Driver Head Only?

[SlikHands]

My apologies if this has been asked before...I'm switching shafts in my Ping 410 Plus driver and was curious if I could haggle with a local golf shop for a G425 driver head only? I know I would probably have to pay a little bit of the difference but was just curious if this would be something they could do? The adapter I bought for the new shaft is the same for 410 and 425 so it just had me thinking. Let me know your thoughts!

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, SlikHands said:

My apologies if this has been asked before...I'm switching shafts in my Ping 410 Plus driver and was curious if I could haggle with a local golf shop for a G425 driver head only? I know I would probably have to pay a little bit of the difference but was just curious if this would be something they could do? The adapter I bought for the new shaft is the same for 410 and 425 so it just had me thinking. Let me know your thoughts!

For a used one possibly; For a new one probably not.  Reason I say that is because Ping is very strict on the retail pricing model.  Now you could possibly get the retailer to buy the shaft back from you or you could sell the shaft yourself.  You could also search the marketplace for a head only.  

[hckymeyer]

Unless you have an under the table type of hook up at a store they aren't likely to sell you head only.  Most of the time you need to have a special account with an OEM in order to get components vs full clubs.  Plus even then they are usually required to build the club before selling.

FWIW a stock shaft is such a small part of the overall cost of a new driver it's really not going to change the price much anyway.  You're best bet if you really want just a head is to either buy a used head only from someone selling one or buy a whole club and try to sell the shaft it came with on your own.

[Dog Faced Pony Soldier]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

For a used one possibly; For a new one probably not.  Reason I say that is because Ping is very strict on the retail pricing model.  

It is illegal for a manufacturer to dictate what someone can sell something for... At least in the United States. That is why it's called Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price (MSRP). The only pricing rule that is legal is what price a retailer can advertise. Of course a manufacturer can turn off the tap if a dealer is being disruptive to the marketplace, but they must be careful to not dictate what price their product must be sold for. 

Edited July 13, 2021 by Dog Faced Pony Soldier

[release]

5 minutes ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

It is illegal for a manufacturer to dictate what someone can sell something for.

Truth is, there are many ways to deter the retail from not following the OEM instruction.  Not going into detail, however, if a large retail want to have the latest hot selling products from the OEM, best to follow the and stick to the guideline set by the OEM.  

OEM do not wish to turn their retail market into a component market.   Besides the bottom line, it'll certainly make the enforcing of warranty a big mess.

The only possible way to get a new driver head will be either from someone who just want the shaft ( kind of doubt it ) and selling off the head or from a Tour Van ( or somewhere the professional access to have their equipment ).

[John W]

Lots of G425 Max heads only on EBay

[John W]

Actually just looked......currently only one for sale right now. I have been watching and at times there were five or six. I am comfortable with the Tensei Blue shaft in my G410 (actually was using it in a G400 and had the new tip put on it).. I have been watching for a deal on a head to use with this shaft. 

[cnosil]

29 minutes ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

It is illegal for a manufacturer to dictate what someone can sell something for... At least in the United States. That is why it's called Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price (MSRP). The only pricing rule that is legal is what price a retailer can advertise. Of course a manufacturer can turn off the tap if a dealer is being disruptive to the marketplace, but they must be careful to not dictate what price their product must be sold for. 

Talk to an authorized Ping Retailer about that.  

[DougE]

Being a Titleist guy myself, I don't know which real-deal shafts are available off the rack in a Ping driver, but I would look for the best one they offer, in a stiff or XS (whether you play either of those flexes yourself or not), buy the driver with that one installed and then sell the shaft only on Ebay. You'll probably get nearly 100 bucks or more for the shaft since it's never been used. Besides, no reputable retailer will sell you just a head. Though, as mentioned by others, you can certainly find heads on Ebay for less than one with a shaft. But not much less.

[ChuckZ]

Agree w/ cnosil.  Contact a authorized Ping dealer.  Most authorized dealers, regardless of the brand do not have extra heads laying around for retail sale to the public.   Someone might have traded one in for another driver and you can get a good deal.  Bottom line is, it is all in who you know in the golf business in you area.  Best of luck.  

[ChiefMikeOfficer]

Most retail shops won't have this option. Custom build shops probably will, but the prices I've seen have been no different than the full stock club. 

My suggestion: Keep the stock shaft on hand for if/when you decide to switch brands or Ping switches the adapter -- at that point, put the stock shaft back in the older head when you sell or trade it, and change the adapter on your custom shaft so you can use it with the next head. If you're losing your old 410 shaft (or losing it's adapter) when making the shaft change, you could just put the new G425 shaft into the 410 when you sell it -- if you're looking to trade in the 410 for the 425, the retailer might not allow that though. 

[Rob W.]

Your best haggle position is putting the original shaft back in the 410 and trading it in for the 425.  you can try to haggle the trade in price.  Once you have the 425 put your upgraded shaft into it.    The ping alta shafts don't bring bring much on the secondary market, and the ping heads in new condition are not that common.

[No3Putts]

Interestingly I had the reverse happen - my son snapped his shaft on his 917D3 and decided to replace it with a TS2.  The head was in great shape and I offered it on Ebay and Craigslist with no legitimate offers.  I then bought a shaft/adapter and sold the reassembled club for $25 more that I had listed the original head and the cost of the new shaft.

[ChiefMikeOfficer]

1 hour ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

It is illegal for a manufacturer to dictate what someone can sell something for... At least in the United States. That is why it's called Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price (MSRP). The only pricing rule that is legal is what price a retailer can advertise. Of course a manufacturer can turn off the tap if a dealer is being disruptive to the marketplace, but they must be careful to not dictate what price their product must be sold for. 

 

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

Talk to an authorized Ping Retailer about that.  

I have an old boss that got dinged by one of the big manufacturers' reps for "selling too low" and they threatened to pull out of his pro shop (he voluntarily did that with their clubs the next year and focused on a couple specific brands). It was technically under the advertising part of the comment above -- the agreement was something like $425 MSRP but cannot display a price below $375. The drivers were not getting any attention at that lowest allowed advertised price, so he dropped it to something like $275 on the sign in the pro shop, which got him in trouble with the rep. In practice, that's a minimum price -- someone could have picked one up and offered lower, and he could have accepted that offer, but that just wasn't happening with the posted price tags (haggling didn't seem common at that course). 

This was also back in the early '00s, so very possible things have changed since then - I have not kept up with that side of the industry. 

[divotman]

Why not buy one with a different shaft than what your currently have, but still something you can live with? That way you have 2 shaft options. For example, order with a lower launch than the one you already have. It may serve you well on windy days. 

[HAC]

On 7/13/2021 at 11:29 AM, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

It is illegal for a manufacturer to dictate what someone can sell something for... At least in the United States. That is why it's called Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price (MSRP). The only pricing rule that is legal is what price a retailer can advertise. Of course a manufacturer can turn off the tap if a dealer is being disruptive to the marketplace, but they must be careful to not dictate what price their product must be sold for. 

Not anymore.  So-called resale price maintenance used to be per se illegal but now such agreements are analyzed under a rule of reason.  Opinion of the Court : Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., dba Kay's Kloset...Kay's Shoes (justice.gov)