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[langer17]

If we know that top end bats are not always the best, and off the shelf typically get graded on looks first (few exceptions here though) then why do we continue to fork out top dollar to buy them? My best bats have always been lower down on the price list when compared to some of the custom mades I've gotten;

My Helios Atlas (really a Newbery GT) was $300 when I bought it back in 2011 and it is easily the best bat I have owned. It performs and more importantly, it just feels right in my hands. 5 years on and it's still going strong. Now the SS I bought the other day was $350 and it too just feels right in the hands, but it genuinely feels better tome than the Affinity Persona I recently purchased, which was almost double the price. I think this is solely down to the mental factor of me picking the SS based on feel, whereas the Affinity was sent across without me having any prior physical input and it didn't turn out exactly how I had hoped. It's not bad at all and is actually very good, but when you visualize something and your vision doesn't come true then you always have those thoughts there. In saying that, had it turned out how I hoped I wouldn't have purchased the SS, so it worked out well for me.

Reading most the reasons for people selling bats on here most of us value feel/pickup/balance in the hands as the most important factor with a bat, be it due to a certain bat or handle shape or weight, feel seems to be the number 1. You never see anyone on here go; I bought this expensive bat and it's a dud so I'm going to sell it on haha. Most of the time it is because it didn't feel right to them or they had another that simply felt better. Often people make a loss on their original purchase price even though they often sell a product near its original condition.

I guess to come full circle, it would be good if we could create a new baseline for buying bats because the only reason cricket retailers get away with listing multiple bats for AUD $1000+ is because people buy them. Right now the baseline seems to be $600 for most bats which used to be the absolute creme of the crop not even 6 years back.

[Seniorplayer]

I think   As the cost of  cricket bats rocket a new baseline will be created as  the top end and higher grades they will become to expensive for the club cricketer.

[Alvaro]

They already are... and I cut my cloth accordingly. In any case, bavette steak tastes better than fillet...

[ppccopener]

They already are...

Indeed they are, I don't recall the last time I bought a new grade 1 bat, maybe 10 years ago.

I was told by a very well known bat maker a well pressed grade 2 is just as good so I stopped buying top of the range. To prove the point my latest bat is a grade 3. But it does feel nice to pick up so that good enough for me.

second hand I might get a top of the range but I believe it's in the pressing rather than the quality of the wood. And anyway grade 2 is often a grade 1 but with blemishes that make no difference whatsoever-just cosmetic.

[jamesisapayne]

the top end and higher grades they will become to expensive for the club cricketer.

Already happened years ago mate. I don't get this whole people will pay it so we'll charge it malarkey. Top end prices have doubled in the last few years due to clever marketing, sponsorship costs needing to be recouped etc.

In that time allowing for inflation etc I bet manufacturing and raw material costs haven't gone up more than 10-15%.

Most top end bats simply aren't worth the money, especially for a club cricketer with a young family. Heck, even some of the lower end bats are out of a lot of people's price ranges. People on here see others spending ridiculous sums on a piece of wood and think I'll have some of that too, it'll make me a better player but most of the time it's a placebo effect and this forum is a very small group of bat nerds/affectionados/tragics in real context.

Better off buying a cheaper grade 2 or 3 bat with a bit of character and having lessons than spending 100s on grade 1+++++++++++ willow if you ask me.

[langer17]

Yeah the SS I recently got is a grade 3 and it stacks up very well.

[Over Gully]

It depends on what you want from your bat. I expect the absolute top end of bats to not only perform well, but look nice as well. I'll admit that cosmetics were a factor, but not the only factor, in my most recent purchase 3 seasons ago. I bought my bat for AU$750 (I posted pics of it on here back when I purchased it), and it not only looks stunning but is the best bat I've ever used, better than the GN Legend I had previously. It is still going strong now and I'm not one to buy bats every season just because I can. So for me an outlay of that amount for 4-5 years solid use is fine. There is a point however where bats are getting grotesquely expensive. There were some Gunn and Moore bats in the Greg Chappell catalogue that were up around AU$1500, which is obscene and I could never justify purchasing a bat for that price. In time the 750-800 price bracket will probably end up being the "good performance but not the best looking" category. I don't know where we will go from there. Cricket may become an elitist sport given how expensive equipment is getting and the working class will simply not be able to afford it. That would be a say day indeed, it may even be happening now...

