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PostPosted: 15 Aug 2015, 01:49 
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It has been forever since I have posted here, I was a bit shocked to still see my section :)

As you may know we ditched our ITTF approved seamed ball due to the fact that seamed balls are inferior in just about every way to the seamless. This was a pretty big deal for a little manufacturer like me as the ITTF fees and the balls I had to trash exceeded 10K USD in losses. I just could not justify selling that ball that plays worse than the Gold Gambler balls.

The Gambler Seamless Ball is not "yet" ITTF approved, fact is with the USATT willing to sanction it as tournament approved, I would rather give them the money and have it go directly to the USATT programs. The logo came out a bit clunky but that will get changed in the near future, as it was a rush job since I had tournaments I sponsor and everyone is going poly, so I needed it yesterday.

We do have a special this weekend - August 14 thru August 16 the Gambler Poly 3 star seamless tournament is LESS THAN .50 CENTS PER BALL even in small quantities, so you can save money while supporting the USATT and small business. Here is that link: http://tinyurl.com/q4r76kn

We had the opportunity to meet with a major sports equipment manufacturer from China, and it was a great visit. We had a wonderful stay in Maine USA at a B&B, discussing everything from the ball contracts to expansion of the Gambler Brand distribution to keep up with increasing demands in mainland China. You can expect many new things in the upcoming months and years. If you want to see more from the trip it's on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zeropong ... 6378317486

Gambler has at least one new rubber coming on to the ITTF list in Oct. as well as four more in the development stages, as well as some other new products coming out soon!

We are a family owned business and I am proud to say my daughter is starting her third year in college majoring in chemical engineering specializing in polymers, so while I fancy myself as a backyard chemist, and have worked in every position in the rubber manufacturing process, she will be the real deal - fyi she is rocking the dean's list, no small feat in that major!

Zeropong has had a new shop for a while now, with 5000sq ft of warehouse and 1600sq ft of office. In the front we have a full court table plus a dedicated robot table. I get some players stopping by to hit the ball, yes I pick up the bat more than 2 times a year now! :P I will try and get some pics or a vid, it is a pretty sweet space, feel free to drop by if you are in SC.

I want to thank Haggisv and remind consumers to buy local when you can, the shops that support the local organizations, whether that be the USATT, TTA, sponsorship of local events, etc.. These cannot happen without equipment sponsors and money, so please support the shops that provide these if you can.

Best Regards,
Tom


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PostPosted: 17 Aug 2015, 20:52 
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How does one get the special price? The price listed is $5.95 for 6 balls.

I will be unlikely to order since I'm outside the US (in fact I'm laying off buying stuff altogether for the moment because the USD's been going up like a rocket), but some of the other people on this forum will very likely be interested. That's a very good price! Actually $5.95 for 6 balls is already a great price considering what the other incarnations of this ball go for.

Haven't tried Gambler rubbers as yet, mainly because I can't get them from local suppliers or my usual Chinese supplier.

Iskandar


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PostPosted: 17 Aug 2015, 21:37 
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I am not sure why but we had put Saturday down as the end date, I have extended it through Monday thanks for the heads up.

We have a new distributor in China and the lines of distribution are already set, once we get our new rubbers on the ITTF list and our new blade line in place we will push it forward formally. If your supplier is not in China we can supply them no problem have them drop us an E mail, we handle small orders say 1200pcs of rubber from our warehouse in the USA but for larger orders we can ship direct no worries:)

Tom


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PostPosted: 17 Aug 2015, 22:14 
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Tom,

I'm a long time customer and frequent buyer from you. Thanks for all the advice and help over the years. Some questions and 1 long-shot request:

Of the new rubbers, are there any new defensive rubbers coming out? I love reflectoid, and play it often. If I had one which, it would be that it was spinnier on pushes and serves. Will there be a new development of the existing reflectoid or another defensive inverted rubber?

Next, if you're ever taking requests, please become a US distributor for Spinlord Dornenglanz :lol: . There is no real US distributor for these pips, and FYI they are highly consumable because the durablity is a known (and expected) problem with these, but users buy anyway this knowing that the sheets expire in a few months because the performance is so high! Plus they are reasonably priced. Currently, I have to purchase these from oversees locations like Estonia...shipping is more than 1/3 the price.

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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 01:27 
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I do apologize for the lack of new products, but finally we are really moving forward. True defensive rubbers do not sell too well however I have been playing with a new rubber that I have installed some regular 1.8mm(ish) sponge under and it shows great promise. Super light mechanical rubber seems to chop and block quite well. Normally it comes with a mega cell sponge that is much more lively, but I do not have that in a 1.8 at this time to test. Right now it is on a prototyped center carbon that is ALL. The blade has that cool deep hollow sound but still has some speed, not sure if the blade will ever hit the market but it is sure fun and pretty brainless at keeping the ball in play.

