I can agree and disagree with tomhagen.
He is spot on with the quality lumber - you just have too much of a chance of getting bad cuts on the big store shelves. There is some bad crap hanging at Dick's here in my town. I was in there yesterday, and with a rack full of Marucci, LS, and a few other popular BRANDS - by far the best cut bat was a label I have never seen before. It was a beautiful cut of maple.
I disagree because MINE (the company I work for) was listed and labeled as overpriced. At $99 for the MSRP, of course that is an investment - but it is still cheaper than the $100 plus priced bats that you are paying for, which are cuts of mass-produced wood. $129 for a Marucci bat? Please. Marucci got famous for the QUALITY cuts they were getting supplied back in 2005 from Hogan Hardwoods. They were a small company only spitting out the best wood. Now they are selling the Marucci name and focused on branding. There aren't enough Maple trees available to keep up with their original business model.
You can get Mine bats for as low as $45 if you want a -4 cut (less dense, durable). Give European Beech a try, it's an amazing wood that WILL break in and be a known name. Trust me, or the others on this forum who KNOW the difference a Mine European Beech bat gives you. Now is the time to get them as we are really in our infancy and just breaking in to the industry.
http://www.minebats.comLike most people, if you are worried about spending $100 or more on a quality wood bat - Mine offers a $25 "Back That Bat Up" 30-day insurance policy AT CHECKOUT ONLINE. Break it within the first month, and we have you covered. If you don't break it, no problem - that $25 isn't wasted. You will get that taken off your next purchase. All bats can break, but do all bat companies give you that option? Use "meiki20" for another 20% off the top.
You can't lose.