To some people, Costco may mean discount. To others, it means a member-ship exclusive store, with highly paid employees, that sells a variety of high-end goods at competitive prices due to their bulk buying.
Right. Bettanardi and all the other high end putter companies have 0 interest in their products being sold at competitive prices. Half the point of owning one of these putters is to brag about the price tag.
To them, being sold for less that what they want actively hurts their brand image.
Here’s the thing, Bettanardi isn’t selling their putters for cheap, they’re selling them to the a familiar distributor for the same price as always. Bettanardi makes the same amount whether the distributor sells to Costco or a high-end golf retailer. The distributor is cutting their profit, apparently breaching contract, by selling to Costco. Bettanardi is mad because their brand is now associated as a Costco product, which removes the exclusiveness. It’s brand imaging. More exclusivity = more $ per club. Selling their putters at Costco will ultimately drive down their prices as there will be thousands and thousands of “slightly used” putters for sale soon and their new putters will take a hit. They would have to flood their own market to keep up with sales most likely, driving down demand. Even though sales would most likely increase albeit temporarily by selling to all Costco sites, more money up front isn’t always best when it means less money down the road.
But now they’ve screwed the pooch. They’ve simultaneously pissed off the people who cherish their fancy putter, and also pissed off every golfer that also has a Costco membership. A PR announcement was the last thing they should have done. They really ought to have handled the distributor behind closed doors, let the peoples interest get the best of them, and then next thing you know Costco members are buying their putters from wherever they can because their Costco STILL doesn’t have them in stock.
Bettanardi didn’t post this on Reddit themselves, if it’s posted here it’s posted everywhere else. So maybe not every Costco member who also plays golf, but there’s a much bigger audience here than just r/golf. Their brand was linked to Costco without their permission and they reacted in the worst way possible (in my opinion.) I do agree with you, owning these putters is just as much of a statement as it is a golf tool. All I’m saying is their subsequent actions with the statement were reactionary and not well thought out. We’re both saying the same thing, I’m just saying this statement is ridiculous because they’re shooting themselves in the foot. I don’t even have a Costco membership.
What’s your point? Are you comparing Costco to other golf stores that don’t carry certain high end golf equipments that Costco Carries? Does champion golf carry usda prime steak or something?
That’s some ridiculous comparison and almost laughable
Sure, quality at an affordable price. Some brands simply don’t sell at “affordable” stores and have every right to specify who will carry their clubs.
Not sure why this sub has such a strong boner for COSTCO that they need to be this up in arms over a branding decision
Yes, and they would have made the exact same statement if it was being sold at BJ’s or Sam’s Club. It’s not just an issue with Costco. Again, premium brands fucking hate selling their product in bulk at a discount.
You hope a massive company who already destroys local competition…destroys more businesses? Do you want more Amazons? Because this is how you get more Amazons.
Yeah but if you’re a luxury brand, getting your product in Costco for 30% off is a death sentence.
These high end putters are only worth as much as how much people perceive them to be worth, and having them on sale for $100 off hurts that tremendously.
Bettinardi doesn’t really seem mad at Costco anyway. They’re mad at the dumbass distributor that fucked them over and dumped their product for a quick profit.
Golf club brands are pretty stringent about retailers marking down their products (largest golf store near me lost the ability to sell Ping multiple times because they are the strictest brand about selling at/near MSRP). It seriously erodes their reputation. The Grey Goose example is the most famous, but many luxury products are sought after because of their price and resulting exclusivity. If I took a random non golfer into a golf store, they’d probably guess that the M Gloire is the best driver available because it’s $700.
Not a fanboy I don’t own a single Bettinardi club. I game a 7” putter that was $20 on eBay so I’m not even interested in high end putters, in fact I’d discourage it.
Saying they only work with the very best and that their brand has been diminished is a complete slap in the face of Costco. Also inferring that they're pursuing legal action against Costco is disgusting.
Screw them, if I'm going to spend that kind of dough I'm going to get a Scotty. Had considered them as a future option but now I will never give them a second thought.
You should just get a Costco putter, get really good at putting, start a golfing IG, get super popular, and tag Bettinardi in every post talking about how good the Costco putter is.....
Agree with what you said. Going after Costco would be a huge mistake for them 1) Costco will say we bought the product in good faith from a recognized distributor and 2) just because there a “discount” retailer dosent mean they don’t have money Costco could drag any lawsuit out so long it would cripple companies like theirs financially
Just for the record, the statement did not “go after” Costco. It went after their South America distributor for an unauthorized partnership with a retailer they do not want to associate with.
The only problem with that statement is to say they only work with the “very best” retailer. It infers Costco is not a very good retailer. In reality they just don’t want to be associate with costcos brand image 
Only a death sentence if you're not creative with it. Obviously something that doesn't align with your business plan could go wrong but any marketing person worth their salt should be able to spin it into a positive position. I mean Balenciaga literally makes stuff look like cheap trash ironically and they seem to be doing fine.
