Tennis balls are really expensive in Europe

[rockbox]

I am in Paris this week and I thought I would pick up a can of Tecnifibre x-one tennis balls just to try out. I knew they would be more expensive since the dollar is worthless but I didn't how much more. I was in shock.

7.50 Euro/12 dollars for a can of 4 balls. :shock:

How do people afford to play tennis. I normally open at least one new can of tennis balls every time I play. I couldn't imagine paying 12 dollars to do so on top of paying for court time, and strings.

I guess I'm spoiled by the 2 dollar 4 ball cans of Penn ATP I buy at Academy.

 

[ronalditop]

in southamerica is really expensive too. a can of three balls is 5 bucks or higher. a pack of three OG is 7 bucks or more. damn

 

[morten]

In Norway they cost 25-30 usd a can(4 balls)

 

[Booyah]

WOW! And i though gas prices were ridiculous over here.

 

[rockbox]

In Norway they cost 25-30 usd a can(4 balls)

For that price, I would probably go with pressureless because I couldn't see myself spending that much every time I go out and play. Even dunlop grand prix only last me about 2-3 hours of play before I throw them in the basket.

 

[nCode747]

i would start my own tennis ball company in norway

 

[DarthCow]

The cheapest tennis balls i get cost $11 AU
Thats about 10.5 USD.
Thats why i keep mine for a long time

 

[crazytennis]

I get balls for about 2.50$ and I was complaining about having to open a new one every day. And, to add to that, I'm moving to Europe in a month. I guess , I take a box of balls there.

 

[ClubHoUno]

So now you understand why Tennis Warehouse have a lot of Euro Customers

Europe is an expensive part of the world to do shopping in - us, who live there, just have to accept the steep prices and do what we can to buy cheaper from the US and take advantage of the week $ :lol:

A can of Tecnifibre X-One in my country cost circa $15 if I only buy one can with 4 balls. This is why I always buy 36 cans at a time, this way I get the price pr. can of the Tecnifibre X-One down to circa $11 a can.

 

[greenfan]

In Greece, Slazenger Wimbledon Hi-Vis balls cost 10 euros a can (3 balls)

 

[bluetrain4]

I've never understood this. Balls are SO cheap in the U.S. I think, if you adjust for inflation, balls are cheaper now than when I was a kid. (I'm 35). That's why nearly everyone I know opens a new can of balls when ever they play match. Balls are considered a non-expense to most players. Like buying Gatorade or a Powerbar - an incidental cost.

Most people keep the old ones for a while just to hit around with, but matches almost always involve brand new balls.

I can get a can of three balls for anywhere from 1.99 to 2.50 and often they are on sale for less. I can buy a six-pack of three-ball cans for 10.99. And cases of balls are even cheaper.

For those of you who live in Europe, given the incredibly weak U.S. dollar , and your increased purchasing power, does shipping costs from TW still make it worthy to buy from TW. How much does it cost to ship, for example, a racquet, pair of shoes, and some clothes to Great Britian, Germany, or Sweden?

 

[Rorsach]

A racquet costs about $32 to ship to Europe.

 

[Hankenstein]

In Sweden we have a couple of online stores and they are about 40-50% cheaper then the sporting-goods stores. For example, if you go in a store or a racket-shop in Sweden and want to buy a 4 can tube of balls, let´s say Wilson US Open it costs around 100-120 SEK. That is about 17-20 US $ per can.

If you order them online in Swedish stores the price drops to 53 SEK (about 9 $) per can. If you order a box with 36 cans, the price drops to 49 SEK (about 8,30$ per can). The Wilson US Open ball is the absolutely cheapest ball available that is good to play with. Ofcourse you can buy no name (and also no bounce...) balls for 30 SEK but I only count the real pressurized ITF approved balls.

Tennisrackets in Sweden are not so extremely expensive anymore as they used to be, but still more expensive then in US. For exampel, The APDC costs around 200 $ and a Prestige Microgel around 260 $. You have to take into consideration that in Sweden the seller have to add 25% VAT on every product they sell but that is included in above stated prices. If you have your own company you can save the reciepts (spl?) and then when you make your declaration in the end of the year you will get the 25% back, but that is only if you have a company so many buy stuff through their companies.

