Paintball

[Silver]

Hey guys,
I'm interested in learning more about the history of the company. My google-fu seems to be weak, and wondering if anyone could help me out.

Thanks in advance!

[Skibbo]

found a short video about the history:
Viddler.com - Planet Eclipse History - Uploaded by bobd314

[PistolRogue]

As much as I'd hate to send anyone there- there may be more people on PBN who are more knowledgeable on this topic.

I know they used to build cockers and parts for cockers back in the day, and a lot of that grew into the Ego line we know today (if your really think about it the Ego is pretty much just the ultimate evolution of an autococker). Don't honestly know much more than that though.

[chrisshanks]

Originally Posted by Skibbo

found a short video about the history:
Viddler.com - Planet Eclipse History - Uploaded by bobd314

that's probably one of the best sources for info "right from the horses mouth" as they say

If you look at alot of the videos Planet has released over the past 4 years or so, about one out of every 3 or so contain clips from the owners (Julian and Ledz) with anecdotes on their history and features from the past on their business

to be honest, it is likley you could even obtain that info directly from the owners, they tend to be very personal. They may not reply to your request right away, especially if your inquiry is very "general", but if you are specific...

good luck in your search

[crawler78]

Being a fan of planet for so long and living semi close i have had the pleasure of knowing Jack n Ledz along with being one of there early teams sponsoured by them back in the day. i dont knoiw the very beguining as i met them in 1999 or early 2000. they had been doing aftermaket parts for cockers, mags and maybe a few other markers and did eclipse angels. they moved onto the eclipse cocker that continued to deveople into one of the first if not the first slder frame to an elector cocker. they also mad eclipse impulses and my personal favorite of the day eclipse bushmaster.they sold alot of Upgraded parts by themselfs for thous that couldnt afford the full deal. i left england in 03 ans stoped playing for a bit. in 08 when i came back to england i got back into the sport and contacted my old friend jack and started shooting the current line up we all know n love. at least for a bit. Jack and everyone there at planet are very friendly and would probally answer your questions as stated above.

[Cannon Fodder]

History:

Opened a shop in manchester, uk.
Put splash anno on a few markers, tuned them, and charged more for them.
Developed the e-blade for cockers.
then ego.
then geo.
then shut their store and concentrated on their markers.

I know I've missed out the etek and the etha

[crawler78]

How can u say shut there doors n worked on markers when you can still walk into there store n buy items?

[Cannon Fodder]

'cos of this:

Planet Eclipse HQ Blog: Planet Eclipse Retail Store Closing.....

when did you last walk in?

[crawler78]

well it has been awhile longer then i think i reliesed.
Jack did tell me they were setting up to move, but i failed to notice they were not having a hsop anymore n havent gone down to the new location. that kind of sucks. eventhou the store was small, i liked it. o well thanks. guess my trips down will be to just vist instead now.

[Furion]

Now, a lot of people will read this thread and say I'm "hating" their success and such, but really its a compliment.

I think Eclipse's stopped contributing to innovation in paintball around the Autococker era. All of the rest of what people say is true about their business. But I think what is most missed is Eclipse's ability to take an existing platform, copy it and then resell it for a lot more. I think they really have a strong ability to push value where there really isn't any.

It is apparent at their release of markers. They copied the Intimidator and called it the EGO, then they copied the Ion and called the GEO and most recently they copied the Automag and called it the Etha. Amazing, and the great thing about it is they will sell a lot of them and their supporters will deny that they copied an existing platform, rather they will say they innovated it. Or the creative ones will say they "refined" it. I envy what they have built.

I really have to applaud them for being able to sell value like this. I think there is a saying "that guy is so good he could sell ice to an eskimo." That is Eclipse's ability. They definitely have capitalized on a few trend's and were able to convince younger kids that they have the "better" product.

Anyhow, this is not meant as a slam, but rather a compliment.