A few weeks ago, I ordered a racquet from Singapore. Upon asking it to be strung with my favorite, I was shocked to learn that the string is no longer in production. However, I was relieved to confirm with my stringer in Edmonton that BG 70PRO is pretty much still available in the North American market... at least for the year. I guess there's not much demand for the string in Asia, so it was discontinued there. So Yonex reps out there reading this, please keep them coming. IMHO, the BG 70Pro is probably the best string out there. With such a good mix of durability and performance, I am surprised that it's not outselling the BG-80s and 85s. It's perfect with the nylon birdie and keeps tension for the longest time, it's definitely good value for my money. I am just not sure what to replace it with when the inevitable happens.
Different countries have different pricing. Durability is not so much of an issue in Asia where labour costs for stringing are cheaper. Therefore, other strings are better (from the consumer's point of opinion). BG80/85 is popular in HK BG66 is popular in Malaysia. Oh yeah, nylon shuttles are rare in Asia so that negates another of your reasons for BG70pro.....
True... true. Of course, I couldn't speak for everybody but myself in a specific region and a specific financial position. Nylon shuttles are definitely cheaper in our part of the woods and probably a majority choice for most recreational badminton clubs in North America. No worries of humidity and dramatic temperature change affecting the shuttles' performance. So, I guess there's all the more reason to keep BG70 PRO available in the North American market for awhile. Yeah, BG 66 is definitely very popular in Singapore and Malaysia.
Yes... seems like there's a different set of performance characteristics favored in every region. I wonder why BG66 is popular there and not BG80s and 85s as in the case of HK.
it's a well-known fact that BG66 is not durable ... but most players love the crispy sound when you are smashing ...
The problem is, compare to the world, North America is still a fairly small market. I assume the "main meat" is still Asia.
However it is easier to get small amounts from many people than to get large amounts from a few people. That's why Mercedes (now Daimler-Benz) needed to acquire Chrysler.
I really wonder about this. Sure, the sale price is higher, but the profit ratio? Not very sure. A lot of dealers I know, they have to get 2nd job (club owner, coach, or even non-badminton related jobs) to just make a decent living. Therefore, seems the profit they can gain from badminton gear / equipment is not very high. At least, the total profit (profit per item * item could be sold) is not high. Also, "popular strings" like BG65, BG66, BG80, BG85, are better priced in asian market. To my surprise, some Gosen models, and BG75Ti, BG88Ti, CBN100, US has better price.
the margin is high for each product, but also the cost of running business and living is also quite high. although the margin is high, there is also the cost is higher and as a result, the final cost to the consumer is quite high. the wholesale cost of a pack of bg85 in the US is around US$6 i believe, adding onto the fact that the product need to be shipped from Yonex to the retailer (cost $$), the retailer to make any reasonable profit out of it, it will have to go for around US$8-9 for the string alone. on the other hand, the margin in Asia is really really low. in some places, if you buy a pack of BG85 in 10+ quantities, they are willing to make only HK$1 for each pack, that's US$0.125 per pack. further, the cost of each pack is only around US$4. i heard that in China, you can get a racket strung for something like RMB$20 with bg65. the BG65 cost RMB$15, they take in RMB$5 profit for the labor (labor = cheap in China). RMB$5 is around US$0.5 !
Wasn't there this big this about BG66 being discontinued next year? I know it is discontinued here, someone else said it wasn't in the JP catalogue, any updates? PS Yes I should look up the original thread but was too lazy and this is related
You are so very right about BG66, still very popular amongst the people here. Most strings I see on my student's and friend's racquets are strung with BG66. I was one of the first few of us who ventured into the BG85 territory. The reason for this perhaps had a lot to do with cost and usage experience? Single-type player friends of mine recommend the BG65 while the double-types all go gungho on BG66. BG66 can be strung at... RM 15++ while BG85 for... RM 24++. Small difference in USD$ but big deal for most people here. And very right about the nylon shuttle part as well. I haven't really seen anybody using nylon shuttles except for roadside hit abouts. I believe I read about this one somewhere in BF as well, and if not mistaken, somebody spoke about the BG85 being the replacement of Bg66?
I think that we also have to consider the popularity of the sport in different regions around the world. Badminton is a growing sport in North America, but no where near the status of other group sports like football, hockey and baseball. It's also cheaper to string a racquet in Asian countries because competition among the businesses are stiffer there than in North America. Case in point... we have only one specialised racquet shop in Edmonton (small city), not counting pro shops in private clubs around town and mall retailers (who seldom offers top of the line racquets). Even though there are also people who does stringing on the side who plays in most of the badminton clubs in the city, you won't know them until you have been referred to them by some one else or get to know them. Also, there's no warranty when strung by these people. *sigh* what can one do?
Says who? BG66 and 85 are very different, I meant, VERY VERY different. one of the most important thing is that BG66 requires precise hitting on the sweetspot. Once you are not using it right, it will snap within few shots. BG70 is a pretty good string and the best thing is it keeps tension very well. I am using BG70 (or BG65 if I am out of it) with all my backup racquets since they keep tensions well. (like my MP88)
Hello, i spoke with indonesia yonex distributor this morning and asked him regarding BG-66 ... he said that there are certain material which are included in BG-66, but not others ... not even other brands ... basically yonex monopoly this material from the producer. i dont know how true is his comment ... maybe someone could comment on this
I think my personal preference goes way beyond the economics too, it's just so much hassle to have a racquet string break on me and even more hassle to wait for my racquet to be strung. If my stringer have a busy week (very likely since he's the only one listed in the phonebook and has the experience to back it up), that could mean longer waiting time for me since I have only one main racquet. I got backups but I would rather use them sparingly (don't like playing with them very much). Also (back to economics), when I sink $30 (tax, string and labor inclusive) for a string job I expect it to last quite a while. BG70 Pro gives out satisfactory performance for its durability and when it breaks, usually it's my fault.
