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Disc Prices Out of Control
- Thread starter art_vandelay
- Start date
Keller
* Ace Member *
Yeah, I saw those, McBeth 4 time stamps. Who's going to buy those at that price? Certainly not Discraft fan boys, probably not Innova folks ether still pissed that Paul left.
Could be speculative investors/collectors... very similar thing happened with baseball cards in the 90's... I've got a few box sets, I'd be lucky to get back what I paid for them 30yrs ago, too many people "investing" means too many on shelves and they don't increase in value.
I dunno who's buying the claws but they are! Always a hot item on the FB market page I watch, I assume they are PM fanboys who recently switched from innova with him and suddenly realized how awesome the Buzzz is.
Keller
* Ace Member *
Well, they have 15 in stock, wonder how long they will be there.
@CD-
Eagle Member
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- Dec 12, 2020
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Culverin (OOP?)
McCray Signature Saint Pro (stamp not used anymore)
VIP Giants are special stamp versions, Tournament plastic stamps look stock (mold not on production schedule for '21)
Roc3s are Proto-star/McBeth 4x (stamps not used anymore)
So generally the stock discs are similar priced, all the ones you called out are special editions, OOP/'retired' molds, or not currently the stock stamp except the Tournament Giant. At one time they may have been. Charging extra for these type discs isn't unusual by retailers. Limited availability for people looking to replace the exact disc & stamp they just threw in the water.
I don't think dealers are getting special pricing on the LE/SE discs so seeing them above the factory store pricing isn't crazy. When utilizing discount codes/rewards points then the price difference isn't as much.
Probably a bit of cost increase due to shipping costs (for those 'free shipping' retailers) and due to the demand/scarcity where shop owners don't want to sell out immediately and leave their physical location with no stock for in person customers.
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McBeth Roc3 for under $30 sounds a lot more appealing than a lot of the new release stuff.
rusch_bag
* Ace Member *
I buy too much plastic, but I am starting to get pretty frustrated. Prices are going up everywhere and selection is going down. It has really helped me slow down my disc purchasing. I really need to sell some of my stuff, but I am too lazy for that and I might throw them at some point right?
gammaxgoblin
Eagle Member
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- Jul 15, 2016
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Another odd thing that is happening on ebay is that misprints, F2 and out are either fetching as much as non errors and in some cases are listed for double as though they are somehow rare and valuable instead of errors that dont mean much. This makes me think of other collector markets where misprints are actually a thing of value and that these people are applying or being suckered in by that type of thinking.
art_vandelay
Eagle Member
Speaking of odd things, or at least annoying. The fact that folks are buying up large lots of discs (not just sexton type discs) at retail and reselling them on eBay and Facebook with people buying the ****e out of those too. These guys buy up all the discs and then have the nads to call them rare discs. It just exacerbates the problem even though I admire the entrepreneurship of the effort.
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Yet Innova (or _____) allows customers to buy 20+ at a time...
(I'm not one of those guys)
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The crazier things get, the happier I am that I can't remember the last time I actually purchased a disc. Has to be at least a couple of years.
art_vandelay
Eagle Member
Yes but....Innova is in the business of selling frisbees, not fulfilling every dude's firebird fantasies.
art_vandelay
Eagle Member
I was like that for a long time but as soon as inventories started getting nonexistent I've been on a mission to buy at least one backup for all of my main throwers. It has not been as easy as it sounds.
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That's my point. Yes it sucks scalpers buy bulk and upsell, but that's not Innova or any companies problems. They sold their product for the price they wanted...game, set, and match. Secondary market is irrelevant to businesses.
I don't buy them so I don't have a horse in the race.
_MTL_
Flippy Flopper
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- Feb 19, 2008
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- 3,515
So much this.
It amazes me on a daily basis how many players who throw 350 - 400 max copy guys with 550 foot of power.
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One thing that I don't get is the Halo stuff.