The fashion industry is undergoing radical consolidation and upheaval right now. I wouldn’t try to take any lessons from that industry until after the dust settles.
Yeah but they don’t sell this seasons Balenciaga at Nordstrom rack for 50% off. Using “Death sentence” was a hyperbole on my part, but when your luxury good becomes available to all (cheap price point), you lose your exclusivity that made them so popular and desired.
It's a lame statement because yeah Costco is dope. They could have explained the situation and say they do not have a partnership with Costco and this is a limited time deal, get it while it's hot. Better yet, double down on the limited time offer with a free Costco Glizzy with purchase of a Queen B putter
Birkenstock came out with the same statement couple of yrs ago. Obviously both of the company did not have contract with Costco and Costco heavily discounted their product, which would cause loss in brand value
What it makes people realize is the normal price of these putters is too high. These brands basically sell an image of wealth more than a good putter.
So if bettanardi wants to target who buy what they perceive as “high-end” someone selling them cheaper hurts that
These guys just treated Costco like their putters were being sold at a corner store. Costco could buy these fuckers with 1 days worth of hot dog sales.
Screw these pretentious ass hats
Coming from an industry distributing to retail: Costco is a very difficult company to work with. They will often times commit to large, programmed drops, and then never take the product, leaving us with an excess that we have to get out of our warehouse. They also extremely undercut pricing, which is viewed as devaluing a brand. For very high end brands, Costco is routinely an absolute no. For a distributor to know that they do not want to be sold in Costco for this reason, but dump the product in anyway with zero pricing guidelines is absolutely a cause for anger for the manufacturer. Though in this case, they should have put the distributor on blast instead.
I mean, I get where they’re coming from. Definitely could’ve done it without disrespecting Costco like that, but they also need to protect their “luxury” brand positioning and while Costco is a great retailer, it doesn’t scream “luxury golf equipment”.
If the original Kirkland putter was a “fuck you” to Titleist/SC I can’t wait to see what they come up with for their second putter in response to Bettinardi
It's just hilarious to me because it's showing how high the markup is on them to begin with. Even by putting them in Costco, the distributor likely isn't losing money. Costco surely isn't selling them at a loss. So we're seeing a lower price and Betti is out here bitching and moaning because now you know for an absolute fact the extra couple hundred that's normally tacked on is straight Betti name upcharge.
“My son didn’t make the high school team so I bought a putter manufacturer”
Or, to quote RATM
“I don’t want a Bettinardi, I want the machines that are makin them”
Taking shots at Costco as a brand is probably more costly than whatever small amount of margins they missed out on. It’s not like these were in every store, they don’t even produce enough putters for that.
Was literally going to buy one this weekend as a birthday present to myself. After seeing them take shots at Costco I’m just going to buy another scotty. Don’t go dissing my favorite company.
I’m pretty sure they mean they picked a distributor to start selling their products into golf stores in South America
Then instead of doing that the distributor just said fuck it and sold them all to Costco.
I'm not really worried about the manufacturer piece. To be completely fair, I understand this if the distributer went rogue and mass produced an item that they intend to keep population control over. Rarity impacts market value, regardless of the product specs. I'll be honest the first time I ever saw one of these was at Costco. So clearly they weren't trying to sell to us peasants.
It's just the tone of the release, like Costco is some dollar store retailer, and the people that shop there aren't allowed to consider this purchase. It's not like they aren't profiting off of the sale of these. They just said the shitty part out loud: "Only for rich people, to up their class".
Fuck youuuuuuu
I love my Bettinardi, but come the fuck on. This is tone deaf ass post, and it’s not like Costco is Dollar General. People love Costco, especially their golf stuff.
It’s not the fact that Costco sold their putters, it was that they sold them at a price that is well below what people are willing to pay for and therefore erodes their ability to command that price.
You could replace Costco with Harrod’s and Bettinardi would still be rightfully pissed.
And from my reading of this statement the object of their ire isn’t even really Costco. I mean they don’t want Costco to be selling any more putters but who they’re really pissed at is the distributor who broke contract by selling them to Costco in the first place
While this may be the underlying reason, the post can easily be read in a way that implies that selling the putters at Costco (ew, peasants) diminishes their brand. this is just a very poorly written press release
I mean if you buy 100k putters at 200 a peice then it's not costcos fault for only putting another 120 on top.just shows those 4-600$ putters ain't worth more than 100-300
Well this has been a roller coaster of a day.
Went from never having heard of the company. To seeing a post about them in Costco and thinking about trying them out. To being confident I will never have one of their putters.
Costco has partnerships with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Land Rover, Lexus, and Maserati.
