Penn balls now from China

[ollinger]

OK....so how much would people be willing to pay for domestically produced balls? Four dollars? Five dollars? Somebody posted that this is about the greed of the manufacturers but it's actually about the "greed" of the consumer because the manufacturers do market research to find out if you'd buy fewer cans of balls based on different levels of price increase, and they move to China because they find that the market won't support the price increase needed to make them here. (And the price of tennis balls has barely changed for a few decades, so it seems a little silly to brand the manufacturers as unduly greedy.)

 

[Kot_Bigemot]

OK....so how much would people be willing to pay for domestically produced balls? Four dollars? Five dollars? Somebody posted that this is about the greed of the manufacturers but it's actually about the "greed" of the consumer because the manufacturers do market research to find out if you'd buy fewer cans of balls based on different levels of price increase, and they move to China because they find that the market won't support the price increase needed to make them here. (And the price of tennis balls has barely changed for a few decades, so it seems a little silly to brand the manufacturers as unduly greedy.)

I think if they put $5 per can price and make good balls that do not fall apart after 1 set, people would buy them. I do not mind paying higher price...for quality.

 

[TennezSport]

So true........

OK....so how much would people be willing to pay for domestically produced balls? Four dollars? Five dollars? Somebody posted that this is about the greed of the manufacturers but it's actually about the "greed" of the consumer because the manufacturers do market research to find out if you'd buy fewer cans of balls based on different levels of price increase, and they move to China because they find that the market won't support the price increase needed to make them here. (And the price of tennis balls has barely changed for a few decades, so it seems a little silly to brand the manufacturers as unduly greedy.)

This is so true because remember that balls are oil based products and we all know how those prices have skyrocketed over the years for no real reasons. However, most of the manufacturers have eaten the price increases. Stores like Walmart made things even worse by pushing the idea of "Somthing for nothing" attitude.

The Head rep stated that they tried for years to keep the plant here in the US but can no longer afford to do it. They were the last US manufactured ball as all the other companies moved almost 10 years ago. All balls are now made in China but Head at least has full control over it's product, which none of the other companies have. They all contract out and get whatever is profitable from the factory.

Cheers, TennezSport

 

[hankash]

What isn't made in China? Maybe the TT community should team up to make our own tennis balls. Even Mexico is being hurt by everything being made in China since it's cheaper to make it there.

How much cheaper is it when you consider the environmental impact though? I've seen the size of these cargo ships that transport everything, and the oceans are becoming more acidic than ever due to all the carbon and waste being dumped in them. Maybe when dead fish are washing ashore and the cost of food skyrockets due to more natural disasters, we'll realize the true costs.

 

[Fedace]

stay away from penn balls... wilson us open are worth the extra $$$

I disagree. Few years ago, Wilson changed something in their balls and ever since then, it has become very difficult to control. Many players tell me that they have Control issues with newly opened can of wilson balls.

 

[hankash]

I wanted to add that I think the switch of tennis balls or tennis equipment to China has to do with greed more than economics. It's not like tennis equipment is a basic necessity like clothes or shoes.

People who play tennis, generally have extra money. To say all these companies moved to China because they couldn't cut it in the US just sounds crazy. I think they were looking at filling their pockets as much as possible.

Even if production costs in China are 80-90% less than they are here, I highly doubt anyone is going to see a drop in the price of tennis balls.

 

[mtommer]

Even if production costs in China are 80-90% less than they are here, I highly doubt anyone is going to see a drop in the price of tennis balls.

But should we have seen a rise? How many other countries outside of the US are paying much, much more per can than the US? Most if not all and by a pretty large margin too. Believe it or not but there are not large profits to be made in manufacturing. You'd be surprised at just how slim the margins are.

In some cases, the "Wal-Mart" effect has led to businesses really losing their ability to call some shots as once you get involved with Wal-Mart you almost have to devote your entire business to them. There are videos about Wal-Mart and this effect on YouTube. Wal-Mart dictates terms and if they aren't met they drop you in favor of someone who can. It doesn't matter if those terms are reasonable or unreasonable (it's arguable if they are at times). As Wal-Mart is often times the only player in town....well, now you see the problem.

What I'm curious to see is how the price of regular Penn Championship is going to be affected in locals outside of dept. stores (ie traditional Penn Championship quality if it's true about dept stores getting Tier 3 quality). Will it stay at $1.99 seen as seen in a lot of places? I just gone done talking to my local tennis shop about whether or not their Grand Rapids location (the bigger store) carried Dunlop Grand Prix balls. They won't carry them as the Wilson US Open are $2.99 which is the same price as the Dunlop Championship ball they do carry. Part of the reason for the lower cost of the Wilson US Open balls is because of a dept. store here called Meijer which carries the WUSOpen balls for $2.99. Interestingly enough, it is also their top selling tennis ball even though the Penn and Wilson Championship balls are $1.99.

 

[coloskier]

I disagree. Few years ago, Wilson changed something in their balls and ever since then, it has become very difficult to control. Many players tell me that they have Control issues with newly opened can of wilson balls.

Since I play at altitude, I can still get USA made balls by getting the Wilson US Open High Altitude balls. If you try to play with the cheapo Penns up here you can't keep ANYTHING in the court. Plus, they wear out after 1 set. The ATP's aren't too bad, but they go soft pretty quickly.

 

[Lakers4Life]

I was watching "Factory Floor" on NGC last night, their version of "How It's Made". They had a segment on Penn tennis balls, I assume it was the Arizona factory coz they did not look Chinese.

 

[TennezSport]

Yup........

I was watching "Factory Floor" on NGC last night, their version of "How It's Made". They had a segment on Penn tennis balls, I assume it was the Arizona factory coz they did not look Chinese.

Yeah that vid was made awhile ago at the AZ plant. It was officially closed this past Feb with only a small admin group remaining. This was the last tennis ball made in America. All tennis balls are China made now.

Cheers, TennezSport

 

[chess9]

My teammate bought some cans of these from Walmart and they were ALL soft.

-Robert

 

[chess9]

OK....so how much would people be willing to pay for domestically produced balls? Four dollars? Five dollars? Somebody posted that this is about the greed of the manufacturers but it's actually about the "greed" of the consumer because the manufacturers do market research to find out if you'd buy fewer cans of balls based on different levels of price increase, and they move to China because they find that the market won't support the price increase needed to make them here. (And the price of tennis balls has barely changed for a few decades, so it seems a little silly to brand the manufacturers as unduly greedy.)

They move to China because the CEO gets a much larger bonus based on the profitability of the company. The stock price goes up too, if it's a public company. This is all about maximizing earnings. It has little to do with the consumer. In England they charge almost 3 times as much for balls and the people pay it.

-Robert

 

[TennezSport]

Yup......

My teammate bought some cans of these from Walmart and they were ALL soft.

-Robert

Yeah the Walmart ball is a departure from the balls Pen usually makes and are only sold to Walmart, Modells and Target. Walmart forced Penn into a very low price point so Penn said "oh really, we have a special ball just for you :twisted: ". So if you want decent tennis balls, don't by them from Walmart type stores.

Cheers, TennezSport