New Level irons - price increase

[bigdriveandy]

Interestingly enough, I noticed today that New Level only sells their irons on a per club basis now. Instead of 5-PW for $770, they are $150/club which makes them $900/set. Just curious what you all make of this as a 17% price increase overnight definitely eats away a little of their value proposition in my opinion. I guess the one silver lining here is they have included more no upcharge shafts than they used to.

[Pepperturbo]

Yes, by itself, it's a large % jump, but when compared to other OEM pricing, not as much.  My Titleist 620 MB & CBs are $185-$200+ per club.

 

Smart management knows because of stronger lofts, they could sell buyers on fewer clubs.  Though I still buy 2i or 3i - PW, 5i or 6i- PW is becoming more common place for the average golfer.  Of all my golfing friends, I am the only one carrying 2i, 3i and 4i. 

 

In other words, that change increases profit margins because they're manufacturing fewer clubs as opposed to making sets.

[Jmccas]

I believe they are going to be announcing new irons soon. Maybe trying to sell remaining stock and get a slightly higher price before the new stock arrives. 

[Feelingofgreatness]

The quality is still wonderful for the price. 

[jrg75]

Great irons, I have a half set of the 902os and a NLU-1, love them.  I do think with this latest increase, they are reaching the price point where it's not as automatic, especially if not getting a premium shaft or if you were just buying heads.  Glad I have mine but if I had to do it again at current prices, I would want to legitimately compare these to other brands.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by jrg75

[SteelieD]

Definitely no longer automatic. Still a good deal but a whole lot closer in price to the big boys. 

[kthomas]

3 hours ago, Jmccas said:

I believe they are going to be announcing new irons soon. Maybe trying to sell remaining stock and get a slightly higher price before the new stock arrives. 

 

You don't offload current stock by raising prices.

 

Everything in the world is getting more expensive. No doubt golf clubs from every manufacturer will as well, if they haven't already.

 

[teedub21]

SUB70 did the same thing yesterday. I have demos coming to hit and looked at the set I was going to put together and the set had gone up by over $100 since I’d ordered the demos that I’m still waiting on. Problem I’ve got is at $1100 there’s a whole bunch of this years name brand used sets I can buy cheaper. 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Really glad I bought when I did on Black Friday 

[SE Gamer]

Sure makes Maltby even more enticing. TS1s are $449 (4-GW or 3-PW). TE Forged are $299 or $339 for the DBM model (4-GW). Not sure what their new models will be yet (TS1-IM PD, TS3 cavity back, and TS4 muscle back). But would imagine they'll still be quite bit lower than the other DTC type brands.

[goudok]

At the end of the day economics always wins.  If they are worth 900 then consumer will pay if not, they will either have to lower the price or close shop, but as good as the irons are that is a lot of money for a DTC.

A buddy of mine just started playing and got PXGs for so cheap it was borderline insane.  We looked at sub70 and a few other DTC and nothing came even close and to him it doesnt matter he just wanted something decent for a good price.  Now, unless you absolutely need New Level 900 is getting up there in price and not sure if the value prop is there.

[Minarets]

Hmm, maybe I should have bought them already.  Now, not sure I will.  With graphite shafts that’s around $1200. 
 

 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

For whatever it’s worth, the 902OS irons are worth every penny at both price points

[TreeHugger73]

11 hours ago, kthomas said:

 

You don't offload current stock by raising prices.

 

Everything in the world is getting more expensive. No doubt golf clubs from every manufacturer will as well, if they haven't already.

 

 

Maybe, they are worried that they don't have enough stock to last until their new heads are ready. It might be how they try and hold onto inventory until the new stuff is ready.

 

Being a small business owner can be terrifying. There are so many little "make or break" decisions that you need to make on your own. 

[me05501]

Modern marketing fascinates me. 

 

I noticed it first with clothing brands that seemed to be launched mainly via social media posts. Suddenly there were all these new polo shirt brands with no storefronts, no history or reputation, just a good-looking website and a persistent presence on Instagram.

 

These brands were pricing at a premium level similar to the "halo" brands that'd spent decades advertising in magazines and sponsoring fashion shows. The existence of the brands wasn't surprising to me but the expected price point definitely was. I'm thinking of brands like Stitch, Greyson, B. Draddy and Criquet (you could throw in Holderness & Bourne and a few others, but those brands are often found in pro shops so the model is a bit different).  

 

I think younger consumers want to feel seen and they want their own brands. Polo, Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger are what their grandads wore. 

