I don’t really understand how it could be huge in the US, as they have had a/soft for years. I know there may be a move for its use in some fields, due to insurance premiums / tripping accidents being less with gels crushing versus falling on hard bb’s.
Is it mainly young kids, going for cheapo entry level models.?
It looks like the cost of living pressures is impacting discretionary spending here, and gel ball is retracting. I dont think it’ll die in Oz, just retract to a few major players having fewer stores. Probably become an enthusiast hobby, like RC cars / Model builders etc…
USA market at the moment is mainly just low level basic blasters for backyard fun, xforce usa and tac toys offer a good deal of what we have over here, but i’m unsure of their overall popularity in the AS scene.
The plan for m4a1 in the states was to work on getting indoor cqb fields to switch to gel for the sake of safety/insurance etc, but i dont think it’s as big of an issue over there as they needed to warrant a whole market change.
Aussie retailers have been trying to tap into the usa for a few years now, but i think airsoft is just far to well established to be disrupted by what is effectively an inferior ammunition type.
Ultimately gel blasters started out as just toys for backyard fun, we took it to another level to fufill the demand for a affordable skirmish sport hobby in australia, airsoft has already met that demand for years in the US.
The “toy” aspect however is booming, we have nerf making blasters now and company’s like splatr-ball & cosmoXtoys are bringing decent gen-8 based blasters to sale at big usa retailers.
I personally think if gel-ball is going to grow in the usa it will be within the nerf market as an alternative ammo choice.
Sorry for long winded respone, just some observations made from working in geball retail the past few years
From the retailers and enthusiasts for Gelblasters that I’m speaking with in the US, it’s becoming popular simply because the blasters are cheaper to buy, including gels vs. BB’s cost, are less messy compared with BB’s, lower powered for more family fun and are legal in States where Airsoft is not.
Same with the European markets, where places Airsoft is banned, GelBlasters have yet to be regulated…… pretty much a carbon copy of how these toys proliferated in Australia until the governments changed regulations to address their legalities.
Can someone explain what’s happening with Renegade Blasters? I remember hearing they were insolvent as far back as the old forum, and their “closing down” sale has been going on for at least half a year.
I want to buy some discounted items, but I don’t want to buy anything from their online store because who knows when/if those items will turn up.
I’ve ordered the odd item recently, all arrived okay.
Their communication is as appalling as ever, from placement of the oder to receipt of it two weeks later there was zip reply to my numerous inquiries. Even sourced what I ordered from another seller only to have the Renegade item turn up in the mail later on.
Their closing down sale’s almost as laughable as TT’s EOFY sale which pretty much resets every day to 6 hours remaining.
I believe you are correct in that. Chermside has closed too I think. The good news for Ipswich and Rockhampton is the owner is now stocking blasters and parts from sources other than the original company which has a annoying “we aint sharing with them” philosophy. Trade within businesses is not all bad, especially when they seem to be struggling to get blasters and parts for so long. I have nearly four times the range in my collection! Though my stuff isn’t for sale lol.
I still get the feeling they are quietly winding up to just a warehouse and a couple of key stores, which is a big shame for a once key player in the industry.
It’s fair to say the bubble’s burst on the whole industry though. Blame COVID, negative press, rising prices, shipment delays from China… doesn’t matter. Popularity of the hobby’s dropped off a little.
The local M4A1 near me is still open but there’s not much on the walls. Chatting to the guy over the last couple of visits you get the inpression things are pretty quiet and if they’re not winding up they’re definitely consolidating. It’s hit and miss for parts, very few accessories even though the racks appear pretty well stocked with mags, tac clothing, etc.
Of course it couldn’t help having Crossfire right next door, who now have a big banner out in the carpark advertising skirmish, blaster sales, accessories and tech servicing on offer.
When they sunk their money into their first megastore on Morayfield Road, I thought they were going to be a force in the industry… pretty big indoor CQB area too… COVID put the kybosh on that though. Then they closed up and moved across the road, right next door to what turned out to be a direct competitor. First couple of weeks of Crossfire trading, M4A1 extended their hours to cash in on the hyped up crowds wanting to play the new field. Since then it’s been quiet. Not even much of a Christmas rush, apparently.
Yea probably a combination of things. I remember the moosive line up outside M4a1 Adelaide when the Wells CQB and MRT went on sale for $99. They sold out in 2 hours
Same - called them about the Wells 1911 GBB when they first released around 10am the morning of, none left in all their stores.
I’ve probably spoken about this before, but what a case study this would be to see it from the highs and the lows in a handful of years.
Yeah. I was waiting for Nick to arrive at the Browns Plains store with the shipment to pick up 1911 and Webley. He spent some time showing me the AUGs that they had just spent $$$$ to get gelball tooling done. Think they gave up after the AUGs took months longer than they were promised
They’re closing down the Archerfield store, but will be back at Archerfield with no new location announced. Then their Brisbane store will “remain closed” due to the Archerfield relocation. Now they’ve announced customer service and dispatch is “temporarily closed” as well. I’d be sweating if I’d purchase anything from them recently.
Sounds more like they cleaned out the Archerfield store in the middle of the night before the landlords could change the locks on them, sent everything to the Brisbane store and had to sort out the mess later.
Brisbane store is Archerfield. Probably just moving down the road to smaller unit near Motorfocus. Can get a showroom and warehouse unit cheap at the moment
I had ordered a couple of non urgent parts, the morning before the announcement, so can be the test dummy for how delayed they are I guess!
I do know at some point recently they switched to sendle instead of AusPost, which I wasn’t aware there was a slower and worse option to Auspost, but sendle surprised me there too. The upside is they don’t charge for shipping so really can’t complain as long as it arrives, though the first order I had after they switched to sendle took nearly as long as China!
