All answers are from our founder, Steve Franzke.
It is impossible to write a thoughtful reply to all comments so we wrote a blog! Its a bit lengthy but if you really want to know the answers, here you go!
First of all, I have to say we love this beautiful game in all of its forms. Whether it’s a traditional 11 v 11 game on grass, futsal, beach soccer, small-sided, soccer tennis… the list goes on.
Oh wait, we can’t forget SPOTKICK! We’re not trying to replace this game or create a new sport. We see SPOTKICK as just another way soccer enthusiasts can enjoy the beautiful game, lending players of all ages more opportunities to enjoy playing together. We just want you off that phone and enjoying life—together.
Comment: It’s called futbol/football! Not soccer!
Here at SPOTKICK, do we need to take our fut out of our boca? No!! Futbol, soccer, calcio, football, jakapallo, to-may-to, to-mahhh-to…the list goes on! We speak different languages and call this game different names. Can we just agree it’s the greatest game in the world…and move on?
Comment: I can build this in two hours for $50!
No, you can’t! For a more detailed explanation, keep on scrolling, Bob the Builder..
Comment: Can’t I just use buckets?
Great idea! Except not. It’s impossible to fit a ball in most buckets. And when a ball comes flying, sending the bucket ricocheting off at high speeds into your knee, don’t come crying to us. We knew you were wrong the whole time!
Comment: Just use garbage cans, then!
Oh yeah! That would definitely work! Oh wait…the racoons and bears got at yours and made a mess at the bottom. Or maybe your kid tossed his soft-serve in there. Whatever it is, it smells funky. Don’t know about you, but I’ve seen the bottom of my cans, and I wouldn’t want to kick a ball that scooped up some of that deliciousness in there.
Oh, and have fun getting those cans in the car next time you’re loaded up for the beach, soccer field, or tournament.
Comment: Use cones or hula hoops.
This is actually a convenient, low-cost option. To be honest, “soccer horseshoes” inspired SPOTKICK—its a similar game played with cones, popular on recovery days for college teams. Cones and hula hoops are not as much fun, though, since they lack the scoring options…and you’ll never experience the feeling of hitting “The Spot” or an “Auto-Win.” Either way, these alternate methods are definitely fun and low-cost ways to work on your touch—so we are all for it!
Comment: Why is SPOTKICK so expensive?
Here’s the short answer: compare our cost to those of real-wood cornhole sets. Go ahead, we’ll wait. Ok…so, these sets are the most comparable to ours, and their prices range from $150-$450. Due to the engineering, our product is more expensive than cornhole to manufacture, and yet we are still on the low end of this range. SPOTKICK is expensive to build—and also running a business ain’t cheap! Even still, we give our customers the lowest price point possible because we love them so much.
Long answer:
We are proud to offer the SPOTKICK price, and here’s why:
SPOTKICK is made of real wood, which is relatively expensive.
The raw materials alone of two SPOTKICK goals costs about $70. Then, there is the manual labor, you know, the crew that actually makes the goal, and they generally like to get paid a decent wage. We explored having that done here in the US, and our cost for production alone would have been just under the price we currently sell at.
Soooooo, we had to explore manufacturing overseas. We found a manufacturer that charges a much better price, but now we have to pay to ship that product across the world in a container—and that costs thousands.
Then, after your SPOTKICK goal arrives in the good ol’ USA, we have to store it somewhere. And this isn’t a product that can be stored in our basem*nts or garages. It’s a large, heavy product, so it costs more to store at a warehouse or shipping provider.
We think SPOTKICK is an amazing product, and every soccer family and team will love it and should buy it immediately, but unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. That’s where marketing comes in.
And, oh yeah, that costs money too.
Our marketing team produces videos, pays for photos shoots, hires photographers, videographers, and models. SPOTKICK is great on social media, but someone has to put those videos together and manage the account, our “social media manager.” And wouldn’t you know it…these people also like to get paid, for pete’s sake!!
Our organic posts often perform well on social media, but they can be unpredictable. We need something that we can count on. That’s where paid advertising comes in. Yes, another thing we pay for. And it’s not cheap. Damn that Meta Mark Zuckerberg!!!
Maybe you see where we’re going with this? And that’s not even close to all: so many more expenses fly under the radar. Heck, I’d no idea until I started this business, and I’m still learning. Paid ads, SEO, 3PLs, graphic design, accounting, analytics, taxes (really hate that one)...the list goes on.
So why don’t I do it all myself to save money? To be honest, I tried when I launched this company. But I soon realized I’d need to be a superhero with a cape on my back who didn’t require sleep and had vast knowledge of everything mentioned above in order to make that happen.
Sorry, I’m human. I know that will come as a shock to some of you.
Oh, I forgot one last thing—the “p” word…profit. In order to stay afloat and continue offering this great game to families across the country (and soon to be around the world, wink wink Europe and Australia) we have to actually make some money. On a typical sale, that number is around $25. So, are you willing to pay me $25 to put all of this together? If so, thank you very much for your business!
Why don’t you just make SPOTKICK out of plastic?
Oh man, that never occurred to us. That’s embarrassing. We’ll start researching that right away, and you’ll each get a generous royalty!
Just kidding. We thought of that early and explored the options. We simply did not like the end product. Plastic is too light, so when a ball comes flying in from 12 yards, it knocks the goal over nearly every time. We could’ve gone with a blow-molded plastic which would allow customers to fill the legs with sand or water, but we all know how messy that gets—and that’s much more difficult to travel with.
We’re proud of the real-wood product we designed. It’s just the right size and weight to offer a sturdy and durable product that will last for years. Yes, people can try to build it on their own, but we are okay with that. We just want players off their phones and enjoying real life…together. So, while we’re on that topic…..
Yeah, I’m not convinced. I’m just gonna build it myself! Who’s gonna stop me?
Not us! As a teacher with summers off spent siding my house, building a shed, and countless other projects, I understand the value of a dollar, and I’m all for trading my time to save a few bucks when I can.
If you are a highly skilled carpenter and can reverse-engineer the plans, getting everything right the first time, it will take 4-8 hours, and you can definitely save some cash—if you value your time at $0. Side note: We’ve spoken with an attorney and we can’t give out the plans, as it may render us liable if anyone gets injured while following said plans.
But, if you’re like me—a weekend warrior who is relatively handy (no jokes, please)—let’s see how it all plays out.
If you’re not skilled in carpentry, though, let me save you a lot of time and money by telling you to just buy SPOTKICK or move on with your life.
Ok, here goes nothing. And honestly, you might laugh or think we are making this up, but everything you are about to read happened while I was building this game in my backyard.
I built about 20 different versions, playing around with the size of the board, the hole at the top, height from the ground, and so on. Yeah, maybe you’ll nail the perfect size the first time—but it took us twenty prototypes and hours upon hours of gameplay with my kids and their friends. That time spent is part of what you pay for.
So, let’s say you set aside a few hours on a Saturday morning to build SPOTKICK. How hard could it be? You drive to Home Depot, buy some plywood, a handful of bolts for the joints…and what-sized wood pieces make up the foundation of the top board and legs…hmmm…I’m not really sure, let’s just go with 1x2. Are they even the same type of wood?
Cost so far: $70
You head outside to the parking lot and look at your SUV. You thought the pieces of plywood would fit inside, but they don’t—so you strap the board to the roof. Finally, you get it up there and drive home. And, gosh darnit, you’ve got yourself a splinter the size of the 1x2 in your finger.
Time to and from Home Depot: 1-1.5 hours
Time to pluck the splinter out: 30 minutes
Pain and aggravation level: High to quite-high
Ok, splinter is out (you think you got most of it, anyway) and you’re ready to go. What size is the thing anyway? You take an educated guess here and go with it.
Top board: cut.
Now you need to make that circle. The “Spot” in SPOTKICK. Your circular saw won’t quite do the trick, so you need a router or jigsaw. You don’t have either one, so let’s ask some neighbors. Nope: they don’t have one either.
Time BACK to and from Home Depot: 1 hour
Cost: $60-$120
You finally get back to the house and start working on the “Spot.”. What size is THAT anyway? (We tried and tested several different sizes. We settled on the perfect size: extremely challenging to score…but definitely possible! This added fun and excitement to the game.)
Ok, you pick a random diameter and go with it. You do that to both boards. You then cut the 1x2 supports to attach under the plywood, screw it all together, and you’re set.
Now, on to the legs. You measure everything and cut four pieces of plywood. You then cut the 1x2 as supports for all four legs.
Next up is the really tricky part—drilling a hole in the top board and the legs that line up perfectly so the legs will open to the exact degree you need. What is that number, anyway? (We tested that number for three years before we figured it out. After measuring, staring, and thinking for longer than I care to admit, I finally called my friend, the best carpenter I know. He came over, and even HE screwed it up many, many more times.)
But hey, you’re different! So you get your screw gun and go to town. You attach the legs, and they don’t open properly. Damn!
Maybe you’re not so different.
Ok, no problem, you’ll just cut more 1x 2s and try again…and again. Except you’re out and gotta go back to Home Depot.
Time BACK to and from Home Depot: 1 hour
Cost: $10 - Infinity
You get home and realize your son needs to go to his soccer game. So you pack up the tools and try again tomorrow.
Time: Infinity
Aggravation: Beyond aggravated
Inner Thoughts: Why didn’t I just buy the damn thing?!?!
So to all the people that say they’ll build it in two hours I say, care to wager? I’ll make more money on that bet than if you buy ten SPOTKICK sets. You see where this is going… just buy it, or move on.
And why the need for so much hate? We here at SPOTKICK love you. So let’s share the love.
That is all.
