Is fishing tackle overpriced?

  • Thread starter Tony wainwright (Twainy)
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Tony wainwright (Twainy)

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Is fishing tackle too dear for what it is?
The prices of reels for example.
Look at the price of okuma reels compared to some others that do the same job.
Are we getting value for money from the dealers?
I have no firm opinion on this, just playing devils advocate but I'd like your opinions.
 
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John McLaren

Guest
My own view on this is that the rrp of most tackle is over the top and I believe that is underlined by the heavy discounting that is available. Howver, because of that discounting I think that you can get a good deal from most retailers but it is important to do your homework before buying.

This applies primarily to larger items - rods, reels etc. The more difficult area is the cost of "consumables" I suspect that in many cases the packaging costs more than the content (bait bands for example).
 
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stu black

Guest
I think a lot of stuff is very expensive, and they never sell you everything you need in one package.

eg I brought some alarms at a decent price but then the batteries were a lot extra and so were the protective covers.

Also buy a pod and it doesnt come with a carry case or hangers etc.
 
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Tony wainwright (Twainy)

Guest
I see a lot of "packages" for sale eg a full carp kit, rods,reels, pod,hangers, buzzers etc for what seems a very reasonable price.
Is this kit no good or capable of doing the job but not as well as the expensive gear?
I presume its the old case of you get what you pay for?
 
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The Monk

Guest
To be honest Tony, I only ever buy second hand these days, I think in carp fishing we had a few in the growth period who it was evident had just jumped on the bandwagon in order to make a quick buck. What I found annoying was that many companies used us as paying field testers on their innovations, the first bedchair I bought fell to pieces with a few month, when I complain they suggested that the product was unsuitable for anyone over 12 stone and gave me a leg for the front, a month later I broke this too? I think the more reputable companies are now getting their acts together although I still feel there is room in the price department for modification?
 
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Tony wainwright (Twainy)

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I think its true in general that the more you pay the better the quality especially in the terminal tackle dept.
Whilst I may not pay in the hundreds for a rod, I wont buy dirt cheap usually as its not worth it.
Saying that, i recently bought a shakespeare quinto feeder rod, 4 quivers and a swing tip Lovely reel lock and its beautifully finished. A pleasure to use and all for ?60!!!
 
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Jim Hinchley

Guest
Its all about what you are prepared to pay !!
Im with monk in that i buy some of my gear secondhand or on the net. However to highlight what people are prepared to pay i have recently watched a shimano 5000 gte baitrunner sell on ebay for ?64 + p&p. I bid on it earlier but knew i could get one for ?69 + p&p brand new so bought new instead.
Yes we pay over the top but its ripoff Britain and extends way beyond fishing equipment.
 
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Sean Meeghan

Guest
I think the honeymoon period is over for the fishing tackle manufacturers. They had a time of plenty when they discovered that they could buy stuff in China for a fraction of the price of their ususal sources, but then the likes of Badger and Okuma undercut themand now prices are starting to drop.

Two things I would say though are that you can't beat the quality of the likes of Harrison and that there's no such thing as a cheap waterproof (or at least a cheap breathable one)
 
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The Monk

Guest
I think it is over Sean, mind you they've had a good run!

I was in the state a few years ago and bought the lad a guitar for 800 Canadian Dollars (?500) the same one in Manchester cost around ?1.5K, the fishing tackle over there is the same, we used to shop in Walmart for the spider wire, I could'nt believe how cheap it was in comparison!
 
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The Monk

Guest
Jim, whats the big blank at the bottom of your thread mate, lost for words?
 
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Chris Bishop

Guest
You only have to look at the number of companies who've either gone bust or stopped doing fishing gear over the last few seasons - it's getting really cut-throat.

The other factor is a lot of people are now shopping via the web, just compare prices of American lure gear, everything from rods and reels to line, lures etc.

Tackle's cheaper in relative terms than it's ever been. Fifty years ago, a good reel cosst a month's wages. These days you can get somthing usable for under ?50 and the big name premium product doesn't cost a lot more.
 
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Kevan Farmer

Guest
I have just bought an ABU 6501 l/h wind multiplier for the princely sum of ?50. Yes, it's brand new. The cheapest I have seen these previously is around ?80. The RRP is, I think, over ?100. I bought this reel off eBay. When I got it I found a US price tag showing $45.95 I don't have a conversion chart in front of me but think that comes out to around ?30 - ?35. Obviously the guy has been to the US and stocked up with a few reels. The seller has made some money but I have also saved myself a good deal so I don't mind. It does show the big mark up we have to pay though. It's the same in Oz, their gear is far cheaper than even the US.

Now, if only BassPro would parcel goods and designate them as low value and gifts :) a camera company I have recently dealt with does this. Let's just say I saved a fantastic amount of money by importing two video camera batteries and a charger for less than the price of one single battery over here.

Kevan
 
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Gerry Castles

Guest
It's all market forces again and what the consumer in each part of the world will put up with. A Loomis Nautikos 10 weight flyrod in the USA where the Loomis factory is situated costs aroundb ?340. In the UK it costs ?440, Campbells in Perth (Oz not Scotland)are currently advertising it for ?265. Loads of other examples too. Those prices significantly are similar to the pricing structures of manufacturers of other top flyrods in the US. Astonishly similar. Anyone smell a rat ?
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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I was at the Tackle and Trade show at the NAC last week and the 'in-the-know' talk was that too many entrepaneurs are coming into fishing tackle to make a quick million and then get out as soon as they've made it.
 
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John McLaren

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The worry in all of this is where it leaves the small local tackle dealer. The answer is "virtually nowhere".

I want to support my local dealer partly for selfish reasons - I want somewhere to buy bait and urgently needed bits, but I would probably only rarely buy anything large because he just can't come anywhere near on price because he is pretty well stuck with the rrp. Nor can he match the range available at the "superstores".

Its the corner store versus ASDA & Tesco all over again!
 
chub angler

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Of course fishing tackle's not over priced.

If you compare what you can get today for a week's work to a few decades ago there is absolutely no comparison.

& it is all on tap at the flick of a button. When I started, if you wanted decent tackle you had to design & make it yourself.

You have only to go & look for your old favorite tackle dealers & find the shop is now full of Oxfam stuff smelling of old ladies f-n---s to realize that tackle dealers certainly don't make a decent shilling.

& yes I do refuse to buy stuff from the States, stuff is cheap from the states - but look at the demographic stats. - the vast majority outside of the cities live in shacks, the majority in the cities live in ghetto's. Cheap goods come at a price for the people and most are manufactured in Asian sweatshops.

You should pay a decent price for decent technology and support the economy. Keep the money circulating, pay the tax, everyone benefits in the long run.
Look at what a decent place the country used to be before most of our manufacturing was squeezed out by the old Government. For one thing you could park your car go and catch some Roach & the car was still there when you came back.

Cheers

Spurdog
 
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The Monk

Guest
Spur Dog, Yes cheap goods do come at a price, and Western Democracies have for years exploited third world countries, we see this with sports equipment. Thatcher sold out our manufacturing, heavy engineering and coal mining industries, I was on the Metz, Luxenbourg border last year and was surprised just how much heavy industries were in full swing.
I think the changes in the country though are in its social structure , we no longer strap kids at school (no disipline), the police have no teeth and we are told what to do by the Europeans.

But are we talking about the tackle manufacturers here or those who sell it on and take their own cut out first?
 
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Carp Angler

Guest
John,
if your local tackle shop can't match anyones price, it's because he doesn't want to.

Trade price is trade price.
Sure some high volume shops get more discount, but it's only an extra 5% at most.

I help out in my local shop and their nearest competitor is a massive shop with a massive carp mail order business.
(you know the type 8 page advert in Carpworld and will beat any price)

My local will match any price, sure they don't make as much money on a sale, but isn't anything better than nothing?
 
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Tony Wainwright (Twainy)

Guest
The exchange rate with oz is at about $3 to the ? at the moment. This is unlikely to stay so good for much longer.
Just to give you an example, I have 3 relatives staying for 3 nights in Sydney, including new years Eve, in a 4 star hotel. The cost..just over ?400!
If you can get tackle from oz at the moment then go for it.
 
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