Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Forum News and Suggestions => Old Advertisers => Admin Board => It's Just Cricket => Topic started by: ItsJustCricket on August 30, 2013, 12:26:21 PM
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Hello Guys,
As some of you will be aware, we have taken on more staff recently, which means I now get much more time away from the shop, including more opportunities to meet suppliers and hand-pick bats. As a result, it’s very likely that every single one of our 2014 bats will be hand-picked… Knowing how hungry you guys are to get the very best of the new ranges, and as soon as they become available, we have an exclusive CBF offer for 2014 cricket bats, which goes a little something like this:
1. Please select a brand from the following list (not a particular bat, just a brand):
- Gray-Nicolls
- Kookaburra
- Newbery
- Hammer
- Millichamp & Hall
- Willostix
- Hell4Leather
2. Pay us a £50 deposit.
3. We confirm the bat options and prices from the brand you’ve picked. NB. In most cases, this may have to wait until after the Lord’s Trade Show on September 19th.
4. You send us further info on the bat you want: including the model, grade, weight, grain number (approximate), edge size etc. - you can be as specific as you like, within reason. (But please be realistic: sourcing a 2.7 bat with 20 grains and 50mm edges is tricky – even when you’re hand-picking!) :)
5. We arrange a date to hand-pick your bat from your chosen brand. NB. In the unlikely event that your bat cannot be hand-picked and delivered to you before Christmas, we will fully refund your deposit.
6. We hand-pick your bat (this will most likely be sometime in November).
7. You pay us the balance.
8. We knock in your bat and ship it out to you (before Christmas).
So, all you need to do to pre-order a bat is choose your brand and pay us a £50 deposit (via card/PayPal/bank transfer). We will then send you an order confirmation email with a reference number to get the ball rolling.
Any pre-orders that are received on or before Friday September 6th will get free knocking-in.
There is no limit to the amount of bats or brands that you can select. You could potentially pre-order one bat from each brand, provided that you pay a £50 deposit for each...
We ship all over the world, so there are no geographical restrictions here. Anyone and everyone on the CBF can take advantage of this. Remember, all orders from outside the EU are exempt from VAT, meaning a 16.67% discount on your bat...
Please send me your selections via PM/email. I look forward to hearing from you! :)
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I definitely feel a purchase coming on now! (not that I needed one! ) This is a good offer Paul!
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Paul,
No Salix this year?
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Already put a order in for Hammer!
Great offer, looking forward to it!
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Paul,
No Salix this year?
We will still stock Salix next year, and are in fact planning to hand-pick some clefts at their place within the next few weeks / as soon as they become available, but Salix are a law unto themselves when it comes to turnaround times, so I doubt we will see those finished bats before Christmas. That's the only reason they are not on the list...
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Already put a order in for Hammer!
Great offer, looking forward to it!
Thanks, mate - received! :) Order confirmation email coming your way, and keep watching the videos too... ;)
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Already put a order in for Hammer!
Great offer, looking forward to it!
I remember you saying how keen you were for one when you saw my Hel156 post. Pleased to see you've gone for it! What did you go for??
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Haven't decided yet! There all great bats.
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No need to rush your decision too, Josh. You've picked your brand and paid the deposit, and that's all we need for now. It really is that simple! :)
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Where do you hand pick the hammers from or are you having a vacation to the US and A? :)
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When do you need to know the specs paul?
Think i might go for the Hel 156 after Chad's review
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Where do you hand pick the hammers from or are you having a vacation to the US and A? :)
They are made in England, so I pick them from where they are made, Rob. But I think you new that! :)
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When do you need to know the specs paul?
Think i might go for the Hel 156 after Chad's review
End of October at the latest ideally, so plenty of time. You get free knocking-in too, remember... :)
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Ok thanks, probably send it through soon.
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Now that some of the new ranges have been launched/shown on here, I wanted to bump this thread...
Who wants some lovely willow under their tree this Christmas? :)
I think a hand-picked Kookaburra Bubble would make a nice Christmas present! :D
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I think a hand-picked Kookaburra Bubble would make a nice Christmas present! :D
My sentiments exactly!
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What the advantage of being hand picked from ijc??? What do your company know anybody else doesn't ???
What the advantage price wise of the offer are you going to be cheaper than anywhere else to make it worth while??
Is it a marketing ploy as all the discounted models will be cheaper this time of year??
So what are you offering ??
What is your method of "hand picking" please do share ??
