Truth to tell, the institute...as well as our certified instructors...can buy most products at pro or dealer prices. But when it comes to luxury imports, the duty fees and such are a big chunk of the price and the margin isn't really that big. Besides, normal retail mark-up in sporting goods being anywhere from 15-40%, a $600 reel at wholesale is still expensive for a charity. But that's just half the story...Originally Posted by bonefishwhisperer
What about the disabled angler? How many people living on a disability check do you imagine can afford a $300-600 fishing reel? Their monthly rent is usually half that!
What is really behind our request for donated semi-auto reels is a research project whereby we are using these reels to teach with and take disabled anglers fishing, yes; but we are also taking them apart, studying their ease of maintenance and repair, looking for ways to improve on various designs, and coming up with our own ideal model. Then we will take that to a US reelmaker with a price-point that is affordable and see if we can get someone to make them for us.
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