Curious to know how much a paintball gun costs? What budget should you get for a beginner? What about for a mid-range marker? Paintball gun prices vary a lot and there are many factors that affect them. Read on to know more about the price of a paintball gun and what budget you should set depending on your paintball lifestyle.
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Average Price of a Paintball Gun
How much does a paintball gun cost? The cheapest markers can cost as low as $100 while the high-end ones can reach up to $2,000. Now that’s a lot of money!
If you’re wondering why a marker ends up priced at $2000, it’s mostly because of the quality and the brand. For obvious reasons, the more prestigious the brand is, the more expensive their markers are. However, this doesn’t apply to all brands. In fact, there are those who offer mid-range markers at affordable prices.
To be specific, mid-range guns often cost around $250-700. Usually, this is the tier of markers that you will often look at especially if you’re not a professional player and you don’t have any plans to. Some beginners will opt for a mid-range gun, but it’s not recommended especially if the markers won’t be used regularly.
What Affects a Marker’s Price?
Wondering what makes an expensive marker expensive? Here are some of the things that affect its price.
Build
Probably one of the biggest factors of your paintball gun’s price is its quality. A lot of professional paintball guns are expensive simply because their make and quality are top-notch. After all, high-quality materials and designs come with greater costs.
But does a higher price guarantee a better quality? Not all the time. In fact, a lot of top tier markers don’t perform as well as it’s supposed to be. If you’re prone to buying more expensive markers, you have to think twice before making such a huge investment on a marker that costs you more than $500.
Technology
Modern paintball guns have varying technologies that make them more efficient. Some have automatic regulators that make your marker consistent in using the air to shoot out paintballs. Some markers have control panels and robot voices that tell you what shooting method you’re in.
More sophisticated technology will yield a higher price. However, it’s not all the time that these technologies will be helpful. Sure, that voice control may help, but it might also give away your location if you have to speak so loudly so that the commands are heard.
At the end of the day, you have to be critical about the technology the marker is famous for. You have to ask yourself if the technology it uses greatly improves your marker’s overall performance. If it doesn’t, then you might as well stick to simple and basic paintball guns.
Brand
Should you buy a paintball marker just because it’s made by a famous brand? This is often a dilemma of paintball players and even people in general. People are often drawn towards brands that are established and prestigious and some turn a blind eye to their prices. In fact, some may justify the price solely because of the brand of a marker.
In reality, there are brands that deserve their prices. There are brands that work so hard on their R&D that they charge a premium price because of the high technology applied to the marker. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for other brands. It’s up to you to know which brands deserve their prices and those that are just riding on their branding.
Accessories
Do paintball markers come with accessories? Some do and some don’t. For example, a lot of mid-range and high-tier paintball markers come with their own cases and spare parts that can be used to replace other damaged parts. All of these accessories are not for free even if they might be marketed as such. These little additions to the whole package add up to the overall price of a marker.
Is It Worth It to Buy an Expensive Paintball Gun?
Even if you have the budget, you shouldn’t always end up buying a very expensive marker if it’s not worth it. There are so many markers that will tell you that they are the best and they are top-notch, but not all of them will deliver. To help you out in identifying the facts from lies, you can look at reviews. Reviews will always be helpful in giving insight on how good or bad a marker is.
Moreover, you should also consider your paintball lifestyle. Will you always play paintball? Are you that interested in paintball? If you answered yes to those questions, then buying an expensive paintball marker can be justified. Besides, if you’ll be using them all the time, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.
What if you’re just a beginner? It’s wise to try playing paintball with rented markers first. That way, you can be sure if you actually love paintball enough for you to invest. If you’re sure you want to keep playing paintball, then do a little more research on the types of markers and which ones fit your preferences. There are a lot of markers out there and researching will help you find the right markers that fit your budget, too.
Of course, if you’re playing professionally or that you’ve always loved to play paintball, then buying an expensive paintball marker makes a lot of sense. Eventually, you’ll be needing a top tier marker because they’re the ones who are often very reliable especially during professional paintball games.
Conclusion
Paintball markers range from $100-2000. If you’re a beginner or you don’t plan on playing paintball often, then a cheaper model will be sufficient. If you’re turning paintball into a hobby, then a $300-$700 paintball marker is the right range. But if you’re aiming to play professionally or that you’re already a seasoned paintball player, it makes sense to invest in high-end paintball markers.
