Is the Limited Edition Butterfly Fan Zhendong Alc Gold Label Worth the High Price?
Is the Limited Edition Butterfly Fan Zhendong Alc Gold Label Worth the High Price?
Welcome to Mogu Table Tennis! Today, we delve into the controversial release of the Butterfly Fan Zhendong Alc Gold Label Düsseldorf limited edition blade, which has sparked heated discussions among table tennis enthusiasts. 
Why Is It So Expensive?
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High Acquisition Costs: According to Butterfly S-level dealers, the acquisition policy for the Fan Zhendong Gold Label is a 50,000 yuan package for one blade. This package includes 35,000 yuan worth of imported goods (like the Fan a, Butterfly a, Viscaria, and D09c rubbers) and 15,000 yuan worth of domestic products (shoes, clothing, accessories, and balls). The hard-to-sell domestic items often become dead stock or are sold at cost, increasing the overall cost. Hence, retailers must sell the blade at a high price to offset these losses.
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Limited Quantity: It’s not a simple matter of buying 500,000 yuan worth of goods to get 10 blades. Many physical stores only receive 2 blades, with some getting a few more and others none at all. The high demand and low supply drive prices up, making it difficult for store owners to decide who gets the limited stock.
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Speculation by Scalpers: The domestic market is rife with scalpers who buy at low prices, hoard the product, and then sell it at exorbitant rates. This has inflated the price of the blade from an initial 6,000-8,000 yuan to over 10,000 yuan, and in some cases, even 20,000 yuan.
How Much Does It Cost and Is It Worth It?
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Initial Prices (5500-8000 yuan): Before the official release, some stores offered pre-orders at 5500-6000 yuan. On the release day, prices varied across different regions, with some buyers getting it for 5000 yuan, others for 6000-6800 yuan, and some even bundling it with shoes and rubbers for 6000 yuan. Prices were largely dependent on the seller’s discretion.
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Post-release Prices (8000-20000 yuan): After August 1st, the blade became increasingly difficult to find at 8000 yuan. Some fans reported buying it for 8800, 9500, 11500, and 12000 yuan. Others have seen it sold for as high as 14800 and 16000 yuan, with some stores even auctioning it off to those who recharge 100,000 yuan.
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Is It Worth It?: In our opinion, it is not worth the price, and we do not recommend purchasing it. This situation feels like an artificially created frenzy. If you have the financial means and enjoy collecting or the commemorative aspect, then the price may not matter. However, spending 10,000 yuan on a blade seems unreasonable, especially when considering the cost of living for students and the savings of ordinary workers.
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Why Not Buy?: Butterfly should take responsibility for setting such a high price barrier, forcing stores to sell at inflated prices. The scalpers and profiteers are also to blame for inflating the price from a few thousand yuan to over 10,000 yuan. This goes against the spirit of loving table tennis.
How Good Is It? What About Performance?
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No ‘Special Edition’ Label: The box does not mention ‘Special Edition Workshop,’ and the pre-release information suggested it was a regular Fan a blade with a different skin, released to commemorate the club collaboration. Post-release, there is no concrete evidence confirming it as a ‘Special Edition’—only a gold tail label.
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Mixed Opinions: During a live stream, a colleague mentioned insider information that the Fan Zhendong Gold Label was made on a special production line. However, user reviews and discussions in table tennis groups are conflicting:
- ‘Feels the same as Fan a, just a different skin.’
- ‘Not as good as Fan a, just average.’
- ‘This Fan a is much harder and more powerful, definitely a Special Edition.’
- ‘Can’t even hit 2000 points with it, not good.’
- ‘Anyone who has used it would say it’s different, definitely a Special Edition.’
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My Thoughts: I stand by the official stance that it’s a limited edition Fan a with possibly higher quality wood. Even if it is a ‘Special Edition,’ the price far exceeds its practical value, and we don’t want to be the ones caught paying the premium.
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Author | Mogu Table Tennis Header Design | Wang Kaiping