Disc delivery issues everywhere.....

[Plastic Thunder]

So I am traveling more and playing in the southeast, every time I walk into a disc golf store of any size the issue I find empty racks. They appear to get little to no shipments. I don't really need more discs, but every week or so I will play some new course and may not have a proper disc with me that would make playing a course just a bit easier so I drop by a store and try to pick something up. Many times I find nothing on the shelves.

I was told more than once the issue was order entry at the manufacturer. It appears to be done manually and there is a back log. Not sure if this is entirely true but retailers are watching players walk out with nothing in their hands. Any of you disc shop owners finding this to be an issue?

I have seen a huge jump in the number of casual new players and I am sure that has impacted inventory but this fact has nothing to due with deliveries.

 

[jeremyhilss]

I wonder if it has something to do with the pandemic. Went to Blue Ribbon Pines about a month ago and their shelves looked like they left a lot to be desired. I've heard word of mouth rumors of many places being low inventory, and the reason they gave was - the pandemic.

 

[dehaas]

Pretty much anything outdoor activity/fitness related has been hard to get the last 6 months...

Weights, bikes, discs...between all the added demand and reduced supply things have been tight. Gotta think of it from the business perspective...doesn't make sense to have cash wrapped up in mountains of excess inventory. Lockdowns hit and output grinds to a halt but demand increases. Gonna take a while to catch back up.

 

[BillFleming]

//Not a shop owner, nor a disc golf seller//

There are more people doing what they can to get out....disc golf courses have seen a jump in use as new players get involved.
Meanwhile, the disc companies are finding it hard to get supplies to make their discs and some companies are in states where they had to shut down.
Then add to it that some disc companies depend on other disc companies to manufacture their discs. (Look at the stamp on the bottom of some non-Innova discs and you may see it was made by Innova).

All of those things are leading to a shortage of discs.

 

[lines]

I'm pretty sure the answer is: The pandemic.

 

[DiscFifty]

I've been trying to buy some light gstar terns. Can't find those anywhere...for about 2 months now.

 

[biscoe]

I run the Pro Shop at Raptor's Roost and deal with the manufacturers. Covid has brought on an enormous surge in demand coupled with all of them having been shut down for some period of time or another. I would estimate the average order sheet currently across all manufacturers has about 10% of what their normal availability would be. Some are beginning to make gains on it (Innova, Prodigy, Discmania), others not so much. One company in particular has had a very hard time adjusting their processes to fit the new normal and is a bit of a wreck to deal with currently. Several of them are starting to run additional shifts and/or have purchased more machines.

In the long term Covid is the best thing to ever happen to disc golf by a mile. In the short term the growing pains are substantial.

 

[ru4por]

I think, as a few have stated, a pandemic shut down, new players and demand and the challenges of changed production due to COVID. Add the challenges of a potentially compact tournament schedule.

I think companies are likely to cater to on-line retailers before brick and mortar. They also are busy making discs to fit their marketing strategies before many less selling molds.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I wanted to pick up a stack of 175g grid Aviars in the summer to practice. I had to go to 4 different sources to acquire a total of 6 of these discs, none in my choice of colors.

I've been dropping off lost discs at my local store and it has been a struggle to find discs that I want to buy.

 

[mojorooks]

I guess I've gotten lucky being able to find what I want to buy. It does seem like the manufacturers (innova and discraft) are focusing attention on higher value discs like Halo and Pro-series. If you are having a hard time keeping product on the shelves you may as well make the stuff that increases your bottom line.

 

[Moose33]

I know Sweden got hit hard by COVID and had a long mandatory shut down, so that probably isn't helping the trilogy brands/kastaplast/prodiscus.

Glad I stocked up on Stags, I have lost a couple and have been lucky to have backups.

 

[ShopTom.com]

It's all COVID! Roughly speaking, manufacturing halved due to mandatory shutdowns while demand doubled because people wanted out of the house. That means I have 25% of what I need. My regular customers will still by something while I get caught up and new players will buy anything that's in stock. With the holidays approaching I recommend gift cards to support your favorite dealers of disc golf and beyond.

 

[Fab Man]

I talked with the folks who run our local PIAS, and disc golf is now their second biggest category. They recommend I keep checking their Facebook page to see when orders arrive because they sell out quickly. Used racks are always mostly empty.

And I have noticed a lot of new casual players on our local courses.

 

[wims]

I know Sweden got hit hard by COVID and had a long mandatory shut down, so that probably isn't helping the trilogy brands/kastaplast/prodiscus.

Glad I stocked up on Stags, I have lost a couple and have been lucky to have backups.

My local store has a lot of Lat 64 and other brands produced by Lat. It seems like they have regularly received new shipments from them. My store has a *very* poor selection of Innova produced discs tho. No Rocs, no Teebirds, no Eagles, no Leopards. Not even a single Innova produced Discmania disc. I mean, they have a really pathetic selection of Innova discs.

 

[Discraft Dad]

The store I like to shop with has had very low inventory since about May. They had almost exclusively Innova stuff and a very small selection of Discraft. They did have some Westside, Lat64, and Prodigy as well. Alot of the racks and shelves were bare.

 

[autocrosscrx]

My store has a lot of discs, just not the Innova/Discraft stuff that I either bag or really want to try.

I've made a few impulse purchases of different brands, but I haven't had great luck with buying new molds that I haven't researched, so I try to avoid doing that.

 

[seedlings]

Kansas City Dynamic Discs store has plenty of Trilogy, Innova, decent amount of MVP/Axiom, less Discmania and sparse Discraft. Usually 20 or so used discs. Store looks pretty fulll except for the Discmani/Discraft racks.

 

[Smigles]

I have been shopping on discgolfcenter.com for 10 years now.

Checked after i saw this thread. Zero Buzzzes in premium plastic left. Zero Zones. I am in shock.

 

[Discbee]

Although COVID has hit manufacturers hard it seems like they are really lagging on their catch-up phase. Most places have been opened back up for a few months now and I would have guessed that they would have ramped up their manufacturing to catch up quicker since now is the time to really get product out there to satisfy the voracious hunger for discs from new and old players alike. Kind of a unique spot for a niche sport that has seen slow but steady growth over many years just hit with a sudden boom that was not predicted and the machines and manpower and business model just weren't there.

 

[JRW III]

The perfect storm. Huge spike in demand from new players and drop in production capability from COVID restrictions. Some manufactures are able to weather the storm better based on their set up and/or COVID restrictions in the region they are located.

Would be a great time to be coming to market with a new disc golf company.

I am glad that I am set with enough back ups to ride this storm out.