If anyone has tried to buy a set of new bowls lately, you will probebly been disapointed, as it seems most bowls shops have little or no stock. This is especially so in the most popular sizes, and colours. Economics tells us that supply and demand dominate our world, so maybe keeping bowls in short supply it making the price's rise substantially. Most new bowls are now £400 plus, so the second hand market is thriving too, with bowls going for silly money, even out of or near due date bowls. I was told by several shops a 20/22 week delay is now expected on new bowls.
So where does this leave us, are we at the mercy of the market, high demand and no stock, hence high prices? Well in truth yes, I think we are, bargains are few and far between, and prices will remain high until bowlers come to a decision that prices are just too high, and stop buying new. I will make one prediction however, that by 2025 we will have the £500 bowl, anyone?
I've had a good and bad experience on buying woods from the sale sites on Facebook and the likes.. First one I managed to get a set of Tiger Pro's in great condition with a stamp that was till 24 about 18 months ago for around £150 which I thought was a respectable price for 2nd hand bowls. I then tried to get a set of Drakes Pride for again was a very good price but after sending the funds the bowls never arrived.. After much chasing I did manage to get my money back.. so all in all you need to be very careful in who you're dealing with when buying 2nd hand bowls..Especially from social media forums and shops..
New, coloured bowls are expensive and a long time to wait for them. The time delay is not necessarily an issue if you are playing Lawn bowls as the next season does not start until the end of April 2024. The cost is too high at £400.00 plus, in my opinion.
I have purchased coloured bowls for myself and wife over the past year. I have managed to purchase nearly new Thomas Taylor sizes 3 and 0. I bought these on EBay and have been pleased with both sets. Cost was £250/£280.00.
If you look on the internet there are also a number of bowls dealers who advertise both new and second hand ones.
Ian
RAFA 381 Bowls
Bognor Regis
Always pay by credit card or PayPal. You are more protected that way.
Ian
We advise our new players to try the Charity shops in March (Salvation Army was particularly good) before buying new as it is so easy to spend a lot of money & then find they are not right for you.
Our Council Green also have sets to hire, & our RAFA Bowls section also have several different makes & sizes that can be borrowed.
Games, Set and Match, a sports supply shop in Chichester also have an artificial green area where bowls can be 'tried' out.....
Yes worth a look Hilly if you have one close by.
I bought a set of new woods during the summer for myself and was involved in buying a number of other sets for a school's sports association that I do some work for. My own woods, Tigers, are blue and found shopping around gave me a range of prices. At the top end they were £420 on a number of sites. I eventually got them for £390 from a local sports shop, Sixways Sport in Clevedon. There was a delay in getting them as they needed to be part of a shipment coming into the country, these shipments seem to come into the country from 4-6 months apart. I could have got black woods with little delay but the rise in the number of people wanting coloured woods seems to caused a shortage problem especially for popular sizes. The ones bought for the schools were all black and were available with little delay. One of our members recently bought a set of woods for £495 so touching £500 already. I hasten to add these were a "fancy" set!