A normal full time working person in Sweden (called a "medelsvensson" on swedish) earns around 3500-4000 US$, but before you get those money the gouverment takes 32% in tax! :twisted:

The fuel-price here are right now around 9 US$/gallon. 1 gallon is about the same as 1 litre and 1 litre costs 13,50 SEK/ 2,25 US$.

A meal on McDonalds (bigmac, medium fries, medium soda) costs 10 US$.

A movie on cinema = 16-20 US $

A Hummer H2 = 158.333 US $ ! ! !

A Volvo v70 = 38.500 US $

Well, I went a bit oftopic, but it´s very quiet at work these days

 

[origmarm]

They are about 10-12USD in London also depending on the balls. I can get a box for about $100 though so often I'll do that.

 

[chloride]

They are about 10-12USD in London also depending on the balls. I can get a box for about $100 though so often I'll do that.

don't know wt it is like now, but just got a 3-can-pack of 4-ball dunlop fort at lilyrites (people probably know wt the real name is) for 8.99pounds (it said on sale) which i now realise it might be CHEAP from europeans' eyes

and i really thought they were already little bit expensive(thou quite reasonable given london's high cost of living) just because here in Hong Kong we can obtain 3-ball US Open at a price of 100HKD/4cans (consider 1USD = 7.8HKD)

 

[ClubHoUno]

In Sweden we have a couple of online stores and they are about 40-50% cheaper then the sporting-goods stores. For example, if you go in a store or a racket-shop in Sweden and want to buy a 4 can tube of balls, let´s say Wilson US Open it costs around 100-120 SEK. That is about 17-20 US $ per can.

If you order them online in Swedish stores the price drops to 53 SEK (about 9 $) per can. If you order a box with 36 cans, the price drops to 49 SEK (about 8,30$ per can). The Wilson US Open ball is the absolutely cheapest ball available that is good to play with. Ofcourse you can buy no name (and also no bounce...) balls for 30 SEK but I only count the real pressurized ITF approved balls.

Tennisrackets in Sweden are not so extremely expensive anymore as they used to be, but still more expensive then in US. For exampel, The APDC costs around 200 $ and a Prestige Microgel around 260 $. You have to take into consideration that in Sweden the seller have to add 25% VAT on every product they sell but that is included in above stated prices. If you have your own company you can save the reciepts (spl?) and then when you make your declaration in the end of the year you will get the 25% back, but that is only if you have a company so many buy stuff through their companies.

A normal full time working person in Sweden (called a "medelsvensson" on swedish) earns around 3500-4000 US$, but before you get those money the gouverment takes 32% in tax! :twisted:

The fuel-price here are right now around 9 US$/gallon. 1 gallon is about the same as 1 litre and 1 litre costs 13,50 SEK/ 2,25 US$.

A meal on McDonalds (bigmac, medium fries, medium soda) costs 10 US$.

A movie on cinema = 16-20 US $

A Hummer H2 = 158.333 US $ ! ! !

A Volvo v70 = 38.500 US $

Well, I went a bit oftopic, but it´s very quiet at work these days

Heya Sverige

Do you have a link to the online stores in Sweden, which you prefer and recommend ?

 

[chris_ah1]

Yeah - $200 for speedport Tour at TW. $320 for it in uk at wigmore sports.

$100 for barricades, 160 to $210 in uk for barricade Vs at wigmore sports.

$40 for three babolat RVS in UK versus $15 for three in Hong Kong.

Grips - $16 here, $2 to 10 in US.

Tennis lessons 1hour 1on1- $63 in Greece, $80 in UK, US I found a decent coach for $20 when on holiday once.
Court rental for an hour in London (outside) is about $20 off-peak student rate.

Tennis is an incredibly expensive sport.

Even for a cheap online store I just spent $60 on:
1 K replacement grip for my hornet, 2*gamma shocksorbs, 2*babolat RVs, 3*gamma overgrips and 3*wilson pro soft overgrips.