So they are supposed to be more stable. Great. If you are out there pushing 6 bills and flipping Destroyers, it makes sense that you would want a more stable Destroyer. But why would anybody pay a premium for a more stable version of something like a Tern or a Sidewinder? Why not just buy a more stable mold?
So they are supposed to be more stable. Great. If you are out there pushing 6 bills and flipping Destroyers, it makes sense that you would want a more stable Destroyer. But why would anybody pay a premium for a more stable version of something like a Tern or a Sidewinder? Why not just buy a more stable mold?
VictorB
* Ace Member *
This is a huge issue and barrier to entry for other games that are due to 'manufactured scarcity' (whether that is intentional or due to raw material or process limits). I'm mainly referring to trading card games, but it kind of applies here too. Businesses/speculators buy up existing product that has limited availability then jack up the prices until they find that point where some people will buy while maximizing what they can charge. People walk away from those games all the time also (at least the retail purchasing once they build their decks, etc)
The disc manufacturers don't give a **** once the product is sold on their end. Which is why, for general stock releases, they only sell to retailers. They move stock and make profit, anything after that doesn't matter. They might claim that they care, but it's obvious when there's not been retail stock of their lineups of some regular production molds for well over a year (looking at you, Mantis) while 'limited edition' discs are constantly being released at higher prices, that the only thing they care about is maximizing profit due to manufacturing scarcity of their own product at the same time. Why sell a disc for $15 with a stock stamp on it when you can produce essentially the same thing with a special stamp and sell it for $25-30?
If I find a disc I really like I'll buy a couple, but I said years ago I'd never pay more than $25 for a disc, ever. To me, no disc is that special or worth that much to my game - I can always find something that is more readily available and make it work. I also have plenty of backstock of discs that I do throw a lot so I don't have to buy anything if I don't need to. The biggest problem in our sport right now is that people really believe it matters that they bag/throw a certain specific limited model and they can't play without it. If a disc (like the mantis) becomes unavailable at normal stock levels, I'm finding something else and not caring one bit about moving on.
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dehaas
* Ace Member *
Let's play devil's advocate a bit.
Everybody here has specifically cited tour series discs and Ledgestone releases as the biggest offenders.
Anybody think those are prioritized because the manufacturers are contractually obligated to produce them? Those contracts don't care about the perfect storm resulting from Covid.
Yes, limited releases make it easier for them to be taken advantage on the secondary market. Yes, it sucks when limited releases are gone within minutes.
I think y'all are giving too much evil billionaire credit to the manufacturers. They're still hippies at heart.
Everybody here has specifically cited tour series discs and Ledgestone releases as the biggest offenders.
Anybody think those are prioritized because the manufacturers are contractually obligated to produce them? Those contracts don't care about the perfect storm resulting from Covid.
Yes, limited releases make it easier for them to be taken advantage on the secondary market. Yes, it sucks when limited releases are gone within minutes.
I think y'all are giving too much evil billionaire credit to the manufacturers. They're still hippies at heart.
art_vandelay
Eagle Member
I've always accepted the fact and reason why Tour discs are more expensive. They call them fundraiser discs but whose funds are really being raised? Separate issue. The reason for starting this thread was to point out the fact that discs that are really nothing special (more pretty) are going for 28 now and up. When manufacturers and retailers see the "craziness" in the market is being driven by speculators I think it makes it easier to bump up the prices they are charging as well. Someone eventually is going to get caught holding inventory they over paid for but that will be their problem when it eventually happens.
VictorB
* Ace Member *
That's a valid point - but if you've been paying close attention, this was already becoming a problem before covid. Of course we don't know the players contractual obligations, but I think it would be safe to assume that whatever quota they need to fulfill for either tour series or limited event discs doesn't (or shouldn't, at least) impact the manufacturing process so much that they can't produce stock discs at some sustainable volume as well. I mean, didn't Discraft buy 10 new molding machines when they signed the $10M McBeth deal? There's no way that additional capacity is being taken up just by tour series and LIO discs.
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