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[tim2000s]

This area of GMs business has generated a lot of discussion and merits its own thread.

Given that no retailer sees all the stock when they go, what is the benefit of having a retailer that handpicks their stock from the factory versus one who selects something from their stock (provided by the wholesaler) to your specs?

Does a retailer understand what about a bat makes it pick up in such a way that it will be ideal for you?

Should we really care?

[Six Sixes Cricket]

Yet to see a retailer advertise an ugly bat at top dollar. They seem to be the better looking bats in any given grade, so the advantage seems to be your unlikely to get the ugly bats by them being hand picked

[thegowerwaft]

Tim,

Really good question.  For me it comes down to trust and time.  Like many on the forum, I have a busy life and thus time is at a premium.  When I go shopping, particularly for something as important as a bat I need to feel that I am making good use of my time to get a quality product.  Now whether this is to go and have something made bespoke or to buy an off the shelf the next choice for me is focused on trust.

The last bat I purchased came from Asad at Uzi.  I know I will be slated by some, but it was an MC LE Spartan that was advertised on here.  I know he went to the warehouse to hand pick the bat and I know he went through the (majority of the) warehouse's stock to find that tranche of bats for his store.  I appreciate the warehouse is only a snapshot of the total Spartan range and that Asad's hand selection has further reduced my total customer choice.  However, from what I have seen on here and how he has dealt with me personally... he has my total trust.

What does this mean, I know his hand selection reduced my available options but balanced against my time available, I believe he has helped save me significant time by conducting the initial weeding out process to focus on quality products.  Though I freely admit this is a subjective assessment.  I am sure other shops offer a similar service but I have trust in Asad and his handpicking process has given me great confidence in the product.

Is this relevant for a brand like GM?  Possibly not, if you truly believe an item like a cricket bat offers uniformity but it does, in my mind, create the concern of shot gun supply chain with an element of the personal touch removed.  However, I think GM is a first class brand and have happily used their bats in the past.  When I purchased, rightly or wrongly, the MC LE did I get the best one in the UK?  Almost certainly not but I gained confidence from Asad's selection, personal service and then my fumbled waving of willow and tapping up in his first class store.

In conclusion, if you have faith in the person doing the hand selection (this might be misplaced but certainly helps my batting confidence in relation to a product - surely this can only help your game) then it can save you precious time and lead to a good buying experience.

[tim2000s]

So coming back to the original question, if Sports Direct offered a hand picking service from the stock in their warehouse, would you use it and why have you made that choice?

[The Palmist]

With sports direct prices (when they have genuine reductions) people are happy buying blind so a hand picking service will be welcomed.

[thegowerwaft]

Shorter answer 

For me no, it would be quick but I need to know and trust the person hand picking for me.

[GarrettJ]

The amount of bats sold on after a few uses on this forum suggests somewhere it's going wrong

The most important thing to a proper batsman is the feel of the handle and the pick up, this is very personal and can not be judged by hand selecting.

[TangoWhiskey]

To be honest, I'd back the sponsors who hand pick the bats to pick out a better one than I could. I'd back the knowledge of someone who has seen 1000's of bats over my own.

[tim2000s]

The amount of bats sold on after a few uses on this forum suggests somewhere it's going wrong

The most important thing to a proper batsman is the feel of the handle and the pick up, this is very personal and can not be judged by hand selecting.

Thanks Garrett, I was hoping someone might say this.

All that hand picking proves for us forumites and amateurs is that looks and bounce off a mallet are the most important thing for us, unless we are getting a new version of something we have had before, and even then pick up isn't guaranteed.

[lazza32]

How do you sell bats Garrett? I thought a lot of your sales are international.

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[uknsaunders]

I think it also depends on who is doing the picking. Some people I might trust and others I wouldn't. It isn't simply about nice grains, pickup of a specific bat vary from person to person. Hand picking can weed out the rubbish but it won't be a guarantee of the right bat.

[Buzz]

I am rubbish at picking bats.

I know what feel, weight and pick up I like in a bat, but using a mallet, most bats feel the same to me, unless they are astounding or shocking!

so in answer to the question it comes down to who you trust. the retailer to recommend something or the reputation of the batmaker.

I have had some excellent bats from different sources and tested loads.

if someone is custom making a bat for you, what if you don't like it when it has been made exactly as you asked?

I think hand picking from the manufacturor only works if te person picking knows what you are looking for.

someone very tall picking a bat for someone short would also be a challenge as the geometry is all different.

Romida and fordham don't hand pick bats, but seem to sell plenty

[trypewriter]

I am rubbish at picking bats.

I know what feel, weight and pick up I like in a bat, but using a mallet, most bats feel the same to me, unless they are astounding or shocking!

me too

[Tom]

The only thing you know with a handpicked bat is that you're going to get something pretty. When a brand imports/sells 20,000 bats a year and has them in their warehouse, there's no way any retailer is going to go through hitting each and every bat with a mallet to find the 5 best performing bats to put on their shelves.

You have no idea how it will perform, how it will pick up, how it will feel. Your ideal bat may actually be sat in Sports Direct. If you buy online you can 'hand-pick' yourself by ringing up a few retailers and asking them to send a photo, or describe their best looking bats in your preferred price point.

[GarrettJ]

How do you sell bats Garrett? I thought a lot of your sales are international.

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The international ones are people I know or people who have seen a previous bat and I keep a detailed record on each bat.

In uk I try to meet people in person and take along every bat I have and let them choose it and don't tell them the weights until they have narrowed them down to a top 3. If it is an internet sale I pick a bat I think is suitable with the guarantee I'll pay to send it back if they don't like the feel of it.

If I went to a handpicking retailer and the bat turned out to be a plank I'd be annoyed and want a different bat free if charge ... They claim to be experts and hand picked the best of the best and use it as their USP so should get it right. Personally I think they are setting themselves up to fail as performance can not be judged unless a bat is used in a match.

I hand picked 20 clefts after inspecting over 1000 grade 1s individually with the help of two forum members, I can guarantee they all look amazing and I can guarantee that some play a lot better than others.

I used Ben stokes' old puma the other week, felt strange to me and didn't look great. The worst bat I have ever used was given to me by shiv chanderpaul. I literally couldn't get the ball off the square no matter how hard I hit it. To me that proves a bat is very personal and hand picking for performance is nonsense.

Picking on looks the hand picking method is perfect, after all most retailers just want a shop full of bats with nice grains as that's what usually makes them sell.