Equipment Propaganda.

I wonder why BTY did not bother to give Primorac a TBS with Primorac handle?  They even admit that Primorac is using TBS.  Think about it now, to all youngsters who adore him, they probably ditch their PC to switch to TBS now.  More money to BTY and Timo.

ibupro wrote: "I do not expect him or any other pros to call them up and tell them anything about what they are using but if they are not using what they are listed as using i just don't think it is fair and I am not gonna buy any butterfly equipment when my rubbers wear out." I'm not going to buy any butfy equipment when my rubbers wear out either, but that is because Boost TP is better than anything butfy has. I don't know of a single world class player who is using TP, let alone one who plays a style I want to emulate, yet I think it is the best sheet available. I have always liked knowing what equipment the top players use, but I have seldom used equipment based on that. "I wonder why BTY did not bother to give Primorac a TBS with Primorac handle?" Are you suggesting that these evil marketing geniuses have missed such an obvious money-making opportunity? What kind of inept boobs would this make them in light of all the accusations being made here?

hahaha Thanks and Agreed.

Asaomi wrote: i guess that people are interested in what pros use because then, they are sure that those equipment (especially rubbers) are usable and not crappy.

it's irrelevant to the average player what a pro supposedly uses.

-pros get the best cuts of the big sheet of rubber.
-only elite national or world class players have a chance of controlling some of the harder sponges that pros use.

JimT wrote: However, people still do that - nothing original - same way as girls are buying whatever crappy dress Paris Hilton was wearing at the Oscars etc.

yep. accurate.

This response is aimed at Rich215, Stan 1551, and JimT for what they posted earlier in the thread.  I don't care to talk about the ethics of the companies that is none of my business.  What I would like to comment on is "knowing what pros use"

There were some valid points brought up by JimT and Rich earlier in the thread about using equipment that is at your level........however if you truly listen to this advise then just about everyone in the united states would be playing with a slower rubber (i.e original sriver) and a 5ply wood  blade so they would be able to control every shot on the table.

I believe that you should try to play like your favorite pro.....whether that be close to the table, defensive, power looping, etc, etc.  The best equipment to do this, would obviously be either the exact same equipment as the pro or a setup very similar.

For instance.....if I wanted to play a flatter stroked countering type game similar to Schlager I would want to use a faster blade with a rubber similar to bryce (maybe even HammondX or Almana).  However if you want to play a drive loop game, in my opinion, rubber similar to what WLQ uses would be best (ok....bryce may actually be good at this also as well as the Omega rubbers).  If I wanted to play defensively I would use a slower defensive blade with some long pips.  If I wanted to play old style block and smash I would use a 7ply with short pips.

Now to take this even further...... if you develop a stroke that is more similar to WLQ and then try to use a rubber like Hammond X or Almana (on the forehand) there will be now way you will be able to play with it without severely changing your stroke (or at least your racket angle).

Basically what I would like to point out is although we aren't as good as the pros we like, I believe there is some validity in knowing what they use.  If you start off using what they use, you can grow your game around that specific equipment (maybe by the time you get better you will be playing with it for years) ;)     (@ JimT)

Not everyone is an EJ or able to test a lot of equipment to find out what is actually best for them.  In those instances maybe buying a setup similar to a pro and emulating that pro would be a good thing.

Otherwise everyone should just buy the standard learners' setup........5 ply all wood blade and sriver.

I've caught flak from JimT for agreeing with him, it just comes with posting on the internet

I like to try out pros equipment and I am really really satisfied.

Ooooo sorry stan......... I didn't read the let's bring another angle to this discussion.....however my original post is/was not intended for what you bring up, strictly if you want to emulate a certain player/style.

ibupro wrote: "He can't take two minutes to pick up the phone and call his sponsors and say "Hi guys, I'm playing with TBS and Tenergy now. You think you can change it on your catalogs?" But BTY has to keep selling Sriver EL and Primorac Carbon to pay his endorsement fees so they both just keep lying." I don't know if you have ever had a job, but does your boss jump to comply with your requests? Do you think butfy is going to leap every time Primorac sez jump? This is not how the real world works.

I have a turtle in my bathtub and this thread is ridiculous. Advertising write ups for equipment are laughable. Equipment listing for pros carries a who cares facter of 0. If your a good enough player then you know what you need. You guys have been suckered.

ibupro wrote: BeaverMD wrote: ibupro wrote: "He can't take two minutes to pick up the phone and call his sponsors and say "Hi guys, I'm playing with TBS and Tenergy now. You think you can change it on your catalogs?" But BTY has to keep selling Sriver EL and Primorac Carbon to pay his endorsement fees so they both just keep lying." I don't know if you have ever had a job, but does your boss jump to comply with your requests? Do you think butfy is going to leap every time Primorac sez jump? This is not how the real world works.   Absolutely! When Zoran tells Butterfly "Jump", I expect Butterfly to say "How high?"  Zoran's been sponsored by Butterfly since the mid-1980's.  They made tons of money when he won the silver in doubles in the 1988 Olympics.  They made tons of money when he made the semis in the 1993 Worlds, semis in the 1994 European Championships, World Cup and many other championships.  They still make tons of money now using his name.  All Zoran has to do is say "Hi, my name's Zoran Primorac and I use Sriver and Primorac blade" and you don't think that generates a lot of money? This is a marquee player, not some junior from Maryland.  Of course, Butterfly will respond if he asks for something especially if it's something  like "Hi guys, I can't use Sriver without glue so just put on your catalogs that I use Tenergy now with TBS." Is this too much to ask to be honest to consumers? Perhaps it is you who needs to understand the real world. [QUOTE=Dagoboz]I have a turtle in my bathtub and this thread is ridiculous. Advertising write ups for equipment are laughable. Equipment listing for pros carries a who cares facter of 0. If your a good enough player then you know what you need. You guys have been suckered.

