Getting a new ball from bowlingball.com question....

[Hammer]

If I got a new ball from bowlingball.com how do you go about getting it drilled by them if they haven't seen you bowl? How would they know what layout
to use for you? Would it be best to get the ball not drilled and take it to a pro shop at our bowling center and have the pro shop guy there watch me bowl and decide on a layout that would fit me? The only thing is the pro shop at our alley might frown on me bringing a ball purchased somewhere else and having them drill it for me. I guess the better thing to do would be to show them what balls I was interested in and see what they would charge for the balls I found on bowlingball.com. I don't know if they could match bowlingball.com prices. I will find out as soon as possible.

[bowl1820]

If I got a new ball from bowlingball.com how do you go about getting it drilled by them if they haven't seen you bowl?

read here about the custom drilling service
http://www.bowlingball.com/info/custom-drilling-announcement.html



How would they know what layout to use for you?

It's answered in the above link



Would it be best to get the ball not drilled and take it to a pro shop at our bowling center and have the pro shop guy there watch me bowl and decide on a layout that would fit me?

Usually it would, it makes getting changes made easier.



The only thing is the pro shop at our alley might frown on me bringing a ball purchased somewhere else and having them drill it for me. I guess the better thing to do would be to show them what balls I was interested in and see what they would charge for the balls I found on bowlingball.com. I don't know if they could match bowlingball.com prices. I will find out as soon as possible.

He may frown on it, but he'll take your money and do it won't he? It's a sale and money in his pocket.

See how much he'll charge to drill and add that to your ball cost. then see if its cheaper to buy from him or get it at BB.com

[75lockwood]

You could always say you won it from bowlingboards.com :cool:

[scottymoney]

Honestly I doubt they make much on selling balls but more on the actual work. If you figure $40-$50 for drilling, they are making a huge profit on the half hour it takes them to set it up. I doubt it even takes that long. It has been awhile since I watched someone drill a ball. Plus most of the time you will find the balls at the pro shop to cost $40-$50 more and they will drill it for free. It makes you feel like you are getting a deal but they are just getting their drilling money and making it sound good.

[Hammer]

You could always say you won it from bowlingboards.com :cool:

It is funny you should say that because that is what I was thinking I could do.

[MisterSinister]

It's so tempting to buy a ball online, it's so much cheaper. Even though my driller charges too much to drill an outside ball ($65)it still is cheaper to buy a ball and bring it to him. As far as having it drilled by the web site, I'm not sure about that one. I know you can send them a ball, and have it copied. Plus, I don't know much about layouts, so my driller could be just half *** drilling my ball and I wouldn't know. There's still just something about having a guy who knows you do it.

[Zothen]

It takes a good ball driller about 30min to drill a ball when you factor in-Finding out how you want ball drilled,taking measurements,drilling,inserting grips,putting in and drillng thumb slug and adjusting ball after drilling for that perfect fit.

Zothen

[striker12]

when i won my hell raiser revenge on here i took it to my proshop and at first he was not that happy cause i brought in a ball that i never bought from him but then i told him why not be happy its a free $77 in your shop with out having to buy anything then after i said that he was alright with it cause they have to buy the bowling ball then sell it and make a few $ profit but with this he made a $77 profit and keeps bugging me to go and get another hundred balls form online for him to drill lol.

[Davec13]

I have had a few balls drilled that weren't purchased at the pro shop. There was no questions asked about where the ball came from. He has my measurements on file just did a quick double check to make sure nothing had changed asked what color inserts I wanted (standard hot pink :D ) and told me to come back in a little while. He knows he cannot offer me the same ball at the same price I can buy them online and is happy just getting his drilling fee.

The one thing you may hear about is "what if the ball cracks". I asked him how many balls he has ever cracked his answer in 20 years drilling 0 balls have cracked.

[noeymc]

the pro shop by me charges maybe 20 bucks more and he comes out helps me learn to throw it pays for 2 games so he can work with me and help me and he will drill it right there and then if you tell him your going to bowl that day with it

[AZBowla]

I guess the shop I go to is quite a deal - it costs $50 to drill a ball there. I never got any attitude or anything about bringing in a ball I bought online, either. They were very professional and I'll definitely be back again and again.

As for which is cheaper, it's really not much different to get a ball online and then pay the extra money to have it drilled versus getting it there and having them include drilling in the price. The reason I go online is because bowlingball.com has a much larger selection and there's no sales tax. I suppose I could get my layout and measurements and put that on my bowlingball.com account so that I could have the ball drilled cheaper, but I like supporting the local guys, plus if I need an adjustment they will do it for free, no questions asked. I highly recommend the shop I go to - it's Bowling Dynamics in Chandler. If you live in the Phoenix area, check them out.

[UBowling]

I would highly recommend not getting it drilled by them. I have purchased bowling balls from that site before and didn't get it drilled. I don't think it is a good risk.

The pro shops around here will charge for an outside drill. And I have recommended to the owner of the shop I help out at to actually market to the crowd who purchase online because he may make $60 on a new ball purchase, but he has to buy the ball and stock it and that increases costs. He can make $50 on an outside drill that takes 20 minutes. In my mind charging for the outside drill is better for business than actually purchasing and stocking the new ball that may or may not sell.

Plus if you pay and get it drilled at the shop, you are supporting your local shop and that is important in this industry.

[Cochese]

My local proshop is pretty fair. I started a thread this morning about buying balls on eBay to offset cost. My shop charges $58 for drilling, $10 for finger grips and $15 for a urethane slug. If you buy a ball from them, the price of the ball includes drilling and they will give your free grips too. My Frantic was $149 plus $15 for the slug. After tax, it worked out to right about $175.

The same ball on bowlingball.com drilled with inserts and a slug would be $150 plus they have never seen my hand, where as the proshop can adjust the shape of the slug if necessary. Plus the owner of the shop saw me practicing a couple days after I bought the ball, watched me throw a few, gave me some tips, asked how the ball was. I said the span felt a little short, showed him my old ball and he pointed out the old one was not drilled correctly. He put a piece of white grip tape in the thumb and it instantly felt 100% better. That alone was worth the extra $25 bucks.

[Hammer]

I decided to get my Blue Hammer from my proshop at the alley I bowl league at. The cost of the ball, drilling and finger grips is $145.00. Plus he watched me throw my other ball on the alley after I had one warmup game to see how my approach and swing was. Then he said we can work out a layout for my new ball. After getting it drilled I can take it right out to the alley and see right away if anything has to be adjusted like the thumb hole. Sometimes they stick a little after a few frames. Plus the alley will be in the condition it usually is on league night.