributor pricing.
I also don't have anyone coming in asking for their product, i have no idea if it's good or not honestly because there isn't anyone in my area using it that i've seen. I don't think the PBA sells balls anyone (speaking of people seeing it on TV and then ordering) for me people see others in their league with a particular ball and like what they see and order it.
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As a pro shop owner, I look at a few things:
1 - ease of obtaining
2 - price
3 - where made
4 - marketability
A couple if years ago, I had a employee that was throwing Seismic equipment and thought we should get some. Getting it was a nightmare as my regular distributors did not carry it. Once I got them in, they were quite pricy and I could not get rid if them. I also prefer to stock and sell balls made in USA. Marketability is another big issue. People very rarely come in and ask about smaller companies. They want to know what ball was bowler X using on TV, or I received an email on company y's new ball, when will you have it in stock?
Not to put Buddies down, but as a pro shop owner, I will not order my stock from an online retailer. I will continue to support my distributors as they go above and beyond to help me out as a small business. Can't imaging the hoops that would have to be gone through if one cracked on getting it replaced.
Not trying to create argument, just giving you a small business perspective.
These are the comments I'm looking for and i thank you. Im just trying to do my best as a staffer and I'm just reaching out to see what whys people away and how i/we can help. So thank you. And to just touch on what crazy_smooth said, yes my next question to you would be about brunswick. similar situation there. But as far as getting our balls, we do offer Pro shop Packages directly thru the company similar to what you would get from the distributor.
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I Agree with Perfect....When Lord Field starting accepting staff apps I submitted one and was accepted for the position. At that time buddies wasnt stocking the equipment, so for me to get their stuff it was a 5 day ship to my location, being a small shop that doesn't stock a ton of stuff, that was way too long for me to wait. Even the "staff" pricing wasn't all too much different from my normal distributor pricing.
I also don't have anyone coming in asking for their product, i have no idea if it's good or not honestly because there isn't anyone in my area using it that i've seen. I don't think the PBA sells balls anyone (speaking of people seeing it on TV and then ordering) for me people see others in their league with a particular ball and like what they see and order it.
Thats one of the reasons i do videos and put them out there. Yes its hard for small shop owners to have people coming in their shop to ask about our product if that said shop doesn't have any in or haven't thrown it for that matter. With that said if you had the opportunity to purchase a ball at a discounted rate would you be willing to do so?
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I think for a new company to really break into the market they need a big bang ball. Just being as good as other companies and priced the same will not do it. Motiv made a bang with the Primal Rage and now people are looking at all the new Motiv releases.
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I think for a new company to really break into the market they need a big bang ball. Just being as good as other companies and priced the same will not do it. Motiv made a bang with the Primal Rage and now people are looking at all the new Motiv releases.
That is true. But they also were marketing it BIG when Jake Peters won with it at the Bear Open. and they took the #REDBALL which helped them sell but i have also heard mixed reviews from some guys regarding versatility of that ball. The Tribal seems to be more versatile than the Rage. And that came from a staffer in Houston that i bowlerd TNBA Southern Regional mixed team with. We have that IT BALL in our lineup, but seems people still shy away from "LORD FIELD"
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Storm making it rain you have good point about waiting time did not take that into consideration. With distributors you can get ball next day if you are close by one. And you have to find a good bowler that others watch and try to get him to try equipment. Had a guy here in va that was unsure buy one he seen me thrown the ball and seen what it did he was interested right away due to he liked where the ball was picking up in mid lane and how predictable the ball was off the spot, along with hitting power.
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Exactly, I get my stuff overnight from my distributor, this helps me stock less but have the ability to get stuff very quickly. I'll give any company a try once, but the majority of the time i'll order discontinued product (because it's cheap) and go from there. With high perf balls costing me (as a pro shop) $120+ each, i'm not gonna throw that away on a "test" ball.
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if it cost you that and you sell it to said bowler who is a marketing tool for your shop at a price you don't lose money than how could that be a problem. Your not losing money.
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you would do the same for a big brand "test" ball as well.
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By all means i don't want you to think i am attacking you or anything of that sort. I'm just trying to understand it from your side as well as the general bowling populations side.
