Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Other Gear => Topic started by: Yorkershire on November 15, 2021, 01:49:17 PM
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Not sure if this is the best place for this...
Ordered an ayrtek arm guard/sweat band in October (7th). Still haven't received it.
Via email I got told it was shipped 11th. After waiting I rand teh number (0) 7737 046857 and left a voicemail...
Today upon trying it again its saying number not recognised.... curious if anyone else is having similar issues?>
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Just tried and got the same message, sorry buddy.
They dont list any Ayrtek products on their site anymore. Perhaps @Ayrtek Cricket can help?
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Unfortunately they have gone in to liquidation.
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Ah. That would explain the odd website message I saw last night. "THIS WEBSITE IS BEING REFURBISHED[/size] [/size]It will not be available until further notice"
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[/size]Shame if true. I liked their selling strategy, had been a customer, and enjoyed the YT videos - even if Paul didn't talk about zips enough...
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Unfortunately they have gone in to liquidation.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it was only earlier this year they brought someone one to help run the business? He did the tour of B3 I think.
Paul was fantastic on YouTube.
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Unfortunately they have gone in to liquidation.
Okay great so I got lied to re my ayrtek band had shipped... not good. I've ordered via @Butterfingerz and that's arrived.
Good job I hadn't ordered anything expensive like a bat.
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Yes , Steve , hence the move to wrexham
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They may surface as something new if they have now gone into liquidation.
Lasted way longer than I thought they would, if you are renting shop space in London or anywhere for that matter you really do need to be sharp that you will sell enough to absorb rents and still turn a profit.
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But they were now in wrexham
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They may surface as something new if they have now gone into liquidation.
Lasted way longer than I thought they would, if you are renting shop space in London or anywhere for that matter you really do need to be sharp that you will sell enough to absorb rents and still turn a profit.
Unlikely to resurface i would say, who is going to supply them stock?
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But they were now in wrexham
Yes true recently relocated. I don’t know of course but I would take an educated guess liquidation has built up over a couple or more years.
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Can't believe this, sad times indeed. Loved their youtube channel and seemed like some great guys. What a real shame.
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Real shame as Paul had a real passion for the business and created a good following with his YouTube channel. Basically just shows how hard it is to run a retail business if you can’t run from home as even in Wrexham which I guess is a lot cheaper than London he has to pay rents and rates month in month out, given the 2020 season write off, the growth in smaller online from home business as well he did well to last over a decade.
Hope all works out for Paul in whatever they do next.
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Unlikely to resurface i would say, who is going to supply them stock?
Supplier reticence might explain why they changed favourite brands so often?
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They were fantastic. Absolutely loved their YouTube channel. Will be a huge hole to fill.
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Supplier reticence might explain why they changed favourite brands so often?
Something to do with handpicking all their bats?
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Im not sure Paul was that involved apart from his videos since the investor came on board and moved the business. They did a video on YouTube about him moving on some time back however I haven't actually been following that closely so things may have changed since then. The website is still up but there doesn't appear to be any stock on it. Also not sure how long the Christmas banner has been on there?
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Glad the Hybrid got to you safely, hadn’t heard about them going into liquidation.
It’s a tough landscape for us cricket brands currently with things going on behind the scenes.
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Glad the Hybrid got to you safely, hadn’t heard about them going into liquidation.
It’s a tough landscape for us cricket brands currently with things going on behind the scenes.
Had to order via Butterfingerz IJC claimed they'd posted it but I suspect that was a fib... and couldn't even get a refund... written it off now due to the news..
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Had to order via Butterfingerz IJC claimed they'd posted it but I suspect that was a fib... and couldn't even get a refund... written it off now due to the news..
Can't you file a chargeback?
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Can't you file a chargeback?
Good idea... not even crossed my mind... think I used credit card... so duh @ me... I'll look into it..
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Real shame as Paul had a real passion for the business and created a good following with his YouTube channel. Basically just shows how hard it is to run a retail business if you can’t run from home as even in Wrexham which I guess is a lot cheaper than London he has to pay rents and rates month in month out, given the 2020 season write off, the growth in smaller online from home business as well he did well to last over a decade.
Hope all works out for Paul in whatever they do next.
. Do small makers like yourslef not contribute to shops closing? and other brands who pay rates struggle though in a crowded market. It a genius question not a swipe at small makers who still sell at a small profit?
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. Do small makers like yourslef not contribute to shops closing? and other brands who pay rates struggle though in a crowded market. It a genius question not a swipe at small makers who still sell at a small profit?
I disagree mate, I dont think small makers / drop shippers are really taking much business away on the whole. The pandemic has hit the industry hard and perhaps and just guessing, without Paul's involvment on a day to day basis the passion wasnt their anylonger?
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I disagree mate, I dont think small makers / drop shippers are really taking much business away on the whole. The pandemic has hit the industry hard and perhaps and just guessing, without Paul's involvment on a day to day basis the passion wasnt their anylonger?
Interesting you say this yet every district/area now has a brand then 5/10 bats do make quite a dent as you will understand when working at B3 and the issues many had at the time with small brand with no overheads. Just a observation I always been on the side of get what you can as cheap as you can
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In my experience, there have always been small makers producing a small volume of bats with low overheads. That doesn't seem to have changed.
Where the market does appear to have moved is that smaller shops with physical premises are been pushed out due to the increasing dominance of a small number of retailers who now have a nationwide reach due to the Internet. There are still a couple of places local to me that have a physical presence as well as an online offering but they have certainly become more scarce
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As an aside, Paul's videos were brilliant and are a real loss.
