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[ItsJustCricket]

Cheers - I wrote that first one in a bit of a rush - and hence why I added the second one. Never realised how brief and terse it sounded until I read it back! So I apologise for that!

That's your opinion, we have ours, and at the end of the day it doesn't massively matter who is right or wrong or anything. We are all here because we love cricket, and the kit and every little detail about the sport, so really we are all trying to do what is best for our customers, we just go about it different ways! You'll get a cracking bat from a hundred different places, most of them on this forum! - we just think the best place is based in Central London !

[roco]

Having been round gm it's a nice place to visit as its a good process

Just don't visit with @petehosk as he tries to steal things

[petehosk]

Having been round gm it's a nice place to visit as its a good process

Just don't visit with @petehosk as he tries to steal things

How very, very dare you 
I simply have an eye for a decent piece of willow! Or in this topic I should probably say PEACE of willow!

[roco]

You had trotts bat up your jumper and security had to grab you

Although while they were pinning you down I tried to hide watsons bat

[petehosk]

I remember that! And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for them pesky kids!

[roco]

They were real players bats and you could see the difference compared to the thousands of other players bats

[Tom]

I think both the Vitas approach and IJC approach are both great. Very customer centric and with the best intentions, albeit slightly different.

IJC are incredibly selective and only deals with brands on handpicking terms. Whereas Vitas handpick where possible,  but will stock the right products if there's also demand from customers. A more flexible approach, and of course they offer a net service if you're wanting to try out bats before you buy.

Playing devils advocate could being too selective mean you're missing out on some strong brands with some of the best bats around? Sure. Does vitas approach mean they'll end up with some slightly less attractive bats (compared to handpicked from other brands) from GM, sure. At the end of the day it's great to have such proud customer focussed brands on here.

No retailer is perfect but we have a damn good few on here (assuming they pay their invoices on time )

[ItsJustCricket]

Slightly off topic, but felt it important to clarify that I haven't been posting on this thread at all today (too busy picking bats at Salix!) It's been Chris.  I think he has done a good job but sorry if there is ever any confusion over who is posting on behalf of IJC.  We will try to make this clearer moving forward.

Paul

[lazza32]

"One man's trash is another man's treasure"

When I was younger and used to pick out bats at Fearnley/Boundary Sports for my own use, I knew exactly what I was looking for - but everyone's desires are different. Personally I always looked for 7/8 grains with a touch of heartwood on the outside edge - what if the retailer handpicking the bats doesn't like heartwood? Or if said retailer would prefer to pick more grains over less?

Hand-picking is only ever subjective to the thoughts of the retailer - I'm not by any means saying that IJC/Vitas/UZI do a bad job (I'm certain they don't in fact!), but it may not be perfect for my own needs. If I had my heart set on a particular bat from one of the smaller brands, then I'd probably just contact the maker directly in the first place and get exactly the bat I wanted

thats why having the pictures of the actual bats is great.

[Ayrtek Cricket]

been an interesting topic to follow, I guess it all comes down to time management.

If a retailer is selling a couple of hundred bats a year then they can probably afford to spend the time and effort ensuring they hand select each one coming into their store. However if a retailer is selling triple figures of bats each season across the spectrum of ranges then they can probably ill afford to hand pick each and every one and will rely upon the brands supplying them to ensure the bat grades/models reflect the price tag associated with them. After all its the brands reputation being showcased when someone buys/uses the bat in the middle so its in their best interests to ensure it performs admirably.

At the end of the day bats are made from a natural material so sometimes a lower grade model aesthetically may perform better than a high grade/priced model. It comes down to if someone is willing to spend the time looking for the diamond in the dirt each time to place upon their shelves.

[roco]

Do you allow hand picking of your helmets @Ayrtek ?

[Ayrtek Cricket]

@roco only if u provide a) custard creams or b) thatchers gold 👍

[roco]

As an athlete of the highest regard I am not sure what those evil things you mention are but i'll investigate further

[alexhilly1492]

i have to agree with @Ayrtek on the thatchers!

[Ayrtek Cricket]

In all seriousness though, I used to assemble every helmet when we 1st started so I knew they had been hand-made by me to my QC level.

As volumes increased it wasn't the best use of my time to continue to do this so we got someone else to do it relying on their QC levels to represent our brand. My time was allocated elsewhere to further other things within the business to add value to it.

If IJC can afford to Quality Control (handpick) each bat themselves then great, Paul/Chris value this as part of their business plan and policy. Others would rely upon brand X's QC and spend their time elsewhere 👍

There is no right or wrong way of doing it as variety is the spice of life as they say and that's the beauty of the manufacturers continuously making bats as stock will turn over every time you visit if they are doing their job properly. Unlike helmets that are all made from the exact same materials to the same spec from the same tool so will be a constant unlike using willow!