HZRDUS Smoke Yellow Small Batch - What am I missing?

[chrisHan]

Went to Club Champion yesterday and was quoted about $350 for a HZRDUS smoke yellow small batch tour stiff. I went on eBay to check availability and am finding the same shaft brand new for $110. What am I missing? How common are counterfeit shafts on eBay? I know Club Champion is expensive but not by that much for a shaft. The eBay seller has thousands of 5-start reviews. 

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, chrisHan said:

Went to Club Champion yesterday and was quoted about $350 for a HZRDUS smoke yellow small batch tour stiff. I went on eBay to check availability and am finding the same shaft brand new for $110. What am I missing? How common are counterfeit shafts on eBay? I know Club Champion is expensive but not by that much for a shaft. The eBay seller has thousands of 5-start reviews. 

CC does not buy from eBay.  They source the product and sell it to you for MSRP plus some markup for their work.  The shaft is basically a $300 shaft bought from an authorized dealer.   Read any review of club champion and a main complain is the markup for product and that people can purchase the same equipment elsewhere for less. 
 

counterfeit clubs and golf products are a large market and often you can find them on eBay.  Not saying the ones being sold by the eBay seller are counterfeit.  

[ejgaudette]

You might not be missing a thing. Club Champion is buying the shafts from the manufacturer and then selling them at something around retail, for which 350 might be a bit high but the small batch label is a bit more expensive. The Ebay seller may have gotten it to try in their driver but never used it so just recouping a bit of cost, or something of the like, it is hard to know what led them to price at 110. Shafts are such an interesting pricing study. Aftermarket might be $200 or $250 for shaft that is a stock offering in another brand. Selling a shaft you bought generally will mean a loss. I just bought a shaft for 100 that is sold aftermarket new for $150. Just one final note make sure the ones on Ebay are "small batch" as a non small batch HZRDUS Smoke Yellow new is selling for $100 at sites like Golf Works.

[RickyBobby_PR]

43 minutes ago, chrisHan said:

Went to Club Champion yesterday and was quoted about $350 for a HZRDUS smoke yellow small batch tour stiff. I went on eBay to check availability and am finding the same shaft brand new for $110. What am I missing? How common are counterfeit shafts on eBay? I know Club Champion is expensive but not by that much for a shaft. The eBay seller has thousands of 5-start reviews. 

It’s an aftermarket shaft that may or may not be a free upgrade in some oem offerings. When you buy from a retailer you will pay full price for a shaft. If buying on ebay it’s more than likely a used shaft or a pulled shaft that someone is offloading

The same goes for the px hzrdus rdx blue or black shafts

[Jimbonecrusher]

Gotta be able to pay for Spieth's fees somehow. 

If you are buying from eBay, ensure you do a lot of research to ensure you are getting a real deal and not a fake. 

[HDTVMAN]

It's called MARK UP. Where I could sell you a particular head & shaft for, let's say $550, Club Champion, for their services, will charge $750+. I've had customers bring me the Club Champion form and ask to order the club for them, but in many cases CC push shafts that the  average pro shop cannot not access. We are limited to the shafts the specific manufacturer of the head offers. We cannot buy the head separately and put in a shaft that can be purchased by thru a supplier like Club Champion does. That's where they make their profits, in addition to the fitting costs. Is one shaft that much better than another...maybe, but with an average amateur, probably not so much.

[John S]

Pay for a FITTING ONLY, get your specs and shop for clubs. That is the prudent and fair way to go. You are not taking "free services" and you are letting the free market drive you buying decision. If you pay for the fitting, get a clear definition of your specs and profile, you can use several channels to get your clubs such as -  Direct form the Mgf, Online reputable suppliers like Second Swing Golf, Dallas Golf and others.  Since when are we obligated to buy at what we perceive to be a higher than market price for anything.   Do your homework, pay for your specs and fitting and if CC is in the ballpark give them the order-  just opinion

[SMUGamer]

4 hours ago, chrisHan said:

Went to Club Champion yesterday and was quoted about $350 for a HZRDUS smoke yellow small batch tour stiff. I went on eBay to check availability and am finding the same shaft brand new for $110. What am I missing? How common are counterfeit shafts on eBay? I know Club Champion is expensive but not by that much for a shaft. The eBay seller has thousands of 5-start reviews. 

You aren't missing anything, quite the opposite. If the eBay seller has hundreds or thousands of feedbacks at 100%, then they sourced them at a much better price and are selling at the current market. You can also easily check the serial #'s with the manufacturer when you get it or prior to, if you can make out the serial from the pictures on eBay. Like I said, if the eBayer has hundreds or thousands of feedbacks at 100%, you can be assured they are legit and so is the shaft. Club Champion's clientele are the folks that no nothing about fitting themselves and are happy to pay triple the price for clubs after a "fitting". It's fine to go rent their launch monitors to get your numbers and test shaft/head combos but never smart to purchase clubs from them unless they're wiling to match prices, which I don't think they do. They work on multiples of around 3.

Edited May 13, 2021 by SMUGamer

[chrisHan]

Thanks everybody! I appreciate all of the feedback. While the fitting experience was positive and gave me a lot of insight, much better than any Golf Galaxy experience I've had, I figured there were better deals to be had than the prices I was being quoted.

 

Chris

[Golfgirl8350]

I agree with Chrishan. I've bought clubs on eBay after being fit locally. But the thing with shafts is that they can be counterfeit clones, so be sure you're getting the real deal.

[cbbuff]

I have  been fit at CC several times, but have not bought clubs there, as I have friends in the industry that can get it for much less.  As has been pointed out, they are a full retail+ end of the spectrum.  Some folks will want that, so will not.

FWIW, I told the fitters up front that I was not going to buy from them and they were very professional, and I go no attitude at all.

[EclecticTaste]

Agree with what others are saying. I just had a CC fitting on Monday, and he wanted to fit me into a Titleist TSi2 driver HEAD only for $549, PLUS $350 for a custom Oban shaft. Similar pricing for the 3 wood and irons. The hard sell for the shaft upgrades was a big turn off. I decided to get just the irons with OEM shafts & necessary lie/loft/length adjustments, and I'll buy woods on my own later.