New Level irons - price increase

[vandyfan]

I mean, this is still in their marketing copy on the website:

 

What fraction are we talking about here? 

 

Rogue ST Max OS irons are comparable, big OEM and $857 for 5-PW. So that would mean New Level's "fraction" is [810/857] .94ish. So, yes, that is "technically" a fraction of the cost. Basically a 5% discount. AWESOME. 

 

Sources:

 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

On 1/21/2023 at 6:11 AM, bigdriveandy said:

Some of these things were true about Scratch about 10 years ago, and Ryan Moore I believe was part owner of that or at least played them on tour for a bit as well. They priced themselves out of business…

Scratch didn't price themselves out of business.. See National Custom Works

[UPandDOWN4double]

I just recommended a buddy check these out. Now I need to call him back and tell him not to. 😄

[vandyfan]

7 hours ago, UPandDOWN4double said:

I just recommended a buddy check these out. Now I need to call him back and tell him not to

Or just tell him to try to get some off ebay where they are priced more appropriately. 

[Feelingofgreatness]

16 hours ago, UPandDOWN4double said:

I just recommended a buddy check these out. Now I need to call him back and tell him not to. 😄

I also had a buddy that was going to buy a set of 902s in March and now he's looking elsewhere because of the big increase.

[bryanwmilburn]

I think the competitive shift from providing high quality irons brand new at the same price or cheaper than used "big company" clubs to having to compete with the big boys also brand new clubs is going to provide a challenge for a relatively no name company like New Level. And I say "no name" in no disrespect - I just have asked most of my golfing friends if they've heard of them and they all say no. Gonna be a tough sell for most people besides those who like supporting smaller businesses. 

[ChadL]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:55 PM, bryanwmilburn said:

I can't confirm but have a feeling the owner is either no longer the owner or is taking a tremendous step back in his level of involvement on day to day operations and customer support. I used to be able to get ahold of him via IG messaging but I recently sent them a message and they took a while to get back and the person said it's no longer Eric who is responding to messages. Their social media posts have taken a completely different turn and they have a new colored logo as well. Would be a bummer if so as Eric's support and willingness to help (along with the great pricing) is what turned me on to New Level in the first place. If both of those are gone, I'm out for the foreseeable future. 

It would certainly seem Eric has really taken a back seat.  No real recent IG posts (other than the player announcements). He is usually pretty active on IG.....also, no club sale announcements seems to signal Eric is no more.  He was always running some kind of promotion.

[mgoblue83]

On 1/3/2023 at 10:39 PM, teedub21 said:

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. 

 

This is exactly right. 

 

Near mint used sets of <1 year old irons like Titleist T100 from the major OEMS are in the $800-1000 range.

 

Buying brand new DTC in the $500-600 range is a very tempting and viable cost saving alternative but when you are paying the same price I'd buy the mint Titleist T100 every time. 

[JoeFrigo]

as someone who has played 3 sets of NL's, I would not buy them at the new prices. They are very good clubs but the main reason I bought them was bc of the price point. I bought the limited edition PF1's 2 years ago for $750 and most recently had the new 623 CB's for $600ish

 

$1,000+ is the going rate for irons which im fine with but if im spending over $1000 then NL is not even on my radar anymore

[JoeFrigo]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:55 PM, bryanwmilburn said:

I can't confirm but have a feeling the owner is either no longer the owner or is taking a tremendous step back in his level of involvement on day to day operations and customer support. I used to be able to get ahold of him via IG messaging but I recently sent them a message and they took a while to get back and the person said it's no longer Eric who is responding to messages. Their social media posts have taken a completely different turn and they have a new colored logo as well. Would be a bummer if so as Eric's support and willingness to help (along with the great pricing) is what turned me on to New Level in the first place. If both of those are gone, I'm out for the foreseeable future. 

