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[rhino25]

Thanks Chad. 

I really like the Amplus profile personally. Of all the M&H it is certainly my favourite.  I did a lap around quite a few clubs in my area and most people had bats with big edges and huge concaving (certainly not MH or the like brands).  I asked why and honestly they just liked the look, no real reason and didnt know if it played any differently.  The long middle like the amplus would probably be suitable where I am as we have quite wet summers, and only one top class pitch.  Most of our pitches are 'variable' to say the least.

Mattw, the toe guard is familiar..........

[Montys Beard]

Bit slow off the mark today...took me a while to notice the toe guard, shocking choice of bat maker mate  . Based in Sydney, let me know if you need someone to test any potential ideas 

[rhino25]

You don't like the batmaker? They've been really helpful and so far the bats we have seem quite good...any recommendation are welcome...

[smokem]

You don't like the batmaker? They've been really helpful and so far the bats we have seem quite good...any recommendation are welcome...

Pretty sure that was tongue and cheek mate... The batmaker is one of the best. Love their bats!

[Montys Beard]

You don't like the batmaker? They've been really helpful and so far the bats we have seem quite good...any recommendation are welcome...

If it's who I think it is then it's firmly in cheek pal....

[rhino25]

No i thought that was the case hahaha cheers mate, i was almost in shock!  I'm really happy with them, but of course we'd always look at other makers to get us going with the right product. 

Anyway, any tips on the profile??  I like the Amplus shape, and i think it would suit our average pitches. At the end of the day we wnat a bat that picks up well, looks great and is unique as our own.

Chad, how does the Amplus profile pick up? 

[Montys Beard]

Whereabouts in Queensland are you basing yourself mate?

The Amplus shape is a beaut, definitely one you should consider...

[rhino25]

Based in Townsville.  I basically noticed that there are no options for high quality bats in my area when I went shopping for a new bat and thought - why not give it a go myself.  I thought i could go 2 ways - buy 100 bats from india or pakistan or by fewer high quality ones from an established and high quality bat maker. We'll just have to see how it goes and so far the guys who know their cricket have been really keen, others are happy to ignore us haha.

[Beaup123]

Im also based in the Central/Northern Queensland mate. So if you need any help testing stuff or whatever let me know.

I agree with the above comment. A mid-high middle that is extended throughout the blade with little concaving would certainlt be a nice profile. I might have to buy one if they turn out like that! 

Agree with you about the varying bounces of pitches in AUS. Sometimes when the turf ones get to wet we have to go on astro which is very bouncy. and the pitches early in the season are usually very dry without alot of bounce.

Good luck mate. Keep us posted.

[Jenko]

I play A grade in rockhampton mate, and also run around in emerald and play rep in CQ as well. Let me know if I can help at all! I use lavers and now there are a few kicking around in the rocky and emerald comps. Brand exposure is a wonderful thing

[Montys Beard]

Exactly, brand exposure here is a key thing I think. There's not many decent handmade Aussie companies that I can find and most people I've seen in my shot time of playing so far have used GN, Kookaburra and Puma at inflated prices compared to the UK. A lad I play with paid $700 for a Puma platinum Black, it's a decent stick but compare taht to the $450 G1 you have?

Get a couple of decent shapes, offer a good price and you shouldn't have any issues. Keep us posted mate and best of luck.

[rhino25]

Yea its tough getting your brand out there without spending a fortune on advertising.  I might consider doing some paid stuff on the forum as it seems like a few aussies are here and i think its reasonably priced.

Yea most people use the known big manufacturers, and I agree with the pricing - far too high.  My mate has the same puma you mentioned for a similar price and its cracked already (3 months old), needless to say he's not happy.

I'll be keen to get some CQ input/guys to check em out and eventually extend in to rest of QLD and Aus.

I'll have a chat to the bat maker next monday to see if we can get something like the Amplus made up as a sample and i'll keep you alll updated.

Thanks for your input guys.  Much appreciated. Let us know if you think of anything else and i'll keep you all posted.

[rhino25]

one last thing....does label quality matter?  Its pretty hard, or expensive to get good quality labelling (similar to the brands on here).

[Montys Beard]

one last thing....does label quality matter?  Its pretty hard, or expensive to get good quality labelling (similar to the brands on here).

Depends, if it's going to massively mark up your price perhaps look at going for only a couple of smaller good quality simple logos rather than big ones all over the bat. Standard sticker on the front, one on the back, forget the rest.

On the flipside when most people look at a bat (by most I mean 'Normal' people, not people with deep seated wood issues like most of us on here) they'll look at the design and judge a bat on looks so I suppose the stickers are going to be an important part of your marketing strategy.

Always willing to lend a hand doing QC, playing winter cricket here (better weather than summer cricket in England) so happy to put one through it's paces on an astro deck and send back to you with some feedback.

[rhino25]

Yea i did a bit of price testing around here and a few people baulked at the +450 figure I was targeting (after advice from the bat maker).  I think our lables are 'ok' and are quite minimal.  I can get a decent quality from the UK for about AUD $12 a set not including freight.  They aren't as good as something on the H4L but are still a lot better than just a standard print locally.  I'l probably submit an order in the next week or so, as I can cop the 12 loss...i'm not aiming for huge margins. 

I'll send you a PM Monty when I get the modified design sorted.  Probably take about 3 weeks to arrive after I finishh the profile design.