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In response to the Brunswick question, no I do not stock Brunswick products. I will order for my customers if they want one of their products, but I do not display in my shop. I do not stock DV8 either, but order for customers. In todays age of releasing bowling balls as fast as they do, I have to stock what people want and not something that hope that sells. The pro shop that was prior to me when I was operating out of my house tried pushing Lane 1 when they were supposed to be the latest and greatest. I thought they were over priced and were no different than what I was using at the time. The center where my shop is located is now still sitting on a crap load of Lane 1 balls.
My two biggest sellers are 1- Storm, 2 - Motiv.
As for trying one, I will try anything for the right price.
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I'm loyal to the brands that are loyal to my shop (or give me value packages) for example Columbia sends me a seed ball every year (for nothing) Joe Farley drops by at least once a year and drops a Hammer ball (for nothing) Storm offers their VIP package for $695 (includes 8 balls, 2 shirts, polishes, cleaners, etc) the value of that package is at least $1200, Brunswick has seminars where you get 2 new releases (early) for about $200 ($360+ value) Brunswick also has their rewards programs that gives me balls and rebates based on my sales....I could go on and on....
I'm also not bashing Lord Field, Tony is a great guy and a lot of people seem to be enjoying their products, but in my shop I go with what sells and what people are asking for. If someone wants a Lord Field ball i'll for sure get it for them, but to be honest I have not had 1 person order or even inquire about them.
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i hear what both of you guys are saying. The purpose of this post was for me to get a better understanding from the pro shop side of things as well as the consumer. I appreciate your input. I will make sure tony sees this post as tis in my opinion is positive feedback and maybe some things can be restructured for our brand to compete in the business of selling.
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And for future reference, YES we do offer Packages as you have listed from the big ball brands. from the prices you have listed i see ours being competitive with those.
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I'm loyal to the brands that are loyal to my shop (or give me value packages) for example Columbia sends me a seed ball every year (for nothing) Joe Farley drops by at least once a year and drops a Hammer ball (for nothing) Storm offers their VIP package for $695 (includes 8 balls, 2 shirts, polishes, cleaners, etc) the value of that package is at least $1200, Brunswick has seminars where you get 2 new releases (early) for about $200 ($360+ value) Brunswick also has their rewards programs that gives me balls and rebates based on my sales....I could go on and on....
I'm also not bashing Lord Field, Tony is a great guy and a lot of people seem to be enjoying their products, but in my shop I go with what sells and what people are asking for. If someone wants a Lord Field ball i'll for sure get it for them, but to be honest I have not had 1 person order or even inquire about them.
I agree with storm. I used to be a Brunswick member but dropped it last year as I do not sell enough Brunswick products to qualify for a rebate. As for the Storm VIP, I am a member and think it is one of the best bang for my buck I can get. I am also a Ebonite Pro Shop gold member and feel it is a great program also. With the Ebonite program, I like the fact I can order my rebate products directly from Ebonite.
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In the shop I work in, there are 4 different locations. The one I work in is a Storm VIP shop and the shop manager is on Storm Staff. We sell a lot of storm/roto balls and it's hard to push even big companies like Brunswick and DV8. I've seen a lot of good balls from other brands sit on the wall for months and yet we can't keep Marvel-S's and Hy-Road pearls on the wall.
The biggest issue with the smaller companies is that Storm/Roto and now even Brunswick/DV8/Radical have hit the market where it is most profitable to shops and that is in the mid level to entry level performance. At just under or right at $100 undrilled, they can cover a wide variety of conditions. Not to say that LF/LM isn't good at the mid/entry but at the 120's online it becomes comparing unknown to proven technology. Consumers ask themselves "Why pay right at or more for a ball I know nothing about, when I can pay for what has already been successful?"
Tony has been very helpful as far as information on Lord Field as well as Crazy Smooth, whom I've practiced with and seen Lord Field close up. I have liked what I have seen and realize that LF/LM is not a cult of staffers(just a joke). I have given him all the intel on what it would take to get Lord Field on the wall in the shops. I can tell you that the Owner of Orbdrillers is very understanding and willing to try any brand on the wall, but there has to be some interest. He's not going to make guarantee's that LF/LM will have a consistent spot on the walls unless they sell. I will be ordering my first LF/LM's this week and will give it a try with similar rolling balls and layouts. Atleast at that point, I can have an idea and advertise.
