Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Custom companies => Fusion Sports => Topic started by: yvk3103 on December 31, 2008, 03:08:50 PM
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I was speaking to James last eveing and was stunned by the new prices he quoted for the Fusion Bats:
Fusion L.E. - made from top willow stored for the past 12-14 months for air drying by James. LImimted to 70-90 bats in 2009. Price £275 for custom made
Fusion Superbest - from stock, no customization £175-£195
Fusion Superbest Custom made - Add £30 to Superbest price
Fusion G1 - £165
Personally, I felt the prices were on the higher side and may lead to loss of potential customers. But there bats are well made and perform well.
A very tricky decision to make, wether to go for a Fusion SB, or Newbery or Salix or Warsop?/??
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so what is the fusion suberbest with no customization going to be like i wonder? in terms of shape
edit: yash have a look at the premium members discount for your new bat, might save you a bit :)
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Surely if you're selling a few of your bats, you could use the money from these sales to splash out on one expensive bat? That's what I would do, and then there's no moaning about having too many, and you have one really great bat. You should also look at Redback, he gets some really awesome willow in, plus his prices are very competitive. Out of those four, I would get in contact with Salix about a custom from them, as you should get one for a similar price to the Fusion.
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I dont see how they can justify those prices when a piece of wood will cost around £100-£150, I dont know how much time it takes a decent batmaker to make a bat but surely its not £100 worth of time!
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I have a feeling that they are trying to cash-in on the Skyer success and "milk" the market.
I was looking to get a Fusion bat this season, but now will have to look elsewhere...maybe LW or NB or a Salix Pod 1
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A Custom Superbest is still cheaper than a L&W Private Bin and a Fusion LE is cheaper than the Signature. Fusion, L&W and Screaming Cat are full time batmakers, hence their pretty high prices. Manufacturers like CE and Redback who do it part time as well as a hobby can afford to under cut them. It's up to the buyer who they go to really. But even Redback are charging around £200 for their top bat now. The prices are slowly rising from everyone.
People will pay the prices for the Superbest I'd think as they're very similar to prices in previous years. It's only the LE which is massively different in prices.
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so what is the fusion suberbest with no customization going to be like i wonder? in terms of shape
I would guess High Middle, Concaving with Oval handle. Like a lot of their bats.
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willow prices have gone up nearly 20% since nov this year , that extra 20% has got to be added on somewhere......
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i think they have already sold about 50% of the stored willow, did he mention anything about 2009 stickers?
i have a fusion superbest but i am very tepmted by warsops at the moment they are churning out some bloody nice bats
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Yes, they have new stickers for 2009.
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Arthur,
It is not about the money. It's about the value for money, perceived value.
If you have money to buy a good car and given that both the cars cost the same will you buy a Vauxhall or a Toyota?
I have nothing against Fusion. They make quality stuff, but the price to perceived value
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Yvk you puzzle me. I thought you had a surplus of bats but here you are yet again looking to buy another. How come you buy so many-and eventually sell on-so many bats?
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Yes, they have new stickers for 2009.
Read more on this in the next customBATS emagazine which is free to all premium members. Theres a great interview in it with Jeremy from Fusion. :)
If anyone wants to become a premium member its £10 per year and you get loads of discounts off custom bat manufacturers such as Redback,Laver,M&H and more!
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Yes I have a few surplus still left. The bats I am selling are the ones which were not 100% to my liking and the refurbished ones (I like using new bats). Moreover, I am quite finicky about my cricket equipment. As I order most equipment online, the rejection rate is higher.....
Basically selling all the bats except 2. So I can still have 1 or 2 bats later on
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The prospect of a newbery draws closer! for me Fusion have made the right business decision and tried to capitalise on the success they have had but its not goint to be popular!
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I've said this before elsewhere, but I think people on here have been spoilt with our accessibility to Fusion. As Tom points out, as James it oft cited as one of THE best batmakers in the world, the prices they are charging are equivalent to their peers, and as the name grows (which I'm sure is from a fair few years of hard work) they can attract a greater premium for their product. In terms of perceived value, this still looks like more for my money than buying a top end pellara for example.
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well my bat is going to have weight taken off next week so i should be getting some new stickers on then!
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I can tell you that I've had a nice Fusion but James is a long way from the top table of bat makers. If this willow is as good as the price would point to then he'll do well but to get a players bat and I mean genuine county level you find them at the rate of 1 in a 100 clefts so has James bought 10,000 clefts in a year or is has he played up the quality to boost business?
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My nanna and grandad bought me a skyer for Xmas and were shocked when the price when from 60 quid to 140 overnight, not as shocked as we were that is.
Got it for xmas and when down to my circket club yesterday to see what it was like.
I WAS AMAZED.............. for all the wrong reasons. I was stunned to see that i could not even his the ball as far as i do with my Laver. I was middleing it and trying to hit it as far as i could but could not even hit a six. Yet i managed to hit the ball onto the roadway with my laver.
The only thing it is good for is hitting short sharp catches. Can somebody tell me if i am using it wrong? What do i need to do, kp says he can hit the ball out of the ground with it. Yet i can barely get it to the FENCE ON THE ROLL!
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I would say the Superbest and the G1 are reasonably priced, at the same level as most other batmakers whether they're top or not. A Newbery off the shelf costs £200, a Redback costs around that, Laver costs £220, Warsop £200, Nixon £225.
