"If the price continues to rise, playing badminton will soon become more expensive than playing tennis…" Since 2025, the popularity of badminton has continued unabated. After the "price increase" of badminton in April, Yonex, the leading company in the badminton circle, has taken the lead in raising prices recently.
Yonex will rise again during the year, ranging from 30-40 yuan per barrel
Less than three months later, Yonex Japan’s official website issued another “price increase announcement.” On July 1, Yonex officially stated that it would use new badminton prices on August 1. The price increase of many badminton models ranged from 30 yuan to 40 yuan.
Just halfway through 2025, this is the second time Yonex has raised prices.
Before this announcement, domestic dealers posted on social media that the domestic price of Yonex badminton would undergo a new round of price adjustments in July, with the range being around 40 yuan.
This news triggered a lot of discussion in the dealer circle. Many dealers told Blue Whale News reporters, "I did hear that it will increase, but there is no official notice yet, so the specific price has not increased yet."
The flipside of price increases is stockouts.
Currently, all badminton products in the official flagship stores of Yonex Tmall and JD.com are sold out, and customer service responded that they have not yet received a price increase notice. Some gym owners revealed that they have not been able to book badminton balls since June.
How did badminton rise? Other brands have not yet followed suit, and the industry says there will be price differentiation in the future.
Different from the "price increase" in April this year, currently only Yonex Japan's official website has issued a price increase announcement. No other badminton brands have followed suit for the time being, and many unstandardized balls have also maintained their original prices. However, rumors of price increases in the industry have never stopped, with many practitioners taking the opportunity to hawk and encourage stockpiling. A salesperson said bluntly: "According to the trend of badminton in recent years, it is not surprising that the price will increase several times a year."
Several brands of badminton products have experienced significant growth in the past two years. Take Yonex, the "King of Price Increases", as an example. The retail price of its mainstream high-end AS-05 badminton model has increased from 210 yuan/dozen to 225 yuan/dozen before April 2024. After July of that year, the price soared further, reaching 275 yuan/dozen. Badminton equipment blogger Chen Zui told Blue Whale News that he purchased this ball from a wholesaler for 95 yuan per dozen more than two years ago, but now the price of the product has risen to 190 yuan. Based on this calculation, the price of this model of badminton has increased by 100% in two years, which is higher than the increase of gold in the same period.
The fundamental reason for the soaring price of badminton is that the scale of badminton enthusiasts continues to grow, and the supply and demand of raw materials, which are core materials, are out of balance.
In the past two years, the price of sword feathers has experienced several significant increases. According to an earlier report by the Beijing News, the wholesale price of Dao Ling per catty at the end of 2023 will be around 200 yuan per catty, and in 2024 the price per catty will be close to 300 yuan. This year, the procurement platform shows that the wholesale price of different categories of pornographic films is 350-450 yuan per pound, an increase of as much as 50%.
Another important change is that pornographic films are being downgraded. More than one industry insider told Blue Whale reporters that the quality of the same ball purchased now is far inferior to that of a few years ago, and this impact may affect the entire industry. Under the fast-growing and fast-slaughtering mode, the cycle of duck breeding and slaughter becomes shorter, and both the hair quality and output decline.
Although rising porn prices are an overall trend, there are some key differences worth paying attention to.
Chen Zui believes that badminton will show an obvious price differentiation trend in the future. Because only good wool is scarce, and there are more people who want to play well, under this supply and demand relationship, the price of expensive balls will continue to increase, while the price of cheap balls will drop slightly.
News from the upstream of the industry chain verified this speculation. A pornographic film dealer revealed to Blue Whale reporters that there has been no significant increase in the price of pornographic films recently, and that some mid- to low-end feathers have actually dropped in price.
The Blue Whale reporter learned that the price increase of badminton is likely to be a multi-party participation and dynamic game process. Many dealers, sales and badminton bloggers said that as long as one big brand rises, other brands will follow suit, and the impact will be transmitted to every link in the industry chain. In addition, the behavior of some raw film dealers to hoard raw materials and dealers to suppress goods will also aggravate the trend of shortages and price increases.
"In fact, no matter whether there is a price increase announcement or not, dealers will sell in the end. How much they sell and whether they give up profits depends on market acceptance." Therefore, some people in the industry admitted that market regulation alone cannot solve the current problem from the root, and the industry needs more regulatory intervention.
How much does it cost to make a badminton? Rising prices have spawned "futures ball" and "eight badminton"
Badminton keeps rising, what should consumers and manufacturers do?
Channel source Xiao Cai revealed to reporters that the two largest domestic manufacturers are actually actively controlling prices, such as no longer purchasing pornographic films that exceed the existing price. Many manufacturers are still exploring upgrading artificial ball technology, such as Yonex's M2000 and Victor's Carbon Sound Pro, and their market acceptance has also increased significantly. There are even some badmintons with eight feathers on the market.
Under the continuous price increase trend, some practitioners have explored the sales method of "futures badminton", that is, customers pay the full price at the locked price, and the goods are shipped 2-3 weeks later. Under this model, the intermediary uses the customer's money to place an order directly with the manufacturer, bypassing traditional channels to increase the price, so the product will be dozens of yuan cheaper than the market retail price.
A businessman who runs the "futures badminton" business said that currently Yonex and some models of Asia Lion are not accepting "pre-orders" for the time being. Because Yonex’s price increase this time may be very high, there is no way to accept reservations at the lock-in price on the form. This "advance payment + delayed delivery" model is similar to dealers ordering from upstream. It is generally a passive means to resist price increases and has a very limited impact on the overall price system.
Many badminton enthusiasts have also turned their attention to second-hand balls and unmarked balls as substitutes.
Blue Whale reporter’s search found that there are currently a large number of second-hand badminton for sale on the e-commerce platform. These balls are usually put on the shelves after being recycled and repaired by vendors. Their quality is mainly 8-95% new, and the price of a ball generally ranges from 20-100 yuan.
In addition, unmarked balls are also popular among badminton enthusiasts as food balls and training balls. This type of ball usually indicates which well-known brand it is targeting, such as Asia Dragon, Yonex, Red Super, etc., but the price is less than 1/2 of the latter. There is no shortage of consumers in the comment area who affirm the product’s feel, cost-effectiveness, etc.
However, Xiao Cai, a badminton channel person, reminded that the profits of badminton are now very transparent. For example, the purchase price of a first-grade goose feather was 0.75 yuan some time ago, and a bucket of balls requires 192 knife feathers. Taking into account production losses, the cost of a bucket of raw balls may be nearly 150 yuan. Including coils, glue, ball heads, labor, and packaging, the production cost of a barrel of first-grade goose feather balls is about 1,780 yuan. Under cost pressure, unstandardized balls may have incorrect goods and poor quality control, and it is also difficult to achieve true "benchmarking."