BEcause balls are so expensive tennis clubs now seem to have stopped using the decent penn and wilson training balls but more and more I've seen pressureless 'tens core' balls. Cheap and very nasty even out of a can. In fact the balls are so bad they really upset everyone's game. None bounce consistently when new, and even worse when on the way out.

 

[origmarm]

don't know wt it is like now, but just got a 3-can-pack of 4-ball dunlop fort at lilyrites (people probably know wt the real name is) for 8.99pounds (it said on sale) which i now realise it might be CHEAP from europeans' eyes

Yeah you get deals sometimes. The FORT balls seem to be on sale more than others for some reason.

The worst by far are the Slazenger Wimbledon balls around Wimbledon, they are "on sale" often for more than I can get them in January say...jokes

Best place I found is the sports millet (back to front for best results) for the cases.

 

[obow]

I suppose Europeans are only good at ripping off their fellow citizens:???:.

The best deals you could find at shops in London are:

1) Slazenger Wimbledon (Ultra Vis) --- £2.99 ($5.95) per can (4 balls)
2) Dunlop Fort (all court) --- £9.99 ($19.95) for 3 cans (3x4 balls)
3) Wilson US Open --- £19.99 ($39.95) for 6 cans (6x4 balls)

 

[m_b]

Yes and it is rather scandalous. How is a 4 or 5 fold difference in price justified ? Does anyone have an explanation ? It is a similar situation with racquets, and made more dramatic by the low dollar, though it isn't as bad. I'll buy my new racquets from TW at half the price, probably an older model - even though I support those guys, Roger, Rafa, Richard etc., you're all very nice guys, but it's too much money to ask the consumer to pay for your advertising contracts.

 

[origmarm]

I agree, I get all my racquets (except Vantages) off TW and get them mailed to my brother in law in the US who then mails them over. Good way to do it.

 

[s7evin]

Everything about tennis is expensive in Europe.
Bought a Head tour team supercombi today for 80$.

 

[IanRadical]

I live in England and can find lots of good cheap balls in lots of sports shops

 

[Charlie_Boy]

That's amazing.

I'll have to tell my dad and maybe he'll be more open to the idea of me buying loads of balls.

 

[IanRadical]

That's amazing.

I'll have to tell my dad and maybe he'll be more open to the idea of me buying loads of balls.

if you live in england sports shops that are closing down or on sale are the best places to go but look for special offers. Good Luck.

 

[iankogan]

In Sweden we have a couple of online stores and they are about 40-50% cheaper then the sporting-goods stores. For example, if you go in a store or a racket-shop in Sweden and want to buy a 4 can tube of balls, let´s say Wilson US Open it costs around 100-120 SEK. That is about 17-20 US $ per can.

If you order them online in Swedish stores the price drops to 53 SEK (about 9 $) per can. If you order a box with 36 cans, the price drops to 49 SEK (about 8,30$ per can). The Wilson US Open ball is the absolutely cheapest ball available that is good to play with. Ofcourse you can buy no name (and also no bounce...) balls for 30 SEK but I only count the real pressurized ITF approved balls.

Tennisrackets in Sweden are not so extremely expensive anymore as they used to be, but still more expensive then in US. For exampel, The APDC costs around 200 $ and a Prestige Microgel around 260 $. You have to take into consideration that in Sweden the seller have to add 25% VAT on every product they sell but that is included in above stated prices. If you have your own company you can save the reciepts (spl?) and then when you make your declaration in the end of the year you will get the 25% back, but that is only if you have a company so many buy stuff through their companies.

A normal full time working person in Sweden (called a "medelsvensson" on swedish) earns around 3500-4000 US$, but before you get those money the gouverment takes 32% in tax! :twisted:

The fuel-price here are right now around 9 US$/gallon. 1 gallon is about the same as 1 litre and 1 litre costs 13,50 SEK/ 2,25 US$.

A meal on McDonalds (bigmac, medium fries, medium soda) costs 10 US$.

A movie on cinema = 16-20 US $

A Hummer H2 = 158.333 US $ ! ! !