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thanks for your feedback, and yes josh reached to me early this year after seeing one of my videos so i take pride in knowing someone who saw me throwing the product is now helping to get others interested which in this case is you. If any advice is needed feel free to reach out to me as well.
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Thanks Terry. I appreciate the love and always down to throw anything if it strikes. I threw Roto years back when it wasn't popular, Motiv, so on and so forth. Hell I threw Storm when Brunswick dominated the Market the same way Storm does now.
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As you said, they're round, they strike, they leave weird stuff just like everybody else.
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Simple math.
On Buddies, there is "one" Lord Field performance ball under $130.
Brunswick has 8
Columbia has 9
DV8 has 9
Ebonite has 5
Hammer has 11
Storm has 13
Rotogrip has 9
And that does NOT include color variations of the same ball. In my opinion, Lord Field is overpriced and they don't offer products at the lower price points.
If a bowler is looking at something under $130, he/she has 64 choices with the major brands listed above or............ your ONE ball.
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As you said, they're round, they strike, they leave weird stuff just like everybody else.
HAHA! yes i did say that. And yes when i 1st started back bowling in 2008 motiv had 3 balls out. the TR2 GT1 and TX1 and i loved all of them, as i love Lord Field equipment now. Gotta start from somewhere. Now look what has blossomed into
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As you said, they're round, they strike, they leave weird stuff just like everybody else.
HAHA! yes i did say that. And yes when i 1st started back bowling in 2008 motiv had 3 balls out. the TR2 GT1 and TX1 and i loved all of them, as i love Lord Field equipment now. Gotta start from somewhere. Now look what has blossomed into
It all takes time. Companies have to build. And Dogtown furthers my point. I don't get to throw High End stuff too often, My Reax Solid has like 30 Games in one full year of drilling it. The ball is awesome but once the oil goes away, that's it.
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Simple math.
On Buddies, there is "one" Lord Field performance ball under $130.
Brunswick has 8
Columbia has 9
DV8 has 9
Ebonite has 5
Hammer has 11
Storm has 13
Rotogrip has 9
And that does NOT include color variations of the same ball. In my opinion, Lord Field is overpriced and they don't offer products at the lower price points.
If a bowler is looking at something under $130, he/she has 64 choices with the major brands listed above or............ your ONE ball.
Simple math and common sense also states that you have 2 outlets to purchase also. Yes the bigger brands offer more because they have MORE. Some of those said balls on buddies are also listed on our site to the general public on SALE but in a previous thread some people were complaining to simply register on the site to see discounted prices. i could list 6 the balls buddies have on their site with prices you could possibly see just by simply going to our website and and registering.
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i could see that side of it as well, but just as other companies our product take to surface alterations very well. 6 of the balls listed on buddies you could get significantly cheaper on our site but seems plenty of people have a problem going there to begin with then registering on the site. i guarantee if any of the big brands offered to see pricing on there site by registering you would. By registering thats not obligating you to anything. We have to start somewhere i agree, and yes balls at the lower price point are in production
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Hello James whats going on man. Hope you had fun bowling with me. I know that I enjoyed our conversation, did you decide what you wanted to get? Hey are you open on Saturday?
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It was fun Josh and learned a lot that I'm taking into my game. Brian at Hanover and I believe Mike at Holiday is open on Saturday. Walnut Hill's shop is closed on Saturday. I haven't decided yet, I'm still waiting on the price list from Tony.
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I talked to him and he was working on something for you I am sure he will get back to you here real soon
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I'm sure. He's been really helpful.
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In reference to the original post I like the look of the LF equipment. Still I can get most other main manufactures here cheaper on closeouts ect. It easier to try something when there is very little to lose. There are so many releases by other manufactures it also makes it harder to venture out.
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In reference to the original post I like the look of the LF equipment. Still I can get most other main manufactures here cheaper on closeouts ect. It easier to try something when there is very little to lose. There are so many releases by other manufactures it also makes it harder to venture out.
Understood
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Which distributors carry LF? Or do proshops need to contact LF direct?
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Direct
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Register on www.lfbowling.com tony will tag you as a pro shop, you will see prices there as far as pro shop packages
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Will do. Thank you