Acceptable Bat Price Range
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Poll

Ideal bat price range for a pingilicous bat?

100 - 150 GBP
151 - 180 GBP
181 - 220 GBP
221 - 250 GBP
251 - 300 GBP
301 - 350 GBP
351 - 400 GBP
401 + GBP
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Author Topic: Acceptable Bat Price Range  (Read 4823 times)

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Kulli

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2019, 01:28:37 PM »

There’s definitely some bats that I can see why people play 4/500 for, but just don’t really see the poin when you can get something of a similar performance for say sub £175.

Also hate knocking in and using breaks new bats so tend to get most of mines on here used. Which obviously usually knocks a fair bit off the RRP.

Like mentioned before I spend way to much on buying bats but have the fun is the high turnover and getting to try lots of types rather than just 1-2 expensive ones.
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JB

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #16 on: December 22, 2019, 02:01:22 PM »

A decent bats worth whatever someone’s willing to pay for it
My only issue with the super rare pro bats, is their fragility,,,,,if you’ve paid a hefty chunk for them,(say 350 plus) then they have to be treated very carefully and used primarily for match days.

I don’t think cost really comes into buying a decent bat tho,,,it’s more knowing what suits you and your game, then digging through as many bats as you can, or trusting a bat maker or supplier, to source something that suits.
As long as it’s not been over pressed, chances are most bats can be knocked in and prepared to give decent performance.
Trouble is, no one wants to knock a bat in anymore

Best bat I ever had was 25quid off a former teammate,,,
I’ve had a hundred quid ace bat that performed unreal for years
Aaaannnd, thanks to this forum, I’ve paid a hell of a lot more for some lovely pro bats.

Best performing bats I’ve made? Two of my mates are using grade three bats I made for them, and both claim they are the best bats they’ve ever used,,(both of em are old campaigners like me)

Couldn’t have put my thoughts better than this, trust the people who know what they are doing
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InternalTraining

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #17 on: December 22, 2019, 05:22:35 PM »


I don’t think cost really comes into buying a decent bat tho,,,it’s more knowing what suits you and your game, then digging through as many bats as you can, or trusting a bat maker or supplier, to source something that suits.

True. It took a lot of bats and $$s to find out what worked for me. That kind of search can be discouraging to many weekend cricketers though.

Quote
As long as it’s not been over pressed, chances are most bats can be knocked in and prepared to give decent performance.
Trouble is, no one wants to knock a bat in anymore

Unfortunately, that's true as well as most weekend players have little time for "proper" preparation and care for the bat, at least where I am.  They want both durability and quick performance in their bats without time investment.

The common question (or biggest unknown) I hear is how do I know bat is ready and how much knocking should I do? So, how do you know the level knocking is needed to get performance out of a cheap bat you picked up especially when you want it use it yesterday. Lot of guys I know plunk down USD 350-450 to get a bat that they know will perform. I have said this before that we need a better way of classifying bats. Weight and size dimensions are not enough. If the uncertainty of balance, feel is replaced with measurable dimensions like swing weight, balance point, location of node of percussions, density, and some measurement of ping, it  would make it a lot easier to pick bats and prepare them for performance.
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cesare_in

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #18 on: December 24, 2019, 09:58:51 AM »

Tbh from the time I have knocked in and started playing with a bat, it takes me approximately 2 seasons to fully open up. I'm talking about weekend cricket only.

Phew.. that's some time elapsed.

Also, my best performing bat is the 2nd cheapest and 2nd best is the cheapest. I agree  most of the bats today will perform. At my level, I hardly notice the difference in performance (at least with ones I have bought and my limited capabilities + experience). So, it's been futile accumulating more than a dozen bats . At this rate, it will take me ~26 years to have all these fully opened up  :D.

I guess best to buy a bat purely on feel and pickup irrespective of cost.
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Buzz

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #19 on: December 24, 2019, 01:54:24 PM »

£250 seems my limit at the moment. Less is preferable...