A Volvo v70 = 38.500 US $

Well, I went a bit oftopic, but it´s very quiet at work these days

Interesting stats, Hankenstein. A correction to a typo you've made: 1 gallon is about the same as 4 (not 1) litre. Living in Sweden appears to be extremely expensive indeed. On the other hand, don't you have free quality healthcare, free higher education, etc? This is not to be argumentative or anything, just making a point that retail prices are only part of the picture.

 

[Il Mostro]

In Sweden we have a couple of online stores and they are about 40-50% cheaper then the sporting-goods stores. For example, if you go in a store or a racket-shop in Sweden and want to buy a 4 can tube of balls, let´s say Wilson US Open it costs around 100-120 SEK. That is about 17-20 US $ per can.

If you order them online in Swedish stores the price drops to 53 SEK (about 9 $) per can. If you order a box with 36 cans, the price drops to 49 SEK (about 8,30$ per can). The Wilson US Open ball is the absolutely cheapest ball available that is good to play with. Ofcourse you can buy no name (and also no bounce...) balls for 30 SEK but I only count the real pressurized ITF approved balls.

Tennisrackets in Sweden are not so extremely expensive anymore as they used to be, but still more expensive then in US. For exampel, The APDC costs around 200 $ and a Prestige Microgel around 260 $. You have to take into consideration that in Sweden the seller have to add 25% VAT on every product they sell but that is included in above stated prices. If you have your own company you can save the reciepts (spl?) and then when you make your declaration in the end of the year you will get the 25% back, but that is only if you have a company so many buy stuff through their companies.

A normal full time working person in Sweden (called a "medelsvensson" on swedish) earns around 3500-4000 US$, but before you get those money the gouverment takes 32% in tax! :twisted:

The fuel-price here are right now around 9 US$/gallon. 1 gallon is about the same as 1 litre and 1 litre costs 13,50 SEK/ 2,25 US$.

A meal on McDonalds (bigmac, medium fries, medium soda) costs 10 US$.

A movie on cinema = 16-20 US $

A Hummer H2 = 158.333 US $ ! ! !

A Volvo v70 = 38.500 US $

Well, I went a bit oftopic, but it´s very quiet at work these days

True -- but *you* can drink all the beer and wine you want in any cinema. This alone makes Western European Democratic Socialism well worth it. We here in the USA are now following your lead.

 

[Hankenstein]

Interesting stats, Hankenstein. A correction to a typo you've made: 1 gallon is about the same as 4 (not 1) litre. Living in Sweden appears to be extremely expensive indeed. On the other hand, don't you have free quality healthcare, free higher education, etc? This is not to be argumentative or anything, just making a point that retail prices are only part of the picture.

Ops, of course 1 gallon is equal to 4 liters.

Our healt care are almost free. Let´s say you have a back pain and u wanna check it up, then u pay about 15-20 $ and then the doctor check u. If u need a surgery u just pay the 15-20 $ fee and then it´s all free.

Our school are free from grade 1 to 12 (grade 10-12 is so called Gymnasium, equal to high school)

The education after that is not free. You pay a pretty big fee to be able to study.

The strange in this is that foreigners actually can study for free!! Don´t know the terms for it, but they don´t need to pay anything at all,,,

 

[iankogan]

Ops, of course 1 gallon is equal to 4 liters.

Our healt care are almost free. Let´s say you have a back pain and u wanna check it up, then u pay about 15-20 $ and then the doctor check u. If u need a surgery u just pay the 15-20 $ fee and then it´s all free.

Our school are free from grade 1 to 12 (grade 10-12 is so called Gymnasium, equal to high school)

The education after that is not free. You pay a pretty big fee to be able to study.

The strange in this is that foreigners actually can study for free!! Don´t know the terms for it, but they don´t need to pay anything at all,,,

Thanks for the info, maybe I should send my kids to college in Sweden! I'm way off topic though, my apologies!

