Ever wondered.....

[Don Andersen]

Folks,

Ever wondered why Chev doesn't have a "I did stupid and I need a new truck".
Or Ford or your quad or what ever. If Chev did it, trucks may sell over $100,000.

Some of the rod companies do it - why not other manufacturers?
One thing that does happen - for those of us that look after our equipment - we pay more to make up for all those that don't.
If you paid $ 300 for a rod and sent it back for breakage twice, the rod was really only worth $ 100. I've heard of people sending a rod back 5 times.
For rod made by me, I don't warranty stupid. You break it and I'll fix it at your cost. I had one guy fall, stumble, twist, tumble 5 times in one summer. I fixed it- he paid!

Don

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Folks,

Ever wondered why Chev doesn't have a "I did stupid and I need a new truck".
Or Ford or your quad or what ever. If Chev did it, trucks may sell over $100,000.

Some of the rod companies do it - why not other manufacturers?
One thing that does happen - for those of us that look after our equipment - we pay more to make up for all those that don't.
If you paid $ 300 for a rod and sent it back for breakage twice, the rod was really only worth $ 100. I've heard of people sending a rod back 5 times.
For rod made by me, I don't warranty stupid. You break it and I'll fix it at your cost. I had one guy fall, stumble, twist, tumble 5 times in one summer. I fixed it- he paid!

Don

I'm sure rod manufacturers know exactly what proportion of their rods will come back for warranty replacement. One person getting it replaced three times doesn't mean a $300 rod is actually a $100 rod, as few anglers get a replacement, period. Perhaps they factor in a 15% markup to cover claims. BUT a rock solid warranty like that also gets you more sales. It's a feature some people value and are willing to pay for.

A certain percentage of folks (I have absolutely no idea how many) probably wouldn't buy from you because you don't warranty against breakage, and if a section does break you have them over a barrel in a way as they can't go to anyone else to get an identical replacement section. That will be a disincentive to some.

[nekred]

Good points made... warranty against breakage is kind of like a lost leader, however I certainly appreciate it.

i am very careful with my rods and my TF rod broke... not from a car door or anything but actually when playing a fish and the one piece was replaced no questions asked.

Guess what my next rod will be!...and what my son's rod will be!.. etc.

[lannie]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Folks,

Ever wondered why Chev doesn't have a "I did stupid and I need a new truck".
Or Ford or your quad or what ever. If Chev did it, trucks may sell over $100,000.

Some of the rod companies do it - why not other manufacturers?
One thing that does happen - for those of us that look after our equipment - we pay more to make up for all those that don't.
If you paid $ 300 for a rod and sent it back for breakage twice, the rod was really only worth $ 100. I've heard of people sending a rod back 5 times.
For rod made by me, I don't warranty stupid. You break it and I'll fix it at your cost. I had one guy fall, stumble, twist, tumble 5 times in one summer. I fixed it- he paid!

Don

But rods to break and it is not always negligence. I will say 85 %(negligence) and it is a guess. I don't fish with bamboo but with graphite some things happen that are not negligence. False casting in a boat moving forward and the fly(crazy charlie) hits the top section of a 4 piece and a not so funny noise occurs. Next stroke that section falls over. That's no "car door"
occurrence. Rods that break just above the cork? Not enough rod for the fish at hand maybe? I am just saying not all breaks are careless blunders. I think with all these very light graphite rods many do get broken by the actual
bead head variations that are so common today. 5 times is just crazy!

[Taco]

http://www.americanangler.com/technique/busted

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Taco

http://www.americanangler.com/technique/busted

Exactly, I build for myself and have done some for friends, but am hesitant to take the plunge. I have talked to a blank supplier as well as researched what other builders do. What makes the most sense is what one builder does, takes out the customer and has him cast the rod, if he's happy the builder is done, repairs now cost money. It's hard to compete with big Co's doing this though. The supplier I talked to laughed when I broached the subject, he said they'd replace the piece, but I still have to do the work.

The big outfits rods cost what they do for a reason, advertising, distributors, vendors, replacing broken pieces, all take a cut. Looking at the rods, the cork, the hardware and finish, I find it hard to believe they are in for more than a hundred bucks a rod. I don't believe their blanks are worth 3 and 4 times jobber blanks.

Fly fishing is very similar to golf in that people want the best, it's your advertising dept's job to convince the consumer what you have is the best.
I'd bet money the average, and I mean average not novice, fly fisher could not pick out the most expensive blank in a test. Same as golfer's, advertising is where the real money is made.