Club Bargains Ahead?

[Archie Bunker]

Since the major manufacturers all introduce their "latest and greatest" stuff in the Spring for early sales, I would guess that with the current situation that sales are not going all that well and inventory levels are high. So I would guess that there will be a lot of gear needed to move later this year in order to make room for the 2021 stuff already in the planning or production stage. My feeling is that the manufacturers will either need to delay the introduction of next year's stuff or drastically move this year's stuff at greatly reduced prices. I agree - not the most pressing issue for us in these times, but if you're looking to buy some new gear this year, there might be some fantastic bargains in your future. 

[snapfade]

That's an interesting subject, that would apply to alot of seasonal items such as clothes and so forth. With there being no restrictions on cargo coming in you would think not. But with a lot of retailers being closed they are losing loads of money they will have to make up somehow. We could very well see some really good deals on clubs this Summer. Or we could have a Black Friday like never before in November. 

[DrvFrShow]

They won't delay the introduction of next years stuff. 

[billchao]

1 hour ago, DrvFrShow said:

They won't delay the introduction of next years stuff. 

What makes you say that? Chances are they’re sitting on a stockpile of equipment they already produced that needs to sell. Rushing out production of next year’s stuff without meeting the sales quotas for this year isn’t in their best interests.

I’m not even sure how many manufacturers are even in operation in R&D at this time to create next year’s lineup.

[iacas]

The spring stuff was introduced, for the most part, at the PGA Show or around that time in January.

[Wallstreet]

I doubt there will be that many deals.  Golf Galaxy's here in Michigan are still selling three year old drivers for $450-$500 depending on the brand/model.  I guess if this lasts well into the summer, maybe we'll see some deals. 

[pganapathy]

I figure you will get better deals from shops that might go bankrupt if the virus forces a long enough quarantine.  Any business that survives the quarantine will see business pick up and won't be tempted to clear stock unless new stock comes in.  That also looks to be delayed with companies shuttering for a while and potential travel restrictions.

[downbylaw11]

12 hours ago, Archie Bunker said:

Since the major manufacturers all introduce their "latest and greatest" stuff in the Spring for early sales, I would guess that with the current situation that sales are not going all that well and inventory levels are high. So I would guess that there will be a lot of gear needed to move later this year in order to make room for the 2021 stuff already in the planning or production stage. My feeling is that the manufacturers will either need to delay the introduction of next year's stuff or drastically move this year's stuff at greatly reduced prices. I agree - not the most pressing issue for us in these times, but if you're looking to buy some new gear this year, there might be some fantastic bargains in your future. 

this was my first thought when courses started shutting down, but oddly I briefly saw what seemed like the opposite lol.  it would be hard to justify raising the price if the whole covid thing settled down after lowering them, so i figure stores will just keep them the same

[NM Golf]

All the major equipment suppliers (Titleist, PING, Callaway, etc) set their own prices so shops must price equipment according to the manufacturer guidelines. If they sell equipment below suggested retail they could lose the account. So you won't see shops selling stuff too cheap. 

That being said I wonder how this shutdown has affected R&D divisions at the major manufacturers. Could we see a delay in the next generation equipment if this situation continues into the summer?

[Bonvivant]

43 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

All the major equipment suppliers (Titleist, PING, Callaway, etc) set their own prices so shops must price equipment according to the manufacturer guidelines. If they sell equipment below suggested retail they could lose the account. So you won't see shops selling stuff too cheap. 

That being said I wonder how this shutdown has affected R&D divisions at the major manufacturers. Could we see a delay in the next generation equipment if this situation continues into the summer?

This is what I thought of. Do we see the big names just skip a whole year of release because their R&D teams weren't as productive this year? If we don't I would think that the original premise stands, and that the manufacturers would want to move their new stuff next winter/spring so they would want the big boxes to have room for the new equipment. This may mean seeing the 500 dollar standard drop into the 400-450 mark for a couple of seasons. It would obviously be a hit, but I think it is at least 50/50 probability to see this if they plan on releasing new stuff in early 2021.

[Papa Steve 55]

18 hours ago, snapfade said:

 Or we could have a Black Friday like never before in November. 

I think you will see a Black Friday weekend right after the restrictions are lifted.

[snapfade]

2 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

I think you will see a Black Friday weekend right after the restrictions are lifted.

Rock Bottom Golf seems to be having one right now. 

[Papa Steve 55]

25 minutes ago, snapfade said:

Rock Bottom Golf seems to be having one right now. 

I was thinking more along the lines of people out shopping vs slashed prices. I think retailers will try and minimize mark downs, thinking the pent up demand will be enough to drive sales vs prices. 

[snapfade]

4 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

I was thinking more along the lines of people out shopping vs slashed prices. I think retailers will try and minimize mark downs, thinking the pent up demand will be enough to drive sales vs prices. 

Probably a little bit of both. Im sure retail strategists are working their tails off in many stores that are closed for now. Either people are going to be so eager to shop at their favorite stores and won't care about a sale, or people might have realized they don't really need to since they've gone without it for a good while. It's a weird time. Who knows what or if anything will change after it's over.

[billchao]

10 hours ago, NM Golf said:

That being said I wonder how this shutdown has affected R&D divisions at the major manufacturers. Could we see a delay in the next generation equipment if this situation continues into the summer?

This is what I’m wondering, too. I’m sure they can do some design stuff remotely, but at some point they need to produce prototypes and test them. If those facilities are closed, that will delay development.

[Archie Bunker]

12 hours ago, NM Golf said:

All the major equipment suppliers (Titleist, PING, Callaway, etc) set their own prices so shops must price equipment according to the manufacturer guidelines. If they sell equipment below suggested retail they could lose the account. So you won't see shops selling stuff too cheap. 

 

This used to be called "fair trade pricing" which is simply price fixing. It used to be illegal in most states, but I don't know if it still is. I used to sell audio equipment years ago in a state that had "fair trade" laws. Certain brands could not be discounted or the manufacturer would cut you off. We got around this by offering great trade-in values on just about anything you would bring in. A disguised "discount". Some golf manufacturers (Ping and Titleist for example) seem to be very protective of their list prices. If price fixing is now "legal", you might be getting some great trade-in values for your clubs against these brands. 

[gbogey]

Equipment?  Not that interested although it's always possible I'll pick up a bargain club in the fall. I'm more interested to see if some of the clubs around here need members bad enough to cut a few deals.  Of course, it's also possible that a few don't make.  Could make joining a club more difficult.

[Typhoon92]

As long as Golfwrx exists there will never be a recession in buying top end equipment over and over again...