As many of you will be aware, Jason isn't on the forum - and based on threads like this, I can certainly see why! He does however have a message for the CBF community. This opinion is directly from Jason, and don't represent my views, or those of IJC as a business and exclusive stockist of Hammer Cricket, but I thought it would be worth sharing them with you:
"To all on custom bats and any other forumites reading this….
Let me start off by saying sorry to anyone who i have ever pissed off…its never been my intention..i am still very new to the cricket industry and being stuck in the middle of america doesn't exactly give me the opportunity to learn from anybody….im stuck with Skype, twitter and facebook connecting with people all over the world trying to make an honest living…
To Mr Wilkie.. ive obviously ruffled your feathers at some point..for that i do apologise. the reason for me banning you from my facebook page is simple…ive been asked by my bat makers not to mention their names..the reason behind that is its easy to sell bats going around telling people that Tim Keeley made them…for the record....ive never even spoken to the guy and only know what he looks like from antiques roadshow..so for that reason when you come on my public forums shouting out that TK and JL makes your bats…you have the potential to not only ruin my business but also the opportunity to put me out of business…and now that i have 2 little girls to care for, you are not just messing with me but also messing with my family. …So please..be careful with what you say as it can easily get back to the bat makers who can very easily stop giving me bats..
as with the MSR pics….i never once mentioned who the pics belonged to or mentioned where i got them..my post was to cricket buffs for information on the contents of the pics..still not sure why you got upset about it..
the GN dynadrive issue on facebook…this was brought up through a post..someone was trying to sell me their 5 grains screaming cat that they paid $700 USD….please raise your hands if you would pay that kind of money for even a G2 , never mind a G3 cricket bat, full of blemishes…come on, i dare you..the dynadrive experiment was to see if anyone else was brave enough to buy a great pinging bat for more money that is was actually worth…if you were following the thread you would of seen all the way along that this was just an experiment and would probably never of happened…as it turned out i got in 8 dynadrives from GN and all were presold before they even got here so i didn't get the chance to follow it up..
My shiny stickers…no one is forcing any of you guys to buy my bats, but i believe im putting out an extremely good product…yes its expensive but quality costs money…ive got 2 of who i think are probably in the top 10 best bat makers i the world…guess what…that costs money.putting a made in ENG, or made in NZ sticker on a bat is expensive, i think its better than made in PAK or IND..made in ENG carries a lot of weight…but guess what, its worth it...i have the best most expensive stickers in the world…made in ENG of course…guess what..that costs money, my grips are expensive…my bats covers are expensive…
but none of those things are the most expensive…guess what kills me…shipping…20 bats will cost me upwards of $400 USD to get to the uk…a pack of decals..$50….grips…$50….bat covers…200 of them cost me $1000 to get to the US…..you don't want to know what my softs are costing me to get them here…..64 sets of pads and 64 sets of gloves….try $2K..
not to mention that Marcus guy….damn that guy doesn't come cheap…but guess what…probably from my experience…the bloody best in the business…
So if anyone wants to challenge me and tell me my bats are (No Swearing Please)….lets hear it..i dare you..
lets please remember im not the first person or company to sell bats made by a sub contracted bat maker…in the essence of not throwing any small UK brands under the bus..( you know who they all are ) but lets think of Kookaburra, slazenger, Nike, Gray nicolls, reebok, puma etc etc etc….all of which use someone else to make their bats for them..please tell me how i am different from any of these companies…
If any of you have seen my new 2013 Hel 156…you will see its a completely unique to me …custom designed by me…yes with the help of my two bat makers…but all my ideas.( yes i may have stolen parts of other cricket bats to make a " hybrid " but i think its perfect and for Paul from IJC to say he loves the shape and will probably use it himself….i think thats pretty cool..
on the NZ made bats…i personally got some of their branded bats and they were planks…but we all know this just means the bats are hard and they need to open up..much like 2012 GM bats…i don't know how he does his pressing but asked him to do whatever he needed to do to make them ping well from ball 1…i believe first impressions last and therefore would sacrifice the bat lasting a little longer for a bat that the person can be impressed with from the beginning..so yes they are pressed differently from his standard bats.
so i think in closing…thanks to the people who have supported my brand..i know i can be thik headed, dumb and loud mouthed at times…but america is a long way away and sometimes i have to shout for people to hear me…especially the aussies, kiwis and you guys…
for those who think i am scamming people..yes i have screwed up a few times but anyones who knows me outside of the forums knows im a genuine guy who is not here to rip people off.
as far as getting you guys fired up..come on its far to easy…i have a facebook page with almost 6000 fans and more than 1000 on twitter…getting close to 1.3 millions views on youtube….my goal when i make controversial statements is to get you guys talking about me….if you want to " not " help me the best thing you can do is shut up….when you comment on my facebook page…guess what, all the people you know on facebook sees a little note that says…john doe commented on cricket store eon lines post…thats what im after… and guess what, if i don't like what you say…..im gonna ban your ass…..:)thats my call..not yours.
anyway…hope you guys have a bit of fun at my expense..next round is on me…i have a wife and two daughters to feed and look after…im not going to stop anytime soon because this is all going to well for me..Im in the UK..next is SA, NZ and then AUS…which one of you don't wish you were doing daily what im doing…come on..lets have some fun and stick it to the big guys..