Are Racquets too expensive?

The real question: ‘Is sports equipment too expensive?’ My answer is invariably YES. But hey, there’s nothing new there. When I look at a Yonex or more recently Li Ning racquet, I know at least 50% of the value is because they have the respective logos on them. Manufacturers go to great lengths and expensive to market their latest and ‘greatest’ ranges of equipment. Why? Because it works. We all get sucked to some extent of the hype and part with our hard earned cash in the hope the racquet is going to change us into a badminton god(ess). When I was still in college, I took a part-time job in a well known sports retailer; working in the football footwear section. Week after week I would see dozens of colour variations of the same boot or some ad showing how you would become Ronaldo or Messi from wearing one of their boots. The badminton world is no different. Brands purposely make lower cost versions of the top end racquets to suit all budgets. As you become familiar with the brand, you will naturally want to move up the range. And this is where my gripe comes from. To jump from the beginner range to intermediate I reckon costs around £30. To go from the intermediate to pro’s, the gap goes up even more to £50. We are talking the likes of the Arcsaber Z-slash, Li Ning N90II and Armortec 900 here, £130+ racquets. Are these racquets twice as good as racquets in the £40-60 range. I think not, but for some the best is not good enough. And manufacturers know this and there is enough of a market to justify having elite models. By now you think I’m having a moan and rant about the whole world being too expensive. As someone who has just purchased a £140 racquet, I wholeheartedly fell into the hype and knew I was. This is more of an observation than anything else. Anyone else purchased sports equipment they regret paying that much money for or thought twice afterwards? comments below please.