Should the USATT switch their ball choice

LUCKYLOOP wrote: Baal wrote: Now this I don't understand.  If Nittaku donates balls to USATT for the two tournaments USATT organizes, somehow US players are getting fleeced as a result of Nittaku's generosity? You can train with D40+ and if you are really concerned you could play with Nittaku for a day or two before the event and be fine. Like I said, I like D40 balls, but in terms of quality control in general you get what you pay for. WHAT IF it has generated an average of 10,000 or more ball sales per month in the USA ? Edit Addition Getting what you pay for: Average hourly factory wage Japan $7.30 China $2.00 usually do not get paid extra for overtime

I have an apartment in China.  It costs about 1/10th of what it would cost in Japan (maybe 1/20th if we are talking about central Tokyo), as with a meal at a restaurant, a ride in a taxi etc.  Part of the reason stuff from China costs less.  Another reason is the QC.  How stringent are your standards?  What are you willing to put in the box?  The fewer you throw away, the less you have to charge.  Nittaku has really high QC standards, for a long time now.

Anyway, over in Pongville feel free to use whatever you want.  I suggest D40.  It won't hurt you training for events where they use Nittaku.

Baal wrote: So what?  People should simply buy D40s for practice if they are concerned about the price of the ball.  It is the ball I use about 80% of the time.      But bear in mind that the Nittaku is a very high quality ball.  It has the best playing properties of plastic balls (not 100% of people agree, but they would get more votes than any other ball).  So a lot of people are buying Nittaku who will never go to US Open or Nationals.  So it might be hard to claim that any particular sales figure they have is directly caused by their sponsorship of these events. If Nittaku does get a sales bump from sponsoring these events, well that is the reason all manufacturers sponsor events.  And it makes the events better.  All in all, this is some pretty crazy reasoning. I don't think we should criticize a company that donates balls to our national events, especially when a lot of people would say it is the best 40+ ball in existence.

I am not criticizing their Company. Actually it is very astute marketing strategy to generate USA sales. I am educating players about the balls used all over the world and the overpricing of the NP 40+ due to wage factors beyond their control.

By getting the NP40+ in the two most prestigious USATT Tournaments Nittaku gets a name Brand Reputation and Recognition at a very inexpensive advertising cost.

A lot of consumers are duped by price on different products thinking the most expensive is better, which is not always correct. It is usually the indicator of a better product. It can depend on countries standard of living. Why are a lot products not made in the USA anymore ?



Edited by LUCKYLOOP - 10/04/2017 at 2:10pm

Baal wrote So a lot of people are buying Nittaku who will never go to US Open or Nationals.  So it might be hard to claim that any particular sales figure they have is directly caused by their sponsorship of these events.


When I started to play in clubs, the ball of choice used was the Nittaku Premium. I hadn't played in the US Open or the Nationals. I have played in several clubs in various states in the past. All used the Nittaku Premium. The majority of the club players never have played in those tournaments. The ball used at those clubs was determined by the persons running them, which some have attended the big 2 tournaments. So yes the Nittaku Ball advertising has affected usage by players a lot who have never playing in the US Open or Nationals.

Baal wrote: Advertising or the quality of the product? It has been the ball of choice in the US for decades.

Probably both, I knew very little about the other balls back then.




Edited by LUCKYLOOP - 10/04/2017 at 8:41pm

LUCKYLOOP wrote: Baal wrote: Advertising or the quality of the product? It has been the ball of choice in the US for decades. Probably both, I knew very little about the other balls back then.

Nittaku has been the ball used for both US Nationals and US Open since 1980 and Paddle Palace has facilitated the sponsorship since they became the Nittaku distributor so its not like they just showed up when the balls were switched to plastic

Edited by Vince64 - 10/04/2017 at 10:53pm

For USATT to use another brand, that manufacturer needs to provide a better sponsor package than Nittaku.  I don't think USATT selected Nittaku just because they supply free balls.  And they won't select another brand just because that brand is used elsewhere or that brand is cheaper or whatever.  It comes down to whoever gives USATT the best package, period.

LUCKYLOOP wrote: Summary Only 35 participants in the poll I feel we have learned a lot from this thread. The Nittaku Premium 40+ appears to be overpriced based on manufacturing cost labor conditions of Japan compared to China. The NP 40+ made in Japan is not used on the World Pro Tour or any of the 8 top ranked professional leagues of the World. Therefore, based on usage by the professionals, there are other quality balls available that could be used in the US Open and US Nationals and even smaller independently sanctioned US Tournaments.

liXiao wrote: LUCKYLOOP wrote: Summary Only 35 participants in the poll I feel we have learned a lot from this thread. The Nittaku Premium 40+ appears to be overpriced based on manufacturing cost labor conditions of Japan compared to China. The NP 40+ made in Japan is not used on the World Pro Tour or any of the 8 top ranked professional leagues of the World. Therefore, based on usage by the professionals, there are other quality balls available that could be used in the US Open and US Nationals and even smaller independently sanctioned US Tournaments. You really don't know how sponsorship works, do you?

My statement above was based on the premise of usage by professionals.

See my other statement based on the premise of marketing strategy.

mts388 wrote: liXiao wrote: [QUOTE=LUCKYLOOP] Summary Therefore, based on usage by the professionals, there are other quality balls available that could be used in the US Open and US Nationals and even smaller independently sanctioned US Tournaments. You really don't know how sponsorship works, do you?

  

I think he just has a lot of free time and likes to start never ending useless threads.

Vince64 wrote: mts388 wrote: liXiao wrote: [QUOTE=LUCKYLOOP] Summary Therefore, based on usage by the professionals, there are other quality balls available that could be used in the US Open and US Nationals and even smaller independently sanctioned US Tournaments. You really don't know how sponsorship works, do you?    I think he just has a lot of free time and likes to start never ending useless threads. A sanctioned tournament can use whatever ball they choose to as long as it’s ITTF and USATT approved. There is no secret ball police traveling around the country taking club and tournament directors into a dark room telling them to use Ball A, B, or C. I’m not really sure why it would even matter to you since you have stated previously that you are in favor of playing non competitive matches where winning and losing isn’t relevant anyway.

My premises with statements are based on factual data while you are making unsubstantiated statements to support your arguments.

For league matches at the club level what I have been told is that is determined by the local club, I'm not up to date on what's used after that.

i tried joola flash,so far the best ball,round,doesn't brake often,not as hard as other,good bounce

And South Bend tournament in Indiana is using the G40+, so is the Vernon Hills Giant RR.

So far Nittaku is the best ball I've tried, so if I were to vote (and I didn't because I'm no national player) I would vote to stay with.  I certainly play the best with them personally.

Baal wrote: 1dennistt wrote: One other note, the cost of the balls used in tournaments pales in comparison to the cost for the venue to hold the tournament, at least if you have to rent somewhere large enough to hold the event.  This is especially true for large events, like Joola's or Butterfly team events, or the Nationals/Open. But if a manufacturer is providing additional forms of sponsorship, the least you can do is use their balls.