On the Spinlord product, I warranty my products I carry, so a product that consistently fails within 30 days I just can't carry it:( I understand it is very effective and in no way disparaging the product.

We have a few pips in the works as well, you may like those offerings when they are ready.

A few pics of some stuff I was having a hit with this morning:


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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 05:53 
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I wonder if bring back some 729 tackspeed in thinner sponge would work. Tackspeed may not be a sexy rubber, but it is very versatile.


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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 13:59 
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Small orders are 1200 sheets!!! I've totally underestimated the sort of volume the table tennis business generates - I'd have thought the average large retailer (like Presports or Tenryu here, Paddle Palace in the States) would sell maybe 20-30 sheets a day... looks like the true amount would be an order of magnitude higher. Presports does list Gambler, but only Outlaw, and it's out of stock.

I usually get stuff from Eacheng in Tianjin, but I just noticed ttnpp in Hong Kong does have Gambler. I'll have to try a sheet of Reflectoid sometime, people talk about it a lot here, even though I'm not a chopper. I'm very curious as to what makes it a chopping rubber and how it differs from attacking rubber!

The main problem with ordering stuff from the US is shipping - the price went up several-fold after USPS eliminated surface mail some years back. Even shipping consolidators cost a lot and don't really save you that much money. Before the price went up I was buying books and DVDs off Amazon and ebay and having a friend consolidate the shipments and sending them over by surface mail.

By the way:

Image

What DOES it say on that rubber sheet??? I read "BORAT". :lol:

Iskandar


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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 21:48 
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You are totally correct on the shipping!! Don't get me started on the US post office:( My tax dollars go to fund them and they in turn raise my rates, then give huge discounts to China sellers so they can dump goods tax and duty free. It costs a China seller less to send a package to Texas than I pay:( I fancy it called: "Micro economic terrorism perpetrated by USPS" In fact if it cost a China seller the same amount to ship a package to zeropong as it does for zeropong to ship that same package to them they would be out of business tomorrow.

I don't blame customers for chasing down the best deals, but that does not mean I enjoy funding my competition's discounted shipping rates:)

Oh the rubber is called BURST not Borat but now you have me thinking...haha


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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 22:45 
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iskandar taib wrote:
I'll have to try a sheet of Reflectoid sometime, people talk about it a lot here, even though I'm not a chopper. I'm very curious as to what makes it a chopping rubber and how it differs from attacking rubber!

It's a wonderful rubber which dampens or absorbs the incoming force, but only on recieving strokes (like chopping or blocking). However, on forward moving strokes it has very little dampening, but still slowish like a classic rubber or a chinese rubber. It's tacky at first, then grippy later after the tack wears off. Spin to speed ratio is great so loops are good and the arc is great, however the actual spin is less than a normal looping rubber. So the trajectory is looks like a super spinny, tall, loop, due to the ratio, but actual topspin may not be as much. This is good and bad. On blocks it changes the pace due to dampening, which throws people. Those two characteristics are what is "decepetive" about it.
Also opens well due to the spin insensitivity. In 1.5 smashes are precise! You know those high, close to the net balls that we all smack but hit into the net or long? With this rubber I was always confident I'd land them, VERY forgiving.

Cons: lack of spin on serves and pushes. My opponents were noticably unbothered by my pushes compared to other rubbers, so you have to develop a special stroke to add spin, and with that came risk due to my having to push harder.
Some people would say they don't like that it bottoms out when blocking heavy loops, but in 1.5 you can get used to it and expect it, so it's actually advantage IMO. Chop blocks are great. And really, hitting is extremely precise and fast (due to the blade contact). I have tried all the sizes, and 1.5 is the most versitile of the bunch. I find the tack wears off faster on the black, which is strange.


Zeropong wrote:
True defensive rubbers do not sell too well however I have been playing with a new rubber that I have installed some regular 1.8mm(ish) sponge under and it shows great promise. Super light mechanical rubber seems to chop and block quite well. Normally it comes with a mega cell sponge that is much more lively, but I do not have that in a 1.8 at this time to test. Right now it is on a prototyped center carbon that is ALL. The blade has that cool deep hollow sound but still has some speed, not sure if the blade will ever hit the market but it is sure fun and pretty brainless at keeping the ball in play.


Tom,
Would you say that the BURST is similar to Reflectoid, but spinnier? Because this could be a match made in EJ heaven for me. :D

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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 23:00 
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I think BORAT would be good for antispin or LP, ie a "funny" rubber.

