ESN rubber price difference

brokenball said:

Yes, but it is still just marketing and not facts that sell products.

The paddle palace rates the rubbers. I know the ratings are just opinions of a few players. I know because I have been there and asked about the ratings.

My question to all is are you influenced by the paddle palace rubber ratings?
If you had accurate ratings that weren't subjective, would you be influenced by the ratings.

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There's no such thing as accurate ratings, ratings are subjective and different for everyone.

You can have accurate physical characteristics (eg like the way TT gear labs does them), you cannot have 'accurate' or 'objective' ratings by definition. Different people like different things.

If you know exactly what specific characteristics you want more/less of in comparison to something you have. Then accurate physical characteristics would be helpful. Otherwise ratings are really only useful as a general ballpark for spin and speed.

As for marketing selling products. Duh, pretty much anything anyone buys in the developed world that isn't directly price regulated by a government is priced at a rate that some corporation believes (usually correctly) that they can get away with. Successful marketing lets them get away with higher prices. Welcome to capitalism.

No need to chatter
and just stop to cry.
'cause all those who mutter
be free to hug a Butterfly.

Why in the world would I use paddle palace rarings when I experience rubbers and blades first hand. You forgot to take the factor that a lot of people actually has tried rubbers from other people and get their feel of the products.

What baffles me is drawing parallels b/w rating and pricing...

WTF does Paddle Palace's ratings have to do with ESN's pricing, more precisely Andro's pricing and DHS's pricing?

FYI, Rasanter R47 and Gold Arc 8 are sold for the same price on Paddle Palace, US$49.95.

In China, Gold Arc 8 is sold for roughly EUR24 and Rasanater R47 for roughly EUR32.

brokenball said:

These are all good questions. The material cost for the rubbers can't be more than a few dollars. The molds cost thousands of dollars to make but then then they can make 10s of thousands of rubbers. The rubber injection molding machines cost money too but they will last a long time. I still think the real trick is the sponge and matching the sponge and topsheet to get the right spin to speed ratio.

The operators are usually not skilled so they are getting close to minimum wage but the minimum wage in Germany is going to be a lot more than the minimum wage in China if there is one.

I posted a link to a Konrad Tieffenbacher document a while back. He mentions the coefficient of restitution was about 0.6 or 0.7 and that is back in the 1990s. I wonder how much the coefficient or restitution has improved.
Remember, there is a limit.

I agree with those that say TT players are suckers for marketing and we are getting ripped off, especially when it come to the high priced rubbers.

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Development cost is a thing everybody forgets. For example the new Stiga DNA took 2 years of development. If another rubber takes less time and money to be ready, it can be sold for less.

Hysteresis said:

There's no such thing as accurate ratings, ratings are subjective and different for everyone.

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I agree if they are done by people. People aren't calibrated measuring devices.

You can have accurate physical characteristics (eg like the way TT gear labs does them), you cannot have 'accurate' or 'objective' ratings by definition. Different people like different things.

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AArggh! You bring up two different things! Don't conflate! Yes, I mean like something like the way TT gear labs does them where one measures the properties of the the rubber. People can then chose how fast, spinny or hard they prefer. In the end there is always a preference but having data would help people chose.

If you know exactly what specific characteristics you want more/less of in comparison to something you have. Then accurate physical characteristics would be helpful.

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Yes, that is why it is important to know the property of the rubber itself.

Otherwise ratings are really only useful as a general ballpark for spin and speed.

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Spin and speed can be measured pretty accurately as shown in the Tieffenbacher documuent. 25+ later I can do a much better job if motivated.

As for marketing selling products. Duh, pretty much anything anyone buys in the developed world that isn't directly price regulated by a government is priced at a rate that some corporation believes (usually correctly) that they can get away with. Successful marketing lets them get away with higher prices. Welcome to capitalism.

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I have no complaints with capitalism. No one is forcing anybody to make or buy rubbers.

BTW, I/we just bought 4 sheets of Rakza 7 of different thickness and hardness. It came to a little more that $27 a sheet using tabletennis11's by 4 for 3 feature. I think we got a good deal. If I bought the rubber locally it would be almost twice as much. Information is king.