Ball Family & Big Baller Brand Megathread

[E-Balla]

.......I mean for god sakes the guy is an idiot, he has cut out a giant size portion of business by refusing to make women's items. So not only is he marking his prices exorbitantly high pricing out a lot of people anyhow, he won't even make anything women could wear. A completely idiotic amateur mistake.

It's even worse. He spent the money to make women's items, offers them on his site, but for some reason he denied having women's items. Then, he completely turned any woman who was a potential customer off the brand by his appearance with Kristine Leahy. So, the company has obviously spent money to have these products for women, but they just eliminated any chance at all for success in that segment. Brilliant.

He never denied having women's items... The lies y'all tell to justify your hated of a man because of basketball.

[Papi_swav]

OMG Please stop with this I cringe every time you post it

Wait...I thought that was his actual Sig.

...... nope, he and his buddy are now signing off their pro-Lavar ramblings with rapper quotes. The Papi guy coughed up a Jay-Z one in a recent rebuttle.

you just mad that I shut u up and you had no rebuttal salty

[Black Jack]

LaVar has a new supplier, that's the same thing. Could LaVar Jordan or LaVar Johnson have called up a chinese factory and had a (seemingly) high quality Nike competitor product for the price LaVar has done it 30 years ago? Could he have promoted and sold it for free using people like us to repeat his name and link to his website?

Who is this mysterious supplier in China who makes high-end shoes for pennies on the dollar for a nobody like Lavar Ball and his son who's relatively obscure on the scale of NBA athletes?

Check out Alibaba sometime: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/basketball-shoes.html

Here, you can buy a lot of 3000 knockoff jordans for $7.50 per pair https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-basketball-shoes-factory-fashion-man_60576599935.html?s=p - manufacturer can supply 100,000 pairs pr month, probably more if you're serious.

Here's some LeBrons for you at $9 per pair at volume https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Style-Fashion-Air-Outsole-Men_60514514194.html

My guess is these shoes are exact replicas of what you dummies buy for $150 + retail.

Anybody else have wiseguy questions?

[mastermixer]

LaVar has a new supplier, that's the same thing. Could LaVar Jordan or LaVar Johnson have called up a chinese factory and had a (seemingly) high quality Nike competitor product for the price LaVar has done it 30 years ago? Could he have promoted and sold it for free using people like us to repeat his name and link to his website?

Who is this mysterious supplier in China who makes high-end shoes for pennies on the dollar for a nobody like Lavar Ball and his son who's relatively obscure on the scale of NBA athletes?

Check out Alibaba sometime: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/basketball-shoes.html

Here, you can buy a lot of 3000 knockoff jordans for $7.50 per pair https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-basketball-shoes-factory-fashion-man_60576599935.html?s=p - manufacturer can supply 100,000 pairs pr month, probably more if you're serious.

Here's some LeBrons for you at $9 per pair at volume https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Style-Fashion-Air-Outsole-Men_60514514194.html

My guess is these shoes are exact replicas of what you dummies buy for $150 + retail.

Anybody else have wiseguy questions?

C'mon man, those shoes are not "exact replicas", they look like trash. Nowhere near the quality of NIKE/ ADDIDAS, or even Big Baller.

Obviously he found a supplier in china, or Lavar has someone working with him to find one. But lets be realistic, It probably cost $60 or less per shoe, but let's not act like he had them designed and made for less then 10 bucks a pair.

[johnnyvann840]

.......I mean for god sakes the guy is an idiot, he has cut out a giant size portion of business by refusing to make women's items. So not only is he marking his prices exorbitantly high pricing out a lot of people anyhow, he won't even make anything women could wear. A completely idiotic amateur mistake.

It's even worse. He spent the money to make women's items, offers them on his site, but for some reason he denied having women's items. Then, he completely turned any woman who was a potential customer off the brand by his appearance with Kristine Leahy. So, the company has obviously spent money to have these products for women, but they just eliminated any chance at all for success in that segment. Brilliant.

He never denied having women's items... The lies y'all tell to justify your hated of a man because of basketball.

Sorry. He said it's not a women's company and he doesn't sell to women.

[E-Balla]

It's even worse. He spent the money to make women's items, offers them on his site, but for some reason he denied having women's items. Then, he completely turned any woman who was a potential customer off the brand by his appearance with Kristine Leahy. So, the company has obviously spent money to have these products for women, but they just eliminated any chance at all for success in that segment. Brilliant.

He never denied having women's items... The lies y'all tell to justify your hated of a man because of basketball.

Sorry. He said it's not a women's company and he doesn't sell to women.

He never said that. Gonna keep lying to justify your irrational hated?

