Support your local dealer -

Kevin, if the legend "I think therefore I am." is true, then you is. You certainly is.

A lot of thought there and some good, sound ideas. Shop-share, good idea because someone who knows tackle may not know about anything else, and yet you need something else in order to keep going and bring in extra custom.

It's also true about new models etc. I would bet next weeks salary that Shimano have already got their 2010 model on the drawing board and the 2008 model is already being tested in prototype mode. How many years between changes did the old Mitchell 300 go. You'd porobaly have found that soemone with a 1978 model could interchanmge many parts with an old 1959 model as this was the VW Beetle of reels.

I'm sure it is that constant changing and renaming of tackle that send under the small dealer. It's certainly impossible for them to keep abreast and in many cases, poles and some rods, all the change is, is a respray job on the graphics.

You've helped convince me further against opening a local shop though Kevin - DON'T DO IT!

I think we should support the tackle shops, rather than shop on the internet, for reasons that have been said on the other thread.
It is possible that there are too many tackle shops in one area, such as where I live.
And in my oppinion, neither of these two shops deserve to be in business.
I wouldn't expect any tackle shop to know all of the latest gear, or even stock all the tackle necessary.
What the customer should do is to give the owner the chance to place an order for items of tackle. This is how it works to an extent anyway. Or are anglers of such a type that they want this and they want it now? Anglers can be a selfish lot, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear somebody say, yes we want it NOW!
I believe the tackle shops will thin themselves out, and the better ones will be the ones to prosper.
Then we will see a mad rush of new tackle dealers sprouting up all over the place again.
Well, not actually tackle dealers but business men, who have no other interest but to make a killing.
It is up to every angler to find a good shop and give them their fullest support for their own good.

I fully agree with you Baz. Supporting your local tackle shop is a must.

I don't buy everything from my local tackle shop of course because it's impossible. Harrison Rods for example I obtain by mail order because the nearest stockist is in Luton.

My local dealer does not carry fly gear so that means a 20 mile trip or mail order. But for the general run of bait, hooks, lines and other stuff, I patronise my local shop.

In the 6 years I have lived in Rotherham I must have spent well over ?6k there.

i am lucky as my local store (climax)has a website so i can look on there at what they have got order online then pick it up when i am passing

why should I support the tackle shops with 200%+ mark up ?
internet shopping is the best thing that ever happened

If you think that local tackle shops are making 200% MU Cakey then all I can say is that you are living on another planet.

ok lamp oil in local merchants ?1.99
tesco ?1.50
local tackle shop ?7.50
same make same bottle more than 200%mark up

I will shop around for the best deals for big items : rods, reels ,bivies ect ,if it`s cheaper on the internet then that`s where I will buy ,makes sense ,we all shop around for other things in life ,so why not fishing tackle ?

I couldn't believe what I saw yesterday when I met a few FM guys in Ringwood. Two tackle shops within 70 yards of each other and according to PJ, both do really well.

Tackle shops always used to be something else as well ---probably due to there being a proper close season, when there was no fishing at all between March 15th and June16th--hence little or no income for 3 months
My local tackle shops (4 of them) were also:
a)pet shop
b)garden type goods
c)toy shop
d)hardware store
They all had the fishing tackle department(if you could call it that)at the back of the shop,out of the way of the'proper customers...

After a number of people saying the mark up price was very low on tackle, I had another word with my mate who went if for a tackle shop two years ago.
I thought I remembered him saying the mark up price was over 100%. He verified this tonight, and said there was a huge profit margin on small items especially.

but you've got to sell a lot of packets of hooks with a 100% mark up of ?1 havent you...

and your point Frothey is...................

you've got to shift a hell of a lot of hooks to make a living!

I think a lot of people buy the larger items online?
The shops I know all have a minimum of three adult staff, more at weekends, so there must be something in it.

Cakey, I would guess that the tackle shop buys the oil lamps in at ?3.00 to ?3.50 plus VAT. Out of that they have to pay rent, council tax, utility bills, wages and whatever's left they get taxed on.

If they change supplier and buy them from the same place as the local merchants does they'd probably buy them in at ?1.00 each and the same out going costs would apply.

If they do that, they will have to sell 4 times as many lamps to make the same profit they did previously. This formula assumes they will sell the same quantity, but they might sell a few more.

Ron, Baz,

I would very much like to support my local shop but I do get fed up sometimes.

Back in October I ordered a Drennan Super Specialist rod sling from one of my local shops. I paid for it too.