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In this case, Dave, we hand-pick to the specs of what the customers give us. So, if they say, I want a 2.8 bat, with decent ping, 10 grains, and a streak of heartwood on the RH outside edge, we try and find a bat that meets those specs exactly. By decent ping, we go on mallet response (rebound and sound). Can bounce a ball on them in certain cases too. If you ask the customers on here that have taken advantage of our similar bat offers in the past, maybe they can shed more light and give you the less biased account that I think you are after...
As for the other benefits of the deal, it's mainly a cash-flow thing. In our experience, some customers want expensive bats, but can't always pay for them in one chunk, so we are offering a chance to pay over a longer period of time (2-3 months), which is far more manageable for many wallets, especially if it's a top end bat. We only ask for a £50 deposit, which is quite low and something that we feel caters for a wide pool.
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I see the business sense indeed both ways but as a potential customer even with your 15 per cent discount I see the products could still be cheaper elsewhere and with all bats Inital response means not alot some bats are better finished pressed than others so it not a performance thing but see what your saying.
Do you give any guarantees with the offer ???
Also thanks for your time Paul To answer
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Sorry to butt in but I think to have someone go and view and hand pick a bat for someone would be worth a little extra... It give at least a little peace of mind I think
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Personally, that's why into this deal, knowing that i can get a hand picked bat of my specifications, especially with someone like Paul who you know will take time and really find the best bat for you.
Also the deposit and pay later is a great idea, means you can manage your money better, which is a must with all the bats we see here!
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I can do that though picking my own bat though ???
Good marketing
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Based on the last few seasons and the dodgy weather, how much do you think the increase on last years RRP will be?
10%, 15%?
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I can do that though picking my own bat though ???
Good marketing
Do you get to go to kook and take your pick of bats though Dave?
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no put I could if I took up another forum offer though as stated lets not get blinkered at no point have I said it not a good offer I just wanted to see what Paul had to offer as bats are cheaper elsewhere and you get to select your own and some other non forum shops have a massive selection as well.
I genuinely do not see the advantage of another opinion on a cricket bat when the only real opinion is the user
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I can do that though picking my own bat though ???
Good marketing
Can you go to Newbery, salix, gn, kook, etc and choose the bat you want though? I'm not sure you can with all, and for many of us, even if we could, location and time required can be prohibitive.
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Based on the last few seasons and the dodgy weather, how much do you think the increase on last years RRP will be?
10%, 15%?
With the exception of the Dynadrive, the Gray-Nicolls prices seem to have frozen for 2014. As for Kook, I have just received their price list, so will post them shortly and update the thread then. My gut feel is that the major brands will only increase slightly, if at all, whereas the smaller/medium brands might increase up to 10%. All will be revealed at the Lord's Trade Show. Apparently Wrights's willow prices have gone up a bit, so am expecting a slight increase in general...
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Dave, some comments on hand-picking if I may...
Firstly, I know you're not a fan of the process - you have certainly made your feelings well known on here before. I also completely understand that, ultimately, it's more important that you like the bat, rather than me. However, with offers like this, what we are doing is simplifying the process for everyone. As Tim said, many of you guys don't have the time or ability to travel down to all these manufacturers yourself. Also, even if you did, many would not simply be able to walk in and pick out a bat you like and make a purchase there and then. What we do is get as much detail from the customer as possible - even for the lower grade bats, we ask for preferred amount of grains, exact weight, edge size, heartwood etc. As I said, within reason, the customer can be as specific as possible, so it's almost like when we take the trip and pick their bat, we are doing it with their eyes. If we know what you want, we can always get very close to/match your desired specs because, by hand-picking, we are able to see a much greater range of bats than we would otherwise.
As for performance, and your take on what will and won't perform, that's a fair point. Of course, we cannot say with 100% confidence that we guarantee that this bat will be the best because we felt it tapped up the best off the mallet. But in my experience, especially as we do this sort of thing on a regular basis, most people trust our judgement in being able to tell what is great/good/average/bad when it comes to initial mallet/ball response, which is all we can do, and whilst not foolproof, seems to be good enough for most, and lo and behold, the customer feedback we've had up until now has reinforced this on most, if not all, occasions.
Another general note about hand-picking, often overlooked, is that not many shops actually bother to do it. You guys are lucky on here because you have the choice of three shops who do hand-pick their bats. But this isn't representative of the market as a whole. Apart from us three, there are only a handful of other shops in the whole country who take the time and effort to personally select their bats. I know this because we are often at the factories at the same time, or at least hear from the manufacturers about who else they have accommodated - believe me, it's not that many.