Talked to the guys at Club Champion and they did say Eric sold the company... We didnt get in to it too far so I dunno if he still has any role but he did sell

I agree Eric was very easy to get a hold of and I was able to email or DM him directly about specific builds and he always took care of me

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

Just looked up my order confirmation from Nov. 2020:

902 Forged 5-PW = $ 673.20 before tax and shipping.

No upcharge for steel shafts (DG 120), custom lengths, lie, lofts and progressive swingweight, all of which was done PERFECTLY. 

Add to that a 10% discount, which they used to offer when you left items in your cart for a while. 
Even with $ 100.- for shipping to Europe, and the added customs fees here, I came out way below $ 1k for this. 
 

Today: 902 PD 5-PW = $ 849.-

 

I realize there’s inflation and supply chain issues, combined with increased costs for sea and air freight. But this price increase is pretty steep.

 

NL was once offering BY FAR the best value in the market, IMO. The quality, looks and service was always there. But the price point was equally important. I’m not sure I would like to spend that much on an iron that I have no chance of testing or getting fitted for, at least here in the old world. 
 

Hope they’ll realize that and find a good middle ground. 
 

Customer Service has been responsive lately, I have to say. Got a quick and thorough answer.
I’m willing to think that answering every inquiry personally as the CEO will burn you out, so I totally understand that this wasn’t sustainable. His answers were concise, but he missed parts of questions and that resulted in follow-up mails. Not too economic and I always suspected that he was super busy, but couldn’t not do it himself.

Maybe EB just sold the company at a good price and enjoys life now, or is looking to start a new endeavor. Who knows. 
 

I still like New Level, it’s just gotten harder to justify buying from them. Too bad. I love my OG 902 and am in the market for something new. But I’ll look at OEM offerings now as well. 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by LukeDonaldsTiger

[PedronNiall]

Not sure how this works out when brands like Takomo who use the same model have great reviews and run $200 less for their most player-focused irons. Their more forgiving models are even more affordable for someone looking for quality on a budget. There's Sub 70 as well in the picture beating them out on pricing. Why not go with Maltby and order an entirely fit to you split bag setup still for less than NL?

 

NL isn't in stores, which means no hands-on experience before buying them. I can go hit all the OEMs that offer direct competition and don't have to deal with the headaches of handling exchanges through the mail if something's wrong, at least as an option. 

 

I like my NL wedges, but with the bump there was no reason for me to prioritize them when I could get a well-reviewed wedge from a more established OEM for the same price the day the mood struck to pick one up. 

 

It looks like a move to a less for more pricing model. Quite seriously, what premium do they now offer that justifies the price increase? 

[Feelingofgreatness]

On 2/23/2023 at 8:45 AM, JoeFrigo said:

Talked to the guys at Club Champion and they did say Eric sold the company... We didnt get in to it too far so I dunno if he still has any role but he did sell

I agree Eric was very easy to get a hold of and I was able to email or DM him directly about specific builds and he always took care of me

I kind of figured he exited stage left. 

It's a shame because the 902-OS are some of the best forged irons I've ever gamed. 

[vandyfan]

On 3/10/2023 at 11:25 PM, PedronNiall said:

Why not go with Maltby and order an entirely fit to you split bag setup still for less than NL?

 

As someone with New Levels on the long iron end of my bag I totally agree with your point. I literally got into the Maltby rabbit hole like a week after I got my New Levels and I wish I had just tried out the TS2 or TS3s instead. 

[Wettyb]

On 3/11/2023 at 12:25 AM, PedronNiall said:

Not sure how this works out when brands like Takomo who use the same model have great reviews and run $200 less for their most player-focused irons. Their more forgiving models are even more affordable for someone looking for quality on a budget. There's Sub 70 as well in the picture beating them out on pricing. Why not go with Maltby and order an entirely fit to you split bag setup still for less than NL?

 

NL isn't in stores, which means no hands-on experience before buying them. I can go hit all the OEMs that offer direct competition and don't have to deal with the headaches of handling exchanges through the mail if something's wrong, at least as an option. 