 

The golf gear marketplace isn't quite ready to give newer brands the same pricing as the OEM's but it's getting closer. Putters and wedges are relatively east to upsell as "custom/bespoke" and different from the crowd...irons and woods less so at this point. But it's coming. 

 

Meanwhile I don't think the OEM's feel that threatened. In fact they seem to be happy to be pushed into ever higher price points which they can always justify with their tour presence and halo of quality and warranty support. $650 drivers...just wow. 

 

[Ger21]

17 hours ago, Jmccas said:

I believe they are going to be announcing new irons soon

Didn't they just release all their current irons last year?

[bryanwmilburn]

Yeah this is majorly disappointing. I purchased my first set of New Level irons (902) for $475 when they used to drop regular 15% off coupon codes. I understand prices have gone up, but $900 plus tax and shipping (for 5-PW) takes the value prop completely out of the picture now. Love the product and Eric has always been a great guy to deal with but this sucks. 

[ode1]

1 hour ago, bryanwmilburn said:

Yeah this is majorly disappointing. I purchased my first set of New Level irons (902) for $475 when they used to drop regular 15% off coupon codes. I understand prices have gone up, but $900 plus tax and shipping (for 5-PW) takes the value prop completely out of the picture now. Love the product and Eric has always been a great guy to deal with but this sucks. 

Your resale value is looking alright😉

[Jmccas]

16 hours ago, kthomas said:

 

You don't offload current stock by raising prices.

 

Everything in the world is getting more expensive. No doubt golf clubs from every manufacturer will as well, if they haven't already.

 

I probably could have phrased that better but basically they have limited stock and want to keep single heads for those one-off clients that just need one iron to match their set.  Might as well fetch a premium price for that.

[bryanwmilburn]

15 minutes ago, ode said:

Your resale value is looking alright😉

Much like my time dabbling in the stock market - I buy and sell at the wroooooooong time 😂

[Jmccas]

3 hours ago, Ger21 said:

Didn't they just release all their current irons last year?

[bigdriveandy]

1 hour ago, Jmccas said:

I didn't read this like they were revealing new clubs, just that they signed new tour players. And then raised the set prices to be able to afford their signings   😒

[bnperrone]

6 hours ago, me05501 said:

I think younger consumers want to feel seen and they want their own brands. Polo, Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger are what their grandads wore.

Also, by now most if not all of those brands have sold out to mass production corporations or PE firms and ripped apart (no pun intended) the basis of quality and tailoring that made them a household name in the first place. I think Brooks Brothers is at the top of that list. They make junk compared to what it used to be. 
 

Same thing happens in every industry.

[R.Patrick]

3 hours ago, bigdriveandy said:

I didn't read this like they were revealing new clubs, just that they signed new tour players. And then raised the set prices to be able to afford their signings   😒

This is exactly what I was thinking….

[mktrout]

Priced themselves right out of consideration. 

[bigdriveandy]

At least I’m not the only one that thinks this is super disappointing. I really like their offerings from hitting the demo I received, but I’m not the type of person that is ever going to pay the full retail price of the big brands for golf clubs, especially irons. Having an emerging market of irons between $450-$750 I thought was a really important and significant turning point but I guess it was only temporary.

[ChristopherMcDonald]

33 minutes ago, bigdriveandy said:

At least I’m not the only one that thinks this is super disappointing. I really like their offerings from hitting the demo I received, but I’m not the type of person that is ever going to pay the full retail price of the big brands for golf clubs, especially irons. Having an emerging market of irons between $450-$750 I thought was a really important and significant turning point but I guess it was only temporary.

Kirkland Golf Clubs like…

[bryanwmilburn]

8 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Kirkland Golf Clubs like…

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The new Kirkland irons and Maltby TS1 are certainly on my radar!

[mktrout]

I dont really tend to keep equipment around too long unless I really like it and resale value on DCT club companies is terrible.  i lost a ton of money on a set of new level irons i didnt really like.  They make good stuff, but not for the new prices.

[me05501]

6 minutes ago, mktrout said:

I dont really tend to keep equipment around too long unless I really like it and resale value on DCT club companies is terrible.  i lost a ton of money on a set of new level irons i didnt really like.  They make good stuff, but not for the new prices.

 

Any time I spend $1,000 or more I consider what my worst case scenario looks like. I've bought plenty of nice used OEM iron sets and resold them at break even or close enough. Sometimes I'm tempted by the Maltby stuff because the price is appealing, but then whatever you spend is pretty much a sunk cost. Recovery of value is non-existent.