Most shops will place an order of X amount of bats from manufacturer Y, and then Y will send them the bats and they get what they're given. Some retailers may want to send some of them back for replacements, but as far as I can tell, most just accept what they get, keep them and put them on the shelf. It's basically pot luck if they get good ones or not. I have seen a few threads on here where someone has bought a bat from one such retailer in a high grade, expecting it to be a stunning looking bat, only to find that it has just 5/6 grains, or has blemishes all over the place.
I respect that you don't agree with the process, and that you'd rather trust your own judgement than mine, and I commend you for speaking your mind so candidly on the subject. I just wanted to give some more clarity and present some factual information, essentially so you guys on here realise how lucky you are! :) At the end of he day, if you prefer to buy from another retailer, that's your prerogative. You're quite right - there will always be other shops where you can get bats cheaper. Many of them are like the ones mentioned above, so it's just pot luck that you're really getting value for money with your bat, but if you'd rather save a few pounds, then go for it! Of course, hand-picking bats costs us time and money - there's a lot of travelling involved. We need to recover these costs somehow, unlike the shops who don't bother to make such trips, so they can afford to price them a bit lower.
Anyway, end of dissertation! Sorry for rambling on, but I feel this is a salient point that warranted a proper response.
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Your use of the english language, If I may, is profoundly awesome Paul.
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Surely with your current offer of 15% then next week 10%, with the bonus of bats picked roughly to the desired spec, the bats must be the most competitively priced offerings in the market place?
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Surely with your current offer of 15% then next week 10%, with the bonus of bats picked roughly to the desired spec, the bats must be the most competitively priced offerings in the market place?
Thanks, but I wouldn't go that far, Rob - Kookaburra and Gray-Nicolls bats are available in Sports Direct... ;)
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Can you go to Newbery, salix, gn, kook, etc and choose the bat you want though? I'm not sure you can with all, and for many of us, even if we could, location and time required can be prohibitive.
I know you can go to kook and SS with jake at vitas
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If you were very indecisive and were not sure exactly which bat you wanted, could you put say a deposit down on 2 manufacturers and then if you decide transfer your other deposit onto the bat you pick?
Hope that makes sense!!
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If you were very indecisive and were not sure exactly which bat you wanted, could you put say a deposit down on 2 manufacturers and then if you decide transfer your other deposit onto the bat you pick?
Hope that makes sense!!
Yes, you could, JB. It would mean that you are paying a higher deposit (£100), but there is still a bit of time to decide on the particular bat, and your balance payment would be less, of course! :)
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Thanks, i'll see if I can narrow it down to 2 manufacturers now!!
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Now that you guys have seen the new Newbery and M&H bats, I thought I'd give this thread a cheeky bump... :)
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Now that you guys have seen the new Newbery and M&H bats, I thought I'd give this thread a cheeky bump... :)
Hi Paul, any idea on how much the Kudos will cost?
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instead of paying a deposit can i just pay the full amount now paul ?
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Another general note about hand-picking, often overlooked, is that not many shops actually bother to do it. You guys are lucky on here because you have the choice of three shops who do hand-pick their bats. But this isn't representative of the market as a whole. Apart from us three, there are only a handful of other shops in the whole country who take the time and effort to personally select their bats. I know this because we are often at the factories at the same time, or at least hear from the manufacturers about who else they have accommodated - believe me, it's not that many.
Most shops will place an order of X amount of bats from manufacturer Y, and then Y will send them the bats and they get what they're given. Some retailers may want to send some of them back for replacements, but as far as I can tell, most just accept what they get, keep them and put them on the shelf. It's basically pot luck if they get good ones or not. I have seen a few threads on here where someone has bought a bat from one such retailer in a high grade, expecting it to be a stunning looking bat, only to find that it has just 5/6 grains, or has blemishes all over the place.
I respect that you don't agree with the process, and that you'd rather trust your own judgement than mine, and I commend you for speaking your mind so candidly on the subject. I just wanted to give some more clarity and present some factual information, essentially so you guys on here realise how lucky you are! :) At the end of he day, if you prefer to buy from another retailer, that's your prerogative. You're quite right - there will always be other shops where you can get bats cheaper. Many of them are like the ones mentioned above, so it's just pot luck that you're really getting value for money with your bat, but if you'd rather save a few pounds, then go for it! Of course, hand-picking bats costs us time and money - there's a lot of travelling involved. We need to recover these costs somehow, unlike the shops who don't bother to make such trips, so they can afford to price them a bit lower.
