I purchased 2 BBS III reels this past year, right after they switched over to China. They sent me one from England and one from China (what they had in stock), so I was able to do a side by side comparison. From what I could tell, there is no difference between the two. Same materials, same manufacturing process. I could visibly see no difference, they felt the same, etc. The only difference was the English made one had made in England on it, the Chinese had no printing on the foot.
In this day and age with the cost of raw materials on the rise, for a company to pass along the savings to the consumer “just because it doesn’t have the made in England stamp on it” is amazing. Most companies would make the switch, not tell you and still raise the price. This is an amazing practice. They didn’t just drop the price by five or $10 dollars, but $30, that’s huge.
I would say jump on the deal, I don’t need anymore reels so I can’t jump on it. They are not trying to reduce inventory, but like was said before, just trying to drum up some more business. They always do a sale in the fall, winter and spring. The exact time when a lot of people can’t get out and are thinking about fishing, great time to market, at least in the north, we are a captive audience.
This kind of practice is why I will always buy Orvis reels and other products. They are a company that makes a great product and will stand behind it. I love my BBS reels.
-Chad (a very satisfied customer)
Many go fishing all their lives without
knowing that it is not fish they are after.
You certainly seemed to imply this by your statement that moving production to China from England was a miscalculation
You also seemed to imply this by your statement that “…I have paid extra for Orvis reels ie: CFO’s and B’Kills because I thought, perhaps mistakenly, they were of a little better quality [compared to reels from the Asian countries you mentioned].”
If you accept that the Chinese can make a reel as good as the British, and Orvis can lop off a third of the price, then how can this be a “miscalculation?” Sounds like a win-win for the consumer and Orvis.
If you’re actually arguing that people buy B’kills because of the status associated with being made in England, I -as an owner of a number of British B’kills- find this tough to believe. B’kills have always been sold as excellent reels at a reasonably affordable price. Even the price of the British B’kills wasn’t high enough to denote status and class to those who may be interested in such things. (Admittedly, this could be different for the CFOs).
I apologize for not making myself clear.
I am speaking to the business decision by Orvis to move their manufacturing to the orient.
Let me start by telling you I have a Fin-Nor reel made in Korea. That reel is as fine a reel as I own. Its machined to close tolerences, gloss black with a turned wood knob and gold spool latch cover, a gorgous reel to look at. It is click/pawl (which I prefer…Orvis does not offer a c/p drag anymore so they already lost me)…I gave $60 for that reel. To my mind that is where the market is on a reel of that ilk.
When Orvis’ 100 year old, hard earned reputation as a quality reel maker is gone (and it will go, see what others just on this thread have said) Orvis will have no choice but lower the price to what the market will bear.
The price to build a die cast B’Kill click/pawl reel could not be over $5 anywhere in the world. I predict when Orvis meets the $60 price on a reel they used to sell for $85 their profits and perhaps market share will dwindle.
[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 19 January 2006).]
[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 19 January 2006).]
I guess I don’t get it. I would figure that if I: 1) can make a reel of the same quality as I did in the past; 2) sell it for less than I did in the past; and 3 still make the same absolute margin on each sale as I did in the past; then I would at least make the same amount of money and maybe more if my market share went up.
This assumes that I am not destroying some brand image. For what it’s worth, I don’t think most flyfishers that do buy from Orvis do so because of brand image (I know I don’t), and the people who go in the stores to buy dog beds and Barbour’s don’t know or care about the price of reels anyway.
If anyone are looking for a BBS reel made in England, I still have a couple left. 208 354-1200.
The reels from China look and perform identically. It is funny to me how everyone wants a great price on quality products, so the manufacturer address’s the problem the only logical way they can and people still complain.
Get over it or don’t complain about high prices!!
Rob
My complaint has nothing to do with price or quality (for the most part, though the quality really is crap on a lot of items coming from China and ex-U.S. manufacturers rarely drop the price when they start buiding there), it’s about dealing with and enriching the Communist Red Chinese, how the Chinese treat their people, how the Chinese treat the environment and how the Chinese play by their own rules when it comes to normalizing their currency and abiding by trademark and patent rights and laws.
Other than those few items and the fact they ARE Communist who are building a very mighty military with the riches those of us always looking for a quick deal send them, I don’t have a problem with Chinese made goods. I just avoid them like the plague that they are.