Priority One: Waste of money or Necessary?

[gmatheis]

If P1 service wasn't worth it to the people that use it they would be out of business.

If having your equipment professionally taken care of, modified, matched for tension/swing weight/weight etc helps you to win a match here and there it has already paid for itself.

Consider this .... at the Aussie open you get $27600 just for being in the first round. If you win and get to round 2 you get another 17900.

SO just by winning 1 match you gain almost half of P1's gold service cost.

And it goes up from there quickly. Win round 2 and you get another $25100. Win round 3 and get another $54000.

For the recreational player (and lets face it we are almost all recreational players ... I dont care if you're a 5.5) P1 is not for you. For a top pro ... it's a no brainer.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by gmatheis

If P1 service wasn't worth it to the people that use it they would be out of business.

If having your equipment professionally taken care of, modified, matched for tension/swing weight/weight etc helps you to win a match here and there it has already paid for itself.

Consider this .... at the Aussie open you get $27600 just for being in the first round. If you win and get to round 2 you get another 17900.

SO just by winning 1 match you gain almost half of P1's gold service cost.

And it goes up from there quickly. Win round 2 and you get another $25100. Win round 3 and get another $54000.

For the recreational player (and lets face it we are almost all recreational players ... I dont care if you're a 5.5) P1 is not for you. For a top pro ... it's a no brainer.

That's true about how P1 does it. So, it's basically a custom stringing service exclusively for pros? I just want to know how much is the "Bronze service"? I've seen a guy have his Pure Storm Tours strung from priority one. I think it was three of them.

You get $27,000 just for being in the first round? Hm, travel expenses and food would only cover that for around half a year if best.

[vandre]

Originally Posted by Larrysümmers

this isnt for the average rec player. its like needing a pit crew for your town car.

this. i'll just speak for myself here but i don't notice any different between any of my same (but not matched) frames and the way i rotate racquets, i restring about once a year so this would be like sending your 12 year old to eddie van halen for their first guitar lesson!

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by vandre

this. i'll just speak for myself here but i don't notice any different between any of my same (but not matched) frames and the way i rotate racquets, i restring about once a year so this would be like sending your 12 year old to eddie van halen for their first guitar lesson!

Haha that's funny!

Would even a good D1/D2/D3 college player need P1?

[nn]

hmm not all the pros are using P1 service but regular service provided at major or minor tournament.

I think P1 or any service figure out that clients are super rich and charge accordingly. I think either way they are expensive for sure.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

Haha that's funny!

Would even a good D1/D2/D3 college player need P1?

Not when there are other services that provide similar skill sets for a lot less in price. (Let's face it, getting your sticks matched doesn't take a lot of effort if you have an RDC machine, or a bit of time on your hands! It probably won't be to the same level as P1, but I know that my mate that does all my matching for me does a bang up job and it's all I could ever really ask for.)

-Fuji

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by Fuji

Not when there are other services that provide similar skill sets for a lot less in price. (Let's face it, getting your sticks matched doesn't take a lot of effort if you have an RDC machine, or a bit of time on your hands! It probably won't be to the same level as P1, but I know that my mate that does all my matching for me does a bang up job and it's all I could ever really ask for.)

-Fuji

How much does a typical stringing machine and RDC machine cost? I know for sure that it's cheaper than P1.

[mmk]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

How much does a typical stringing machine and RDC machine cost? I know for sure that it's cheaper than P1.

A Gamma 3 in 1 Racquet Test Center lists for $1800 (but available for $1600), the most expensive Gamma stringer is $3400. Throw in a few other tools, and you are still well under $6K for top notch equipment. Using them as well as the guys at P1 is another matter. But, you can spend quite a bit less than $6K and still do a really good job.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by mmk

A Gamma 3 in 1 Racquet Test Center lists for $1800 (but available for $1600), the most expensive Gamma stringer is $3400. Throw in a few other tools, and you are still well under $6K for top notch equipment. Using them as well as the guys at P1 is another matter. But, you can spend quite a bit less than $6K and still do a really good job.