Anyway, end of dissertation! Sorry for rambling on, but I feel this is a salient point that warranted a proper response.
Paul,
I am interested to know which are the retailers that you know of that hand pick their bats? surely all the cricket retailers should be doing this to make sure they get the quality of product for their customers!
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Paul,
I am interested to know which are the retailers that you know of that hand pick their bats? surely all the cricket retailers should be doing this to make sure they get the quality of product for their customers!
All four shops on here, Talent Cricket, Romida and Fordham Sports. Barrington might, although I'm not sure. I don't know of any others.
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instead of paying a deposit can i just pay the full amount now paul ?
Yes, you can, Dave. Whatever is easiest for you! Send me a PM... :)
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Hi Paul, any idea on how much the Kudos will cost?
For now, I can only give you the suggested retail prices, which is £500 for the SPS and £275 for the Player. We haven't set our prices yet, but you can expect discounts of approx. 15-25%. If someone wants to pre-order one, I will hurry up and decide on our prices! :)
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Arvind, did you take any pics of the M&H CK22 softs? Sadly my guy, Cameron, didn't! :(
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Now that you guys have seen the new Newbery and M&H bats, I thought I'd give this thread a cheeky bump... :)
Where are the new offerings from M&H Paul?
Might need to make another deposit!!
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For now, I can only give you the suggested retail prices, which is £500 for the SPS and £275 for the Player. We haven't set our prices yet, but you can expect discounts of approx. 15-25%. If someone wants to pre-order one, I will hurry up and decide on our prices! :)
Thanks, Paul. Leaning towards the Kudos, but would like to see what offerings Salix have for 2014. Any idea when they will be released?
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Where are the new offerings from M&H Paul?
Might need to make another deposit!!
Hi Jon, M&H have one new bat, called the CK22. Photos are on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/itsjustcricket (http://www.facebook.com/itsjustcricket)
You're building up a decent collection! :)
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Thanks, Paul. Leaning towards the Kudos, but would like to see what offerings Salix have for 2014. Any idea when they will be released?
Not yet. Chris (SOULMAN) is likely to know more than I do on that front.
But Salix aren't part of this pre-Christmas offer anyway...
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Most brands are off the mark now for pre-orders, with Gray-Nicolls and Kookaburra leading the race comfortably!
Surprisingly, still nothing from Newbery - no takers on the Kudos?? Newbery will be the first brand we will visit (in October), so any pre-order customers will most likely get their bat before the others...
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Any Update on dates for picking the bats?
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Hand picking bats is pretty awesome. Picking up a Kook Bubble Star could be an amazing bargain. Or for the tiny people a Kudos Players in Junior for £110 seems a steal :)
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Any Update on dates for picking the bats?
Newbery were picked last week. Most others will be in November and Willostix in December. Exact dates still to be determined, but I expect most to be all picked and ready before the end of November...
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Just wanted to update this thread with some confirmed visit dates, so you guys know when to expect your bats:
GRAY-NICS: 19th Nov
H4L: 23rd Nov
KOOKABURRA: 27th Nov
Hammer bats will be picked within the next fortnight, although there is no confirmed date yet. The latest visits will be Willostix and M&H, which are both likely to be early December.
In addition to these visits, we are also going to Woodstock (this Wednesday) and Salix (13th Nov), so if anyone is interested in a new bat from either of these brands, please get in touch!
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How i'd love to be adding a Salix to the growing collection.......
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my bat might even arrive in time for my birthday
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my bat might even arrive in time for my birthday
Depends how fast we knock it in, I guess! :) When's your birthday, James?
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27th november. i was going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best :D
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27th november. i was going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best :D
Good to know, cheers. Certainly a target we should aim for! :) I will keep you posted...
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Can't beat a new bat for your birthday!! What you getting?
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Gray nics nemesis. the first brand new bat i have bought in a few years as i finally got to play regularly this season.
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Nice, they've got some serious meat!
I got a couple of bats off Paul recently and they are guns! I'm sure he'll pick you a beauty!
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i saw one in a shop and love the look of it. i have used a mongoose mmi and wanted something with a slightly longer blade but with similar principles about the middle.
it was the reason i went to paul as he handpicks and im sure it will be a beauty.
i only have to wait until december for the winter nets to start to try it out
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Looking forward to it Paul. Thanks!