Given what you can still get for under £100, I may change my view...
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ch1p

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #20 on: December 24, 2019, 02:07:53 PM »

I think the two bats i've picked up this winter have put an end to spending big money on willow. A grade 2 Neon which with good preperation is flying and still to get better and the sale B3 I picked up which is just ridiculous.

It's stupid but I definitely play better with the bats I have been given or didn't pay much for. Maybe its a lack of care so I swing harder but its definitely in my head somewhere.

I dont think i'll be paying over £200 maximum again - Potentially push that to B3's new two stripe price if I see a cleft I really like or something they post.
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Jimbo

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #21 on: December 24, 2019, 08:56:42 PM »

Most I've ever spent on a bat was 220 for the Blank Bats B4 I have now but that was a gift to myself for starting a new job. Wouldn't want to spend more than 180 absolute maximum now, largely because I know I'm not a good enough bat to do anything more expensive proper justice.
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Sitonit

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #22 on: December 26, 2019, 04:30:36 AM »

If we as cricket bat lovers stop falling for these flashy stickers and new marketing ploys of G+++++ Plus pro players grade etc, and know that this is the same exact willow that used be sold for ages at a reasonable prices. And now this it's up to £1000 a bat? That's crazy.

150 should be max.
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jamesisapayne

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #23 on: December 26, 2019, 08:41:50 AM »

150 should be max.

I'm not sure how you could say £150 should be the max price, considering raw material costs have gone up a fair bit and manufacturers overheads are an unknown quantity. That seems very low, top of the range bats from 10-15 years ago were still around the £200-250 mark. I would much rather put my money into a UK manufacturer, but no doubt the overheads are going to be higher so I accept the costs are going to be higher than bats made in Asia.

The thing with willow that I find strange is that it's graded on looks as that's pretty much the only thing you can grade on when dealing with raw materials. Yet we know that the vast majority of times looks has nothing to do whatsoever with how well a bat plays.

For me, GM bats are unbelievable value, made in the UK and their own grading system seems pretty good, but I'd never shell out for anything in the 909 and above range as for me personally the law of diminishing returns kicks in once I go above the 808 range. Yes the bats are prettier, but am I getting a bat that's twice as good for what is effectively twice the price of a lower grade model?

Nope, not in my experience.

There is a quality/value peak for me that sits around the £150-200 mark and I don't think this has changed for quite a few years. It does fluctuate between manufacturers (Gray Nichols grading for me is terrible compared to others around the same price bracket) but chances are, it's not going to be a plank, it's not going to be the prettiest either but will almost certainly be a quality performer that given a bit of time will help me score runs.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2019, 08:43:39 AM by jamesisapayne »
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WABH-J

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #24 on: December 26, 2019, 12:37:23 PM »

I'm not sure how you could say £150 should be the max price, considering raw material costs have gone up a fair bit and manufacturers overheads are an unknown quantity. That seems very low, top of the range bats from 10-15 years ago were still around the £200-250 mark. I would much rather put my money into a UK manufacturer, but no doubt the overheads are going to be higher so I accept the costs are going to be higher than bats made in Asia.

The thing with willow that I find strange is that it's graded on looks as that's pretty much the only thing you can grade on when dealing with raw materials. Yet we know that the vast majority of times looks has nothing to do whatsoever with how well a bat plays.

For me, GM bats are unbelievable value, made in the UK and their own grading system seems pretty good, but I'd never shell out for anything in the 909 and above range as for me personally the law of diminishing returns kicks in once I go above the 808 range. Yes the bats are prettier, but am I getting a bat that's twice as good for what is effectively twice the price of a lower grade model?

Nope, not in my experience.

There is a quality/value peak for me that sits around the £150-200 mark and I don't think this has changed for quite a few years. It does fluctuate between manufacturers (Gray Nichols grading for me is terrible compared to others around the same price bracket) but chances are, it's not going to be a plank, it's not going to be the prettiest either but will almost certainly be a quality performer that given a bit of time will help me score runs.

