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[Vic Nicholas]

If we sold any of these bats for that price we would make a loss - quite a big one too.  Simple.  Either Online Stockist is selling fake SF bats, or he simply gets a better deal than we do.  We are not ripping anyone off.  We are a business with profit margins to consider.  Despite that, I still stand by my words as these particular bats represent great value in my opinion.

Online Stockist does not sell fakes. Any suggestion otherwise is merely racist hate mongering from forum members who have never a bought a bat or softs from Ajit and are attempting to besmirch his name.

Paul, those SF's you have look class and you are entitled to charge whatever you see fit. That is business and you have every right to make a living. But for heaven's sake, ignore comments like the one you responded to...or of you must respond, just trot out the perfectly plausible: "Importing cricket equipment into the UK is a costly enterprise and a small mark up in order for me to survive as a going concern is unavoidable".

Cheers and best of luck.

[ItsJustCricket]

Online Stockist does not sell fakes. Any suggestion otherwise is merely racist hate mongering from forum members who have never a bought a bat or softs from Ajit and are attempting to besmirch his name.

Paul, those SF's you have look class and you are entitled to charge whatever you see fit. That is business and you have every right to make a living. But for heaven's sake, ignore comments like the one you responded to...or of you must respond, just trot out the perfectly plausible: "Importing cricket equipment into the UK is a costly enterprise and a small mark up in order for me to survive as a going concern is unavoidable".

Cheers and best of luck.

For the record, I wasn't besmirching anyone.  I don't actually think he stocks fake bats - he seems to have a pretty good reputation which cannot be achieved by selling fake bats - but at that price he is apparently selling them for, it at least got me thinking.  Not knowing much about Online Stockist, I cannot comment further, but please don't read too much into it.

[TangoWhiskey]

Unlikely about a test ground now, but larger premises is on the cards.  Much larger, actually...

I've got my fingers crossed you're moving up to Watford. My bank manager is praying for a move to Timbuktu.

[Vic Nicholas]

For the record, I wasn't besmirching anyone.  I don't actually think he stocks fake bats - he seems to have a pretty good reputation which cannot be achieved by selling fake bats - but at that price he is apparently selling them for, it at least got me thinking.  Not knowing much about Online Stockist, I cannot comment further, but please don't read too much into it.

Sorry if it sounded like I was directing that specifically at you Paul, it was actually not intended as such.

To clarify, there has been "Chinese whispers" regarding online stockist selling fake bats for more than three years with a handful of people on this forum mentioning it to me that that was what they heard. In reality, I have bought a ton (pun not intended) of stuff from Ajit over the last 5 years...bats (3), pads (twice), gloves (numerous) and it has all been the genuine article. Others have critiqued his customer service and aside from his grandfather dying three times in one year which caused minor delays (few days) each time, my last order arrived within days of the order being made. I am sure Ajit himself would concede that he can only do so much as an online operator and that he has no hope of matching the customer service of retailers who have a shop front.

At the end of the day, the guy has a small, but loyal, customer base that would barely make a dent in the business of other more established operators.

The poster who was taking a swipe at your RRP clearly does not understand that retailers outside of India would have a different rate with suppliers in India than the local operators and then the cost of shipping and stocking the goods has to be taken into consideration which will naturally impact on prices...even before we take into consideration different costs of living and economies of scale between living in the UK and India.

At the end of the day...consumers need to compare apples with apples and not oranges, because it would be commercial suicide for a retailer to offer the same price as an Indian retailer, much less an Indian online retailer!

Keep your excellent video reviews coming as I really enjoy them.

Have a great day!
Vic

[Vitas Cricket]

To add to your point Vic, products made in India for the internal market (which is what online stockist sells) are different to products made in India for the external/export market, even if/when they carry the same labels.

Who am i to say which is better, but certaily a bat needs to be made to a certain quality/finish if it has a chance of being sold in the UK, this matters less in India as cost is the main factor for most.

[shoab68]

To add to your point Vic, products made in India for the internal market (which is what online stockist sells) are different to products made in India for the external/export market, even if/when they carry the same labels.

Who am i to say which is better, but certaily a bat needs to be made to a certain quality/finish if it has a chance of being sold in the UK, this matters less in India as cost is the main factor for most.

This is exactly what i explained in my earlier post.

[Vitas Cricket]

This is exactly what i explained in my earlier post.

Apologies for repeating, I haven't read the entire topic.

[shoab68]

Apologies for repeating, I haven't read the entire topic.

no worries, i am happy that your thoughts are same.

[sgcricket]

While that may be true. For higher end bats, the quality still has to be there as the competition is high. So you can't just sell inferior bats locally just because they are cheaper. you have to take in to account the cost of living and compare. INR 10,000 (= GBP 100) can still get you a good grade 1 bat in India.

[hanif]

I spoke to Arnil from SF regarding online stockist selling products below the wholesale price he was selling them to the UK for. He advised that he did not do business with online stockist and he does not know how he can be selling his products at such a low price. So either they are fake products or he has some one from SF supplying him products without management been aware. Also a lot of the pictures on Online stockist look out of date by a good few years, so maybe he just sells end of line equipment at a discounted rate? I have to admit of the years I have been tempted to purchase from Online stockist but the prices always made me question whether or not I would receive a genuine product, if some thing sounds too good to be true, it normally is. So over the years I have always turned to Asad at Uzi sports he has always picked me out a nice bat. One thing better than a bargain is purchasing a quality product that will last you for years and bring you plenty of enjoyment.

[simonmay5]

I spoke to Arnil from SF regarding online stockist selling products below the wholesale price he was selling them to the UK for. He advised that he did not do business with online stockist and he does not know how he can be selling his products at such a low price. So either they are fake products or he has some one from SF supplying him products without management been aware. Also a lot of the pictures on Online stockist look out of date by a good few years, so maybe he just sells end of line equipment at a discounted rate? I have to admit of the years I have been tempted to purchase from Online stockist but the prices always made me question whether or not I would receive a genuine product, if some thing sounds too good to be true, it normally is. So over the years I have always turned to Asad at Uzi sports he has always picked me out a nice bat. One thing better than a bargain is purchasing a quality product that will last you for years and bring you plenty of enjoyment.

Hi I think your find that all the gear from online stockiest is genuine I had a couple off stunning sf bats off him and I know a few that have had very nice ss ton bats he buys direct if you look under sf your see the quality he get so no issue with him at all

[hanif]

So if online stockist gets his stock direct from SF why does the owner Arnil not know about it? I can not comment on whether or not he stocks genuine products as I have never purchased from him. What I do know is that Arnil has said he does not deal direct with Online stockist.

[petehosk]

The couple of bats I have had from OS in the past have been absolutely genuine!
But how they are purchased, and what agreement they have, only they know!!

[petehosk]

Anyway, let's get this topic back to looking at the stunning SF bats on page 1! 

[Nmcgee]

I must say, I had absolutely zero interest in SF bats until I saw Paul's video with the Triumph.

I think its great that IJC holds such a diverse range of gear.