Online shopping...At What Price???

[Glenfish]

OK, we all like a bargain and try to get the lowest price.

So accepting that we all decide to shop online, get a good price and a parcel in the post.

Then we go to our pro shop to brouse and generally chat and enjoy being surrounded by shiney new golf gear. We get a good look at the products, get to feel them and decide hmmm! thats nice I'm gonna buy one of them online, coz its cheaper!
Then a year later our golf shops have disappeared because we all buy online to save a few quid,
What would our golf clubs be like without a pro shop??
Is it really worth saving a few quid guys???

 

[hellbunker]

at the end of the day...yes.
I do by club branded kit, but not balls, clubs, bags etc, unless i think it presents value for money

 

[stevo]

I would like to support my pro shop whenever possible.Im in a retail environment and there is nothing worse than people coming in using all my knowledge and then going online.What happens when things go wrong,I am sure your pro would make sure your happy and sort any problems out.Buy online and it is much more difficult.

 

[brendy]

My new irons, wedge were both supplied by my pro. Where else sometimes gives you a dozen pro v1s on tick!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its an interesting question. Everyone likes to think they have got a bargain no matter what they buy and golfers apre porbably amongst the worse. Personally I don't use online shopping for any of my clubs as I have to try before I buy and if I like a club want to have it straight away rather than go online and wait for delivery.

I tend to use AG because a) I have 2 stores locally and b) sadly my pro just doesn't have the room in his shop to stock that wide a range or have demo clubs in a range of shafts, lofts and lies.

I don't think the big boys like American Golf or JJB are ever going to go out of business because of online purchasing. Similarly I'm not sure how many pro's will go under primarily because they offer a range of services that online and high street stores don't (lessons, club repairs etc). I support my club pro by buying most of my clothing (with club badge) and sundries (balls etc).

I also think that in years to come a number of the online stores will close (there was one highlighted on here not so long ago) as there is so much competition and demand for new gear cannot be sustained (i.e people can't afford to keep buying new clubs every six months so what do they buy after that?)

Good post though. I'd be interested to see other peoples take on it

 

[Glenfish]

Good point there Stevo, what happens when something goes wrong, I'm sure many local retailers would try to help and its very easy to approach them, however buy online and its a nightmare if the goods go wrong.
( I'm no retailer by the way!)

 

[MVP]

My local driving range centregolf chatham is also a market leading online store in the uk www.discountgolfstore.co.uk

so i get the best of both worlds when it comes to buying equipment for golf~!

 

[madandra]

Glen, My new club is the first club I have played at that has a pro and he is top drawer. He will price match 99% of items on t'internet as he is a member of Tartan Golf and they are a buying group that jointly have a large amount of clout with the manufacturers.

 

[haplesshacker]

I work in a specialist leisure retail sector and the interweb is a pain in the "££%!

One man bands set up a web site, no overheads, no specialist advice or knowledge, 'if it ain't on here don't ask for it' attitude. They're a bleeding nuisance. We've got to cut our margins to compete on price as service alone doesn't keep the bank manager happy! All the while we've still got our overheads. It's very tough in this price sensitve world were customers are demanding cheaper pricing, higher levels of service, back up when it all goes wrong etc. I spend most of my working days trying to put some of the service back into retail shops to keep customers coming in. But you just can't survive off 10% margins!! I will generally pay for good service, it normally works out best in the long run.

Sorry, end of rant!

 

[SS2]

Like Madandra's pro, my pro's prices are as good as web prices because he's part of a buying syndicate.

 

[thecraw]

I know plenty of Pro shops that will try and match the big boys if you give them the chance. Tartan Golf has been a life saver for them.

Also as somebody said before, my local pro may be £10 more expensive in some areas but he will throw in a sleave of Pro V's and it feels so much better. Look I got this for nothing.

I generally buy all my shirts, jumpers, balls etc from my pro. If I am after irons etc I will shop around!

 

[TonyN]

As i am not at a club yet i buy my gear from AG, they will price match most things locally or on the net.

Only things i will buy online really is clothing, balls maybe too.

But when i do join a club i would like to support the pro and think it would make more sense to buy any equipment through him for the same reasons as already mentioned. (fitting, problems etc)

But for each person that buys from the net, there is probably another two people that buy from the pro. I dont think pro shops will ever suffer because of the online game. At the end of the day even the online retailers have to make a profit so they cant really give there stuff away! Shouldnt be hard for pro shops to price match either cause its not like they have to pay the wages of 15 members of staff!

 

[GB72]

I buy from my pro when I can but the selection that he has is limited (Ping and Titleist). If I want the try the full range of options then I have to go elsewhere and, just as you would not take your pro's time and advice and shop elsewhere, it is equally unfair, as I did last Saturday, to spend 2 hours on a range at Direct Golf and then purchase somewhere else. It is the same with golf balls, he only stocks Titleist and Pinnacle and I do not use either of them. I would happily pass business on to my pro but the selection available at present does not warrant it.

 

[Parmo]

OK, we all like a bargain and try to get the lowest price.

So accepting that we all decide to shop online, get a good price and a parcel in the post.

