Does buying from online bowling stores kill pro shops?

[americantrotter]

I have bought offline and gone that whole route, but as it's been said on here several times it's just about the same - maybe a few dollar swing. If I can support small business owners, I'm going to do it. The guy at my local Pro-Shop is just that - a regional pro. Granted he's out a lot on various tournaments and what-nots, but when you get a ball from him, he gets you a lane - listens to what you want, and watches you throw the ball so he can tailor it to you. You usually end up getting a small lesson out of it in the mean time. Why not?

If that was the guy at my Pro-Shop I'd shop there too. The guy I drive to does that for his customers, but the guy at the local lanes does not.

[The Mayor]

For the most part, online bowling retail websites are small businesses as well. Bigger than your pro shop, but still not large in the grand scheme. It's not like you're ordering from Amazon. So buying bowling equipment online, you're buying from a small business, just not necessarily in your area. That being said, having a local pro shop that is knowledgeable that you can trust is a wonderful thing. The internet is a great option for those who don't have that.

[PinCup]

Hello to all,

I am wondering if people buy bowling balls from online bowling stores, does this kill their sales, or is where the money really comes in from drilling?

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY YES!!!
Most pro-shops will charge you double for a ball not purchased from him.
If he's your in-house guy, it's a real smack in the face. If he's a certified shop, that's even worse. Training required to stay current ain't cheap.

Folks, we really don't make a ton of money in the bowling business. Machine parts are WAY expensive and many of us have 40 year old machinery, lanes care costs are a HUGE part of our annual budget. Overhead and insurance, licences and fees, electricity, ect. And now Meth-heads are stealing our AC units!!
ei; The new top of the line lane machine,... $50,000

This is one more reason we're losing the smallest and largest bowling centers. Only the best, who can do something with nothing, can survive.
Providing a clean comfortable facility with great customer service on a skinny dime, ain't for the weak!
Why do we do it?

Selling smiles is a fun way to make a living. Seeing a customer come in after a bad day, and we turn it around and see smiles and laughter. That feeling can't be beat.


So, ... If you love bowling, and you local center provides a quality product for your entertainment dollar, throw us a bone!!!
-Buy your ball here!
-Show up early for league and EAT OUR FOOD.
-TIP your waitress for hustle. (good one's are so hard to find. Appreciate them.)
-If you see kids or open bowlers tearing up my building or equipment, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!! Vandalism costs us $1000s every year.
-Bring family from out-of-town in for fun and laughs. We love to meet them and we'll clean up the mess! Most of us are open major holidays.

We know money is tight, we're doing our best to keep costs down. Please help!

PinCup

[The Mayor]

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY YES!!!
Most pro-shops will charge you double for a ball not purchased from him.
If he's your in-house guy, it's a real smack in the face. If he's a certified shop, that's even worse. Training required to stay current ain't cheap.

Folks, we really don't make a ton of money in the bowling business. Machine parts are WAY expensive and many of us have 40 year old machinery, lanes care costs are a HUGE part of our annual budget. Overhead and insurance, licences and fees, electricity, ect. And now Meth-heads are stealing our AC units!!
ei; The new top of the line lane machine,... $50,000

This is one more reason we're losing the smallest and largest bowling centers. Only the best, who can do something with nothing, can survive.
Providing a clean comfortable facility with great customer service on a skinny dime, ain't for the weak!
Why do we do it?

Selling smiles is a fun way to make a living. Seeing a customer come in after a bad day, and we turn it around and see smiles and laughter. That feeling can't be beat.


So, ... If you love bowling, and you local center provides a quality product for your entertainment dollar, throw us a bone!!!
-Buy your ball here!
-Show up early for league and EAT OUR FOOD.
-TIP your waitress for hustle. (good one's are so hard to find. Appreciate them.)
-If you see kids or open bowlers tearing up my building or equipment, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!! Vandalism costs us $1000s every year.
-Bring family from out-of-town in for fun and laughs. We love to meet them and we'll clean up the mess! Most of us are open major holidays.

We know money is tight, we're doing our best to keep costs down. Please help!

PinCup

I totally agree with everything you said about running a bowling alley! However, the question was about buying bowling equipment online and if it kills pro shops. I'd like to hear your opinion on that.

[bowl1820]

ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY YES!!!
Most pro-shops will charge you double for a ball not purchased from him.
If he's your in-house guy, it's a real smack in the face. If he's a certified shop, that's even worse. Training required to stay current ain't cheap.

I totally agree with everything you said about running a bowling alley! However, the question was about buying bowling equipment online and if it kills pro shops. I'd like to hear your opinion on that.

I think he did reply to the question in the first paragraph. But yeah all the rest was just about the bowling alley.

I would think also unless the alley ran the proshop themselves. They wouldn't care where you bought a ball. Because you'd have to come there to use it and spend the money you think you saved paying for games, food etc.

Now the alley could lose rent/lease money if the shop closed up.