I know what i need and my equipment has nothing to do with what Zoran is using. I do not care one bit what they are using, all i care about is that they are lying to the unkowning 12 year old when they could simply keep things updated to be honest and considerate. It is bull crap to list someone as "using" something if they are not. Zoran is obviously not using what he is posted for and switching the handles is just as bad. When did making money become more important than being honest?

and Beaver you are the man!

wawaicetea123 wrote: ibupro wrote: BeaverMD wrote: ibupro wrote: "He can't take two minutes to pick up the phone and call his sponsors and say "Hi guys, I'm playing with TBS and Tenergy now. You think you can change it on your catalogs?" But BTY has to keep selling Sriver EL and Primorac Carbon to pay his endorsement fees so they both just keep lying." I don't know if you have ever had a job, but does your boss jump to comply with your requests? Do you think butfy is going to leap every time Primorac sez jump? This is not how the real world works.   Absolutely! When Zoran tells Butterfly "Jump", I expect Butterfly to say "How high?"  Zoran's been sponsored by Butterfly since the mid-1980's.  They made tons of money when he won the silver in doubles in the 1988 Olympics.  They made tons of money when he made the semis in the 1993 Worlds, semis in the 1994 European Championships, World Cup and many other championships.  They still make tons of money now using his name.  All Zoran has to do is say "Hi, my name's Zoran Primorac and I use Sriver and Primorac blade" and you don't think that generates a lot of money? This is a marquee player, not some junior from Maryland.  Of course, Butterfly will respond if he asks for something especially if it's something  like "Hi guys, I can't use Sriver without glue so just put on your catalogs that I use Tenergy now with TBS." Is this too much to ask to be honest to consumers? Perhaps it is you who needs to understand the real world. [QUOTE=Dagoboz]I have a turtle in my bathtub and this thread is ridiculous. Advertising write ups for equipment are laughable. Equipment listing for pros carries a who cares facter of 0. If your a good enough player then you know what you need. You guys have been suckered. I know what i need and my equipment has nothing to do with what Zoran is using. I do not care one bit what they are using, all i care about is that they are lying to the unkowning 12 year old when they could simply keep things updated to be honest and considerate. It is bull crap to list someone as "using" something if they are not. Zoran is obviously not using what he is posted for and switching the handles is just as bad. When did making money become more important than being honest? and Beaver you are the man!

BeaverMD wrote: Ok, our opinions are different and that's cool with me.  But let me emphasize to you that Zoran is not some store clerk at a gas station or the fry cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Butterfly is not his "boss" per se that he has to beg for a paycheck or vacation.  They are in a mutual business partnership.  Zoran is a marquee player and Butterfly wants him on their roster.  Butterfly has a responsibility to supply him with the best equipment they can and Zoran has a responsibility, as a marketing face, to give honest feedback to his sponsors.   You mentioned that Zoran is "some aging, ready to retire old man" so Butterfly won't listen to him.  Well, let me take it one step further.  How about if I mention players that are already aged, retired and old? Do you think Gergely and Jonyer still make money from Butterfly? You bet your real world they do.  And if Gergely picks up the phone and tells Butterfly   "Hi guys, you know I've been gluing since the 70's and this ban just sucks.  I can't loop through the LP guy in the seniors tournament.  So I want to use a new blade and some faster rubbers.  We need to re-negotiate about what I should endorse.  You know, maybe we can call the new blade Gergely NG (new generation) or something like that.  I can still endorse the regular Gergely.  Let's just say it's for all levels from recreational to pro but don't say I'm f---ing using that blade.  I know how you guys like money and at 115 USD per blade, I know it might be a risky proposition.  But hey, let's just be honest and we'll make more money in the long run because with this glue ban, I might win another title and the sales for Gergely NG will go through the roof."   Butterfly will have to listen.

I think there are 2 totally different things we are talking about here:

1. Manufacturers name blades/bats/rubbers after certain players. They don't claim that the players use them.

2. Manufacturers claim that the blade/rubber was developed with cooperation/by certain player and the player has been using it for a long time.

I think the concern for some people is the option #2 - when it turns out that the player in fact is using totally different setup as opposed to that being declared in the catalog/website. That is where those marketing shenanigans come into play.

I, personally, dont care either way - I dont get equipment based on that pros are using, this is how I see the issue at hand.

wawaicetea123 wrote: Exactly you are right. Nothing dishonest about naming a blade after another person its just the part about them using the blade themselves(on a tourny level more than once) so i agree with you and that is my point exactly.

varghesep wrote: wawaicetea123 wrote: Exactly you are right. Nothing dishonest about naming a blade after another person its just the part about them using the blade themselves(on a tourny level more than once) so i agree with you and that is my point exactly. � Since nobody uses my name for a blade, I made a custom blade and named it my name .

OMG...How I did not think about it prior? Silly me...
I could've told Kevin (Am Hinoki) to put my name on the blade besides his company logo. This way I would finally earn a respect from my peers... I would pretend I am a sponsored player....
Look...Dont you know who I am?...I have my name on the blade!