“Friendship, trust, respect, loyalty, etc…all reasons maybe to pay a premium price.”
I am just curious, how much of a premium your local shop is worth to you? If you wanted a new rod that your local shop was selling for $600 and you found it online for $550, would you pay the extra $50 at your local shop? How about if you found it online for $500? or $400, or $300? At some point does your own fiscal situation override your sense of ideals?
I will admit that paying a premium is not worth that much to me any more. When I first started fly fishing I bought everything local because I relied on my local shop to give me advice on my purchases,set my rig up, and even give me advice on where to go and what flies to use. As a novice, I felt that ANY premium I paid was well worth the help and knowledge I got from my local shop. In fact when I purchased my first “real” (read: expensive) setup the shop owner even took me out back and gave me a free casting lesson that improved my casting more in a half hour than several months of struggling on my own.
I don’t tie flies, so for the most part that’s about all I still buy at my local shop anymore, save for the “gotta have it now” emergency purchases. I don’t even buy tippett there-I just go to Wally World and buy mono where I can get a lifetime supply for the same price as a itty bitty roll of “tippett material”. I always thought that was a scam! Sure I want my local guy to do well, but it’s not my responsibility to put food on his table, and I gotta eat too. On items that are ~$50 or less (like lines for example) I’m willing to pay maybe a 40% premium to my local shop. On the big ticket items like rods and reels (and waders could fall into this one too) If I can find it for 10% less online, that’s where my money is going.
I would say if it was the difference between $600 and $550 I’d buy local. When you get down a hundred or so its not so clear.
I do try and buy locally. I like the local shop owners, like the service they provide to my community and I do ask them for favors like contributing to fishing events or things like that.
I am also prejudiced against big box stores. Don’t like what they do to the communities (yes this is a BIG generalization) so I tend to avoid them. I also don’t see their savings to be that great either.
Mostly its big buck items that I buy on price, but smaller stuff I do locally. What I don’t do is go local to try equipment and find what I want and then buy online based on that knowledge.
If they through in free shipping, were based out of state and I already knew the product well enough to be ready to buy. I’d go with the online price of $550.00. In that case, with no tax and free shipping, I wouldn’t be saving $50.00, it would be more in line with saving $99.50…add to that my time driving too and the additional fuel expenditure to and from the nearest fly shop ( around another $12.00 ). No contest.
But in all honesty other than closeout items I really don’t see that much difference in prices on the SAME items between local fly shops and online retailers.
Most of the manufacturers frown HEAVILY, (with threats of pulling the product line) on retailers who discount. So I see most rods, reels, lines and the like at MSRP across the board. Cabela’s sells Ross Reels for the same price as Joe’s Fly Shop provided Cabela’s isn’t cheating or Joe isn’t gouging. Funny thing is, I’ve never saw this type of price fixing in many other businesses that don’t sell direct but instead use distribution or retail to sell their products. I only wish all of my competitors in my real job sold at the same price as me. Then we could all fight it out on service alone which I prefer.
Another thing I notice sometimes is that fly shop X will raise their prices when a manufacturer puts out a new catalog with a price increase; even if the inventory in the shop was purchased BEFORE the increase and the increase to the shop owner hasn’t taken effect yet. In December I saw one large on-line retailer that held the old prices until HIS new catalog came out for 2007 so I saved a substantial amount of $$$ on a reel that the local guy increased in price the second he got the new manufacturer’s catalog for 2007…
…back in October of 2006.
Bottom line, when I factor in freight & tax in some cases for the on-line retailer versus gas and travel time for the local guy; the local guy usually wins out on price. BUT if we’re talking apples to apples on an item and I can get it for less; I’ll buy it from whoever has the best price.
I buy stuff from people not stores. Sure, I may buy a fly line on closeout somewhere, or a couple packs of hooks and beads, but when it comes to big ticket items I buy from one of the three fly shops I have been dealing with for over 20 years. It ain’t about money to me.
No on-line retailer ever let me stay at their house for 15-20 weekends a year in exchange for help around their fly shop. No on-line retailer ever watched my dog for two weeks when I had to make an emergency business trip. No on-line retailer has ever taken me fishing or accepted my offer to take them fishing. I’ve never gone out to dinner with an on-line retailer and done of them ever wanted to sit around and drink beer with me.
I haven’t been invited to a family wedding or Christening, not have I attended a funeral of a family member of an on-line retailer. No on-line retailer ever introduced me to people that would become some of my best and dearest friends either. Nor did they welcome each and every one of my friends that I ever sent their way like they were long lost buddies.
