Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Forum News and Suggestions => Forum Announcements => Topic started by: Ayrtek Cricket on December 29, 2010, 09:37:17 AM
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It is just me or has anyone else noticed how forum trends seem to appear and disappear?
if a nice bat pops up from a certain brand everyone makes a move towards them and an influx of related topics seem to pop up and people with "i might get one for next season" begins. From a marketing point of view it would be interesting to see how many follow through sales appear from these and how influential the forum is in this?
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I think its the nature of the interent and forums in general. Everyone wants the latest thing/gadget/meme/video and now cricket bat/gear.
I think this place is a cricket manufacturers dream, one good example of your product and your bound to sell a few more. It then gets a bit viral ans people buy on here, their gear is seen by club mates and opposition etc etc. All worth the fairly cheap monthly advertising cost if you ask me!
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A prime example being when h4l offered bats at £150 quite a lot of ppl took the offer up. Laver seem to be 'in' atm...
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I guess Laver are a bit different given the price, but, yeah there are a lot of threads popping up about them right now.
What i think is surprising about the cricket market is that most of the big brands pay alot of money to international stars to endorse the kit. How many adults will be swayed by this? I see it would work in the junior market as kids want to be KP/Freddie etc. The cricket market can be a very strange place at time, you boys are brave for having a crack at it!
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It doesn't take much to whet the appetite. A few good pics of a nice looking bat are hard to ignore. Prime example; look a Yash's new laver. A seriously good looking piece of kit with a story to back it up, but on that evidence alone it has got me seriously considering one.
I think bat makers on here may be missing a trick with it. Sure we can all look at generic stock photos but it doesn't compare to the occasional 'look at this bat I just made' thread. Look in the maker's sections; any time pics are posted of new bat attention is drawn, posts are made and I imagine deals are done.
In short, people will buy if they can see what is on offer. That is why I rate the Uzi site highly, you see pics of the actual bats in stock, not some stock photos.
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agree with you jon, i like how uzi shows you the actual bat. I think that there are a fair few barriers to buying bats online, and uzi come very close to getting past most of them.
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What i think is surprising about the cricket market is that most of the big brands pay alot of money to international stars to endorse the kit. How many adults will be swayed by this? I see it would work in the junior market as kids want to be KP/Freddie etc. The cricket market can be a very strange place at time, you boys are brave for having a crack at it!
Big endorsement deals must work, otherwise there would be no point in it. Think we here forget that this forum is a mine of information that alot of Cricketers are not privy to. I'd guess the majority of Cricketers believe if they see a player using a brand of bat it will be made by that brand and will be of the same quality. True to some extent, but not always.
Strauss hits a ton in the first match, there is suddenly alot of talk about the GN Legend. It works!
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i was only just talking about this to Tom :)
i wonder how many requests have gone into Laver this week, ok il admit ive exchanged a few emails to James and his side kick Andy, to see what they'd spec me up with... i'l upload pics later.......
Blueroom had a little purple patch with Simmy's and PW88's infamous trip to the packcave
however the search for the ultimate bit of willow still continues :)
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And that is the crux of it Canners. I don't think we appreciate how lucky we are on here. Put all the makers on this forum into a hat, order a bat from them and rest assured it will be a good one. It is a nice position to be in.
Laver has the disadvantage of the exchange rate. Andy told me they are about 50% above what they want to charge in the UK. Looking at Laver on a global scale, their prices are high, but if you live in NZ they are not so bad. They are clearly adopting the approach of making bats that are worth the price, or trying damn hard to. Fair play to them.
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I think since I started posting on these forums some of the bigger 'cult following' products were as follows -
Anything Fusion
Malik Shers
Anything Laver
Newbery's Ugly Bin
Aero Bags
Strippers
Remfry
Redback Bats
Mongeese
Jokers
...probably missed loads, but I remember each of the above provoking much debate, pictures and threats to purchase soon on these hallowed pages.
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Solitaire? Always wanted an Aero bag but could never justify the price for them.
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Blueroom is the new one which I got today and could not be happier
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I think since I started posting on these forums some of the bigger 'cult following' products were as follows -
Anything Fusion
Malik Shers
Anything Laver
Newbery's Ugly Bin
Aero Bags
Strippers
Remfry
Redback Bats
Mongeese
Jokers
...probably missed loads, but I remember each of the above provoking much debate, pictures and threats to purchase soon on these hallowed pages.
Fusion Superbest was the thing to have once over. Now they (Fusion) are never heard of! Does anyone on here still use one?
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Very few i would imagine. Their bats seem to have become a passing fad.
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if they still made them like they used too i would still buy them...sadly it was fusion who changed more than it was us!
