Where can I buy one of those small Yonex Thermal racquet cover/bag?

[Sgt_Strider]

I checked Yonex's website and they don't have the bag/cover that I'm looking for. I saw this Yonex Thermal bag/cover, that can only hold 1 racquet and still gives you the chance to put it over my shoulders. I duno what it's called and I'm hoping one of you will lead me to the item.


Btw the color of the bag is a bit bluish purple. Thx

[Ricky]

Could you post a picture ? Perhaps you are looking for those thermal bag bundle with Yonex racket in Japan.

[Dill]

Sounds like a normal racket cover to me. Check the threads in this forum as I remember Ynexfan2003 was after one, and in that thread there was a picture.

[eggroll]

I believe the bag you are referring to is a very billiant blue bag that is a product made for Asian distributors. This bag is not for sale as an individual item. I came to know of this bag as a raquet was returned to Yonex Canada with this bag and I commented on the unusaual style of bag and how we got it.

[kwun]

eggroll, why is it that different countries get different bag? in Japan, they give out this nice cloth bag. in some other parts of asia, they have thick leathery bag or the nice shiny blue/yellow ones you mentioned. in the US, we only have cheapy looking plastic thingies.

[eggroll]

Kwun

In some areas of the world Yonex dictates what bags come with the raquets and some distributors sell enough raquets that they can request special bags. In North America we get what they send us or we can pay a premiun for a special bag. With the cost of the raquets being high already it doesn't make sense to add $ for a special bag. Here in Canada the majority of the raquets sold could acually be sold without the bag as most of the covers are discarded and players tend to carry a 6 raquet bag to stow raquets and gear in. To invest extra money in a premium bag would be senseless. Obviously as a company we are happy that people want to buy our bigger bags as we get a little advertising from it and of course extra revenue from the sales of an accessory.

[Dill]

Egroll,

Whats the deal on strings then, is it just the same as the bags (pricing issue)? In the UK all rackets are sold strung but when you see rackets advertised in Asia they are mostly unstrung.

I know when I get my rackets from the shop I get them restrun a.s.a.p.

[eggroll]

I'm not 100% sure what your question is. In Canada we get frames (unstrung) in MP 100,99,88,77,33,Armortec 700,500,Cab 23,20. All other models come strung. The unstrung raquets are JP manufactured and the strung are made in other countries. If you get all raquets strung in UK I cannot answer for them as a distributor however I suspect they get frames just like we do but choose to sell all their raquets strung.

[Dill]

Sorry eggroll, what I meant was that in the UK all rackets for sale (retail) are strung. When you read forums or go to other vendors in Asia you get the price for rackets only and string is an additional cost.

Why are rackets strung already in the UK but not in Asia, surely the cost price of string should be cheaper in asia since it is made there and in the UK it would be more expensive because of shipping unless they string the UK rackets in the factory where they are made?

As you point out for the racket covers being dependant on the market and price the retailer is willing to pay I was wondering if the string aspect was simmilar ie. would consumers in the UK not purchase if the racket was unstrung because Yonex products are very expensive?

[eggroll]

As I stated in my previous thread I cannot tell you why raquets in UK come strung. As far as I am aware they get frames unstrung just like we do. Perhaps they have stringers on staff and to keep them working full time they string every raquet sold. They may be doing what all the retailers prefer as well. In some areas of some countries there are no stringing machines readily available so if the higher end raquets are on the shelf unstrung and a player wants to play right away and the nearest stringer is hours away they may have little choice. Please be sure I am only guessing here and this is the only explanation I can come up with.:confused:

[cooler]

let me add my 2 cents

Stung rackets
As stated by eggroll, all upper end yonex rackets come unstrung from the manufacturer (In Canada we get frames (unstrung) in MP 100,99,88,77,33,Armortec 700,500,Cab 23,20. All other models come strung.) .
If you see them all strung in UK then it is a local policy adopted by UK distributor or UK sport shops. Why? who know exactly. Dill why dont you ask your local sport shop this question, whether they strung or not. If they say it's not them, then rackets are strung at distributor level which i doubt. By stringing the unstrung rackets, the shop or distributor will capture two sale at once, racket and stringing. On the plus side, i'm sure the price will be lower than if racket and stringing were purchased separately. On the neg. side, you have no choice on the string used.

OEM bags
I had raised this question couple years ago because i have came across all sort of bag varieties. Since no answer was given i had to derive one myself:p It boils down to psychology and cultural difference, hehe. Hmm where should i begin. You see, in general population, people living in SE asia, S. korea and japan are more brand oriented. It has more meaning and status symbol to own say rolex, bmw,etc, yonex included than other respective product brands. Therefore, it important to have an oem bag that match up to the product inside the bag. Second, owning a yonex is expensive and on average (i dont mean fanatic here) these players can't afford many more racket so the OEM IS THE bag they will carry around with their 1 or 2 rackets. A good advertising item for yonex and a good status symbol item for the user. Therefore, the oem bag quality is just as important as the item inside the bag. Badminton fashion means alot more in asia than in N.A. and UK. Just look at yonex japan catalog for badminton clothing, it is thicker than the yonex japan racket/bag/string/shoes catalog. Furthermore, Yonex only market 10-20% of japan's apparel here in N.A. and UK.

