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Author Topic: Direct Sales  (Read 1412 times)

VBPadvertising

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Direct Sales
« on: June 17, 2008, 04:58:29 AM »
Hello all,

I just want to clear up a little confusion for all of our customers, because I have received a few emails regarding our policy on current line equipment.  Bowling balls in our current line cannot be purchased direct from us unless you are one of the following:

1) A Visionary distributor
2) A Pro Shop
3) A test staff member
4) A PBA member

As part of our sponsorship agreement with the TCBA, members can call in an order directly to us, however all of the balls must go through the regional pro shop or regional director.

Even though we are no longer registered with the PBA, we do still offer significant discounts to PBA card holders.  We feel that it is important to maintain a good relationship with the PBA players who still use our equipment during leagues and tournaments that are not governed by the PBA.

Pro Shops, if you have any questions about Test Staff memberships and the drilling credits you get for drilling a ball for a test staff member, please feel free to email me at vbpadvertising@aol.com or for more information go here http://visionarybowling.com/memberproshop.html

Thanks,
Jason Wonders
Visionary Bowling Products

 

getuaload

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2008, 02:17:42 PM »
Thanks Jason,  i Have had alot of people i know bowling in the TCBA and said they can order a ball anytime they want  & all they have to do is call. I didnt think it worked like that and i am glad you have cleared it up.
That is also one of the reasons its hard to get into pro shops they think you sell directly to the bowlers like in the TCBA.
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Atochabsh

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2008, 11:36:20 PM »
Me too, since I just signed on as a pro shop and it was looking like anyone could just call up and direct order a ball.  
Erin

gsback

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2008, 10:14:58 AM »
TCBA = Traveling Classic Bowling Association

The Traveling Classic Bowling Associations of America, Inc is a non-profit fraternal bowling organization formed for the primary purpose of practicing the sport of bowling in the form of highly organized, prestigious and competitive men's and women's traveling league.

TCBA consists of 15 men's regions or leagues totaling 280 teams, 14 women's regions totaling 191 teams.  Territories include Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.


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VBPadvertising

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2008, 03:38:29 PM »
As gsback so eloquently put, the TCBA is the largest traveling league in the world.  We are very proud to be the official sponsor of the league, and part of the sponsorship negotiation was that we would offer the members a discounted price through the regional pro shops and the regional directors for the league.

Erin,
First of all, thank you for your support, and for carrying our product line.  I can assure you that we do not sell direct to individuals outside of the methods listed above.  Many Pro Shops have concerns about the test staff program and the TCBA members, however that only amounts to approximately 8-9,000 bowlers worldwide.  There are over 2.5 million USBC sanctioned bowlers, so the maximum number of USBC sanctioned bowlers who can purchase direct amounts to 0.3% of the bowlers in the US.  That leaves 99.7% of bowlers who have to purchase through our pro shops.

In addition, test staff members are limited to the number of balls they can purchase, and Pro Shops receive a credit of $10-15 per ball that they drill for a test staff member.  We are doing everything we can to keep pro shops happy, while still getting our equipment out into the public view.

Thanks again
Jason Wonders
Visionary Bowling Products

Edited on 6/18/2008 3:54 PM

gsback

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2008, 04:26:05 PM »
Personally, as a member of the TCBA, I think what Jason does for the TCBA bowlers is awesome.  When we bowled in San Antonio, Jason was at the alleys each day for the duration of bowling.  He walked the lanes, met people, fielded questions....the whole day.  Mind you, bowling started at 7 am on Saturday and I don't believe we got out until midnight, or very close to it!

And there were 2 alleys as well....one where the men bowled and one where the women were.  That's a lot of time devoted to promoting his stuff to a small group of people.  

Personally, I don't see issues with what Visionary does in terms of helping the TCBA, but that's my limited understanding of running a pro shop.  I frequent one pro shop and the person running it is great.  I try and buy what I can there outside of bowling balls and he respects (I hope!!) that because I will bring people into the shop to buy new equipment or to have balls plugged and redrilled, etc.  

He's small, but he's busy and caters to people that buy from him as well as those that don't but want the ball drilled.  His inventory is low and maybe that's the difference.  Maybe because he doesn't feel that he's got to carry 30 NIB 15lb balls of each release that he can do what he does.  Not sure.

All I know is the fact that I walk in there without buying his ball is the least of his concerns.  He knows he's getting all of business for everything else.
--------------------
BR.com.....going down the toilet one nugget at a time!!  

g thing is back....with a vengeance!!  
www.visionarybowling.com - Accept no substitute for the very best there is!!

Best line I've heard about politics....
REMEMBER....POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON!!

MI 2 AZ

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2008, 10:01:48 PM »
I found out about the Visionary test staff program from my balldriller who recommended that I look into it.  I dont think his distributor carried Visionary so he had never drilled or sold any, but he had heard some good things about them.  I had never heard of Visionary before that, so I did some research into their balls before I did decide to join.
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gsback

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Re: Direct Sales
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2008, 11:50:41 AM »
quote:
I dont think his distributor carried Visionary


That's the problem out here.  There are limited shops that carry the balls and none of them are close to here.  I'd have to drive an hour plus to get the ball and I'm not letting them drill the ball as I've got my own favorite who takes care of that.


--------------------
BR.com.....going down the toilet one nugget at a time!!  

g thing is back....with a vengeance!!  
www.visionarybowling.com - Accept no substitute for the very best there is!!

Best line I've heard about politics....
REMEMBER....POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON!!