 

I like my NL wedges, but with the bump there was no reason for me to prioritize them when I could get a well-reviewed wedge from a more established OEM for the same price the day the mood struck to pick one up. 

 

It looks like a move to a less for more pricing model. Quite seriously, what premium do they now offer that justifies the price increase? 

 

to your point on pricing, I just scooped the takomo 301 CBs 4-PW for $700 with shipping and they are absolutely fire. the jpx921 forged may be coming out the bag and getting replaced by these.  highly recommend giving takomo a go

[NRJyzr]

Offering a slightly different take.  Assuming I didn't miss mention of this already, that is...

 

My guess is a portion of the price bump, maybe most, has nothing to do with pro endorsements, but about debt service.  That bill has to be paid somehow.  🤷‍♂️

 

[gioreeko]

I love my 623 CB, but with the price increase, I steer people over to Maltby clubs available from Golfworks. Best bang for the buck in golf right now.

[pdxhak]

Who is the new owner? 

[Phabs]

8 hours ago, pdxhak said:

Who is the new owner? 

Your answer is literally in this thread. 

[gioreeko]

20 hours ago, pdxhak said:

Who is the new owner? 

Looks like Ryan Moore bought it.

[bryanwmilburn]

13 hours ago, Phabs said:

Your answer is literally in this thread. 

The time it took you to write this would be the same amount of time to provide an actual answer. Come on man. 

[5 O'Clock Charlie]

Looking at the Valero pictures, looks like Chez is now playing Apex irons. That didn't last long.
 

 

[vandyfan]

New Level just sent out an email announcing 20% off for all clubs from now until Monday at midnight. So that could get a single club back down to close to where original prices were. 

[Cameron Circle T]

It’s still absurd when you think about the fact these have terrible resale value. Id put them on par with the latest Maltby stuff. But you can get head only 4-pw for Maltby ts1 IM or ts4 (blades) for about 420 bucks. Head only from NL is 787 bucks. You’ll be lucky to get 300ish for them I’d bet (you can buy head only from pro clubs on last years model for 330). You could literally throw the Maltby irons away and lose the same amount. 

[hammergolf]

Just looked at a set of 902OS. For 5-PW with recoil shafts I’m looking at $1400. Can get Mizuno 223 same spec for $1125, or Srixon ZX 5 same spec for $1168. Looks like New Level has been huffing epoxy fumes!

Edited April 14, 2023 by hammergolf

[Shilgy]

Just got an email…20% off all clubs through Monday.

[aceofclubs]

Saw the 20% off sale and got excited because I’ve been wanting to pick up a 5 iron head to match my 902 PD. 

Went to the site and it looks like you have to contact them for heads and its 25% off the full club price of $150, so like $112 for a head, i think they were $100 when I looked a couple weeks ago? Wtf? 
 

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, aceofclubs said:

Saw the 20% off sale and got excited because I’ve been wanting to pick up a 5 iron head to match my 902 PD. 

Went to the site and it looks like you have to contact them for heads and its 25% off the full club price of $150, so like $112 for a head, i think they were $100 when I looked a couple weeks ago? Wtf? 
 

They are huffing epoxy… Not sure who the new owner is, but they are priced higher than Mizuno, Srixon, and others. 

[sociojeje]

Hmm... I just checked the site and 623CB 5-p with recoil 95 (usually upcharge) is $840 with the current 20% coupon. I think the price is quite competitive??? 

[Cameron Circle T]

18 minutes ago, sociojeje said:

Hmm... I just checked the site and 623CB 5-p with recoil 95 (usually upcharge) is $840 with the current 20% coupon. I think the price is quite competitive??? 

That's not particularly competitive when you factor in that you can get current irons from major OEM that will retain some resale value and that you can easily hit in a store/at a demo day/etc.  Their big advantage used to be that you could get irons for substantially less than major oems. If they're pretty much what an OEM costs (from a reliable forum retailer), they're going to have a lot harder time competing.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Cameron Circle T