Where's a good place to buy a bowling ball?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
fustercluck

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
Time for me to get a new bowling ball, a 16 pound fingertip ball to be exact. I have no expertise in bowling balls, perhaps the OT folk can help. I bowl like the pros do...kinda, i mean i try and curve the ball right to left.

Anyways, is there a good place online or something that has good prices? That's mainly what i'm looking for, but any advice would be appreciated...except for bad advice, that will not be appreciated.
 
P

pennylane

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2002
6,077
1
0
I got my last couple bowling balls off of ebay...

You may find this useful in finding the right ball...

Getting at the proshop may be the best option if you don't know what you need. The pros can help you find the right ball for you.
 
Drakkon

Drakkon

Diamond Member
Aug 14, 2001
8,401
1
0
The shop at the bowling alley is the best...they will actually have a person on staff usually that knows how to drill the balls to fit your finger and all that. The only other place i have ever booguht a ball was at a sporting goods shop and i ended up having to get the holes redrilled at an alley cause they didn't work out right. Its best to buy them at the alley so you can get the holes and the ball just right, right there, without having to go around too much
 
fustercluck

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
I don't wanna buy anything for the suggested retail prices...good bowling balls cost a lot. So i know where i could buy them (wow, never thought of the shop at the bowling alley or a sporting goods store, thanks), i'm asking if there's a better place to buy them.

The plan is to buy one online for cheaper and then get it drilled at the shop. The drilling cost like 40-50 bucks alone.
 
GagHalfrunt

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Step 1: Go into a pro shop at an alley and check prices. Also check their price to fit and drill a "blank" ball, one not purchased through them. The cost to drill a blank will probably be around $20 or so.

Step 2: Check out a bowling etailer like THIS and compare prices. Shipping costs for a ball are around $10.

Step 3: Figure out whether it's cheaper to buy online, ship and have it fitted/drilled by the pro shop or if it's cheaper to buy from the pro shop itself so that you won't have to pay shipping and the fitting and drilling are free.

Originally posted by: jacktackle


The plan is to buy one online for cheaper and then get it drilled at the shop. The drilling cost like 40-50 bucks alone.
Click to expand...

If you're paying $50 it's YOU who's bending over and getting drilled. A fair price is half that, tops.
 
D

dman

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
9,110
0
76
Originally posted by: Drakkon
The shop at the bowling alley is the best...they will actually have a person on staff usually that knows how to drill the balls to fit your finger and all that. The only other place i have ever booguht a ball was at a sporting goods shop and i ended up having to get the holes redrilled at an alley cause they didn't work out right. Its best to buy them at the alley so you can get the holes and the ball just right, right there, without having to go around too much
Click to expand...

Yep. Exactly. If you get the ball elsewhere (besides a bowling alley), odds are they'll fark it up if they drill it. Especially on a fingertip-grip type of configuration.

You can buy just the ball elsewhere, but then the proshop will charge like $10/hole to drill it, so, you won't save anything.

How much is a ball $150 or so for a good one these days? Get it at the local proshop and save some hassle. Not only do they have experience in getting the fit right the first time, you can also roll a few frames so they can adjust the fit further if necessary. Also, the price of drilling the ball has always been included at the alley. They might charge a little extra for the fingertip 'grips' but otherwise it's basically included in the purchase price. If not, shop around at another bowling alley I guess.



 
virtuamike

virtuamike

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2000
7,845
13
81
Like fanerman91 said, check out ballreviews.com for user feedback on the bowling ball you want.

Go to a pro shop. Check the local bowling alleys or find a pro shop in the phone book. Expect to spend $120-$200 for a new custom drilled ball.

Recommend getting either reactive or particle. No one really uses plain urethane anymore. Personally I like Brunswick and Track. I've seen Storm and Columbia balls die halfway through a season.

If you want to save some money, you could buy a used one. I've had pretty good luck, picked up a Red Alert and Danger Zone HPD for $75 each (plugged, resurfaced & drilled). Dad picked up a used Track Arsenal Angular for $65 (same deal). Call around.
 
N

nitsuj3580

Platinum Member
Jun 13, 2001
2,668
14
81
I got real lucky and was browsing Ebay for my last bowling ball. The one I wanted was almost $100 less on Ebay than what the local pro shop wanted. However, as I looked closer at the auction, it turned out that the seller of the ball on Ebay was actually the owner of the local pro shop by me! I guess he gets some extra inventory to sell on the side through Ebay at significantly less because he doesn't have to factor in overhead for running the shop, etc. So he let me buy the ball on Ebay and I picked it up locally. I had to pay tax but it was still cheaper than the potential shipping charges. So it might be a long shot but see if your local pro shops do the same thing.

For drilling, fingertips, thumb slug, you have to go to a local place and get it drilled to fit your hand. It makes a world of difference.
 
S

SVT Cobra

Lifer
Mar 29, 2005
13,264
2
0
Originally posted by: nitsuj3580
I got real lucky and was browsing Ebay for my last bowling ball. The one I wanted was almost $100 less on Ebay than what the local pro shop wanted. However, as I looked closer at the auction, it turned out that the seller of the ball on Ebay was actually the owner of the local pro shop by me! I guess he gets some extra inventory to sell on the side through Ebay at significantly less because he doesn't have to factor in overhead for running the shop, etc. So he let me buy the ball on Ebay and I picked it up locally. I had to pay tax but it was still cheaper than the potential shipping charges. So it might be a long shot but see if your local pro shops do the same thing.

For drilling, fingertips, thumb slug, you have to go to a local place and get it drilled to fit your hand. It makes a world of difference.
Click to expand...


:thumbsup:

my friend did the same saved a lot of money


what did you end up doing OP?
 
fustercluck

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
Well, since you're interested. I ended up going to a local used sports shop and found a 16 lb fingertip ball (exactly what i was looking for) for 10 bucks, and it's a great fit. My bowling average when up by 40 immediately :p. There was only two bowling balls there, so i got pretty damn lucky. It's an old ball, but works well. Probably the best 10 bucks i've ever spent :D - Before that i was shopping around at the Sports Authority, since they have pretty cheap nice looking bowling balls, and drill them for free, but i got much advice to avoid getting a ball drilled at Sports Authority. It probably would of been ok, luckily i found mine first.
 
C

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
I just went to a local pro shop and got a RotoGrip RS1 on Wed. It wasn't at retail but wasn't as cheap as online either but I didn't want to wait. ;)


I think I need to have them adjust the thumbhole a bit, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom