New: Poly Bags for All Stringjobs
By David Henry on Jan 02, 2010 with Comments 6
Watch almost any professional tennis match on television or in-person, and you’ll likely see players taking freshly strung racquets out of clear plastic bags. The bags, sometimes containing the logo of a racquet manufacturer or stringing service, are clear plastic and are often referred to as “poly bags” – due to the polyurethane material of which they are composed.
I remember growing up watching Andre Agassi play, and he would often take his racquets out of poly bags – branded with the logo of his personal travelling stringing service, JCS (Jay’s Cutsom Stringing). I remember thinking how cool those poly bags looked and remember wishing my racquets would get returned to me in poly bags. They never did. So, I formed the belief that poly bags were perks reserved exclusively for the pros.
Poly bags were originally used when professional players were primarily playing full natural gut stringjobs – back in the day before natural gut string contained protective coating. The gut was very susceptible to “the elements” – moisture, dirt, dust, grime, etc. Therefore, a racquet with a fresh natural gut stringjob was placed in a poly bag in order to protect the stringjob until the player was ready to use the racquet.
Today, most professional players use polyester-based strings, which are not very susceptible to the elements. Nonetheless, putting fresh stringjobs in poly bags is still standard practice among the professional ranks and often a sign of a high-quality stringing service. But unlike the days of my youth, poly bags are not just for the pros…
I’m thrilled to announce that, as of today, all of my clients’ racquets will leave my stringing workshop in poly bags.
Check it out. Here is a picture of a Babolat Pure Drive Lite I just strung up for a client today. As you can see, the Racquet Service Specifications Sheet is still rubber-banded to the grip, and the Invoice is in the bag.
"It's in the bag."
Thanks for checking in.
DH
Filed Under: Stringing
I was wondering where you get your poly bags and how much? I’m 18 and just starting to string, but I also want to string for others for a very small fee because of my age and not being part of the USRSA nor have I been stringing for more than 2 months. I was only going to charge $10 labor plus the cost of strings for adults and $8 labor plus the cost of strings for college and high school players. What is your take on my idea? Btw I wanted to get poly bags so people know I’m professional about it and therefore possibly bring in more business.
Hi David, came across your website recently and really enjoy your blogs. I’ve just recently started stringing and just became a new member of the USRSA. I would like to cover my strung racquets with clear poly bags as well and I’m curious as to where you get yours.
Thanks,
Bob
Hey Garrett – thanks for visiting my blog and for posting a comment. I think your idea sounds great, but your labor rate may be a little on the low side. Don’t sell yourself short. If you are professional and produce high-quality stringjobs for your clients, then you should be compensated fairly. My published labor rate is $14 per racquet, and I am probably on the low-to-mid end of what stringers charge. You might want to start out around $12 for both kids and adults. Like your plans, I don’t mark up strings either – I just charge my cost for strings.
Not trying to “push” my products on you, but if you are just getting started with stringing, you may want to purchase my “Learn to String” DVD Course. I’ve sold quite a few over the past year, and most of my customers say that the course really helped them. I have some blog posts about it andd also a separate tab/page on this blog about it. Check it out when you have a chance.
I buy my poly bags from Grand Slam Stringers (www.grandslamstrigers.com). I don’t recall the price right now, but it will be listed on the site. Tim Strawn, the owner, is a great guy and a expert tour stringer. You might want to spend some time on his site – very informative.
Thanks again for reaching out to me. Please reach out to me at anytime with questions/comments – always more than happy to help.
Take care.
DH
Hey Bob. Thanks for the comment – and thanks for checking out my blog.
I buy my poly bags from Grand Slam Stringers (www.grandslamstrigers.com). I don’t recall the price right now, but it will be listed on the site. Tim Strawn, the owner, is a great guy and a expert tour stringer. You might want to spend some time on his site – very informative.
Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions – as I am always more than happy to help.
Take care.
DH
FRESH
Thanks for the comment, Reed. Take care.
DH