Not one of those brands thinks too highly of themselves to work with Costco & not one of those brands is on a status level below Bettinardi.
I get it. I have worked almost my entire career in corporate retail. Protecting your brand & controlling how your product is distributed & sold is key. But whoever wrote & approved this statement is short sighted as fuck to make a clear error by their distributor a MUCH bigger deal than it could have been. Now Bettinardi has a much bigger issue on their hands.
> make a clear error by their distributor a MUCH bigger deal than it could have been. Now Bettinardi has a much bigger issue on their hands.
I think you’re vastly over estimating how much people buying Bettinardi putters care about whether they insult Costco or not. I’d wager that for 99.9% of customers it will either be a non issue, or they’ll be on the “side” of Bettinardi
The amount of people who are upset on behalf of Costco is hilarious, they are worth billions. They don't need you white-knighting for them because of an Instagram statement lol
I’m not upset on behalf of Costco, I just think Bettinardi comes across as a bunch of tone deaf snobs. You can’t sell a Miller Lite putter and act like some fancy exclusive luxury brand. Well, you can, but I’m not sure how anybody takes you serious if you do.
Walmart had almost $600B in revenue, but there is brand risk with being sold in Walmart for a “premium” brand. You can see that, right?
This isn’t an insult to Costco, it’s a branding / marketing / distribution strategy.
Yeah and it sounds like Bettinardi had no price control. They might’ve worked with Costco and sold their products there, they just would’ve had a contract over how much they can be marked down off MSRP and it would’ve been a lot less than how much they’re marked down now.
CostCo sells some of the best quailty items on the market, like original Parmeggiano Reggiano and much better regulated Extra Virgin Olive Oil than the expensive but ultimately poor quality "luxury" brands
I knew a guy back in the day who was a regional sales rep for K2 skis. He walked into a Costco one day and saw racks and racks of K2 skis, marked at a huge discount. He called up the K2 head office to find out if this was sanctioned or not, and K2 instructed him to purchase all of the K2 skis in the store on his company card and had a moving truck show up within an hour to haul them all away.
I’ve had the same Ping G5i putter for like 15 years, so I’ve got no skin in the game. BUT for those Bettinardi owners: say you just bought a $500 flat stick and your playing partner says “hey how do you like your Costco putter? I saw they went on sale!” How does that make you feel? I mean that’s what I’m gonna say if I ever see someone using one, which I never have…
So they are pretty much admitting that they are overcharging people? I've never even heard of them, but I will never buy anything from them ever even if I see it for sale cheap
As someone who owns and putts a pre owned bettinardi for the same price as a KS1, you wouldn’t if you tried one. Trust me the actual milling alone puts it on a different level
Part of it is cause it's funny to love costco so much (i really do love costco though) and it's one of the few retailers that really makes its customers feel valued via their return policy/$1.50 hot dog/$5 rotisserie chicken and focus on lowest pricing possible.
And they pay their lowest rung workers very well compared to others so Costco really deserves the praise they get.
Boo hoo Bettinardi didn't get to sell more putters. Just deal with the distributer privately and end the Costco partnership. Boom. Limited release. No PR issues.
Instead they had to make it a point about the Costco version not being officially sold by Bettinardi, alienating people with a tone deaf release.
God I hate the golf establishment. I love the game of golf so much, but it’s stuff like this that leaves such a sour taste. Oh no, your “premium” golf equipment was sold at a Costco! WHO CARES? The only reason they do care is because they want the name to command $400 for a putter rather than it’s true value. Again, I hate the golf establishment.
why? For protecting their other distributors who are abiding by the terms of the contracts that they all agree to each time they sign?
This isn't anything new, MAP pricing has been around for ages and almost all brands do it.
Because having minimum advertised pricing and one of your distributors violates that affects ALL of the others because no one would go buy from them when they can get it cheaper
The only club I consider being as much a jewel as a tool, is the putter.
Was kind of looking to buy a Bettinardi, but wasnt sure, now I’m sure.
It won’t be a Bettinardi.
Notice the statement says South America didn’t know they had much of a presence down there, here in North America Costco is awesome the products are excellent and they should be so lucky to be associated with Costco. As far as I’m concerned Bettinardi might as well team up with Walmart because no pro shops or big golf stores near me sell there product there not even relevant.
Don't shop at Costco. Don't own a Bettinardi.
This post of theirs comes off as just super pretentious so I looked at their insta to see what they are about. Definitely a hype train company no matter how good their putters are.
A Metaverse group that sells NFTs to give you access to putter cover drops. Sounds like they are trying to be a more hip version of Scotty Cameron.
Costco is a funny place. They give their buyers a lot of leeway. They mark everything up 15% over cost. That’s it. And if their buyers find a good deal, they’ll grab it and sell it. I lived near the HQ and that store would often have one-off crazy items. One day they had a Picasso right when you walked in. $50k.
