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Author Topic: Ball release dates and use in league  (Read 7321 times)

JazlarVonSteich

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Ball release dates and use in league
« on: January 11, 2018, 02:58:28 PM »
Simple question here. Not sure if the answer is as simple though.

Are you allowed to throw balls in league before the official release date? I'm talking about non-staffers. I'm pretty sure it is legal, in terms of rules - as long as the ball is on the approved list. Talking more about if companies care. And especially if it is only 1-3 days before release.

In particular, does Storm/RG have a problem with it?

 

ignitebowling

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2018, 03:20:29 PM »
If usbc approved release date is only relative to sales.  So you or anyone else are good to bowl away with a new ball even if it hasn't "released" for sale yet.
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JazlarVonSteich

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2018, 03:26:20 PM »
If usbc approved release date is only relative to sales.  So you or anyone else are good to bowl away with a new ball even if it hasn't "released" for sale yet.

That was my thinking. Not going to get into the reasons for this post, but I will say that it is an issue I've seen come up around here. I'm in Canada, but CTF rules follow USBC rules for the most part, but especially for equipment and such.

NitroR2

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2018, 03:52:14 PM »
I'm pretty sure that any problem would be between the Ball Company and the Person that sold you the ball before the official release date.

BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2018, 05:12:29 PM »
Once they are approved by USBC they can (legally) be used, regardless of when the company has it's release date.  I can't even imagine a company sending out a ball before it's USBC approval. 

Many staffers receive the balls slightly before the release date.  However, I've never heard of a company sending out balls before their USBC approval. 

Track_Fanatic

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2018, 05:36:46 PM »
I had issues in the 90’s with my leagues when I had a ball that wasn’t out to the public yet but was already on the approved list. It got really ugly quickly as some felt if they couldn’t get it yet, then it shouldn’t be able to be used. Some thought I had an unfair advantage. However, I had more people asking me questions about the ball I had though and that’s one of the things I liked, being able to talk about a brand and what made this different than prior releases. 

SVstar34

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2018, 05:39:48 PM »
I had issues in the 90’s with my leagues when I had a ball that wasn’t out to the public yet but was already on the approved list. It got really ugly quickly as some felt if they couldn’t get it yet, then it shouldn’t be able to be used. Some thought I had an unfair advantage. However, I had more people asking me questions about the ball I had though and that’s one of the things I liked, being able to talk about a brand and what made this different than prior releases. 

That's part of the reason why I've gone away from Storm/Roto in recent years as everyone is already using it. I like being asked about what I'm throwing and even been able to sway some people to give something else a chance

JazlarVonSteich

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2018, 09:40:33 AM »
Here's a follow-up question that I also wanted to ask yesterday, but didn't have time.

If pro shops get them in early, do the ball companies want them to hold off selling/drilling until the release date?

I understand why movies, games, etc. have release dates that they want to stick, but we're talking about sports equipment. Isn't the goal to get more balls out there? What if it were to lose a sale to another manufacturer's ball that is already on the market?

Just want this cleared up for the future when I have a chance to get a ball up to several days early.

Bowl_Freak

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2018, 09:58:30 AM »
From my experience, Pro Shops can't sell early released balls to public before the official release date. If they are found to, they could actually get in trouble. The only reason they get the balls early is so they can display them to get the public's interest in the new ball so upon release date, they could have pre-sold 4 or 6.

Track_Fanatic

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2018, 10:04:52 AM »
From my experience, Pro Shops can't sell early released balls to public before the official release date. If they are found to, they could actually get in trouble. The only reason they get the balls early is so they can display them to get the public's interest in the new ball so upon release date, they could have pre-sold 4 or 6.
[/quote
From my experience, Pro Shops can't sell early released balls to public before the official release date. If they are found to, they could actually get in trouble. The only reason they get the balls early is so they can display them to get the public's interest in the new ball so upon release date, they could have pre-sold 4 or 6.

Exactly!  If pro shops get them early, they are only suppose to display them. They could probably sell it and put holes in it but would have to wait until release date to release it to the buyer. I didn’t have this experience since mine was not a pro shop issue.

JazlarVonSteich

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2018, 10:20:31 AM »
Ok thanks for the replies. I have no problem waiting. Just figured why wait if you don't have to? Still curious why they send out multiples if they are just for display and really, what is the reason for waiting until the official release date? It's a bowling ball. There are limits to what they can do. Foolish if people think one ball is an advantage over others. Do other sports have "restrictions" like this? I've had softball bats early and never had an issue.

HackJandy

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2018, 07:35:26 PM »
Restrictions are for marketing reasons.  They want the general public to have access all at the same time.  Pretty sure they don't send balls out of house much at all before they are on approved ball list so not an USBC issue more get in the trouble with the ball companies issue.
Kind of noob when made this account so take advice with grain of salt.

BigWillyStyle

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #12 on: January 12, 2018, 08:59:47 PM »
From my experience, Pro Shops can't sell early released balls to public before the official release date. If they are found to, they could actually get in trouble. The only reason they get the balls early is so they can display them to get the public's interest in the new ball so upon release date, they could have pre-sold 4 or 6.


I also would say, that sometimes the PSO will punch up the ball to drum up sales as well...I believe this has to do with if your pro shop is an authorized Storm, Brunswick, ect., shop.

3835

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2018, 09:53:38 PM »
I shot a 300 last week in league on Jan 3 with my Jackal Rising. Release date was Jan 10. No issues with certification, etc because USBC approval was 2 months ago (November 14).

itsallaboutme

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Re: Ball release dates and use in league
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2018, 08:21:35 AM »
Release dates are something they came up with to have all the distributors on equal footing.  That is the day distributors can start shipping.  In the past you would have distributors that were closer to the factories getting their balls sooner and balls would get to some pro shops before some distributors even got their shipment.  So it keeps the manufacturers from trying to time the logistics perfect for every distributor to receive them at the same time. 

You won't see production balls before the approval date.  Only small batches are made for testing and USBC submittal and are not engraved with the USBC approval.  There are fines from USBC if you are caught with balls released with the USBC Approved logo before they are actually approved.