They really came into their own with kit bags. Of all cricket products, these are the hardest to buy online. A couple of external photos gives no idea at all as to the internal layout or what kit will fit in it and where. Paul's videos seemed genuinely unique in giving you an idea what you were really buying
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. Do small makers like yourslef not contribute to shops closing? and other brands who pay rates struggle though in a crowded market. It a genius question not a swipe at small makers who still sell at a small profit?
I guess the simple answer to this question is yes I/we do. However that’s the simple answer, for me personally it’s hard as a very large reason for setting up my business was to offer quality kit at affordable prices, this is solely possible as I dont need an income stream from Willow & Wand, this means that as long as that’s the case retail options would never be beneficial to my brand so in turn that hurts the retail industry.
In the case of IJC I believe his desire was to be the no1 rated online cricket retailer and the majority of his sales were online which when you had a London premises for the majority of the companies time just makes turning profit a challenge.
No doubt the last 18months have hit retail very hard and the cricket sector even harder with a whole season lost, brands retaining more kit.
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Interesting you say this yet every district/area now has a brand then 5/10 bats do make quite a dent as you will understand when working at B3 and the issues many had at the time with small brand with no overheads. Just a observation I always been on the side of get what you can as cheap as you can
Interesting one this. Maybe it's the 'get what you can as cheap as you can' approach which impacts more than anything. Having worked in sales for quite a few years I had many discussions with procurement managers, buyers etc about price vs value. You can always find cheaper, but does this mean you get better? Also, i think the point made in another thread is that sometimes supporting your local cricket shop, batmaker, brand or whatever it maybe, is part of a bigger picture of supporting the industry as a whole shed being a part of a small businesses journey. If we all go after 'cheaper', then there may not be as many options moving forwards. Or certainly, not as many offering the service some desire.
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Three points I would make as I don't believe smaller home based brands have had a huge impact on cricket shop closures:
1. The High Street in general, not just sports/cricket retailers has been hit very hard. Not only recently by Covid, therefore reducing custom, but over the last 10 years by increased costs - particularly high business rates set by idiotic councils looking to get income from any means other than raising council tax (car parking charges is another exploited area). Charity shops get relief from business rates, hence them taking over many empty premises. Sports/cricket shops were typically High Street based and have maybe been slow to explore other options as the environment changed over time.
2. An increase in the number of suppliers of cricket kit is almost always never bad for us as consumers. It leads to increased competition, which in turn leads to keener pricing at a range of quality levels, product innovation, better after sales service - essentially better value for money as already mentioned. However I would also say that if you've received good advice, fitting service etc from a retail shop, it is unfair to then go to another supplier, with a different cost base, to buy the product cheaper from there.
3. If buyers of cricket stuff pursue a sole strategy of "get what you can as cheap as you can" - and I've read that as getting a certain specific make and model as cheap as possible as opposed to getting the cheapest possible generic item, then despite it being your right as a consumer to do this, we will be harming the retail cricket industry. For a variety of logical reasons, and sometimes in error, sellers will make transitory offers on items at prices that are not sustainable over the medium term and longer - which is why they are transitory. However, the ease in which we can identify these offers across many retailers via the internet together with the offer of online/remote selling enables us to complete our kit requirements throughout the year from a variety of retailers at these unsustainable prices. Good for you as an individual, but unsustainable for the industry if you always adopt that approach, and "you" becomes "we".
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Update:
After @Tom kindley reminded me about chargeback,, I contacted the credit card company so hopefully I am not put of pocket :)
Also thanks to @Butterfingerz at www.legb4.co.uk (http://www.legb4.co.uk). for sorting me out with a band and new helmet. great customer service keeping em to date with my order, highly recommended.
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Three points I would make as I don't believe smaller home based brands have had a huge impact on cricket shop closures:
1. The High Street in general, not just sports/cricket retailers has been hit very hard. Not only recently by Covid, therefore reducing custom, but over the last 10 years by increased costs - particularly high business rates set by idiotic councils looking to get income from any means other than raising council tax (car parking charges is another exploited area). Charity shops get relief from business rates, hence them taking over many empty premises. Sports/cricket shops were typically High Street based and have maybe been slow to explore other options as the environment changed over time.
2. An increase in the number of suppliers of cricket kit is almost always never bad for us as consumers. It leads to increased competition, which in turn leads to keener pricing at a range of quality levels, product innovation, better after sales service - essentially better value for money as already mentioned. However I would also say that if you've received good advice, fitting service etc from a retail shop, it is unfair to then go to another supplier, with a different cost base, to buy the product cheaper from there.
3. If buyers of cricket stuff pursue a sole strategy of "get what you can as cheap as you can" - and I've read that as getting a certain specific make and model as cheap as possible as opposed to getting the cheapest possible generic item, then despite it being your right as a consumer to do this, we will be harming the retail cricket industry. For a variety of logical reasons, and sometimes in error, sellers will make transitory offers on items at prices that are not sustainable over the medium term and longer - which is why they are transitory. However, the ease in which we can identify these offers across many retailers via the internet together with the offer of online/remote selling enables us to complete our kit requirements throughout the year from a variety of retailers at these unsustainable prices. Good for you as an individual, but unsustainable for the industry if you always adopt that approach, and "you" becomes "we".
Just a quick reply to point 1, the high street has been very well looked after by the current government regarding business rate relief, they have increased the business relief to double of what the previous government limit was. Also this year has been an incredible year for cricket retail, the biggest issue we had was lack of stock. Going forward, nearly all manufacturers have increased their prices, and also have included additional costs to us including freight charges.
Generally the biggest killer to our margins are the clowns that discount a brand new product , before they even have it, which is madness. Sadly we then have to try and follow suit.
( also having seen the older accounts from ijc, rent wasn’t the issue )