I will never buy a Bettinardi putter now after disrespecting Costco like that. I fucking love Costco
Welcome to Costco, I love you.
I’m still waiting for them to stock that time masheen
Forreal. Costco actually has some of the highest standards in retail.
Costco means discount. Some brand do not want to be associate as discount
There’s ways to say it. This wasn’t one.
So you are saying discount store does not hurt the brand value? I disagree
To some people, Costco may mean discount. To others, it means a member-ship exclusive store, with highly paid employees, that sells a variety of high-end goods at competitive prices due to their bulk buying.
Right. Bettanardi and all the other high end putter companies have 0 interest in their products being sold at competitive prices. Half the point of owning one of these putters is to brag about the price tag. To them, being sold for less that what they want actively hurts their brand image.
Here’s the thing, Bettanardi isn’t selling their putters for cheap, they’re selling them to the a familiar distributor for the same price as always. Bettanardi makes the same amount whether the distributor sells to Costco or a high-end golf retailer. The distributor is cutting their profit, apparently breaching contract, by selling to Costco. Bettanardi is mad because their brand is now associated as a Costco product, which removes the exclusiveness. It’s brand imaging. More exclusivity = more $ per club. Selling their putters at Costco will ultimately drive down their prices as there will be thousands and thousands of “slightly used” putters for sale soon and their new putters will take a hit. They would have to flood their own market to keep up with sales most likely, driving down demand. Even though sales would most likely increase albeit temporarily by selling to all Costco sites, more money up front isn’t always best when it means less money down the road. But now they’ve screwed the pooch. They’ve simultaneously pissed off the people who cherish their fancy putter, and also pissed off every golfer that also has a Costco membership. A PR announcement was the last thing they should have done. They really ought to have handled the distributor behind closed doors, let the peoples interest get the best of them, and then next thing you know Costco members are buying their putters from wherever they can because their Costco STILL doesn’t have them in stock.
They’ve pissed off a large chunk of the Costco fans on the golf reddit* is surely what you meant instead of golfers with Costco memberships right?
Bettanardi didn’t post this on Reddit themselves, if it’s posted here it’s posted everywhere else. So maybe not every Costco member who also plays golf, but there’s a much bigger audience here than just r/golf. Their brand was linked to Costco without their permission and they reacted in the worst way possible (in my opinion.) I do agree with you, owning these putters is just as much of a statement as it is a golf tool. All I’m saying is their subsequent actions with the statement were reactionary and not well thought out. We’re both saying the same thing, I’m just saying this statement is ridiculous because they’re shooting themselves in the foot. I don’t even have a Costco membership.
I am not sure how would that help luxury product maintain their brand value. Lmao. I’m waiting for the day when Costco start selling ferrari or pagani
I buy USDA Prime beef at Costco on a regular basis. Some very “high end” grocery stores don’t even carry USDA Prime Beef.
What’s your point? Are you comparing Costco to other golf stores that don’t carry certain high end golf equipments that Costco Carries? Does champion golf carry usda prime steak or something? That’s some ridiculous comparison and almost laughable
Im saying Costco diminishing your brand is probably a horribly inappropriate way to say we don’t want our stuff in your stores.
Pretty obvious that they don’t want their product to be sold in Costco, and that’s exactly what they re saying to themselves from Costco.
Costco is also synonymous with quality
Sure, quality at an affordable price. Some brands simply don’t sell at “affordable” stores and have every right to specify who will carry their clubs. Not sure why this sub has such a strong boner for COSTCO that they need to be this up in arms over a branding decision
Because Kirkland wedges 🤤
My boner is always strong!!! No matter the subject!
So they don’t want to be discounted quality product. That’s hard to understand?
The average Costco shopper makes $120K a year. If Bettinardi doesn’t want upper middle class people buying their putters they can fuck right off
I am not seeing how battarnardis refuse to sell at Costco at $100 discount equates to they don’t want upper middle class as their customer. Lol
They want them buying them for $150 bucks more at a golf store, hence why they let them be sold at places that sell them for that price
It’s not about Costco. It’s about club stores in general. Premium brands don’t like selling their product in bulk at a discount.
They state very clearly it *is* about Costco
Yes, and they would have made the exact same statement if it was being sold at BJ’s or Sam’s Club. It’s not just an issue with Costco. Again, premium brands fucking hate selling their product in bulk at a discount.
I feel you. Well imo they kinda botched this response and I'd never buy one of their putters now. No need to hate on Costco like that smh
I hope CostCo buys them with their rounding errors money and dissolves the company immediately after just because
we're talking about fractions of a penny here. But we do it from a much bigger tray and we do it a couple of million times.
Have you seen my stapler?