Then we go to our pro shop to brouse and generally chat and enjoy being surrounded by shiney new golf gear. We get a good look at the products, get to feel them and decide hmmm! thats nice I'm gonna buy one of them online, coz its cheaper!
Then a year later our golf shops have disappeared because we all buy online to save a few quid,
What would our golf clubs be like without a pro shop??
Is it really worth saving a few quid guys???

to be honest I have mentioned this before, and I believe they do this in parts of Scotland, Pro shops need to buy as a union t buy in bulk and reduce costs and so stay competitive.

Regarding saving a "few quid", at times you are talking £20-30 more than online so hardly a few, I have though made a conscience decision to buy my balls from the pro as its only a fiver difference. With regards to clubs, my pro shop buy from the same shops online as I do but add a few quid profit on, yes you can get their view on custom fitting and try them out, but when talking drivers the prices can vary a lot from online shopping to Pro buying.

 

[birdieman]

When pro-shops stop charging £179 for a used Ping G2(yes G2) and Nickent drivers then I might consider buying there.
From what I can see the dynamic pro shops are already selling online via Ebay and their own websites and some are in syndicates as mentioned above and selling at reasonable prices so it can be done.
Bottom line don't mind paying a bit more to keep a Pro shop going over an online seller but it's time Brits got a better deal and choice on products and the internet provides that, helps keep pencils sharp!
On the same thread you could say the same about supporting your local butcher, baker, newsagent etc over a supermarket but I bet the ones here promoting the pro-shop are down the local Tesco as much as the rest of us.

Money is very tight for most of us as UK living is so expensive so unless pro shops can keep prices realistic then it's no-one's fault but there own if they price themselves out of the market and fold - they need to get with the times, global markets etc.
I work in the timber industry and no-one is saying buy UK timber, the sawmills and panel-board processors shop round Eastern Europe/Canada and get timber as cheap as they can resulting in the downturn of UK forestry so if we're going down the 'support your local pro' route then I want the same in my line of work. Could be a long wait...

 

[Parmo]

Birdie I have seen a battered secondhand Titleist Vokey spin in my pro shop for £45!! not to forget the CG10 wedge for £40 secondhand also seen its best.

I bought my irons custom fitted on ebay from a Pro who added New decade Mizuno grips on all for free for £249 inc p+p, no pro would match that and with having to keep HID happy on the cash front I can not justify an extra £30-50 just to keep a Pro in business.

 

[medwayjon]

I also buy from centregolf, in fact, I am grabbing a new putter from there today!

These guys look after their customers very well indeed, MVP will vouch for that, so to me I would rather lay out a few bob more and support them. Loyalty comes back to us I can guarantee that.

I try to buy bits & bobs from my club pro too, he is a nice guy and cannot get anywhere near others' prices so balls, gloves, tees, my trolley & other bits all come from him.

 

[theeaglehunter]

up until now I have never purchased anything signifcant from my Pro (only balls, tees etc) but am due to be custom fitted by him for a set of irons next Wednesday. I was going to get it done at Direct Golf where most sets of clubs are £30-£40 cheaper and there is also an excellent fitting facility now, but I'm new to the club and thought I should at least give the pro a chance and see what his service is like. Also he is a really nice bloke from what I've seen, really friendly and willing to talk to you and offer you advice when he bumbs into you. Plus the pro is willing to give me up to 2 and a half hours for the custom fitting and trying as many clubs as possible as he is not busy on a Wednesday morning where as I'd be lucky to get an hour of someones time at Direct-Golf, not because they are not nice people-they are, its just they have customers flowing in all the time. The only thing I'm worried about is the limited choice of sets the pro has to offer, but I know for sure that he has a full range of Titliest,Mizuno, Taylormade and Ping demo clubs in various specs so I am nonetheless optimistic.

This will be my first custom fitting experience and I just hope I have made the right choice between my pro and an online/large retailer.

 

[SammmeBee]

I would say as long as you know what you're gonna get is what you actually want (as opposed to similar) then online is the way forward for the cheapest price. I use www.118golf.co.uk - they are really cheap on price and usually free delivery too.

haplesshacker - it makes a change to hear the big boys complaining about being under cut by a one man band!! Isn't that called 'business'?

 

[EchtLoon]

Its an interesting question. Everyone likes to think they have got a bargain no matter what they buy and golfers apre porbably amongst the worse. Personally I don't use online shopping for any of my clubs as I have to try before I buy and if I like a club want to have it straight away rather than go online and wait for delivery.

I tend to use AG because a) I have 2 stores locally and b) sadly my pro just doesn't have the room in his shop to stock that wide a range or have demo clubs in a range of shafts, lofts and lies.

I don't think the big boys like American Golf or JJB are ever going to go out of business because of online purchasing. Similarly I'm not sure how many pro's will go under primarily because they offer a range of services that online and high street stores don't (lessons, club repairs etc). I support my club pro by buying most of my clothing (with club badge) and sundries (balls etc).

As far as clothing goes, unless I'm looking for a club badged piece of kit then it's online for me. Similarly with balls, it's almost impossible to beat the best online prices.

However when it comes to clubs, I recently beat any price I could find for a new set of Mizuno irons, even got them custom fitted, and all from a local pro (one I'd never met before I should add - it's not my home course). Having had a fitting for the first time, I would never buy off the shelf again, so for me you'll never beat a pro, and most will do their best to match any price you can find.