The Price of Sticks Must Come Down

[gxc999 7]

To begin with, I am intimately familiar with the law of supply and demand, however I am also quite familiar with the idea of "luxury pricing" and that's what composite sticks are being priced as. Initially, the cost of production for OPS was really high, and prices were kept reasonably in line, but as costs have come way down, prices have gone way up. In the US, the s19 grip is $249, the x60, 10k and CL are $209 in their grip iterations. In Canada, these same sticks can sell for $300+. I understand there are many ideas to consider, but in the midst of the worst recession in 60+ years and considering the USD has come back strong against both the pound and the Euro, it's really unacceptable. I'm not suggesting top end sticks come down to $99, but let's get real.

I suggest companies cut down their profit margins, because I know almost exactly what several of the top end sticks cost to produce, and they're overcharging the retailers, but beyond that, let's seriously explore the idea of getting rid of warranties. I really hope I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[mug25 2]

I cant recall what I paid for my Vector 130 back when it first came out but I recall it was pretty damn expensive. I personally have no problem with the price of currents sticks. You should take into account a company's overhead when demanding lower prices. It's not just how much it costs them to make the stick.

Cutting profit margins could lead to worker wage reduction. There are a lot of jobs that are part of R&D, designing, manufacturing and marketing these sticks.

I'll give you an example. I work for an ad agency. Our biggest client is a Baseball Cleat manufacturer. I know what it costs the company to manufacture the cleats. I also know what it costs for them to market them. With that being said, let's say they cut their profit margin, that would most likely, lead to a smaller advertising budget. Know what that means? A few designers on my team very well may get let go.

That my friend is not very good for the economy, nor our already high unemployment rate.

[technophile 0]

The question is not what the sticks cost to produce (even including overhead).

The question is what the sticks are worth to players. If players decide the sticks are not worth $300, they will magically no longer cost $300.

In other words, stop buying ridiculously expensive sticks.

[rachael7 1]

Supply and demand will rule - sticks are worth what people are willing to pay. I would agree on the warranties though - I have no problem giving up the warranty if that would lower the cost a reasonable amount. The warranties made sense when composites were real new and sort of 'experimental', so to speak. But its an established technology now, and when they break, it is just the forces of play more often than not.

[zebra_steve 11]

The way I see it is that if the OPS costs as much as almost a dozen wood lam sticks then it ain't worth it (to me) unless it LASTS longer than a dozen woodies would. By the same token, I still have an aluminum shaft from the '80's (Used them from the time they first came out) and several different carbon shafts from the late 90's. Two of them cost about what a half dozen woodies cost... I rarely broke the shaft, usually killed the blade, and since the blades were less than half the cost of a whole stick it made financial sense to use the aluminum shaft. It helped that I liked the feel and performance of them. Based on how many sticks\blades I went through when I played seriously, I would expect to go through maybe four OPS a season. I was on the ice probably 6 days a week and playing 2 or 3 games a week. I usually went through 4 dozen or so sticks\wood replacement blades a year.

Mug,

Being unemployed for the past 6 months I really feel what you're saying... but you know what..... I still think we are being hosed..... It really is all about maximizing their profit..... Capitalism at it's finest..... and since I believe in capitalism, I'm voting with my $$$.... it'll be a looooong time before I buy my daughter any OPS unless I get a screaming deal. I won't use one myself because I personally do not see enough performance advantage to justify the cost, and the blade patterns are not what I like and I cannot easily modify them.

As for the warranties, If they do what the fly rod companies do then you are paying up front for two or three units as they expect to have to replace them a couple times on warranty...... either you have a great product that you know won't have to be replaced unless you screwed up manufacture, or it's a marketing gimmick and you have the replacement cost rolled into the sale price and it really isn't that much better than the "cheaper" unit w\o the warranty.

We never had warranties on sticks until they started charging "funny money" type prices for them.... People got really pissed when they paid $200 for a stick that broke in warm ups or on the first shift.... $25 woodie, well you're not happy....... $200... that's a pretty big chunk of dads paycheck.....

[skarbro 0]

Don't like the price ot top end sticks? This is why they sell cheaper sticks at the fraction of the cost. Complaining about prices of OPS's is just as pointless as ranting that Bauer should include senior sticks in the junior-youth stick recall. Just let the big bad companies absorb the costs. Like you said, we just went though a "recession", but so did the stick manufacturers.

[zebra_steve 11]

As for performance advantage:

[JR Boucicaut 3789]

I suggest companies cut down their profit margins, because I know almost exactly what several of the top end sticks cost to produce, and they're overcharging the retailers, but beyond that, let's seriously explore the idea of getting rid of warranties. I really hope I'm not the only one who feels this way.

If you actually did know those numbers, you wouldn't be asking them to cut their margins. Just being honest - you got some bad info.

[sitzlejd 0]

Rachel nailed it. As long as people will pay they have no reason to reduce the price. That said, I don't ever buy sticks that cost that much. I look for deals such as the Innos that pop up every once in a while. Unless you're playing at a high level I really don't think you need a top-end OPS. The best guys on my team score tons of goals with mid-range sticks. But if that's how you want to spend your money more power to you.

[shooter27 116]

Top-end OPS are a luxury good, so I have no problem with companies using luxury pricing methods. There are plenty of other sticks at a lot lower price points if you don't want to pay the price for top-end OPS. Its not like you can't get an OPS for $99 or less, you just can't get the top end model, nothing wrong with that. Just like you can get a car for less than $10k, but you can't get the top end Mercedes or Porsche.

When OPS originally came out they cost like $100 - $125 I believe. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the OPS you can get in that price range today, such as the One75 or SE6, are definitely superior to those original sticks in durability and probably superior in terms of performance. It just so happens that today those sticks are not the top end in the performance range.