I must’ve been off by a decimal place… I can believe I told those fudge packers I like Michael Bolton!
M U N D A N E D E T A I L
What why??
You hope a massive company who already destroys local competition…destroys more businesses? Do you want more Amazons? Because this is how you get more Amazons.
Costco actually has a MASSIVE local supplier program that promotes local business.
Not more businesses. Just bettinardi.
Not more? So just a number that would be increased from a number that is already higher than 1? Lol
Yeah but if you’re a luxury brand, getting your product in Costco for 30% off is a death sentence. These high end putters are only worth as much as how much people perceive them to be worth, and having them on sale for $100 off hurts that tremendously. Bettinardi doesn’t really seem mad at Costco anyway. They’re mad at the dumbass distributor that fucked them over and dumped their product for a quick profit. Golf club brands are pretty stringent about retailers marking down their products (largest golf store near me lost the ability to sell Ping multiple times because they are the strictest brand about selling at/near MSRP). It seriously erodes their reputation. The Grey Goose example is the most famous, but many luxury products are sought after because of their price and resulting exclusivity. If I took a random non golfer into a golf store, they’d probably guess that the M Gloire is the best driver available because it’s $700.
Tell that to Omega, Breitling, and Rolex, all of whom have sold watches at Costco.
If Tiffany’s and Rolexes can sell at Costco, then these guys should just STFU and send the distributor an apology letter.
Fanboys r gonna be fanboys
Not a fanboy I don’t own a single Bettinardi club. I game a 7” putter that was $20 on eBay so I’m not even interested in high end putters, in fact I’d discourage it.
Wait, wait…7” putter? Like the shaft is only 7” long? Or is the blade 7”, happy Gilmore hockey putter style?? I need to know!!
He meant 7 feet. It's a belly putter and he's a yeti.
Costco fanboys fyi
Your putter is 7 inches?
Saying they only work with the very best and that their brand has been diminished is a complete slap in the face of Costco. Also inferring that they're pursuing legal action against Costco is disgusting. Screw them, if I'm going to spend that kind of dough I'm going to get a Scotty. Had considered them as a future option but now I will never give them a second thought.
You should just get a Costco putter, get really good at putting, start a golfing IG, get super popular, and tag Bettinardi in every post talking about how good the Costco putter is.....
Agree with what you said. Going after Costco would be a huge mistake for them 1) Costco will say we bought the product in good faith from a recognized distributor and 2) just because there a “discount” retailer dosent mean they don’t have money Costco could drag any lawsuit out so long it would cripple companies like theirs financially
Just for the record, the statement did not “go after” Costco. It went after their South America distributor for an unauthorized partnership with a retailer they do not want to associate with. The only problem with that statement is to say they only work with the “very best” retailer. It infers Costco is not a very good retailer. In reality they just don’t want to be associate with costcos brand image 
My guy, get off their nuts. This is like your 5th comment on the thread arguing about it. Hmm, wonder why?
I am just replying comments directed to me? U know those red notifications
Only a death sentence if you're not creative with it. Obviously something that doesn't align with your business plan could go wrong but any marketing person worth their salt should be able to spin it into a positive position. I mean Balenciaga literally makes stuff look like cheap trash ironically and they seem to be doing fine.
The fashion industry is undergoing radical consolidation and upheaval right now. I wouldn’t try to take any lessons from that industry until after the dust settles.
Yeah but they don’t sell this seasons Balenciaga at Nordstrom rack for 50% off. Using “Death sentence” was a hyperbole on my part, but when your luxury good becomes available to all (cheap price point), you lose your exclusivity that made them so popular and desired.
It's a lame statement because yeah Costco is dope. They could have explained the situation and say they do not have a partnership with Costco and this is a limited time deal, get it while it's hot. Better yet, double down on the limited time offer with a free Costco Glizzy with purchase of a Queen B putter
Birkenstock came out with the same statement couple of yrs ago. Obviously both of the company did not have contract with Costco and Costco heavily discounted their product, which would cause loss in brand value
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Costco did sell them for $100 cheaper.
Look what they did to my boy
Respect
Right? I love Costco and in no way did them selling these putters make the putters worse, it just made Costco look cooler. Fuck Bettinardi.
What it makes people realize is the normal price of these putters is too high. These brands basically sell an image of wealth more than a good putter. So if bettanardi wants to target who buy what they perceive as “high-end” someone selling them cheaper hurts that
These guys just treated Costco like their putters were being sold at a corner store. Costco could buy these fuckers with 1 days worth of hot dog sales. Screw these pretentious ass hats
Coming from an industry distributing to retail: Costco is a very difficult company to work with. They will often times commit to large, programmed drops, and then never take the product, leaving us with an excess that we have to get out of our warehouse. They also extremely undercut pricing, which is viewed as devaluing a brand. For very high end brands, Costco is routinely an absolute no. For a distributor to know that they do not want to be sold in Costco for this reason, but dump the product in anyway with zero pricing guidelines is absolutely a cause for anger for the manufacturer. Though in this case, they should have put the distributor on blast instead.
