Greetings from an Albright rod owner, and a member of a club wherein others have recently purchased Albrights (partly from my recommendation).
I think Albright has a sale whenever there is a Holiday or reason to celebrate. That might not be what THEY think, but that is the model I use when telling others what to look for. On that basis I would not worry, but look to the next opportunity, like Jan. 17, or Feb. 2, or Feb. 14. Sign up for their Email newsletter and they will tell you when the next sale begins. Whenever the price does NOT seem discounted, it seems to be soon after. The non-discounted price on the website is the MSR, so you could expect to pay that at a shop.
Secondly, a friend of mine liked my A5 6wt and ordered a 4wt. They were out of A5s, so they sent him an A5-NS. Another friend just received his 7wt XXT, which by the time it reached his door in Canada cost a total of only $225Cdn (inc. duty). So I don't think it is necessarily a clearance of past models.
Thirdly, I received an inexpensive gift rod from them when I purchased my A5, and the gift rod had a blemish. I emailed Albright to discuss. The result was an email conversation with the president (him on his BlackBerry!), resolving the situation, and also pointing out that the remaining 'gift' rods would be donated to the Boy Scouts. I certainly have confidence in Albright after that, and recommend them.
BTW, my view is the A5 rods are med. to med-fast only, and wonderful for rollcasting. In the 'language' of our club they are 'fishing rods', not 'casting rods', IE you’re not going to bang out distance casts into the wind. The XXT is quite fast and would do well to be overlined by 1.
Cheers,
Greg
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