Douglas Shins Discontinued?

[Marcus6]

Per a review of Ump Attire.com, their website indicates all Douglas shin guards are out of stock and discontinued.  What Happened?

[Thunderheads]

5 hours ago, FranklinT said:

Per a review of Ump Attire.com, their website indicates all Douglas shin guards are out of stock and discontinued.  What Happened?

Hey Mark .... email Jeff Cook @ Douglass .... see what he has to say ...  jeffcook@douglaspads.com

[wolfe_man]

It doesn't surprise me.  The cost is super high. I have no doubt these are excellent shin guards, but I doubt I will ever save enough to put that kind of money down when I can get F3 or (gasp) Wilson Gold or Platinum's for much less money.

I'd love to see how many actual pairs of each are sold every year.  Same with CP's - would love to see sales lists of each.

[MadMax]

8 hours ago, FranklinT said:

What Happened?

My guess?

Their price exceeded their perceived value, in light of Force3 Ultimates’ technical brilliance and Wilson Gold/Platinum’s marketing saturation dominance. The Douglas shinguards are exceptionally good, design-wise, but they’re still using sofa-cushion foam while Force3 is using Kevlar and advanced technical foams. Then, when put side by side with the Wilsons – which, too, use sofa-cushion foam – the Wilsons “win” on price-versus-cost (because Douglas is made domestically in the States versus Wilson made overseas) and market exposure (“It’s got the MLB logo on it, so it must be right for me!”). 

Now, Douglas might have a new design in the works, and with how little volume of sales they do in shinguards, they might be selling off the existing model, completely, prior to introducing the new model. We can only hope on that. Force3, Douglas, and All-Star “do it right”, by only doing one model of shinguard, and then optimizing its features and offering it in a range of sizes. We could say that if Force3 was to offer Ultimates in 2 more sizes, such as a 17–17.5, and one size shorter (for short, junior, and women umpires), it would be appreciated. Wilson making four different models of shinguards is just... ludicrous. And of the four, only the Guardians reflect any modern design practices or sense.

[JimKirk]

9 hours ago, FranklinT said:

Per a review of Ump Attire.com, their website indicates all Douglas shin guards are out of stock and discontinued.  What Happened?

We are simply discontinuing them from OUR selection...we move things in and out all the time depending on factors too numerous to mention...nothing more complicated than that.