[Chadd 916]

The way I see it is that if the OPS costs as much as almost a dozen wood lam sticks then it ain't worth it (to me) unless it LASTS longer than a dozen woodies would.

They do for me. Actually, I use tapered shaft and blade versions of an OPS but I still save a ton of money over when I used wood sticks.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

I suggest companies cut down their profit margins

lol, and some companies are sitting there going "what profit?"

[shotty 7]

manufacturer's do a great job of offering a variety of price points to keep the general hockey public happy. it's the retailer's decision on which price points they want to hit. if their customers only want X:60, S19, One95, 10K etc, they're going to put their inventory $$ into those products. manufacturer's can afford to be all things to all people, majority of retailers cannot.

if you aren't comfortable spending $250-$300 on a stick, look at the other options... the $300 sticks are the exception; there are far more product set at a "reasonable" price as opposed to the "outrageous" ones we see on the premium models.

of course warranty is built into the cost, it's just another expense. the only way to recover expense is through the proper pricing of your products. warranty provides peace of mind. peace of mind, especially this day in age, is very valuable. probably more valuable than the actual calculated cost of warranty built into each stick.

[JJStripes 1]

As for performance advantage:

Nice try, but the performance advantages of high end OPS over wood are so blatantly obvious that I won't even bother wasting anyone's time listing them here.

[SirJW 207]

Keep looking for closeout deals this spring.

[Chadd 916]

Nice try, but the performance advantages of high end OPS over wood are so blatantly obvious that I won't even bother wasting anyone's time listing them here.

The advantage isn't in the overall power. The advantage is the quicker release and the amount of power on wrist and snap shots with minimal loading.

[digisk8r 0]

Greetings everyone

Now please hold you collective breaths because here in the land of Oz the retail price of the easton S19 is $1099.00 (stick not skate) I kid you not. Unfortunatley we now have the same distributor for mission, bauer and easton, I am aware they are streamlining their pricing on other products but my god are they kidding themselves. Something is wrong.

[Chadd 916]

At those prices I'm surprised that you aren't having some local guys buying direct from factories and selling their own products.

[BucksAway 16]

Greetings everyone

Now please hold you collective breaths because here in the land of Oz the retail price of the easton S19 is $1099.00 (stick not skate) I kid you not. Unfortunatley we now have the same distributor for mission, bauer and easton, I am aware they are streamlining their pricing on other products but my god are they kidding themselves. Something is wrong.

yer an Easton SE16 is over 600...dude mission BSX's cost bloody $350 Bauer RX60 and Mission (the new top skate) both cost $1000

At those prices I'm surprised that you aren't having some local guys buying direct from factories and selling their own products.

i would if i had the money and the market was big enough but in aus it just isnt

[Bucky25 0]

i would if i had the money and the market was big enough but in aus it just isnt

Which is why it costs so much for top end gear...buy in smaller quantities, receive a smaller (or no) discount, higher shipping costs, etc.

Not that it doesn't suck for you guys of course.

[DarkStar50 679]

Top-end OPS are a luxury good, so I have no problem with companies using luxury pricing methods. There are plenty of other sticks at a lot lower price points if you don't want to pay the price for top-end OPS. Its not like you can't get an OPS for $99 or less, you just can't get the top end model, nothing wrong with that. Just like you can get a car for less than $10k, but you can't get the top end Mercedes or Porsche.

When OPS originally came out they cost like $100 - $125 I believe. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the OPS you can get in that price range today, such as the One75 or SE6, are definitely superior to those original sticks in durability and probably superior in terms of performance. It just so happens that today those sticks are not the top end in the performance range.

Nailed it. The car analogy is dead on. I often use it in the shop when comparing different price points within a category. "Your first car doesn't have to be a Porsche."

This is a great fantasy thread. I would like the price of gas to go down to what I paid 20 years ago. It is still just gas, right? Uh, that ain't happening. As a retail hockey shop buyer for a long, long time, the ONLY product that I ever recall coming down in wholesale cost was the CCM HT2 helmet in the 90s after it had been out for over 20 years!! I can only imagine the chuckles that lurking vendors are getting about the idea of OPS prices coming down due to the recession. What happens after we pull through the recession? OK, time to raise the prices!! :lol:

In the shop, the one thing I notice lately is more reps coming in with 2nd tier OPS lines trying to make a presence. New/old names like Sher-wood, Winnwell, Combat, BattleAxe, and Miken are trying to get their product into shops. However, some are offering product at high end price points and that makes it tough for a buyer to devote inventory $ when he knows the high end Easton and Bauer OPS will sell through. These guys might have to sacrifice their own $ and offer the product at less cost but they cannot afford to. I've got some guy coming today to show me another line of OPS. Anybody hear of Brooklynite? :P

[skarbro 0]

What happens after we pull through the recession? OK, time to raise the prices!! :lol:

Best line. I've used variations of this line when delivering price increases to my clients and they complain that it's a "recession". They always retract after looking at it this way.

[Jarick 5]

Best stick I've used so far is the Harrow 300, just ordered another 2-piece for $90 shipped. As was said above, a top end OPS is a luxury item.

[gxc999 7]

lol, and some companies are sitting there going "what profit?"

Let's be less discrete- isn't it a generally accurate statement that the companies are spending more on marketing and warranty per stick than just actual manufacturing cost? That's the case as I understand it. So there are the two areas I suggest cutting into, consumers need more choices if not lower prices. 

[DarkStar50 679]

Since puckit and I both are on the selling side of the equation, I think the point he was trying to make it that these companies don't sell just OPS. They sell entire product lines which also contribute to the cost of doing business.