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[Number4]

Ok this is a follow on from another topic...

Willow Grade... JS Wright grade there willow on looks as stated on there site. "Grade 1 willow is the best money can buy although not the best performing"

OK so do batmakers pay more for this grade 1 "best looking" willow???...I would imagine yes otherwise why would JS Wright grade it at all..If they Grade on looks then they dont care how it performs

And if they pay less for a Grade 2 or 3 willow and they then regrade it on performance do they then charge for a grade 1 bat that was originally graded as a cheaper willow???

And hey good luck to them if they can make an extra quid as they do deserve it.

Interesting question as there is usually a big price difference in a Grade 1 bat and a Grade 3 bat.

Everyone on this forum says they want the best performing bat yet everyone goes on about how many grains and how straight and how clean the blade is and what they would be willing to pay for the perfect looking willow and all the rest.

[SkipperJ]

Sorry mate, but this topic has already been beaten to death on here ... a quick search would find several posts that answer most of your questions

[Number4]

Ok sorry guys for rehashing an old topic and flogging a dead horse...Just trying to get my head around this whole thing...

So let me get this straight:

Lets use Talisman as an example ( And in no way, shape or form is this about him in any way as I can see everyone who deals with him is over the moon)

Lets say I ask Talisman for a custom bat, give him my specs ask for Grade 1 willow and he doesn't have any nice pretty clefts in stock and none that are great performers, good performers but not great, but have Grade 3 looks or has some but they are for his known regular customers. He doesn't know me from a bar of soap and I am on the other side of the world. What is stopping him from selling me this bat as a Grade 1 bat...Apart from his high morals and standards as I said this isn't really about him just using him as an example and I need to say that before anyone attacks me about putting him down...lol

P.S This is not about Talisman (Just making sure everyone knows this....again)

[Tom]

G3 clefts get sold as G1 bats all the time.

[Number4]

Without having a regulated grading system we can generally be ripped off

[Talisman]

There is no industry standard, the main willow merchant constantly sends what it has, rather than what is wanted, the bat makers upgrade grades to boost profits, as do the retailers so best to ensure that whoever you are dealing with knows what you want.

We all like pretty grains, but we all like big light bats, crossing the two is tricky and harder than people think but at the end of the day it comes down to why you are buying a bat, to look good or to play well?

If you specified 12 clean straight grains in your bat you would get them, if you said grade 1 then your perception of grade 1 might be different to mine and many others so best to translate what you want with the seller to ensure you are both singing off the same hymn sheet.

[Number4]

Thanks for the open, honest answer.

An off topic question for you Talisman. Do you sell your Bat Labels and if so how much to ship to Oz. I have a couple of bats I have cleaned up and cant get original stickers and I like the look of yours.

[Talisman]

I don't ship labels, sorry.

You would get a free set on a Talisman bat!!!

[Number4]

Now thats cheeky

[Talisman]

No cheeky would be charging for the labels.....

[Number4]

Bloody expensive labels

[Buzz]

I'd call them a bargain, personally.

[procricket]

But the real problem i have is the cost difference between grade 1 and 3 which is minimal but once somebody gets there mits on it the difference can be up to around 200 notes

it will never change so no point in knowing about stuff.

[djsmith]

Ok sorry guys for rehashing an old topic and flogging a dead horse...Just trying to get my head around this whole thing...

So let me get this straight:

Lets use Talisman as an example ( And in no way, shape or form is this about him in any way as I can see everyone who deals with him is over the moon)

Lets say I ask Talisman for a custom bat, give him my specs ask for Grade 1 willow and he doesn't have any nice pretty clefts in stock and none that are great performers, good performers but not great, but have Grade 3 looks or has some but they are for his known regular customers. He doesn't know me from a bar of soap and I am on the other side of the world. What is stopping him from selling me this bat as a Grade 1 bat...Apart from his high morals and standards as I said this isn't really about him just using him as an example and I need to say that before anyone attacks me about putting him down...lol

P.S This is not about Talisman (Just making sure everyone knows this....again)

i agree and find it a bit concerning as well. nothing against talisman either but what if i message him for a bat (and im very tempted by him) or i message say redback for example, what if they just send us  aynthing ...they really no that if im not happy i cant really do anything. either could just find a bat with plenty of grains etc and go from there

[tim2000s]

i agree and find it a bit concerning as well. nothing against talisman either but what if i message him for a bat (and im very tempted by him) or i message say redback for example, what if they just send us  aynthing ...they really no that if im not happy i cant really do anything. either could just find a bat with plenty of grains etc and go from there

Hmm, I'm not overly worried by looks. As I've done previously, I specify that i want the best performing willow available, and if it has maybe heartwood, or pin knots, or other aesthetic blemishes, I'm not really bothered. I want something that goes like stink, and if it looks slightly less than supoerb, I'm not going to worry. After all, the batmaker should know whether it is going to perform, and that's why I would be paying premium prices for that bat!