 

[GeoffB]

I read a bit about tennis balls as a "loss leader" in the United States. I wish I had the link. The idea was that Americans often use particular products to gauge the reasonableness of prices in stores. For instance, surf shots often sell wax at a loss because they want people to pop in to buy wax, get positive feelings about the low price of wax, and buy bigger ticket items (boards, wetsuits) later on. Basically, it's a way to keep them coming back and making that store the one they think of when it's time to buy something bigger. Supposedly, tennis balls fall into the same category. Maybe the psychology of european consumers is different, or maybe competition is more intense in the US so they have to drop prices on some items to keep customers?

 

[bluetrain4]

So now you understand why Tennis Warehouse have a lot of Euro Customers

Europe is an expensive part of the world to do shopping in - us, who live there, just have to accept the steep prices and do what we can to buy cheaper from the US and take advantage of the week $ :lol:

A can of Tecnifibre X-One in my country cost circa $15 if I only buy one can with 4 balls. This is why I always buy 36 cans at a time, this way I get the price pr. can of the Tecnifibre X-One down to circa $11 a can.

For those Europeans who order from TW in the U.S., are the price savings eaten up by the shipping costs?

I'm guessing not completely, otherwise you wouldn't order from the U.S.

 

[morten]

almost eaten up yes... so i don`t bother to order from TW

 

[gonzalocatalino]

some numbers from Argentina:

Can of balls: between $4 and $8 (a dunlop fort can cost around $6.5),
Wilson K6.1: $175
Babolat (pure drives and aeros): $220
1h of tennis court (clay, outside, no lights): between $6.5 and $15
tennis lessons (1to1, no lights): $10-$20
gatorade: $1
Overgrips: $6.5-$8 for a 3 pack (wilson pro or supergrap)
Strings: $20 for a luxilon alu, including the stringjob (only $2 or $3 is you has your own strings)
cars: Hyundai I30 $24k-$32k, Fiat Uno: $8000, Honda civic: around $25K, Dodge RAM2500: $40k, BMW M3: $130K!!!
Regular salary of a mid class guy: $600-1000

 

[scotus]

I read a bit about tennis balls as a "loss leader" in the United States. I wish I had the link. The idea was that Americans often use particular products to gauge the reasonableness of prices in stores. For instance, surf shots often sell wax at a loss because they want people to pop in to buy wax, get positive feelings about the low price of wax, and buy bigger ticket items (boards, wetsuits) later on. Basically, it's a way to keep them coming back and making that store the one they think of when it's time to buy something bigger. Supposedly, tennis balls fall into the same category. Maybe the psychology of european consumers is different, or maybe competition is more intense in the US so they have to drop prices on some items to keep customers?

I don't know about that.

Decent tennis balls such as Wilson Championship can always be had at Wal-Mart or Target for under $2 a can, so I think tennis shops and sporting goods stores have to compete against them.

 

[AJD Tennis]

Here in England it costs me 5 pounds fow a tube of 4 head atp balls

 

[DNShade]

I read a bit about tennis balls as a "loss leader" in the United States. I wish I had the link. The idea was that Americans often use particular products to gauge the reasonableness of prices in stores. For instance, surf shots often sell wax at a loss because they want people to pop in to buy wax, get positive feelings about the low price of wax, and buy bigger ticket items (boards, wetsuits) later on. Basically, it's a way to keep them coming back and making that store the one they think of when it's time to buy something bigger. Supposedly, tennis balls fall into the same category. Maybe the psychology of european consumers is different, or maybe competition is more intense in the US so they have to drop prices on some items to keep customers?

You are totally right about that. I talked with a few different tennis shop owners about just this subject recently and they all said they make no money or even lose money on a can of balls. Just part of the cost of running a tennis shop. If players walk in and see a can of top notch balls - Slaz, US Opens, Grand Prix, ATP Penn for $1.99 or less they tend to feel very good about shopping at that store for other stuff as well. I know one major store in the LA are that does just this. Best place to get balls in town. Same thing when you walk into TW - cheap balls right there on the shelf.

 

[Princegod]

I read a bit about tennis balls as a "loss leader" in the United States. I wish I had the link. The idea was that Americans often use particular products to gauge the reasonableness of prices in stores. For instance, surf shots often sell wax at a loss because they want people to pop in to buy wax, get positive feelings about the low price of wax, and buy bigger ticket items (boards, wetsuits) later on. Basically, it's a way to keep them coming back and making that store the one they think of when it's time to buy something bigger. Supposedly, tennis balls fall into the same category. Maybe the psychology of european consumers is different, or maybe competition is more intense in the US so they have to drop prices on some items to keep customers?

