Print

[WalkingWicket37]

Yes hand picking is a nice touch for some, but is it vital??

How many people have bought a bat online from Sports Direct to find it has nice grains and pings well? I've seen plenty of reviews stating this.

What GM are doing is ensuring that everyone gets the same treatment, and is fully trust their grading system. I've had a few GMs over the years and am yet to come accross a bad one.

Of all the ones I've seen I'm also yet to say "how's that an XXX, it's not good enough for that" yet I have said "I can't beleive this is only a XXX, what a bargain!"

Anyway enough of this now, we seem to be going round in circles.

GM are doing a great job with their grading and distribution of bats in my opinion so hand picking isn't required. You can order safely knowing you'll get what you pay for.

I for one can't wait for the new range to come in as I'm sure Jake will find me a belter of a GM, he hasn't failed me yet on doing so!

[lazza32]

Hand picking is the only reason I buy off Paul. Being in Australia I have to have confidence that I'm getting a decent bat and not one that's been sitting around because it's crap and the only way they will move it is via internet. I also buy from Uzi for the same reason.

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[Manormanic]

I agree with Edward on this I'm afraid

Don't be afraid, its called healthy discussion!

[Manormanic]

What I think Edward is saying is that all of the 909 Auras, for example, as far GM are concerned, are the same, and therefore no-one handpicking gets this advantage

But if all 909 Aura's are the same, why would you have an issue with IJC, or any other retailer, hand picking the 20 or so bats they want because, hey, noone will be disadvantaged because all the other bats are exactly as good.  This argument doesn't quite work.

[billyb]

I'm very impressed by the new GM range, and am thrilled by the arrival of a dedicated 'womens' series... Mainly because I have tiny hands, so the 909 gloves will be straight in the kit bag! In any case, I'd argue that this a major gender-based innovation in itself, and GM should be lauded for that.

I like the look of the Mogul, Aura and the Sigma looks pretty awesome...

Aura shape looks the best personally, I just hope I can find some 808s with a light pick-up. My only disappointment really is the lack of Academy sizes bats in different ranges, but that is a niche product.

[Manormanic]

Yes hand picking is a nice touch for some, but is it vital??

How many people have bought a bat online from Sports Direct to find it has nice grains and pings well? I've seen plenty of reviews stating this.

What GM are doing is ensuring that everyone gets the same treatment, and is fully trust their grading system. I've had a few GMs over the years and am yet to come accross a bad one.

Of all the ones I've seen I'm also yet to say "how's that an XXX, it's not good enough for that" yet I have said "I can't beleive this is only a XXX, what a bargain!"

All of what you say is valid, and I am not saying that hand picking is some kind of panacaea.  However, I would say - especially when buying online and in the lower grades - that buying a bat that has been hand picked offers a greater chance of you getting a really top blade than buying a bat that has been circulated by the manufacturers sight unseen and reduces to almost zero the chances of you getting a plank.   I am not necessarily saying that there is a major issue with GM's grading etc - though I have seen some that I would describe as bad ones (and one absolute shocker) in the past - just that I would personally be uncomfortable paying such a premium price for a bat that the manufacturers refuse to have picked.

[WalkingWicket37]

But if all 909 Aura's are the same, why would you have an issue with IJC, or any other retailer, hand picking the 20 or so bats they want because, hey, noone will be disadvantaged because all the other bats are exactly as good.  This argument doesn't quite work.

Because if they're all the same hand picking becomes a waste of time for the person doing it, and time is taken out of someone's day to show then round etc.
and if they're all the same you don't want someone smacking them all with a mallet to chose "the best one" then putting the other, dented ones, back for someone else to end up with.
Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

[tim2000s]

But if all 909 Aura's are the same, why would you have an issue with IJC, or any other retailer, hand picking the 20 or so bats they want because, hey, noone will be disadvantaged because all the other bats are exactly as good.  This argument doesn't quite work.

Very simply if you have companies wanting to come and pick their own bats, you have to accommodate them. This requires time, people, space and additional logistics systems, and doesn't come at no cost. If you are confident in your products, why increase your overheads? This would only increase the cost of the product to the customer and therefore to the end user. And as all are equally as good, it gives no benefit to the retailer to come and pick, but creates inequity between GM customers. WHy does it make sense to allow some people to handpick at an increased cost to all?

In the specific case of IJC, Paul has stated that it is a frustration and not that it is the reason why they are not customers of GM...

[Manormanic]

Because if they're all the same hand picking becomes a waste of time for the person doing it, and time is taken out of someone's day to show then round etc.

Unlikely that this would amount to an additional overhead - there will already be staff available, as evidenced by the fact that customers are able to pop around! 

[Manormanic]

If you are confident in your products, why increase your overheads? This would only increase the cost of the product to the customer and therefore to the end user. And as all are equally as good, it gives no benefit to the retailer to come and pick, but creates inequity between GM customers. WHy does it make sense to allow some people to handpick at an increased cost to all?

There is no way that an increased cost would be involved as per my previous post.  To answer the question though, if you're confident in your products you want to show the world that you're confident with your products rather than being secretive/protective of them.

[trypewriter]

I think that one point worthy of consideration is that retailers who hand pick might actually have different criteria in their selection process, not least because they would have some idea of the numbers of bats at different price points that they want to stock. Some may go for blades with maximum grains, others may not, and so on. There would also be reliance on the retailer's judgement of pick up, which might be different to the customer's. It's the same when we buy a bat from the retailer/maker, we all have different ideas of what we want. Somewhere out there is our ideal bat, which is why we constantly search, but let's face it, it's damned elusive!

[WalkingWicket37]

Unlikely that this would amount to an additional overhead - there will already be staff available, as evidenced by the fact that customers are able to pop around!

I don't know the ins and outs of a customer doing the factory tour but you would pay RRP for your chosen bat. This is higher than the trade price GM would sell the bats to retailers for, (theoretically) covering the additional time of the staff member conducting the tour. There may also be a charge for going on the tour, again to cover overheads.

If retailer came in to hand pick the same overheads would be incurred, as time is money. I don't know about you, but I get paid when I'm at work, so tasks I carry out cost the company money (time = money) so this needs to be recovered.

What is more cost effective, boxing up an order for 10 OLE bats, or showing someone round, letting them wave all the OlE bats round, test them with a mallet and chose the "best 10".

Quite frankly your statement about not amounting to additional overheads is ridiculous, there's no way it wouldn't cost GM money to run such a day (numerous times for each retailer...)

[tim2000s]

There is no way that an increased cost would be involved as per my previous post.  To answer the question though, if you're confident in your products you want to show the world that you're confident with your products rather than being secretive/protective of them.

If you're confident in your products, why do you give a stuff about what, maybe, five customers think, when they amount to 2.5% of the net revenue you earn? 

[billyb]

More pics courtesy of Jake at Vitas...
https://twitter.com/VitasCricket

[tim2000s]

More pics courtesy of Jake at Vitas...
https://twitter.com/VitasCricket

Time to copy paste.