In north america/UK where income standard is higher, we can afford alot more on equips so we carry BIGGER bags (well, also compare the sizes of our houses). As eggroll have said, N.A. and UK players have no need of the oem bags. It costs more to ship (heavier) and to make which add cost to the racket purchase. I carry 4 to 6 racket in my 2224 bag, i really cant fit 6 thick thermo bags in my 2224 bag. Badminton isn't as big here as in asia so removing the trimming would help reduce to cost of entry to this sport.

So in summary, asia has multitude of players but each on average own 1 or 2 rackets where as in NA/UK, we have fewer players but those who do play own a bigger bag to carry other stuffs in them.

[Dill]

Thanks for the replies

In the UK all rackets regardless of brand are strung; ie Yonex with Yonex string, Carlton with Carlton string. Regardless of end retailer sports specific or just multi purpose sports shop all rackets are strung so it would have to be at the manufacturer level.

I know about the geographical retail economy but am interested why the rackets are strung in the UK but not in asia, surely everyone should be treated evenly?

I also fit 6 rackets in one section of my 2224 but they are all in the covers, so I assume the bags in asia as you have already stated are of a higher quality and durablilty than the ones we get in the UK, would a better solution not be to give everyone the same bag and a strung racket?

If people are going to get their racket re-strung as soon as they get it they would not be losing out because of the price equalisation, however if the racket comes ready to use it may motivate more people to purchase that particular brand.

[Pure]

Is that only the JP racket comes with the cloth bag??
that cloth bag looks nice...

[Sgt_Strider]

Okay so are you guys saying that in order for me to get such a bag, I need to buy a JP racquet? Only then will it come with one of those bags? Are there any asian sites that may sell the bag separately?

[Sgt_Strider]

I need an answer guys!

[bluejeff]

I need an answer guys!

why don't you post some pictures? no one knows what you meant by by "bluish purple".

[DinkAlot]

why don't you post some pictures? no one knows what you meant by by "bluish purple".

Exactly. TPIWWP. :p

[Titanium100]

saw a post before on a blue termal bag some 1 wants... haha as i recall it's for his gf:p

[Sgt_Strider]

why don't you post some pictures? no one knows what you meant by by "bluish purple".

Okay I have found a picture, but it doesn't have the colour that I wanted. It doesn't matter, but as long as you guys know which bag I'm talking about.

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=211613&postcount=145

Does this help?

[DinkAlot]

Yeah, I know what racket bag your talking about now. I believe that racket bag was only available in SE Asia. I had two of them in a light blue but gave them away. I'm sure a few others here have them and/or know where to buy.



Okay I have found a picture, but it doesn't have the colour that I wanted. It doesn't matter, but as long as you guys know which bag I'm talking about.

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=211613&postcount=145

Does this help?

[Sgt_Strider]

Yeah, I know what racket bag your talking about now. I believe that racket bag was only available in SE Asia. I had two of them in a light blue but gave them away. I'm sure a few others here have them and/or know where to buy.

I guess Hong Kong isn't considered SE Asia? I got a racquet from there and I didn't get that bag. Does Japanese racquest come with that bag?

[DinkAlot]

I guess Hong Kong isn't considered SE Asia? I got a racquet from there and I didn't get that bag. Does Japanese racquest come with that bag?

Not sure about the Japanese bag. Yesterday at The Club, I saw two people with the bag you're looking for. Unfortunately both said they got it a few years ago through friends so they don't know about the bag.

There has to be someone on BC that should know if the bag is still available. :D

[bluejeff]

Not sure about the Japanese bag. Yesterday at The Club, I saw two people with the bag you're looking for. Unfortunately both said they got it a few years ago through friends so they don't know about the bag.

There has to be someone on BC that should know if the bag is still available. :D

:p when there is something blue, you know who is your best bet :cool:

For blue version of the bag, it is no longer widely available. Most availabe color nowadays is the black version.

Also, notice there are two different types of foam bags. One is with "ultimum ti" and the other one only with big Yonex logo. Blue is only available with the one with big Yonex logo, I haven't seen any with the "ultimum ti" lettering, if my memory is correct.

[Sgt_Strider]

:p when there is something blue, you know who is your best bet :cool:

For blue version of the bag, it is no longer widely available. Most availabe color nowadays is the black version.

Also, notice there are two different types of foam bags. One is with "ultimum ti" and the other one only with big Yonex logo. Blue is only available with the one with big Yonex logo, I haven't seen any with the "ultimum ti" lettering, if my memory is correct.

Where can I buy the black version then?