Topic: bats from sportdirect (Read 5218 times)

Dhiraj · « **on:** June 09, 2013, 11:51:35 AM »

last year ordered a Kahuna 600 from sportdirect. I was playing after almost 6 years. Oiled it,knocked it and started using it. It had a nice ping but soon when I started to snadpaper the edges I found the wood was a bit powdery. Also it was so dry that i would easily take 2 coats of oil and still feel a bit dry. Last week in the nets it just broke(thats the worst part) after playing 15 balls and in all I might have played say 6 to 7 games. It was 120 euros when I bought it last year on some discount sale.

Ofcourse some guy was bowling with not the best ball, but still for a grade 1 bat to crack like that, I was really disappointed. The bat broke from side of the handle to almost till middle on the inside.

Should one buy from these sites at all or should one never buy products on a clearance sale?

Vitas Cricket · « **Reply #1 on:** June 09, 2013, 12:42:40 PM »

Kahuna 600's aren't grade 1.

This sort of thing can happen to any bat, at any time, willow is a natural product. The problem with sports direct isn't the products they sell, it's the level of service and knowledge of the staff. Also smaller retailers like ourselves or the other guys on the forum will go and hand pick the very best bats we can find to stock in our shops, sports direct do not.

kouservice · « **Reply #2 on:** June 09, 2013, 01:12:58 PM »

Quote from: Vitas Cricket on June 09, 2013, 12:42:40 PM

Kahuna 600's aren't grade 1.

This sort of thing can happen to any bat, at any time, willow is a natural product. The problem with sports direct isn't the products they sell, it's the level of service and knowledge of the staff. Also smaller retailers like ourselves or the other guys on the forum will go and hand pick the very best bats we can find to stock in our shops, sports direct do not.

I agree with Jake. Instead the term smaller retailers it would be good to say specialize retailers. I have bougth some stuffs from you(Vitas) and Rematch, both of your service was excellent. Although I sometimes get lured to the lesser priced items

Dhiraj · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2013, 01:41:39 PM »

Quote from: Vitas Cricket on June 09, 2013, 12:42:40 PM

Kahuna 600's aren't grade 1.

This sort of thing can happen to any bat, at any time, willow is a natural product. The problem with sports direct isn't the products they sell, it's the level of service and knowledge of the staff. Also smaller retailers like ourselves or the other guys on the forum will go and hand pick the very best bats we can find to stock in our shops, sports direct do not.

Yes I completely agree. But it is sometimes so difficult to ignore the low prices. You just sometimes buy and hope they turn out atleast half decent.

Nickauger · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2013, 02:24:26 PM »

What I would do mate, is write to Kookaburra direct, and explain what happened. They might be able to help if you explain that you've not used it that much. I had a big kahuna that was 2 years old that snapped i sent it back and they replaced it (twice).

Dhiraj · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2013, 02:36:23 PM »

Quote from: Nickauger on June 09, 2013, 02:24:26 PM

What I would do mate, is write to Kookaburra direct, and explain what happened. They might be able to help if you explain that you've not used it that much. I had a big kahuna that was 2 years old that snapped i sent it back and they replaced it (twice).

can I do that?

I bought this through Sportsdirect so will they even care?

Nickauger · « **Reply #6 on:** June 09, 2013, 04:26:59 PM »

Yeah mate I sent kook an email and they dealt with it. Quality customer service. Just tug on the heartstrings a little bit. They're very good!

fasteddie · « **Reply #7 on:** June 10, 2013, 12:47:02 PM »

My father would say "Buy cheap, pay twice".

There are many great retailers and small batmakers on the forum who will give you excellent customer service.
Have a browse around, but be aware that once you buy from one, you won't stop!!

ItsJustCricket · « **Reply #8 on:** June 10, 2013, 12:53:54 PM »

We had a customer come in a week ago who'd bought a bat from Sports Direct and they'd covered up a big knot with a price sticker. This knot was right in the middle of the bat, and sounded very different off the mallet to the rest of the wood around it, so I was pretty sure performance would be affected. Lo and behold, the customer bought a bat from us and sent back his blemished Sports Direct stick. Those price stickers are a bit cheeky in my opinion! Even if there aren't blemishes behind them, why would you put a sticker on the most important part of the willow?!

Bruce · « **Reply #9 on:** June 10, 2013, 02:35:50 PM »

Quote from: ItsJustCricket on June 10, 2013, 12:53:54 PM

Even if there aren't blemishes behind them, why would you put a sticker on the most important part of the willow?!

Because where we see grains and beauty, they see a profit margin.

Dhiraj, Sorry to hear about your bat, sometimes we don't know how long a bat has been sat in a store or a shop, so the bat could have been in somewhere in direct sunlight which could prematurely end up drying the bat out.

Kieron_BT · « **Reply #10 on:** June 10, 2013, 03:42:20 PM »

I have 2 Kook's that have both split/cracked at the bottom - They have both 4-5 years old but might send Kook some pics and see what happens!

Percy · « **Reply #11 on:** June 10, 2013, 03:47:05 PM »

Kieron_BT - I think that's being a bit optimistic

kouservice · « **Reply #12 on:** June 10, 2013, 04:03:10 PM »

Although the post mentions bats from SD, but what you guys think about soft goods ?

I fully agree with buying bats from specialised sellers, but how about soft goods like gloves, pads etc. Many times there is a huge price difference which is hard to ignore ?

Leddster138 · « **Reply #13 on:** June 10, 2013, 04:20:25 PM »

Quote from: kouservice on June 10, 2013, 04:03:10 PM

Although the post mentions bats from SD, but what you guys think about soft goods ?

I fully agree with buying bats from specialised sellers, but how about soft goods like gloves, pads etc. Many times there is a huge price difference which is hard to ignore ?

Personally when I see bats "made" for a SD price range then I assume the softs would be the same. The bags are certainly made from inferior materials. I haven't even considered a Slaz bat since I saw a "reduced from �200 to �70" bat that had a vinyl covering with a picture of grains printed on it. I just couldn't believe they would produce something like that, no matter the price range.

y07richardsonj · « **Reply #14 on:** June 10, 2013, 05:09:11 PM »

Quote from: kouservice on June 10, 2013, 04:03:10 PM

Although the post mentions bats from SD, but what you guys think about soft goods ?

I fully agree with buying bats from specialised sellers, but how about soft goods like gloves, pads etc. Many times there is a huge price difference which is hard to ignore ?

Softs will be absolutely fine as long as they aren't the 'exclusive to sports direct' etc ranges

Author Topic: bats from sportdirect (Read 5218 times)

Dhiraj

bats from sportdirect

Vitas Cricket

Re: bats from sportdirect

kouservice

Re: bats from sportdirect

Dhiraj

Re: bats from sportdirect

Nickauger

Re: bats from sportdirect

Dhiraj

Re: bats from sportdirect

Nickauger

Re: bats from sportdirect

fasteddie

Re: bats from sportdirect

ItsJustCricket

Re: bats from sportdirect

Bruce

Re: bats from sportdirect

Kieron_BT

Re: bats from sportdirect

Percy

Re: bats from sportdirect

kouservice

Re: bats from sportdirect

Leddster138

Re: bats from sportdirect

y07richardsonj

Re: bats from sportdirect