They say it’s not good practice to do business with friends, to that I say what a load of bunk. What I have received from my friends in the fly fishing business can’t be measured in terms of dollars and cents and frankly I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Having been in the retail business since 1970 and the car business since 1977 I definately feel it is worth a premium to buy local. In the example of the $600 rod, I know that I would first ask the local shop to shorten the spread a little, and then buy there. It is very easy for online retailers in particular to be cheaper on price, because they have virtually no overhead costs. Costs such as cost of inventory, staff, insurance, rent, property tax, customer services, payroll taxes, FICA, workers comp, electricty, heat, thieft, and on and on. Some one already mentioned donations for every wildlife banquet or public works project. Of that extra $50 for that rod how much do you really think goes in the owners pocket and how much goes back into your own community to fix streets, upgrade schools, support the resturant next door, or to put gas in the truck he bought from me so that I can buy a flyrod? The more you do locally the more the shop owner can do locally and the more dollars you send away on-line the less he can do locally! There is also the big issue of personal service. Will the on-line retailer let you test cast a rod or a new line to see if you like it before you buy it? Will the give you a loner rod for that big trip if you break yours just before you leave? Will they show you how to tie a good nail knot or clean your line, or patch a hole in your waders all for free because they like and value you and your business?
I happen to be at a disadvantage here in SE Iowa in that there isn’t a real fly shop closer than a 2 hour drive and even those are basicly big box stores, like Scheels or Gander Mountain. I buy things from them as well as Cabelas and Bass Pro which are both 4 hours away. I do buy things at the 2 or 3 of the local shops at Bennett Springs and have paid more money than some other places just because it is very nice to have them there when I want or need something when I am 400 miles from home.
Sorry, sometimes I get a little wound up. :lol:
Some years back I read a story about a lady of ninety years plus who lived in Guildford UK and had always bought her cars from the same shop over a period of sixty years.
She would take back a two year old with 2000 miles on it and trade it for a new one. As she was the eldest motorist locally the newspaper interviewed her.
The lady was asked why she never bought any other make of vehicle and invited to comment as to why a ninety year old should be driving a 427cu/in A.C. Cobra.
Her response was that she trusted the cars, besides which, on the rare occasion the cars failed, all she had to do was call the makers and they would come down from the other end of the street and fix it.
No problem; no competition.
If you get service like that at your local shop, you will rarely stray
Hum some thing yes some things no. I try to buy as much as possible from the 3 fly shops within 5 miles of my house. But if I cant find it at them I go to sportsmans warehouse or somewhere online
To start, my LFS gives me 15% off everything. If i buy hackle for tieing ill barter with them and usally have me buy something that has been around for a bit but i dont mind. There maxima 110 yard spools of tippet, cost less there than at wallymart, and that mono I would not use after a summer cause it will break down and the trout in the bow can do a number on brand new tippet.
If i found a rod for 500 and they where selling it for 600, they would give me the rod for 500.
That said i will pay a big preimum for an canadian or amercian made product.
If I can get it locally, or it’s an item they can order for me that I don’t mind waiting for, I’ll buy it from the fly shop. I do this with items like waders, wading boots, vests, reels, lines, etc…
If I need it now and they don’t have it, I go where I have to in able to get it (I always tell them about it, as I want them to ‘know’ that if they’d carry what I wanted, I’d buy it from them…). Mostly this is tying supplies.
Price has little bearing on this. This is fishing, and we really ‘need’ none of this stuff. If I want a reel that’s $600 at the fly shop and $300 on line, and I don’t have the additional $300, I’ll find a reel at the fly shop that costs the $300 (or wait until I have it all). It’s only a fly reel, doesn’t make that much difference one way or the other if I ever ‘have’ it.
Some folks think ‘price’ matters, though. Up to them.
I buy locally. Those folks aren’t only neighbors. they’re friends and fishing buddies. I can’t state that aspect any better than Avalon did!
What I don’t like seeing, and I’ve seen it in the cycling and industrial sales business too, is when some unscrupulous customer picks the brain and wastes the time of a local merchant to find and even look at and borrow certain gear only to purchase that same gear from some far away faceless place that only knows you as a number… if that.
To me, catalog houses are mainly order takers. The real sales generally come from a local dealer who provides that ‘extra value’ so many these days take for granted.
That said, I’ve yet to find any item I want on-line or through a catalog that I can’t get at the same price locally. I guess that comes with building relationships.
Do I buy some on-line & at Cabela’s?..YES!
Will I pay more to buy it at a local shop?..YES!