They're around the right mark with the Superbest price certainly, it's just this new LE grade which has seen the major change. Perhaps it is just a gimmick but I think it makes good business sense. Offer the rich people who want the best a more expensive choice, or the Superbest for £80 less which will seem a bargain in comparison to others. For example the first breadmaker sold very little however when they introduced a "deluxe" edition priced at 50% more the original edition flew off the shelves due to a perceived bargain for not much less quality.
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My nanna and grandad bought me a skyer for Xmas and were shocked when the price when from 60 quid to 140 overnight, not as shocked as we were that is.
Got it for xmas and when down to my circket club yesterday to see what it was like.
I WAS AMAZED.............. for all the wrong reasons. I was stunned to see that i could not even his the ball as far as i do with my Laver. I was middleing it and trying to hit it as far as i could but could not even hit a six. Yet i managed to hit the ball onto the roadway with my laver.
The only thing it is good for is hitting short sharp catches. Can somebody tell me if i am using it wrong? What do i need to do, kp says he can hit the ball out of the ground with it. Yet i can barely get it to the FENCE ON THE ROLL!
I've seen KP and Mark do it and they really hit it miles, I think it's a case of finding the right technique to hit the ball with. The Skyer you have is probably even better than the one KP used to clear the Media Centre at Lords.
Maybe try watching the videos and the technique they use.
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I agree with the Skyer Tom, I can clear the ground from one boundry to the next, not because it hits the ball much further, mostly because of the control from the short bat.
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Agreed. With the Skyer yuo can hit the ball much much further than one would normally imagine or dream of with a normal bat.
Nozza, I think there is something wrong with the way you are using it.
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The Skyer I used allowed me to hit huge catches, you just got to get the technique right Noz. Try not to hold the skyer at the end of the handle, try somewhere nearer to the blade.
On the subject of Fusion, I can see why everyone is gutted as their prices rise. But as they get more successful and well known its natural for them to charge more - we all just wanna make a little money eh?
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I've said this before elsewhere, but I think people on here have been spoilt with our accessibility to Fusion. As Tom points out, as James it oft cited as one of THE best batmakers in the world, the prices they are charging are equivalent to their peers, and as the name grows (which I'm sure is from a fair few years of hard work) they can attract a greater premium for their product. In terms of perceived value, this still looks like more for my money than buying a top end pellara for example.
I am sure no one will be putting their money on the adidas cricket bats unless they reduce their price by at least 40%. I was at a retailer a week or so back and they had Adidas bats. Looked very ordinary except for the stickers. The retailer himself stocked the bats on the condition that the bats would be returned if they did not sell.
I agree we have been spoilt by Fusions accessibility and pricing in the past. However, I still feel Fusion should be more empathetic with his customers, given that he too would have felt the pinch when he had to pay out of his nose for a good bat when he was not making them himself.
Given Fusion's same price range as a Newbery, Salix, Warsop, Laver Wood, if were to choose a bat, I am not sure how many of us would choose Fusion. Fusion may not loose out on the quality aspect, but will take a massive beating on perceived value and qulaity aspect.
I remember, when I was selling my new Fusion Superbest on the this forum, no one was willing to pay more than £120 for a superbest. In comparison the Warsop I just got sold for £150 (just £20 less than what I paid for it) and the Newbery Grizzley sold for £160.
Hope the above clarifies my point. The price in comparison/relation to the PERCEIVED value is not justified. I am not saying why he is selling for such a high price. Every manufacturer is free to price his products and every customer is free to make his choices and valuations.
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Guys it is not as if this willow was available before it is a new addition to the range, I personally can not see the problem with it. The price for the rest of the range has remained fairly constant
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The Superbest was better than grade 1 now something else is better again... hype or they have just dropped the grades down one to add a new bat at the top. What is the total quantity of clefts being bought per year, being friends with England coaches does not get you any better willow.
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Superbetter maybe! I'm not sure how Superbest was marketed in the first place
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Fusion have always maintained that the Superbest is made from the "highest quality willow".
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superbest is superbest because james says it is, it is not exceptional to look at he just thinks it will play better. Fusion appparently grade on performance but i am sure cosmetics comes into it some degree.
when buying 'superbest' you are trusting james to pick you out a piece of willow he thinks will perform better than ordinary grade 1
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their grading was :
1. Superbest - made from highest quality willow
2. G1 - made from some of the better willow
3. G2 - made from the good quality willow which we press in a special way to result in exceptional performance
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their grading was :
1. Superbest - made from highest quality willow
2. G1 - made from some of the better willow
3. G2 - made from the good quality willow which we press in a special way to result in exceptional performance
what do they press it with elves and a sprinkling of fairy dust?
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The grading is from Anglian Willow. They have always had a Superbest grade above Grade 1. It is because Grade 1 can have some minor faults and Superbest is fault free. The upgrading of willow from the cosmetic to performance is down to the batmaker and them alone. In Fusions case the Superbest is a reference to performance and not cosmetic marking.
Pressing is down to the press, nothing else can alter it.
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what do they press it with elves and a sprinkling of fairy dust?
The lower grades are pressed along with some mixture of oil and some other liquids. Not sure what.
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Fanta?
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Some bats are soaked in water (SG) and some dry. My bats are wetted sometimes. It is only when the old machine is running because the main one is being repaired.
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What does the water do Mike?
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Stops the face from cracking.
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i use linsead oil/water to press ,as tailsman said it stops the face from cracking up.