[DanielMareina]

Online shops selling balls hurts business, but doesn't kill it. Now with minimum retail pricing, I as a pro shop, can match almost any price people find online. The problem I find, is bowlers buying a ball that is not right for them, because there isn't a pro shop guy to talk them out of it. They see it online, watch videos, read reviews, but don't understand the ball itself. Some bowlers buy the right stuff, but multiple times I have had a bowler tell me they saw (just an example) a Taboo and a Taboo Pro for the same price. They buy the Pro, not knowing that it means Pro Pin. A pro shop won't do that to people, but the online stores don't have to look the person in the face. I think they hurt bowling as a sport, more than they hurt pro shop business.

[The Mayor]

A pro shop won't do that to people, but the online stores don't have to look the person in the face. I think they hurt bowling as a sport, more than they hurt pro shop business.

Trust me, there are more bad pro shops that there are good ones. You don't think there are pro shops that still have old stock that push those balls on customers who trust them with blind faith because they are a "pro"? Daniel, I can tell you're a good pro shop operator who cares about putting his customers in the correct bowling ball. I wish there were more people like you. People that buy on line don't have to be pressured in to buying something they don't need just so the owner can clear out the stock of a bad pro shop. If I lived next to you Daniel, I wouldn't need to buy online. When someone brings in a ball to be drilled from the internet, the pro shop is making pure profit. No inventory costs, no space taken up in their shop, just straight cash. 95% of the time you'll also get the sale of the grips and slug, ball cleaner, tape, towels. And if you do a great job and take the time to help the customer, watch them bowl, find the best layout for them, you'll make them forget about the internet. The next sale will be yours. A lot of times the internet will bring people to pro shops that never would've been there because they see a good deal.

If you've got a good pro shop in your area PLEASE support them and buy from them. If you don't, the internet is a perfectly fine option.

[DanielMareina]

I do agree that there are a lot of bad pro shops out there. I do get stuck in my world of trying to be a good example, and space the fact that it is all make believe. I have talked to a lot of people that have one option for a pro shop in their area, and that person is bad at their job, doesn't care, or sells whatever they want you to buy. I think bowlers have access to so much information now a days, that pro shops like that are losing business because of their attitude. I spent over an hour yesterday selling a Roto Grip Defiant to a guy, who already wanted it. I spent that long trying to figure out why he wanted it, what else he had, and what he wanted it to do. Then I drilled it. I made $55 above cost on that ball, selling it for far less than the retail price. If I could sell a ball an hour like that, I would be rich. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Because I run the pro shop and bowling center, my real profit is coming from that customer bowling at my center because of how he is treated from entering my building. If the pro shop driller isn't cutting the mustard somewhere, tell the manager. There are plenty of young guys like me that would love their job, and aren't jaded after years of being bad at their job.
To get back to the point, I can still make a decent profit off a ball, no matter whether they buy it from me or not. I am not against the online retailers now that the minimum prices are here. I charge a league bowler $40 to drill an online ball, which compared to many places, is very cheap. Someone off the street may cost $50 because I need to watch them bowl and talk to them for longer to get them the right layout. Either way, who wouldn't like to make $40 or $50 an hour, and if you do a good job, you can get a lot of business from your competitors. I have people drive over 45 minutes to get to me, (not to mention past 4 other bowling centers with pro shops) and they tell me it is because they heard I was the place to go to be treated right and charged a decent price. That is how we are going to succeed as pro shops, and as an industry.

[resstealth]

I think it does hurt some shops. For example, the shop at the local house will sell the ball at cost, and give you a discount on the drilling, so they do alot of business. Go over to the next town, and you're paying at least 25% markup on what you can find the ball online for, plus they charge a butt load for drilling. I think it all comes down to the shop itself and how they treat their customers. Our guy treats the customer well, and his knowledge is worth its weight in gold.

[PinCup]

No matter if the pro-shop is leased or owner operated. Part of a pro-shop's lease (in most centers) is the repair of ANY damaged ball (including house balls).

Let's face facts, your ball will get marked up. The only way to keep it new is to keep it home. We do our absolute best to keep 'sharps' out of the machine, but with the amount of vibration these machine endure, it' surprising they stay together at all. Having an in-house Pro-shop saves us money in repairs.

Pro-shops leased also have an agreement to act as ambassador for the center, and to help with learn-to-bowl and coaching. Yes, some shops are better than others. If you are unhappy with who runs your in-house pro-shop, SPEAK UP!!! His lease may not be renewed.

Customers make our paychecks possible, we want you to be satisfied after each visit.


As a Mechanic, I have a call sheet at the desk where desk workers are supposed to write down every call. You as the league bowler have a duty to make sure any problems you experience during you shift gets written down on that sheet. I don't want to hear "Is 5 still dropping pins" if you didn't bother to tell anyone last week.
If it isn't on the call sheet, it didn't happen.


If I didn't know the guy in the Pro-shop sucks, I won't replace him.

Good luck and Good bowling,
PinCup