[enigmatics]

you just mad that I shut u up and you had no rebuttal salty

Impossible for me to be salty about a pizza delivery guy trying to educate me on supposed "luxury items" that he can't even afford (nor has he even purchased) and the business logistics behind them.

[MrCheerios]

The key word is NIKE is making a ton of money. Why would ball give away his claim on this money to nike if he thinks he can do better himself.

$2 million is nothing. He could open a restaurant/club and probably make that the first few months. He is a laker dude.

Risk? Time and effort? Any time you start a business, there is a chance you lose money. You seem to be under the impression that he can't lose money trying this when he can lose tons. Signing a contract with an established shoe company is zero risk to him.

I think you misjudge the profitability of restaurants and clubs. So many fail. So many athletes lose money with their small business ventures. He's not even a Laker yet. Very few people would give a damn if he had a restaurant or club, there's plenty of competition in LA from other celebrities on that front.

He can't really lose money with this initially. It doesn't cost enough to start it. He's taking preorders.

You guys are seriously overestimating how much shoes cost. He is outsourcing the manufacturing to someone who already produces millions of shoes. Therefore, he's already getting economy of scale production costs. He's just having to pay a small markup since he's only ordering a few thousand pairs.

Doesn't cost enough to start it? It's already started. If he's already selling merchandise and taking pre-orders, he's got employees. Unless he's designed and maintained the website, designed the shoes, and doing all the bookkeeping himself the labor costs alone are probably a quarter million a year at the very least.

I had a small business with five full time and a handful of part time staff. None of my employees were college educated or highly trained, but wages alone approached $200k annually, not including benefits. There are tons of expenses in every business beyond inventory costs. And his employees are going to be much more expensive than mine were. Getting a business off the ground takes a lot of initial investment, even an online retailer. If you're at the point where you're ready to deliver product, you're invested for several hundred thousand.

Most people need to take out loans to start businesses. He's got his son.

[RightToCensor]

I've seen parents do worse things after taking a loan out because their son will be a future NBA player. Starting a family exclusive business is the work of an angel compared to wasting money on a Hummer for a high school senior.

[Black Jack]

Who is this mysterious supplier in China who makes high-end shoes for pennies on the dollar for a nobody like Lavar Ball and his son who's relatively obscure on the scale of NBA athletes?

Check out Alibaba sometime: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/basketball-shoes.html

Here, you can buy a lot of 3000 knockoff jordans for $7.50 per pair https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-basketball-shoes-factory-fashion-man_60576599935.html?s=p - manufacturer can supply 100,000 pairs pr month, probably more if you're serious.

Here's some LeBrons for you at $9 per pair at volume https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-Style-Fashion-Air-Outsole-Men_60514514194.html

My guess is these shoes are exact replicas of what you dummies buy for $150 + retail.

Anybody else have wiseguy questions?

C'mon man, those shoes are not "exact replicas", they look like trash. Nowhere near the quality of NIKE/ ADDIDAS, or even Big Baller.

Obviously he found a supplier in china, or Lavar has someone working with him to find one. But lets be realistic, It probably cost $60 or less per shoe, but let's not act like he had them designed and made for less then 10 bucks a pair.

Scroll up....they asked me what was new that would let someone disrupt the sneaker market. I showed that hey you can buy custom or generic made sneakers in China cheap. A guy like Lavar can do this much much easier these days, fact.

[Mr. E]

Not sure if you noticed but huge high-cost established industries are being torn apart by scrappy startups left and right these days. If you ask me Lavar might have the right idea.

Please provide examples.

(I hope that you aren't using Uber/Lyft as one...that would be so off base)

Any example where a startup could be challenging an established market should involve an upgrade in technology, a streamlined cost model or a specific and definable societal shift that would predicate such a market move.

LaVar has a new supplier, that's the same thing. Could LaVar Jordan or LaVar Johnson have called up a chinese factory and had a (seemingly) high quality Nike competitor product for the price LaVar has done it 30 years ago? Could he have promoted and sold it for free using people like us to repeat his name and link to his website?

Who is the new supplier? What you are discussing there is a factor of production and basically it is one on par with getting cheap, generic knock-offs of quality products. I could go down to Harwin Drive in Houston and get all manner of cheap imported knock-offs, but I wouldn't suggest it as a business model.

Doing business in China is not as cheap or easy as many seem to think. Nor does paying a low cost for production put you in the Nike camp. Nike may pay very little per shoe, but that is with quality materials with high production runs. I'm not seeing how going to someone in China who claims to be able to provide cheap shoes will translate to a quality product.

You are not really describing a disruptive force in the shoe industry. Cheap knock-offs always exist and it does not make for a competitive alternative. It does not address any of the other issues involved in this situation such as shipping, taxes, tariffs, salaries, marketing, logistics, legal, accounting, etc.

