Industry pricing by BB weight

[Zarrin]

Evening all, long time no see ?️ - hope you're all well!

So, I'm only noticing now the price jump between .32 to .36 gram BBs, as I've never actually used above .3 myself.

Anyone know exactly why that is?

Off the cuff, I can think of three possibilities:

- Less sale and production volume of .36 + sold. So, to justify production they need to sell more (there is probably an economics term for that lol)

- At that weight they need to start incorporating a heavier core to the BB that adds more weight than the standard plastic / ABS can create? So a more complex production? (I think I'm just plain wrong here, never heard of anything like this)

- The final reason I could think of was that at .36 grams the industry considers you to be moving from common AEG weights into single shot sniper rifle territory, therefore less ammo is consumed, and a higher price is justified.

The most stark and easy to see example of this is with Geoffs, where there is very gradual incremental price rise from .2>.25>.28>.3>.32 and then a massive leap from .32>.36.

We are talking £14.29 & £17.99 for 3k .32 Standard and Precision respectively, and then a whopping £38.79 & £52.29 for .36 - not a jab at outdoortactical below, as the pricing seems to be pretty universal across the 4 shops I checked who had Geoffs and the trend does also seem to apply to other brands too.

https://www.outdoorandtactical.co.uk/?post_type=product&orderby=popularity&s=geoffs+BBs

 

[Cannonfodder]

I think you're right. Higher cost of materials, less demand and economies of scale all add to the higher prices. One other thing that probably doesn't help is the extra weight will send shipping costs up. 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

materials is a fair point, if they have to switch to a more expensive filler to jump from .32 to .36

although it's also the bridge from price per shot isn't the main consideration, to where you expect to be using less because you're getting the performance to actually hit what your aiming at.

probably both.

 

[Zarrin]

although it's also the bridge from price per shot isn't the main consideration, to where you expect to be using less because you're getting the performance to actually hit what your aiming at.

hmm So this point did occur to me too, it's no doubt true (or should be with a well selected/tuned barrel, hop and rubber) that you should be able to use your rounds a bit more efficiently. However I really find it hard to believe this is factored into the price per unit at the business level - unless again, .36 is considered the entry level into bolt actions I.e. you are buying sniper ammo as opposed to AEG ammo at this point.

 

[Tommikka]

However I really find it hard to believe this is factored into the price per unit at the business level 

It’s actually very common to factor in for pricing on the basis of “how much will the market bear”

As mentioned when pricing an item there two sets of initial costs (design, tooling and development) and the production costs (materials, energy consumed, production line staff)

These mean you have an initial cost per item (the actual cost per item plus initial outlay to recoup apportioned across an estimated amount to be produced

There are other overheads to take into account of generally running the business

If you put together those costs that need to be recouped, and then a basic percentage on top to make it worth doing then you have a starting price.

Would anyone buy it at that price? This is where you can flex up/down based on what someone might spend.

£p per shot is an indicator that the prospective buyer could be comparing in the shop

They also may be looking at the total cost of a purchase - if all are sold in the same quantity then this still reflects £p per shot.  But if you offer other quantities you can influence a little ….. x BB might cost more than y BB per shot, but a bag of 3/4 the quantity can compensate against that - pay more per BB but less per purchase 

When it comes to what ought to be a more consistent : accurate BB the customer might think differently and work out their £p per elimination, with x BB cheaper per shot but flying in circles with every BB per burst missing the target 

There is also a bit of psychology to be had as well.

Price up three BBs:

x BB is low priced 

y BB costs a bit more 

z BB is higher and looks excessively priced against x BB

Let’s say that they are all the same BB from the same factory with just a different label and price 

Hardly anyone is going to be a cheapskate with x BB, just those who have to count the pennies or plan to just pray and spray

Some will consider themselves special with fine tuned consistent RIFs that deserve the best and pay the premium of z BB

Most will stick to the middle option of y BB, they aren’t cheapskates and aren’t so flush to splash out, they will go for the one that’s inbetween 

(The Goldilocks principle)

Just by looking at the price the assumption is that one is cheaper and lesser quality, another is more premium and the middle one must be ‘just right’

This perception is that there is a reason for the price ranges, whereas in the theoretical piece it’s only for the perception

If you really do have a difference (weight and / or production quality) then the materials and the equipment can make a difference in the item cost, but it still has to stand on whether people will pay that (the market bears the price)

You could have a set quality level and and efficient process resulting in cheap costs - but price purely based on a percentage uplift to that would result in a cheap retail price - and customers could dismiss it as too cheap.