I tend to agree with a lot of what you've said here. Anything between £100 and £250 depending on how flush I'm feeling! I have become increasingly interested in second hand bats as so many people sell on because they're not quite right. My £65 GM Mythos Signature that I bought off of here has done as well as the GN Prestige that I got in a sale for £200!
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InternalTraining

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #25 on: December 26, 2019, 04:43:59 PM »

For me, GM bats are unbelievable value, made in the UK and their own grading system seems pretty good, but I'd never shell out for anything in the 909 and above range as for me personally the law of diminishing returns kicks in once I go above the 808 range. Yes the bats are prettier, but am I getting a bat that's twice as good for what is effectively twice the price of a lower grade model?

Agreed.

An old team mate's 606s are some of the best value bats I have seen, and pingy to boot!
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Jimbo

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #26 on: December 26, 2019, 08:16:57 PM »

If someone wants to point me towards some of these good quality £65 bats that'd be ideal 😅
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Mfarank

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #27 on: December 27, 2019, 08:55:52 AM »

I'm not sure how you could say £150 should be the max price, considering raw material costs have gone up a fair bit and manufacturers overheads are an unknown quantity. That seems very low, top of the range bats from 10-15 years ago were still around the £200-250 mark. I would much rather put my money into a UK manufacturer, but no doubt the overheads are going to be higher so I accept the costs are going to be higher than bats made in Asia.

The thing with willow that I find strange is that it's graded on looks as that's pretty much the only thing you can grade on when dealing with raw materials. Yet we know that the vast majority of times looks has nothing to do whatsoever with how well a bat plays.

For me, GM bats are unbelievable value, made in the UK and their own grading system seems pretty good, but I'd never shell out for anything in the 909 and above range as for me personally the law of diminishing returns kicks in once I go above the 808 range. Yes the bats are prettier, but am I getting a bat that's twice as good for what is effectively twice the price of a lower grade model?

Nope, not in my experience.

There is a quality/value peak for me that sits around the £150-200 mark and I don't think this has changed for quite a few years. It does fluctuate between manufacturers (Gray Nichols grading for me is terrible compared to others around the same price bracket) but chances are, it's not going to be a plank, it's not going to be the prettiest either but will almost certainly be a quality performer that given a bit of time will help me score runs.
I kind of mostly agree to this but you have to consider barring GM, most of the big brands now manufacturer in asia. Have you seen the price tags on some of those New balance limited editions and gray nics legend bats? Absolutely ridiculous and all indian made! The labor and production costs in that part of the world are incomparable to the west. There are companies there that sell the same quality of bats at quarter of the price. Take Protos for example. Same factory as NB, fraction of the price
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t2ylo

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #28 on: December 27, 2019, 09:57:04 AM »

The more I read this thread the more I realise I like a bargain way more than I like a “top end” bat.

Having owned and played with oodles of brands there is no direct correlation between price & performance that I can find

I’ve hit runs with £50 bats & made a run of poor  scores with some really expensive sticks and vice versa

For me the fun is in picking up a second hand bargain - I do enjoy a play with the sander & stickers, grips & scuffs, then having a go in the nets or for a few games and move it on. Every now and then I keep one that I really get on with.

So the question of price is anything under £100, preferably pre-owned, that looks like it’s got potential to be fun to use & not lose too much money when sold on.

That said I still can’t bring myself to go down to one set of kit and a couple of bats, even though I know I’d be perfectly happy with my £65 Chases & unbranded pads & gloves
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SOULMAN1012

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Re: Acceptable Bat Price Range
« Reply #29 on: December 27, 2019, 10:08:21 AM »

If someone wants to point me towards some of these good quality £65 bats that'd be ideal 😅

@Jimbo check out chase R1 Bats, there is some pics and reviews in the bat section under reviews, Black Friday bargains section and at least one other. Certainly wont all be the prettiest bats ( some however have been superb) but consensus is that they all have decent initial performance.
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