Fads and trends and lost revenue...

Depending on how you look at it you could say I currently own 178 paintball guns. Technically, T-Square Paintball owns 176. Only 2 are actually mine and as you might expect, both are "old school" - my Autococker (mechanical) and an Automag (extremely "upped" - still mechanical).

They both have drop forwards.

Back in the day a drop forward was a must have. The Autococker by today's standards is a behemoth. A drop forward sets the tank forward and balances the marker making it easier to handle. It also allowed the shooter to get in tight with the gun which theoretically would make you a smaller target. What getting tighter with the gun actually did was get you closer to the game and get you hit more often. But everyone was in tighter and getting hit more often so nobody noticed.

Today guns are long and lean. Like a long sniper barrel your aim point is extended and, theoretically, improves accuracy. Actually what it does is put the shooter further behind the bunker with just the barrel of the marker exposed.

There was a time when I sold dozens of drop forwards, along with the latest and greatest ASA add on, every month. Now I can't give them away. I managed to get $4 for one on EBay the other day that would normally sell for $32. Considering my wholesale cost I lost $19 on the deal.

I have a bunch of expansion chambers somewhere. The bottom fell out on those about 8 years ago. Same with venturi bolts, game timers and 9 ounce CO2 tanks.

On the positive side stocks and sight rails are making a come back. Problem is I dumped all of my old ones on EBay a long time ago, losing around $12 on each one.

And it's not like you can see these things coming. Fads are a fickle thing. We would all be millionaires today if we could have seen the pet rock or hula-hoop coming. Or if we could have predicted the Dot.com crash a month ahead of time.

I could just say, "Oh well!"

Actually, I think I will.

"Oh well!"