If you’re lucky enough to be in that position you can bump up the price and profit, giving you more leeway for items that end up with a tighter margin to keep within a price that buyers will be willing to pay 

 

[Rogerborg]

At that weight they need to start incorporating a heavier core to the BB that adds more weight than the standard plastic / ABS can create? So a more complex production? (I think I'm just plain wrong here, never heard of anything like this)

Pure ABS is only about 0.12g, and PLA (bio) about 0.2g, so most BBs will have some metals or ceramics in them to add mass.  As we get up to 0.4g and above, it gets harder to make the argument that we're actually slinging plastic.

 

[Zarrin]

It’s actually very common to factor in for pricing on the basis of “how much will the market bear”

I think principally this all seems pretty sound.

But, all that in my mind still does not quite sync with that sudden price to BB weight escalation, with most of the hikes between weights gaining between 20-50% in price where as that .32-.36 sees an almost 300% hike, feels devoid of business or business psychology considerations.

So, the other thing I have started observing recently is more and more people using heavy ammo in their AEGs and HPAs at the chrono, including pretty frequent declaration of .36 - piggy bank smashed lol.  The point being the market cap for heavier ammo has definitely expanded and more and more people seem to be leaving 0.2/0.23/0.25 for something a bit heftier.

I would actually love to see a survey done on what weight BB everyone in the UK is using, as the landscape has undoubtedly changed since I first started when 90% of my team mates except snipers were using 0.2. Maybe we could run that poll ? 

I remember taking my old 1.9j Well L96 (RIP) out for the first time probably in 2008 and thinking, this is the perfect opportunity to test out those new .25 gram BBs ?
 

Pure ABS is only about 0.12g, and PLA (bio) about 0.2g, so most BBs will have some metals or ceramics in them to add mass.  As we get up to 0.4g and above, it gets harder to make the argument that we're actually slinging plastic.

Okay so that's pretty interesting, tbh I was spit balling in my head about heavy cores, but if this is the case, depending on materials and potential difference in manufacturing techniques with heavier material, this actually could be a significant part of the reason for the jump ?

 

[Galvatron]

One other thing that probably doesn't help is the extra weight will send shipping costs up. 

That is true to an extent. With shipping containers, the weight is probably only a cost factor if the maximum capacity is exceeded since volume is more of a concern.

On a container ship, the difference between pallets of 0.32g and 0.36g in all their packaging will make nigh on no difference as they're not dense enough to go over the weight limit.

The weight will make a bigger difference when it comes to the supply channel stage of distribution to resellers and retailers where weight is a much bigger concern.

 

[LMKipper]

So, the other thing I have started observing recently is more and more people using heavy ammo in their AEGs and HPAs at the chrono, including pretty frequent declaration of .36 - piggy bank smashed lol.  The point being the market cap for heavier ammo has definitely expanded and more and more people seem to be leaving 0.2/0.23/0.25 for something a bit heftier.
 

I was really surprised by this when I returned to airsoft after a long break. When I first started everyone ran .2 or .25 if they were posh. The best sniper ammo was Maruzen SGMs at 0.29. Now plenty of people seem to run 0.3g+ in regular rifles. I think a large part of this is that hops have just got loads better, so they can comfortably lift heavy BBs without a huge drop in power. 

 

[mrfoxhound]

as someone who only slings .4s and up my purchase choice is because on science , 70% of the people that brag about bb weight don't understand the science and are high roller purchasers , its the expensive  must be the best, there also the same person that will shout take your hit and miss every shot.