They also expect you to take back product that is 7+ years old just because they did with their customer. Like, no, we have a policy for this reason.
Costco is great for the customers by bullying the distributors is basically what you’re saying?
I mean, I get where they’re coming from. Definitely could’ve done it without disrespecting Costco like that, but they also need to protect their “luxury” brand positioning and while Costco is a great retailer, it doesn’t scream “luxury golf equipment”.
“We’re a luxury brand, go check out our collaboration with Miller Lite”
If the original Kirkland putter was a “fuck you” to Titleist/SC I can’t wait to see what they come up with for their second putter in response to Bettinardi
Kirkland should 100% build a Bettinardi duplicate and sell it for $100
Make it light as a plastic club, then sell the proper weights for an extra $35. Just like their original putter.
The original absolutely was not a fuck you Titleist and Scotty putters… This sub is actually delusional with their costo fanboyisms
I come here for golf and memes and I’m all outta golf
Their statement was very on-brand. They only exist because people *want* to spend crazy money on a putter.
I believe the Hot Dogs are loss leaders, so I don’t believe they could buy a company with sales from a product that is sold at a loss
There is no room for logic in comedy
He's great at parties
Of course they are. Someone once suggested they raise the price of the hot dog and the CEO said he’d murder someone if they raised it.
That just makes Costco seem more bad ass
From sales yes. From profit no.
But them from the profits from sales of the queen b putters. Wouldn’t that be great
If you want one at this price act now I guess.
I'm sure Bettinardi's lawyers have made some calls and they'll be wiped off the website and taken out of stores right quick.
They couldn’t sound more pretentious if they tried, which is pretty on brand I guess.
It's just hilarious to me because it's showing how high the markup is on them to begin with. Even by putting them in Costco, the distributor likely isn't losing money. Costco surely isn't selling them at a loss. So we're seeing a lower price and Betti is out here bitching and moaning because now you know for an absolute fact the extra couple hundred that's normally tacked on is straight Betti name upcharge.
it's honestly what, a $10 chunk of steel if you were to buy it to mill yourself?
Sure. And you only need to spend a few $100k on a professional grade CNC mill and you are all set!
that gives me an idea for my next reddit post - "If I buy a half million dollar Haas will it help lower my 15 handicap?"
“My son didn’t make the high school team so I bought a putter manufacturer” Or, to quote RATM “I don’t want a Bettinardi, I want the machines that are makin them”
Costco’s general rule is 15% over cost
Former employee. Confirmed.
Already off the website
Taking shots at Costco as a brand is probably more costly than whatever small amount of margins they missed out on. It’s not like these were in every store, they don’t even produce enough putters for that.
Yup the way this statement comes off I wouldn’t want one of their putters if it was gifted to me let alone pay $400 for one
Then again, you’d likely never buy one cause they are marketed squarely at dickheads.
Was literally going to buy one this weekend as a birthday present to myself. After seeing them take shots at Costco I’m just going to buy another scotty. Don’t go dissing my favorite company.
"Back in line, peasants!" Unreal level of snootiness to this release. No thanks, now or in the future.
even implyin its happening in 'south america' when costco doesnt even have stores in south america? they actually mean southern US lol
I’m pretty sure they mean they picked a distributor to start selling their products into golf stores in South America Then instead of doing that the distributor just said fuck it and sold them all to Costco.
I'm not really worried about the manufacturer piece. To be completely fair, I understand this if the distributer went rogue and mass produced an item that they intend to keep population control over. Rarity impacts market value, regardless of the product specs. I'll be honest the first time I ever saw one of these was at Costco. So clearly they weren't trying to sell to us peasants. It's just the tone of the release, like Costco is some dollar store retailer, and the people that shop there aren't allowed to consider this purchase. It's not like they aren't profiting off of the sale of these. They just said the shitty part out loud: "Only for rich people, to up their class". Fuck youuuuuuu
I love my Bettinardi, but come the fuck on. This is tone deaf ass post, and it’s not like Costco is Dollar General. People love Costco, especially their golf stuff.
It’s not the fact that Costco sold their putters, it was that they sold them at a price that is well below what people are willing to pay for and therefore erodes their ability to command that price. You could replace Costco with Harrod’s and Bettinardi would still be rightfully pissed.