PS Nobody can beat the 1 dollar shipping zeropong has to their US customers!


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PostPosted: 18 Aug 2015, 23:36 
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It is not like reflectoid, however I do love a good defensive rubber and as it turns out this top sheet coupled with the soft yellow sponge I had on hand was darn good at chopping/pushing and blocking, part if it is the blade I am sure as well. Curious to see what it will do with the mega cell sponge now, but I do not happen to have it laying around to test. It may fit a modern defender type game more than the pure defensive attributes that reflectoid has.


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PostPosted: 19 Aug 2015, 01:24 
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zeropong wrote:
It is not like reflectoid, however I do love a good defensive rubber and as it turns out this top sheet coupled with the soft yellow sponge I had on hand was darn good at chopping/pushing and blocking, part if it is the blade I am sure as well. Curious to see what it will do with the mega cell sponge now, but I do not happen to have it laying around to test. It may fit a modern defender type game more than the pure defensive attributes that reflectoid has.

Thanks Tom! This thread is making me what to buy another sheet of Reflectoid...and when it comes out...the "Borat." :lol:

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PostPosted: 19 Aug 2015, 15:48 
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zeropong wrote:
You are totally correct on the shipping!! Don't get me started on the US post office:( My tax dollars go to fund them and they in turn raise my rates, then give huge discounts to China sellers so they can dump goods tax and duty free. It costs a China seller less to send a package to Texas than I pay:( I fancy it called: "Micro economic terrorism perpetrated by USPS" In fact if it cost a China seller the same amount to ship a package to zeropong as it does for zeropong to ship that same package to them they would be out of business tomorrow.


To be fair, though, USPS is supposed to be self-supporting, no tax dollars go to it. Congress mandated huge payments into a retirement fund for postal employees, so that's one reason services have gone down while prices went up (and they're still operating at a loss). This happened in 2006, can't remember exactly when they stopped offering surface mail. Shipping within the US is still reasonable, shipping outside the US, though - there's no longer a "cheap" option - though I must say the alternatives (UPS, Federal Express, etc.) are even more expensive.

China Post is reasonable, even if their "airmail" takes 3-5 weeks. I don't know how they do it, they probably leverage on volume. Packets are tracked, which is very useful - here, there is a lot of pilferage - almost anything untracked disappears. Haven't lost a single Eacheng packet yet. The interesting development these days is that national postal services (Singapore Mail, TNT - which is Netherlands Mail, even Swedish Mail!) are setting up services where they "aren't supposed to be" - order something out of Hong Kong and it's as likely to come here via TNT or Singapore mail as it is via China Mail.

Iskandar


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PostPosted: 19 Aug 2015, 21:47 
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"China Post is reasonable, even if their "airmail" takes 3-5 weeks"

It is simple, the USPS discounts the shipping FROM China giving an unfair market advantage to sellers from that country. Amazingly the handling time on a package coming from China is about 30%-40% more labor intensive than a thermal printed bar code domestic package (this means it is 30%-40% more work for the USPS to handle this parcel through customs then to its destination, this is an estimate given to me from a 30 year post master, they went on to say that this type of parcel is a money loss for the post office due to the handling time), yet it is cheaper to send many packages to Texas from Hong Kong/China than it is for me to send that same package across a few states. You are correct...technically the USPS is not paid for directly from taxes, but you bet tax payers are funding it:) http://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/

Not a bash on the USPS workforce, my carriers rule and I show it every Christmas:)


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PostPosted: 20 Aug 2015, 16:32 
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Not really sure what the breakdown of cost is when it comes to delivery but you can see that USPS local mail (even within-US Priority Mail) is a LOT cheaper than sending US mail overseas, so the cost of shipping that package overseas must be a lot higher than sending the package within the US. Similarly, once a Chinese parcel arrives in the US, the price to ship it from the (air)port to the US address should be the same as domestic mail (or less, given that the packages originate from one place rather than many, and don't have to be collected together in mail hubs first). So the overseas shipping part of China Post must be a lot cheaper than the overseas shipping part of US Mail. Given that it takes 3-5 weeks they're probably bulk-shipping packages by sea rather than by air - and there's probably Chinese government subsidies involved, as well.

Remember where I am there's no US Mail involved in the final delivery (it's our local postal service, which frankly, sucks when compared to US Mail), and Chinese shipping from China still costs a lot less than US Mail does from the US. So it can't be that (for me) US Mail is subsidizing China Post. If anyone's subsidizing them, it's the Chinese government.

What I'd like to see is US Mail reinstating surface mail and bringing costs down to overseas customers - I don't mind waiting a few weeks, I just hate having to pay more in shipping than I pay for the actual merchandise.

Iskandar


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