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Yeah agree with Peplow, used to be top quality customer service that made them so popular. That is well and truly gone now, they still have a bat of mine and also a skyer which have not been returned in nearly 12 months.
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I think since I started posting on these forums some of the bigger 'cult following' products were as follows -
Anything Fusion
Malik Shers
Anything Laver
Newbery's Ugly Bin
Aero Bags
Strippers
Remfry
Redback Bats
Mongeese
Jokers
...probably missed loads, but I remember each of the above provoking much debate, pictures and threats to purchase soon on these hallowed pages.
Screaming Cats?
GN Legend?
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think the topic has proved my point in that with the current "trend" of L&W being talked about them will be inundated with emails from us forum members asking about products.....some may follow through with purchases some will not but either way i bet they wonder where all the enquiries come from all in the space of a few days :D
P.S still think they are alot of money though and you could get the same quality over here for half the price ;)
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As are Screaming Cat too surely?
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Wouldn't say GN Legend has really been a forum trend Yash :\
Could possibly include Lekka bats when Sam was selling them?
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Yes dont disagree with you there mate.....exchange rate makes you think twice about any purchase at the moment from Oz/NZ. I remember when it wasnt so long ago that everyone couldnt belive that Mr Hosk was paying £300+ for the bat mike put up for sale.....people saying he must be mad etc etc.....now a £300 bat is accepted and people will happily pay more on top.
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I was reading the £400 bat thread earlier, now thats a pricey bat........
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Yeah it is interesting, people see certain products as 'in' and follow the trends. I remember a few years ago on here, nearly everyone had either a fusion or warsop. That faded and moved on to Lavers etc. I wouldnt say screaming cat, not many bought them on here due to the price, though they were a big talking point...
Not that this forum represents the whole market though. We are just a small percentage. But its been interesting since more and more companies have signed up on here. We've been provided with more information about them and subsequently will be more likely to buy their products. Trends are always changing with different companies advertising techniques. Eg. Black Cat and their Joker. I wonder what the next one will be...
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I've got a feeling the next one will be the SAF HOSK
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Interesting to see the observation about mongeese. I think that they were a trend far more widely than the forum, and continue to be where a lot of t20 is played.
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agreed there and most of the so called trends are forum only trends
Most have never herd of brand on here
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Another trend was Laminated bats, and before all the discussions on here I had never heard about them before, subsequently went on to buy one, I also bought a superbest when I first started using the forum. So I have bought into some of the 'trends' on here.
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Ahhh, you got me thinking Kenneth - what did I buy into -
Anything Fusion - Had one, didn't rate. Very unforgiving for the crap player
Malik Shers - Had 2, both very good and sold on at my club.
Anything Laver - Had one, never got to use it as our first team skipper bought it as soon as he saw it.
Newbery's Ugly Bin - Nope
Aero Bags - Had 1, it was good, but only if you have a large car!
Strippers - What? with an (No Swearing Please) and belly like mine!
Remfry - Nope
Redback Bats - Very good - had 1 myself and sold 7 at the club
Mongeese - Nope
Jokers - Yes - liked it very much, sold 2 more at he club
.............so basically I'm a sucker for a fad!
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Great to see the topic sparking up a few blasts from the pasts and what various brands sucessully makreted to us all on here :)
would say i bought into them but my purchases came mainly out of cureousity to see if the products lived upto the hype so ended up buying....
2 x SCATS
2 x L&W-carbo core handle to comapre to c6
1 x Fusion Superbest
1 x SPS
1 x C6 to see if carbon handle was anygood
GM d3o gloves to see how much d3o was use in them...not much!
P1 stripper- very good product and wear them now
ACE thigh pad to compare to P1's
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Ahhh, you got me thinking Kenneth - what did I buy into -
Anything Fusion - Had one, didn't rate. Very unforgiving for the crap player
Ah FC.... That'll be why I didn't get on with it!!
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Great to see the topic sparking up a few blasts from the pasts and what various brands sucessully makreted to us all on here :)
would say i bought into them but my purchases came mainly out of cureousity to see if the products lived upto the hype so ended up buying....
2 x SCATS
2 x L&W-carbo core handle to comapre to c6
1 x Fusion Superbest
1 x SPS
1 x C6 to see if carbon handle was anygood
GM d3o gloves to see how much d3o was use in them...not much!
P1 stripper- very good product and wear them now
ACE thigh pad to compare to P1's
ACE thigh pad please elaborate, i want one now haha in this is exactly what we're talking about haha
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ACE feet in motion stuff are similar to remfry but UK made and a cheaper alternative....im sure some of the lads of here use them....sadly my fellow director and 1st team captain nicked mine lol
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Gotta keep your place in the 1s somehow Tom ;)