I'll one up you here...

Alpha balance board, a kitchen scale, And a reel of quarter inch lead tape. Under 100$ and you can do fairly good matching right at home. If you have a smartphone with the SW app, you're going to have a simplified RDC right from home.

-Fuji

[mmk]

Originally Posted by Fuji

I'll one up you here...

Alpha balance board, a kitchen scale, And a reel of quarter inch lead tape. Under 100$ and you can do fairly good matching right at home. If you have a smartphone with the SW app, you're going to have a simplified RDC right from home.

-Fuji

Plus you can get consistent stringing results with a Klippermate or Gamma X-2/Prog 200 for under $200. It's easy to understand why top pros use P1 or some other service, but doing it yourself isn't quantum chromodynamics.

[sureshs]

It is not just stringing, it is customization, shipping, standing by ready for anything, etc.

[dman72]

People who can afford it, pay for it. It's pretty simple.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by mmk

Plus you can get consistent stringing results with a Klippermate or Gamma X-2/Prog 200 for under $200. It's easy to understand why top pros use P1 or some other service, but doing it yourself isn't quantum chromodynamics.

Oh for sure. I don't argue the fact that it is extremely useful for pro players, but for rec players I don't see why they wouldn't at least attempt to do it themselves. I love customising frames, but I don't do it nearly as well as the guy who does mine so I just leave it to him haha!

-Fuji

[slowfox]

Originally Posted by dman72

People who can afford it, pay for it. It's pretty simple.

Yup, like custom suits.

[Marshredder]

Put it this way.

$12,803,737 was Djokovic's prize money in 2012. Thats just prize money, not including any additional income from endorsements and deals etc.

$40,000 is approximately 0.3% of his yearly prize earnings.

Now put in in comparison. Lets assume the average person here earns around $40,000.

The equivalent impact to that persons earnings each year is $120.

Don't know about you guys, but I would pay $120 ANYDAY to have someone string and customise all my racquets.

[slowfox]

And how many in the 40K income range spent more than $120 in tennis equipment last year...?

[Al Czervik]

To be honest, I think I might rather have a local guru at an event with a super high end electronic machine than that bucket of bolts Nate rolls out of the suitcase. That said, you know you're getting the same tension measurement from the same machine every time, so you have a consistent frame of reference on tension whereas you don't if you're always using the local stringers. The customization of everything else is where it's probably worth it.

[THESEXPISTOL]

Originally Posted by Marshredder

Put it this way.

$12,803,737 was Djokovic's prize money in 2012. Thats just prize money, not including any additional income from endorsements and deals etc.

$40,000 is approximately 0.3% of his yearly prize earnings.

Now put in in comparison. Lets assume the average person here earns around $40,000.

The equivalent impact to that persons earnings each year is $120.

Don't know about you guys, but I would pay $120 ANYDAY to have someone string and customise all my racquets.

Nice ideia, but you finished with a "wrong" conclusion. Pro's aren't wasting money, we are, because i bet most of the tennistalk members, who don't own a stringing machine, spend more than 120$ a year with stringjobs fees and racquet services (not including the string here).

[lidoazndiabloboi]

They do more than just string and matching rackets. They also mold the handles for the players to their exact liking. Just look at Soderling's handle. It's a custom mold (foam?) handle with a lead pipe inserted inside it. There's a reason many of the top pros use their service. To be able to pick up their racket and not have to think about the differences between each one, I definitely think its a good investment for them.

Sure, there are other places that customize and match rackets. RPNY does customization for cheaper. Quality could be similar, i cant say. I also customize rackets for my friends (stringing, lead taping, silicone, extending rackets) but custom molding is something I cant do. So P1 has a certain expertise in this area.

[Fearsome Forehand]

If you are an elite touring pro making a lot of money, you want consistent, matched rackets customized to your liking. In that case, P1 is well worth the cost. For a club player, it would be silly to spend that much.

I do all my own customization. Aside from molding my own grip pallets, I can do pretty much the same things the pro customizers do and I work a lot cheaper.