[lazza32]

Wages haven't risen in real terms in Australia for the last 5 years but bats have significantly. Something has to give.

[Australian fast bowler]

My views and others might differ here, if bats lasted like they did 10+ years ago, i think the price could be justified.
Sadly this isnt the case with most guys only getting 1-2 seasons out of bats. My thought process is that why buy 1 bat at 800 that may not last me a season, when i can buy a couple bats lower end and still end up in the same position.

And when you see major companies such as Kookaburra selling grade 3 for 500 and grade 2 for 800 in Aus, no wonder people look elsewhere. Willow prices have not gone up that much in the last 10 years to justify $1500 bats in my opinion

[adb club cricketer]

Agree with the ridiculous pricing. If the bats were made in Uk, the higher price is somewhat understandable, but for ASIAN made bats such a Kook/GN where labor cost is low, the prices being more than some of the Uk made ones doesn't make sense. As there is no single brand which has decent bats for decent prices these days, people will still be buying the high price stuff. To choose between not playing due to lack of equipment vs paying a high price and get to play the game they love, most will go for the latter any day.

[well past my peak]

I ask the question late last year why the English market is so more competitive http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=40624.0, compare to the AUS market.
I think a large part of it is the lack of competition in AUS. In fact if you read the thread you see that one of the AUS retailers was a little upset by my questioning of the price difference between the two markets.
I ended up buying a kook ghost from the uk.
So same grade willow from the same Indian factory, slightly differ specs, which I prefer eg oval handle and flat face. Freight cost from UK was $50 freight cost from Aus $25
I ended up saving over $300 aus from purchasing from the UK.
Now it comes down to either AUS retailers are paying far more for their stock than the UK retailers or they are greedy. Its been a long time since I have purchased a bat from AUS, and I expect my dollars will continue to flow to the UK and NZ.

[skip1973]

surprising there's not a cricket specialist on every corner seeing how much money's in them.

[ProCricketer1982]

I ask the question late last year why the English market is so more competitive http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=40624.0, compare to the AUS market.
I think a large part of it is the lack of competition in AUS. In fact if you read the thread you see that one of the AUS retailers was a little upset by my questioning of the price difference between the two markets.
I ended up buying a kook ghost from the uk.
So same grade willow from the same Indian factory, slightly differ specs, which I prefer eg oval handle and flat face. Freight cost from UK was $50 freight cost from Aus $25
I ended up saving over $300 aus from purchasing from the UK.
Now it comes down to either AUS retailers are paying far more for their stock than the UK retailers or they are greedy. Its been a long time since I have purchased a bat from AUS, and I expect my dollars will continue to flow to the UK and NZ.

It's not competitive, prices are kept at a rate by the industry.

[ppccopener]

I ask the question late last year why the English market is so more competitive http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=40624.0, compare to the AUS market.
I think a large part of it is the lack of competition in AUS. In fact if you read the thread you see that one of the AUS retailers was a little upset by my questioning of the price difference between the two markets.
I ended up buying a kook ghost from the uk.
So same grade willow from the same Indian factory, slightly differ specs, which I prefer eg oval handle and flat face. Freight cost from UK was $50 freight cost from Aus $25
I ended up saving over $300 aus from purchasing from the UK.
Now it comes down to either AUS retailers are paying far more for their stock than the UK retailers or they are greedy. Its been a long time since I have purchased a bat from AUS, and I expect my dollars will continue to flow to the UK and NZ.

If those in Australia can accept the 'second option' so not actually seeing the bat or picking it up which agreed is not ideal.....then it begs the question why more of you don't buy this way

international shipping seems very reasonable, there will be duties as well, but looking at these numbers quoted for buying direct, is there something stopping more Australians buying here and getting it shipped over

are we missing any info here?

[well past my peak]

It's not competitive, prices are kept at a rate by the industry.

finally a sensible answer, thanks mate.

so are the bats sold to different countries are different rates?
Because the locally made industy is dead in AUS ( less competion) bats are sold at a higher price to the Aussie retailer.
I guess there is certainly potential for the increase in aussies purchasing overseas and perhaps more grey imports.