Category Archives: Business
BYOS?
Bring Your Own String!
This post is a brief explanation of why we do not, normally, string a tennis racquet with string supplied by the customer.
- The string may not be suitable for the player or racquet.
- The string is not in good condition.
- The string package is damaged so the condition of the string is unknown.
- The string reel is tangled which requires a great deal of time to untangle.
- There is normally no cost savings.
We do, however, keep client supplied string at the World Headquarters for those clients that buy it. The string is owned by the client and can be taken for off site tournament use.
The number of different strings and brands that make it impossible to keep an adequate supply of all of them without knowing they are going to be used!
Of course there are cases that are not categorized above. The client can go to the “Easy Order” tab on this site and add information to the form which clarifies the string, racquet, and condition.
We can take a look and make a decision based on that information.
The BYOS stringing cost is $30.00. This cost is subject to actual review of the string and racquet.
Racquet Quest keeps a very broad and deep selection of the best possible strings from many brands.
2020 is Coming Into Focus!
2019 came and went in a blur! In a few days it will 2020 and with it will come some exciting new tennis stuff, for sure!
I am not so good at predicting things but I do it anyway! Here are a few predictions I will make for 2020:
- Tennis racquets will become more expensive, but only slightly.
- On-line sales of tennis racquets will increase. See this previous post.
- Customer satisfaction with on-line sales will decrease.
- Small specialty tennis shops will be the source of information, then #2, and then #3.
- Players will stick with a racquet longer, making customizations as needed.
- String and stringing will become a more important component of a racquet purchase. See below!
- Tennis related injuries will continue to be a problem for the sport going forward.
No Underage Polyester, Please!
Thank you for thinking about the “long term” for all tennis players!
There are no bad strings just bad applications!
The right equipment is crucial to the long term enjoyment, and winning, of tennis!
The local representatives I deal with are committed to our “well being” even though some may feel like they are facing “extinction”!
An excellent example of what we are talking about just walked in! Two (2) new racquets so poorly strung it is shocking!
The customer is having serious arm issues with an excellent racquet, with a terrible string setup! But the string setup is probably considered by many to be the ultimate combination, that is RPM Blast in the main and VS Touch in the cross! That combination is coming out in a few minutes! No more polyester!
The quality of the stringing is what is so wrong! Had you or I received this racquet, we would have returned it at once! Why? Because it exemplifies the attitude of so many stringers that is “who cares”!
Happy New Year!
Anta Racquets?
A recent communication from Wilson Sports makes it official that Anta Sports is buying Amer Sports, the owner of Wilson Sports, for a tidy sum of $5.2 billion! This includes, I imagine, the entirety of Wilson Sports products including tennis racquets…which we care about!
Anta Sports is a Chinese company that is not new to the business, so I would expect that the great people at Wilson we deal with will not change. It is reported that Anta will operate Amer Sports independently from Anta with a separate board of directors.
You may be saying to yourself right now…”well here goes another US company to foreign ownership!” However, Wilson was acquired by Finn-Amer (a Finnish company) in 1989 I believe.
Wilson has produced some of the best selling tennis racquets of recent years so I would not expect Anta to change much, if anything!
Racquet Quest, LLC