Bottom line is availability, personality, & service. IMHO, even MORE important to a shops’ future than the money you spend there is the amount of positive feedback you give them afterward. I often post the name(s) of my favorite shops here & at a local site in Ohio. I figure if I can get 5 more people shopping at a local shop, it helps MY cause. I direct folks I’ve just met to these shops & also to FAOL.
Mike
I try to use the local shop as often as possible…I have a great one nearby…I only had an issue on two occasions that made me think about going elsewhere. I was looking for new waders and they only carried 2 brands, neither of which had a short enough leg for my size and weight. the other was when I was looking at Korker Konvertibles, they were about $45 more (about one third more than I could find them on line). I bought them there anyway because I could try them on and I got some real solid advice from them. I figure if the boots last me 3 years…It’s $15 bucks a year and I lose that much in the sofa every year!..Nice to have and keep them around! Places like Sportsman’s warehouse have their place too, because my guy can’t carry everything.
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This thread is intriguing and frankly I’m starting to feel a little guilty for my buying habits.
I’ve made online purchases from sponsors of this board and to this point I have always been content in thinking that I was helping to support some fine people and businesses.
I was wondering if anyone else supports the e-tailers that support this community?
Or do you only buy products made by sponsoring manufactures of this board, through your local fly shops?
I don’t know about you guys but if you are in the price range of a 550 or 600 dollar rod, does 50 dollars really matter? I think if you can get that expensive of rod, money may not be a huge concern.
I do like reading the posts about local versus retail, and it reminds me of what a great country we live in that we have the choices that we do, and that we can talk about these types of things without worrying about things that other countries have to worry about.
The comment on the other thread about a guy coming in casting the rods, then getting one cheaper and telling the owner about it, how did he not get a black eye? :x That is just rude.
of having gone in to look at an item and purchased it cheaper elsewhere but I think the situation truly warranted it. I agree that if you can afford $600 rods (I can’t) that the $50 probably isn’t a big deal. I normally search high and low for USED items as a public servant. Other items however, tying supplies being the most common, I always buy from my favorite local shop (Highland Outfitters in Cartersville, GA…somewhat shameless plug) unless of course they don’t have it. They will give discounts like you mentioned on a lot of items and I’ve noticed on some items that’s not the case but I strongly believe that has a lot to do with the previous comment about companies frowning on retailers’ discounts. I made the terrible mistake of counting on BPS for wading boots last year (their brand too). I was fortunately able to locate a very nice young lady in customer service there who gave me a card for store credit for the 3rd pair I had returned and I wised up and used it on consumables (tying materials) and returned to my local shop to buy some Chota STL’s at what is to me a pretty stiff price of $120 but seems very much worth it so far. The shop (well, Mark) has provided me with tons of knowledge and is offering more about things I struggle with and would continually struggle with without his help. I’m finding out this is a sport you can’t self-teach. I like to think we are even pretty good friends at this point though we haven’t seen each other much outside the shop but that may change very soon. I have been to his home to check out his basement and its bottomless pit of a fly-tying/rod-building center. I’m hoping he’ll teach me how to build the rod I purchased from an FAOL member soon. Bottom line for me as a frugal buyer of all things fishing (but that is where every cent of any extra income I have goes), is that I will buy from the local shop 100% if they have what I need and can afford.
In answer to your question I have to say that I don’t really deal directly with any of the sponsors of FAOL.
Expanding on that I can say that out of about 15 graphite fly rods that I own exactly 3 are from companies that are not sponsors of FAOL. I purchased almost all of those rods before I even had internet access through one of the 3 fly shops I like to deal with. It just so happens that those shops carry gear from manufacturers who do support the site so I suppose I do, or did, support it as well?
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Hi Avalon,
You got it, there are online retailers like Hill’s, Hook & Hackle and a few stores that advertise here, that I’ve bought from and then there are manufacturers ( Sage - S.A. ) who advertise here and their products can be purchased from web based stores, brick and mortars that also have website’s and brick & mortars that don’t have a web presence.
Regardless of which we use, if they advertise here aren’t we supporting the sponsors and if so, how bad can that be?
It seems to me, if we shun internet retail purchases and the majority of us don’t live anywhere near the retailers that advertise here, then why would they wish to continue to support the forum that we all use?
Sending some business their way, is no different than frequenting a fly shop because they offer free coffee, a round table to shoot the bull at ( which is what we’re doing right now ) or a place to hang ones hat for the day. ( I’ve hung my hat here more than once ). I mean good people and good service aren’t the sole domain of brick and mortars.
So for me at least, supporting the retailers that support this little club house, is no different than supporting my nearest fly shop…and often this place is a whole lot friendlier. ( it’s also open 24/7/365. )