I've heard this as well and Walmart is a prime example of selling at a loss. The balls are usually at the back of the store so you pass plenty of impulse buy items on the walk back to get tennis balls.

On a similar note, a tennis shop owner I used to talk to once and awhile had to stop accepting credit cards because people would walk in and buy one can of balls and use the credit card to purchase. The credit card fees charged to the store put the sale in the negative, so he was losing money with small purchases. The big box stores can take the loss and still come out ahead with the volume they move. Another reason "mom and pop" stores struggle to survive.

 

[Rysty]

Hey Bilal Alam and others... TW does not ship balls to Europe, but TW Europe, in Germany, does. Cheaper than buying in Finland, for example.

 

[Bud]

I am in Paris this week and I thought I would pick up a can of Tecnifibre x-one tennis balls just to try out. I knew they would be more expensive since the dollar is worthless but I didn't how much more. I was in shock.

7.50 Euro/12 dollars for a can of 4 balls. :shock:

How do people afford to play tennis. I normally open at least one new can of tennis balls every time I play. I couldn't imagine paying 12 dollars to do so on top of paying for court time, and strings.

I guess I'm spoiled by the 2 dollar 4 ball cans of Penn ATP I buy at Academy.

I, too, noticed they are ridiculously expensive in Europe. What is up with that?

 

[Bud]

some numbers from Argentina:

Can of balls: between $4 and $8 (a dunlop fort can cost around $6.5),
Wilson K6.1: $175
Babolat (pure drives and aeros): $220
1h of tennis court (clay, outside, no lights): between $6.5 and $15
tennis lessons (1to1, no lights): $10-$20
gatorade: $1
Overgrips: $6.5-$8 for a 3 pack (wilson pro or supergrap)
Strings: $20 for a luxilon alu, including the stringjob (only $2 or $3 is you has your own strings)
cars: Hyundai I30 $24k-$32k, Fiat Uno: $8000, Honda civic: around $25K, Dodge RAM2500: $40k, BMW M3: $130K!!!
Regular salary of a mid class guy: $600-1000

Wow and I thought $200 per year, for unlimited tennis at the local park, was expensive

For the amount I play, that's less than $1 per hour though... :shock:

 

[gonzalocatalino]

Wow and I thought $200 per year, for unlimited tennis at the local park, was expensive

For the amount I play, that's less than $1 per hour though... :shock:

yes, but the tennis courts are cheaper if you are member of a tennis club, i´m paying less than $100 per year for free courts every day (of course, they are the worst clay courts in the world). A decent club cost around $200/300 per year...

The hour price depends on the zone you live/play, Buenos Aires (city) is very expensive ($10 and at least $15 with lights)

 

[Automatix]

I, too, noticed they are ridiculously expensive in Europe. What is up with that?

Everything is more expensive in Europe... in fact if you could past the tax and high transport costs (only certain stores) you wouldn't buy anything in Europe and just bought everything in the USA.

 

[princevaliant]

I live in Australia and tennis equipment is expensive here too. Though not as expensive as Europe. A can of 4 Slazenger balls is around $12 AUD which is about $8 USD at the current exchange rate.

Racquets are a bit more expensive, eg a Babolat AeroPro Drive Cortex is around $320 here, which is approx $220 US. If you take in shipping costs, it is not worth ordering things from the States.

Anyway, I think the reason Europe and Australia is more expensive is due to the distributon channels. Usually there will be one distributor/importer within a country who will get exclusive rights to a particular brand. This eliminates any competition from other distributors therefore they can charge whatever they like. As long as people are willing to pay (they dont have a choice), they will not drop their prices.

If it weren't for the internet, I am pretty sure that prices would be at least double that. When I started playing tennis over 15 years ago, a high end racquet was around $300 - $400 AUD. They are cheaper now even with 15 years of inflation.