I'd like to discuss what others think about buying first run products. I know it's a personal preference. When a new product comes out especially in the airgun industry where you get on the waiting list to be first in line I have always signed up. Some of the products I have waited for have been the Athlon scope, FX Wildcat, Impact, Streamline, and now the Crown. I have enjoyed the anticipation of the wait and the camaraderie with others. I hear some say that they want to wait and let the first group get all the bugs worked out, and that is fine. Personally I have not experienced any of the so called first run bugs. The only risk I see is that of a slight inconvenience if you do have a problem. If you buy from a reputable company any problems will be taken care of. Buying ANYTHING comes with some risk of having a problem. Life is simply to short to give yourself a case of the drizzles worrying about it. Jus some thoughts. Sylvan
Buying firs run products
- Thread starter Kitplanenut
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sounds like you have got the chance to enjoy some fine air guns,, ,well i personally think its a two way street ..,in some cases products get consumer feed back and improve on their new creations ,,on the other side the camaraderie ,is what i like best, the anticipation the excitement of something new ,drives a lot of us,Ian Gillan said it best ,,its not the kill its the thrill of the chase,,,,PAT
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Sylvan,
Good topic! I wanted to start a thread on this as well but have been too busy lately.
There are definitely some pros and cons to buying the first run.
I think the biggest downside to owning a first run is the risk of something failing. Sometimes it's an early production fluke and sometimes it's a major issue that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer. The first owners find this stuff out the hard way.
Then there's performance and expectations. A product is always announced as the greatest thing ever created. The reality can often times be different. I'm not saying it would be bad, it's just not the "incredibly awesome" gadget it was presented as.
There's no way to try a new product out before committing to it. So, you take a risk that it might not fit you just right. Or there might be a conflict between products working together.
Of course, there's price. You'll almost always pay the most to have it first.
But...
You get to try it first. You get to explore it and learn all the secrets first. You get to boast about it. You get to introduce it. You get to answer questions and help others decide if it's a go/no go for them. (You get to pay it off first too, lol)
In the case of a product that IS as good as it's advertised to be, you get to experience the improvements, enjoy the benefits, use it in competition, and possibly even win with it!
Do the pro's outweigh the con's? Well, that's a question each of us has to answer for ourselves using whatever data we can gather to make an informed decision.
How many issues have come up with the company in the past? What kind of support could you expect if something were to go wrong? How many successes have they had with first run products? How long have they been working on it and how long have they had to work the bugs out before production?
There's so many things that go into making such a decision and I could go on and on. Being at work, I'm incredibly distracted while writing this. Just this little bit has taken almost 2 hours.
Overall, I've been very happy with my first run products.
Tom
Good topic! I wanted to start a thread on this as well but have been too busy lately.
There are definitely some pros and cons to buying the first run.
I think the biggest downside to owning a first run is the risk of something failing. Sometimes it's an early production fluke and sometimes it's a major issue that needs to be addressed by the manufacturer. The first owners find this stuff out the hard way.
Then there's performance and expectations. A product is always announced as the greatest thing ever created. The reality can often times be different. I'm not saying it would be bad, it's just not the "incredibly awesome" gadget it was presented as.
There's no way to try a new product out before committing to it. So, you take a risk that it might not fit you just right. Or there might be a conflict between products working together.
Of course, there's price. You'll almost always pay the most to have it first.
But...
You get to try it first. You get to explore it and learn all the secrets first. You get to boast about it. You get to introduce it. You get to answer questions and help others decide if it's a go/no go for them. (You get to pay it off first too, lol)
In the case of a product that IS as good as it's advertised to be, you get to experience the improvements, enjoy the benefits, use it in competition, and possibly even win with it!
Do the pro's outweigh the con's? Well, that's a question each of us has to answer for ourselves using whatever data we can gather to make an informed decision.
How many issues have come up with the company in the past? What kind of support could you expect if something were to go wrong? How many successes have they had with first run products? How long have they been working on it and how long have they had to work the bugs out before production?
There's so many things that go into making such a decision and I could go on and on. Being at work, I'm incredibly distracted while writing this. Just this little bit has taken almost 2 hours.
Overall, I've been very happy with my first run products.
Tom
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I think it 's personal preference. I want a Crown, but heard about a handful of Impact problems. All fixed by FX, but they were the typical things you might find in first run, like a flawed screw or probe or something. While I don't want to see the Crown have any problems, I know the next production run will probably have some refinements that are developed by the first run owners. They'll make comments, FX will listen, and make the minor adjustments to the production runs.
I'm typically not an early adopter as the economists say. I'm in the masses that come after the adventurous types that buy and take the risk of problems. For now, while I desperately want a Crown, I'll wait and let the other more adventurous types have bragging rights. Jealous, but patient.
Personal preference is the key here with no single answer for any of us.
I'm typically not an early adopter as the economists say. I'm in the masses that come after the adventurous types that buy and take the risk of problems. For now, while I desperately want a Crown, I'll wait and let the other more adventurous types have bragging rights. Jealous, but patient.
Personal preference is the key here with no single answer for any of us.
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I held off on the new FWB sporter, from what I've read I'm glad I did. When they have a comparable shot cycle to my Walther LGV I might still buy.
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I bought a new FX recently and decided to go with a Royale 400. Tried and True were my thoughts. Did it work out as expected...? Hmm not exactly. I'm having to replace the regulator. But from what I can see this should be relatively painless. Bottom line I would choose a tried and true platform over latest and greatest. But if I WON a Crown I'd be OK with that too!
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Hey, if you get a charge out of being in with the I gotta have it first crew I get it. But I want a improved product. Few things aggravate me more than throwing down good money for a premium product and it fails. I don't know of another industry that rushes to release a product that was not ready for release than this one. Im good with you brave folks helping the manufacturers week out the bugs in their products. Once they have completed that task Im good to go on a purchase.
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