A month later it not arrived so I used the money for something else.

I ordered and paid for the same item from another of my local shops. I left it 2 months this time before using the money for something else.

In the end I rang Leslies up and it arrived next day.

I appreciate the many hurdles that prevent shops from getting stock (minimum orders, account issues, stock going to larger shops first etc.) but it can be a pain when it effects my fishing.

I've just gone the whole of the winter without the Nash winter clothing I paid for in November. Everytime I was on the bank freezing my nuts of I was unhappy.

Whether it was the shop's fault, Nash's fault, or Nash's clothing manuafacturer's fault I don't know. In a way that's not the point.

The point is that I could ring a few mail order shops with decent reputations and have my stuff when I need it.

It's because I want my local shops to do well that I persevere, but the more this happens the sooner I will give up on them.

"Whether it was the shop's fault, Nash's fault, or Nash's clothing manuafacturer's fault I don't know. In a way that's not the point."

It's the shop's fault Matt. They should give you an expected delivery date - if you agree to wait that's fine. If it doesn't arrive when promised it's up to the shop to sort it out - your contract is with the shop.
If the supplier/manufacturer can't or won't supply the shop that is an issue for the shop to deal with.

I wouldn't give my repeat business to anyone who failed to deliver on their promises, and would certainly expect a full refund on goods which don't arrive when promised.

I don't know why consumers put up with such crap service. I am all for supporting my local tackle shop - but only as long as it deserves that support. If they can't look after their customers, for whatever reason, they don't deserve to be in business.

You would think the rise in internet shopping would have focussed the minds of high street shops, but many seem to be carrying on in denial, or ignorance, of the way shopping is changeing. The incredible success of E-Bay must have opened a few eyes, and I suspect the successful tackle dealers in the future will have to have a mix of mail-order, internet and traditional shop based trade to stay profitable.

The shops which stay like the pub in American Werewolf in London are surely doomed to fail - and so they should.

Jeff

Thanks for your kind words, but my article was only following in your illustrious footsteps?..and now I?ve started waffling on, just can?t seem to stop!

Anyway, with regard to supporting local tackle shops, I would say that if buying patterns are altering, then these shops should look at their core business, make sure that they are able to offer an acceptable level of customer service to everyone who comes through the e door, not just their ?best friends?.

Look at higher value ?peripherals? such as digital cameras (why is it that tackle shops never seem to have throwaway waterproof cameras on sale. I went dolphin swimming with my family in Mexico, local shops sold waterproof cameras at $5, get to the dolphin centre and the price had risen to $25, and they were flying of the shelves) binoculars, or two-way radios. Why not take up ideas the big retailers use like a loyalty card, which is stamped after every purchase and a discount given when a certain level is achieved?


Perhaps the shops should employ some lateral thinking. A large white board in a prominent position could, for instance, give details of local open matches. The shop sells tickets for these matches and offers a (small) discount on any tackle bought at the same time as the ticket. It maybe that local syndicates could be contacted with a view to offering a ?taster? day on their water(s) for an attractive price. Clubs in the area may have a sought after stretch of water or lake that they might be prepared to lease out for a day on an exclusive basis, or alternatively, look at organising ?once in a lifetime? mini bus trips to places like the Hampshire Avon.

Then again, why don?t tackle shops offer to act as agents for angling holidays, no outlay on the shop?s part and the chance of a bit of commission? If the shop is miles inland, you can be sure that there will be a local group of nutters who go out on charter boats, offer to act as a go between if there are spaces/cancellations

Next time a tackle wholesaler?s rep comes begging for business, tell them you would like bit of support from them and will place an order just as soon as they can book a date for one of their big name stars to do a PA in your shop. You may not get John Wilson or Matt Hayes, but any ?name? is bound to bring publicity opportunities and therefore punters

There again??what do I know about it!

Carl, in defence of the shop, they did tell me that it was likely to take a while as Nash had been unreliable with the clothing the previous year.

Also, speaking to other shops, they too had a problem.

Having worked in a shop I don't think it's fair to soley blame the shop.

Yes the contract is with them, yes they are the point of contact and yes they should try their best to sort it out.

Shops can only go on what they are told by their suppliers. If their supplier says 2 weeks then that's what they tell the customer.

If the supplier fails on their promise then what can the shop do? It easier if the same item can be sourced from more than one supplier, but that's rarely the case in the tackle trade.

The only thing I ask is that suppliers give custoemrs accurate information and that information is passed on accurately to the customer.