It almost seems as if the high end for this BBB model is to be a high-priced, niche market. There can be a lot of money in that if the product is good. It does not appear that quality is going to be a selling point, so this would be name-only. Is that really sustainable?

[MrCheerios]

Kobe invested millions of dollars into Body Armor. He had connections with other athletes and institutional investors to help get it off the ground. He's a household name with millions of fans and the prestige of five championships. Despite these advantages, Body Armor is just now making a dent in the sports drink market.

Anyone thinking Lavar and his sons can make a significant dent in the market without requiring a huge investment and risk is deluding themselves. Lonzo's draft hype isn't going to push a significant amount of product, especially when his shoe is priced double what established superstars shoes are selling for, from proven shoe companies with massive ad campaigns. They have no competitive advantage.

[mastermixer]

Please provide examples.

(I hope that you aren't using Uber/Lyft as one...that would be so off base)

Any example where a startup could be challenging an established market should involve an upgrade in technology, a streamlined cost model or a specific and definable societal shift that would predicate such a market move.

LaVar has a new supplier, that's the same thing. Could LaVar Jordan or LaVar Johnson have called up a chinese factory and had a (seemingly) high quality Nike competitor product for the price LaVar has done it 30 years ago? Could he have promoted and sold it for free using people like us to repeat his name and link to his website?

Who is the new supplier? What you are discussing there is a factor of production and basically it is one on par with getting cheap, generic knock-offs of quality products. I could go down to Harwin Drive in Houston and get all manner of cheap imported knock-offs, but I wouldn't suggest it as a business model.

Doing business in China is not as cheap or easy as many seem to think. Nor does paying a low cost for production put you in the Nike camp. Nike may pay very little per shoe, but that is with quality materials with high production runs. I'm not seeing how going to someone in China who claims to be able to provide cheap shoes will translate to a quality product.

You are not really describing a disruptive force in the shoe industry. Cheap knock-offs always exist and it does not make for a competitive alternative. It does not address any of the other issues involved in this situation such as shipping, taxes, tariffs, salaries, marketing, logistics, legal, accounting, etc.

It almost seems as if the high end for this BBB model is to be a high-priced, niche market. There can be a lot of money in that if the product is good. It does not appear that quality is going to be a selling point, so this would be name-only. Is that really sustainable?

I agree with you 100%. If he wants to charge $500.00 per pair, go for it. But the Shoe better be something different and/or innovative. They are trying to beat nike and addidas at their own game, with an inferior product, brand ,and price-point. Hardly what I would call a "disruption" of the sports show industry.

But I will agree with Black Jack on one thing. There is the OPPORTUNITY for someone to come in and change the game in terms of how athletes are marketed. Especially with how global the world is these days.

This may be a case where Lavar is the first to try it, fails, and maybe 10 years down the line, the "next lebron" does what Lavar is attempting, but gets the right backers etc. succeeds in starting his own brand without one of the big players(nike, addidas UA etc).

I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

[Mr. E]

I agree with you 100%. If he wants to charge $500.00 per pair, go for it. But the Shoe better be something different and/or innovative. They are trying to beat nike and addidas at their own game, with an inferior product, brand ,and price-point. Hardly what I would call a "disruption" of the sports show industry.

But I will agree with Black Jack on one thing. There is the OPPORTUNITY for someone to come in and change the game in terms of how athletes are marketed. Especially with how global the world is these days.

This may be a case where Lavar is the first to try it, fails, and maybe 10 years down the line, the "next lebron" does what Lavar is attempting, but gets the right backers etc. succeeds in starting his own brand without one of the big players(nike, addidas UA etc).

I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

That's a good take on the situation. You are hitting the major problem in this entire scenario: BBB wants to get in there with Big Shoe (I love that phrase! ); but they are trying to compete with the same production model, the same resources and the same market as well-established companies with huge budgets. There is no innovation here on any level.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that BBB did manage to actually alter a factor of production. Let's go with an idea like using 3D printing and automation to replace the human work force. It is still not disruptive, but it is innovative. They could do that and produce here in the United States and then suddenly they'd have a unique selling point of having shoes made right here in the good ol' USA as opposed to the near labor camp situations overseas. That is the kind of thing that Big Shoe would have to take note of, and follow the course of innovation in kind.

I still think that this ends with BBB partnering up with an overseas manufacturer. It may not be as lucrative a deal as one from Nike or Adidas, but they'll get the P.R. win of going rogue against Big Shoe and controlling their own destiny (even though they really wouldn't be at all).

[bigbreakfast]

Risk? Time and effort? Any time you start a business, there is a chance you lose money. You seem to be under the impression that he can't lose money trying this when he can lose tons. Signing a contract with an established shoe company is zero risk to him.