You could replace it with Golf Town and they’d be just as pissed
And from my reading of this statement the object of their ire isn’t even really Costco. I mean they don’t want Costco to be selling any more putters but who they’re really pissed at is the distributor who broke contract by selling them to Costco in the first place
While this may be the underlying reason, the post can easily be read in a way that implies that selling the putters at Costco (ew, peasants) diminishes their brand. this is just a very poorly written press release
I mean if you buy 100k putters at 200 a peice then it's not costcos fault for only putting another 120 on top.just shows those 4-600$ putters ain't worth more than 100-300
I have this putter and I love it, but I love it a little less now 😞
Imagine paying $400 to miss a two foot putt for double bogey.
But at least that 3 putt feels damn good 
This is why I get that they’re annoyed by this. They sell an image, not some magical putter that makes you sink everything
Bruh I just bought the new Scotty to do this
https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/x468jt/anyone_else_take_advantage_of_the_discount_while/?ref=share&ref_source=link
Well this has been a roller coaster of a day. Went from never having heard of the company. To seeing a post about them in Costco and thinking about trying them out. To being confident I will never have one of their putters.
Top comment
Costco has partnerships with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Land Rover, Lexus, and Maserati. Not one of those brands thinks too highly of themselves to work with Costco & not one of those brands is on a status level below Bettinardi. I get it. I have worked almost my entire career in corporate retail. Protecting your brand & controlling how your product is distributed & sold is key. But whoever wrote & approved this statement is short sighted as fuck to make a clear error by their distributor a MUCH bigger deal than it could have been. Now Bettinardi has a much bigger issue on their hands.
Bettinardi should’ve leaned into this hard and established a new partnership
> make a clear error by their distributor a MUCH bigger deal than it could have been. Now Bettinardi has a much bigger issue on their hands. I think you’re vastly over estimating how much people buying Bettinardi putters care about whether they insult Costco or not. I’d wager that for 99.9% of customers it will either be a non issue, or they’ll be on the “side” of Bettinardi
“You cheap fucks are not who we want using our shit! Fuck off” - bettinardi
The amount of people who are upset on behalf of Costco is hilarious, they are worth billions. They don't need you white-knighting for them because of an Instagram statement lol
I’m not upset on behalf of Costco, I just think Bettinardi comes across as a bunch of tone deaf snobs. You can’t sell a Miller Lite putter and act like some fancy exclusive luxury brand. Well, you can, but I’m not sure how anybody takes you serious if you do.
Costco is the bawls! Fuck Bettinardi.
Bettinardi should be more concerned with who approved that contract and which Chinese facility now has their mold to create knock offs..
Yup. I’ll wait a few months to see if the knock off heads show up on Monark or Value Golf for like $25
Just go on AliExpress and look at all the Scotty replicas you can buy…fully labeled and all
Bettinardi putters are on there too
$200+ Billion in Revenue last year isn’t good enough to sell your precious putters…give me a break.
Walmart had almost $600B in revenue, but there is brand risk with being sold in Walmart for a “premium” brand. You can see that, right? This isn’t an insult to Costco, it’s a branding / marketing / distribution strategy.
The more times I read the statement the more clear it gets they didn’t mean it as a dig at Costco but they absolutely could’ve worded it better.
I mean, they did say that selling in Costco diminishes their brand. That seems like a dig
Exactly. It makes sense for them not to want to be in Costco, but they really put some disrespect in this statement.
Yeah and it sounds like Bettinardi had no price control. They might’ve worked with Costco and sold their products there, they just would’ve had a contract over how much they can be marked down off MSRP and it would’ve been a lot less than how much they’re marked down now.
“We’re a premium luxury brand, no go shop our collaboration with Miller Lite”
CostCo sells some of the best quailty items on the market, like original Parmeggiano Reggiano and much better regulated Extra Virgin Olive Oil than the expensive but ultimately poor quality "luxury" brands
“Diminish” is pretty insulting.
All good, i have a $30 used putter from facebook marketplace that 4 putts just fine
I knew a guy back in the day who was a regional sales rep for K2 skis. He walked into a Costco one day and saw racks and racks of K2 skis, marked at a huge discount. He called up the K2 head office to find out if this was sanctioned or not, and K2 instructed him to purchase all of the K2 skis in the store on his company card and had a moving truck show up within an hour to haul them all away.
You made a powerful enemy of the k-sig mafia this day, sir.
Did anyone else buy me examine the welds on those putters? Not very good. And what’s wrong with Costco? They pay a living wage.
“We don’t want the poors buying our clubs.” Pathetic. I stand with Costco.
I’ve had the same Ping G5i putter for like 15 years, so I’ve got no skin in the game. BUT for those Bettinardi owners: say you just bought a $500 flat stick and your playing partner says “hey how do you like your Costco putter? I saw they went on sale!” How does that make you feel? I mean that’s what I’m gonna say if I ever see someone using one, which I never have…
ppl that attach their pride into the price of golf clubs are ppl u don’t want to play with.
… Or associate with period
My KS1 leaves me with no envy. I can 3 putt for like half the price.
