So in some cases you are recommending your customers equipment that you have tried for 30 minutes maximum? And people are letting you borrow their rackets for days and weeks at a time?
I understand that you are trying to poke holes in my story and what I offer people, that's fine, I'm always transparent and happy to answer anything, I'm never gonna be defensive and if you have a point, then I'll say you have a point.
As mentioned, yes, I cannot play with all the rubbers and blades I talk about for months, it's just impossible even during a lifetime, I think we can all agree to that. So yes, there is a long tail of blades and rubbers I have only tried 30 minutes on FH/BH topspin/backspin/serve/return short and long, just to try. And yes, I borrow stuff but of course not at the same time, that would be too much
Now you can say, oh my god, then it's impossible you know how they play, for that, you need months. And yes, you have a point here, but let me explain my perspective on this topic, and I'm glad you asked and
@NextLevel gave a thumbs up, I guess he wants to know too, so please participate in the discussion too, I enjoy these kind of chats as you can see
So, here's how I think of this:
- I'm an EJ all the way, I like trying stuff all the time, so aside from my own wallet being a negative thing, the good side of things is that I have a pretty good idea of how different equipment feels.
- I also am very interested in the deeper aspects of equipment. I'm a nerd in wood and is properties, and I'm also a nerd in sponge properties. I think I was able to explain pores, walls and pips in a good way in my post, and those are not easy concepts to grasp immediately.
- I also know how good technique looks like and sounds like. I cannot always do it myself, I started too late TT (due to previous sports injuries that led me to TT), but I have seen hundreds of videos on youtube of all types and styles chinese, european, japanese, indian, guys/women, etc. I've also done plenty of 1-1 coaching with people who played high level TT before (and I coach myself), but again, not good enough (yet, as I hope) to always reproduce that myself even though I try hard every day.
So these 3 things combined mean that when I try a rubber or blade for let's say 30 minutes, I have 80% of the information, pareto applies here too. Now you may say, and you will again have a point, how do you give advice with just 80% of the information in many cases?
Well, let's say you go to shop to buy stuff. They have also not tried all their blades and rubbers they have, and many they have only tried once. Even most of us here, have only tried a certain amount of combinations, so it's fair for a shop too. But when you go to a shop, they don't know how you play, they have not seen your good and bad points, they don't know your gear history and they often don't have 2-3h to go deep into all those aspects. Maybe you know shops like this, but in europe, if they give you 15 minutes of their time, that's a lot already.
I dedicate around 2-3h per person, watch their videos, dive into every detail of their technique and gear and in the end yes, I give advice, sometimes things that I have tried 30 minutes, but in the majority of cases, more than 90% of times, I only advice things I feel very sure of and i have tested on others too. And all of it for 15 or 30 euros
So I think in overall, I don't think I'm in a worse position than somebody in a shop or club to give advice. It's also not my main job (I'm a software principal product manager during my week), but I need to charge a bit to limit the amount of people who ask me for stuff, also to pay my own gear trials, which is where the money goes back to, so I can do better reviews
Please discuss! It's a good topic and I'm sure others wonder the same, I'm happy to share anything else!