I think you misjudge the profitability of restaurants and clubs. So many fail. So many athletes lose money with their small business ventures. He's not even a Laker yet. Very few people would give a damn if he had a restaurant or club, there's plenty of competition in LA from other celebrities on that front.

He can't really lose money with this initially. It doesn't cost enough to start it. He's taking preorders.

You guys are seriously overestimating how much shoes cost. He is outsourcing the manufacturing to someone who already produces millions of shoes. Therefore, he's already getting economy of scale production costs. He's just having to pay a small markup since he's only ordering a few thousand pairs.

Doesn't cost enough to start it? It's already started. If he's already selling merchandise and taking pre-orders, he's got employees. Unless he's designed and maintained the website, designed the shoes, and doing all the bookkeeping himself the labor costs alone are probably a quarter million a year at the very least.

I had a small business with five full time and a handful of part time staff. None of my employees were college educated or highly trained, but wages alone approached $200k annually, not including benefits. There are tons of expenses in every business beyond inventory costs. And his employees are going to be much more expensive than mine were. Getting a business off the ground takes a lot of initial investment, even an online retailer. If you're at the point where you're ready to deliver product, you're invested for several hundred thousand.

Most people need to take out loans to start businesses. He's got his son.

lies. Based on the advice given by these entrepreneurially minded gentlemen in this thread, I called my cousin in China and emailed him a .jpeg of my shoe design. he made it for me for $5 and fedexed it to me and now I'm selling it for $100 on my website. 2000% profit, I didn't realize dominating business was that easy and there were so many experts with the secret to quick wealth on realgm.

[Xherdan 23]

He can't really lose money with this initially. It doesn't cost enough to start it. He's taking preorders.

You guys are seriously overestimating how much shoes cost. He is outsourcing the manufacturing to someone who already produces millions of shoes. Therefore, he's already getting economy of scale production costs. He's just having to pay a small markup since he's only ordering a few thousand pairs.

Doesn't cost enough to start it? It's already started. If he's already selling merchandise and taking pre-orders, he's got employees. Unless he's designed and maintained the website, designed the shoes, and doing all the bookkeeping himself the labor costs alone are probably a quarter million a year at the very least.

I had a small business with five full time and a handful of part time staff. None of my employees were college educated or highly trained, but wages alone approached $200k annually, not including benefits. There are tons of expenses in every business beyond inventory costs. And his employees are going to be much more expensive than mine were. Getting a business off the ground takes a lot of initial investment, even an online retailer. If you're at the point where you're ready to deliver product, you're invested for several hundred thousand.

Most people need to take out loans to start businesses. He's got his son.

lies. Based on the advice given by these entrepreneurially minded gentlemen in this thread, I called my cousin in China and emailed him a .jpeg of my shoe design. he made it for me for $5 and fedexed it to me and now I'm selling it for $100 on my website. 2000% profit, I didn't realize dominating business was that easy and there were so many experts with the secret to quick wealth on realgm.

You don't know anything about business.

If you sell your shoes for 1,000$ instead of 100$ you'll make... ummm... about... number percents more monies

[enigmatics]

lies. Based on the advice given by these entrepreneurially minded gentlemen in this thread, I called my cousin in China and emailed him a .jpeg of my shoe design. he made it for me for $5 and fedexed it to me and now I'm selling it for $100 on my website. 2000% profit, I didn't realize dominating business was that easy and there were so many experts with the secret to quick wealth on realgm.

You too?

Let's merge and become the new athletic apparel giant!

[bigbreakfast]

lies. Based on the advice given by these entrepreneurially minded gentlemen in this thread, I called my cousin in China and emailed him a .jpeg of my shoe design. he made it for me for $5 and fedexed it to me and now I'm selling it for $100 on my website. 2000% profit, I didn't realize dominating business was that easy and there were so many experts with the secret to quick wealth on realgm.

You too?

Let's merge and become the new athletic apparel giant!

do we have the same cousin? BBB is shaking right now. ill merge only if we make romphims



In all seriousness, I think some people are seriously underestimating the financial risks and difficulty of starting a business to the point that it's just comedic. Like I said, what happens if/when Lonzo sprains an ankle in his shoes?

[BobanSmash]

In all seriousness, I think some people are seriously underestimating the financial risks and difficulty of starting a business to the point that it's just comedic. Like I said, what happens if/when Lonzo sprains an ankle in his shoes?

Come on, there is no risks, some one already told in this thread that you can't go bankrupt if you aren't succesful first.

After hearing this I immediately started my own business because I'm quite sure that I won't be succesful so I can't lose anything right?

[RightToCensor]

I think Lonzo will eventually get a normal shoe deal with a large company, only it'll be for a sum of money higher than any player from his draft class. He looks like an Adidas guy.

This is a good watch:

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