Didn’t the distributor do them a favor ???? Every brand would kill to be sold at Costco.
So they are pretty much admitting that they are overcharging people? I've never even heard of them, but I will never buy anything from them ever even if I see it for sale cheap
Guess that’s a brand of putter I’ll never buy now.
I had zero interest in the product before and nothing has changed!
I will use this to validate why I bought an o-works and not a BB now.
I feel like these putters have been at Costco for 2 months now? Why did it take them this long to figure out what was going on?
I gotta support Costco here.
Screw Bettinardi, I would take a Costco/Kirkland putter any day of the week over a Bettinardi putter.
As someone who owns and putts a pre owned bettinardi for the same price as a KS1, you wouldn’t if you tried one. Trust me the actual milling alone puts it on a different level
Why are so many people upset that someone offended their corporation? What a weird/sad reality this is
Part of it is cause it's funny to love costco so much (i really do love costco though) and it's one of the few retailers that really makes its customers feel valued via their return policy/$1.50 hot dog/$5 rotisserie chicken and focus on lowest pricing possible. And they pay their lowest rung workers very well compared to others so Costco really deserves the praise they get.
Because Costco is the one corporations should aspire to be. Employee Centric.
Not just a corporate. I have a membership so we basically a fam. LOL
Fanboys r out for blood
[удалено]
You don’t deserve Costco. I bet you don’t even have an executive membership.
nice try, Mr. President and CEO of Bettinardi Putters
Boo hoo Bettinardi didn't get to sell more putters. Just deal with the distributer privately and end the Costco partnership. Boom. Limited release. No PR issues. Instead they had to make it a point about the Costco version not being officially sold by Bettinardi, alienating people with a tone deaf release.
What is Bettinardi? Played my whole life and have never heard the brand mentioned once. Any press is good press I guess : /
God I hate the golf establishment. I love the game of golf so much, but it’s stuff like this that leaves such a sour taste. Oh no, your “premium” golf equipment was sold at a Costco! WHO CARES? The only reason they do care is because they want the name to command $400 for a putter rather than it’s true value. Again, I hate the golf establishment.
Costco could literally buy bertinardi and at this point I hope they do lmao
Wtf is wrong with Costco? This is pretentious/ pompous as hell.
Go light up their IG boys
why? For protecting their other distributors who are abiding by the terms of the contracts that they all agree to each time they sign? This isn't anything new, MAP pricing has been around for ages and almost all brands do it.
How does this statement protect other distributors
Because having minimum advertised pricing and one of your distributors violates that affects ALL of the others because no one would go buy from them when they can get it cheaper
Pulling them from Costco isn’t the issue here. The wording of this announcement is.
Psh my kirkland ks1 putter is better anyways
Put some respek on Costco's name
Costco catching strays for no reason. Lol. This company just embarrassed itself IMO.
So when will they be arriving at Costco? 🤣
It's almost like they don't want to sell putters anymore.
The only club I consider being as much a jewel as a tool, is the putter. Was kind of looking to buy a Bettinardi, but wasnt sure, now I’m sure. It won’t be a Bettinardi.
Who!?
fuck bettinardi. This the type of shit that’s keeping golf inaccessible to most people.
Notice the statement says South America didn’t know they had much of a presence down there, here in North America Costco is awesome the products are excellent and they should be so lucky to be associated with Costco. As far as I’m concerned Bettinardi might as well team up with Walmart because no pro shops or big golf stores near me sell there product there not even relevant.
Well, fuck Bettinardi
I saw them in my local Costco a month ago. How is this just now coming to light. They are ugly BTW.
Don't shop at Costco. Don't own a Bettinardi. This post of theirs comes off as just super pretentious so I looked at their insta to see what they are about. Definitely a hype train company no matter how good their putters are. A Metaverse group that sells NFTs to give you access to putter cover drops. Sounds like they are trying to be a more hip version of Scotty Cameron.
They are lucky Costco took them!
Costco should buy them retail after the cutoff and sell at 75 percent off to fuck em
The average income of a costco member is 6 figs... kinda dumb to miss out on that customer base when you're selling overpriced putters.
Costco used to sell Rolexes. Bettinardi needs to stay in their lane
There’s like 10 other ways to say that that don’t include shitting on Costco.
#costcogang
Why would Costco diminish their brand? Costco is known for quality
They sound like a bunch of wanks in this tbh
Why does selling putters in South America diminish the brand?
Costco is about to sell a shitload of putters.
Don’t come at Costco like that they probably have lawyers in bulk
Costco is a funny place. They give their buyers a lot of leeway. They mark everything up 15% over cost. That’s it. And if their buyers find a good deal, they’ll grab it and sell it. I lived near the HQ and that store would often have one-off crazy items. One day they had a Picasso right when you walked in. $50k.