The Fly-Tier's Benchside Reference

Fly Patterns
1

I’ve been contemplating buying this book for a while now. Bit the bullet and ordered it. Wonderful concept of a techniques book and I own other book by Jim Schollmeyer “Nymph Fly Tying Techniques” and enjoyed that one but was shocked at the Printed in China notice. Everything is made in China these days, but a $100 fly tying book that is printed in China just really rubbed me the wrong way. Nice material in the book, wonderful photos, highly recomended by many and “MADE IN CHINA”. If I knew that before I bought the book, I probably would have passed on it. I bought it sight unseen. No issue with the content but it took the big smile right off my face when I was so happy to have it in my hands. A real reference work - “made in China”.

It’s probably just this old guy these days, people don’t care if we have a job here in the states, we all just want to buy stuff cheap. But a $100 book isn’t a cheap proposition.

Thanks for letting me vent, back now to your regularly scheduled programs. :confused:

2

I also have the book paid the fee, good information.

The quality of the binding is also not very good either…
The china thing rubbed me the wrong way also if I were
an author as good as he I surely would not have my stuff
made there seeing the workmanship.

I wonder how Schollmeyer feels about it ?
No question he makes a dollar over the books circulation
but he certainty should not be very proud over the chinese
production.

Come to think of it out of all my collection this book is the
only one that is of this bad quality, noticed right after I first got it.

Take care!

Steve

3

With all the fly tying books on the bookshelves, it took along time to even consider getting a copy of a $$$ book. Had read reviews which all seemed to be very favorable & even saw a copy on the shelves of a local used bookstore that I took a quick look at. With 444 pages it should have some info that hasn’t been read before, but waited until finding one at a reduced cost; and now even happier that the local bookstore didn’t get their 15% off price for it from me as recently there’s been a " don’t buy Chinese made products " because of the lead in toys last year to the drywall fiasco; unless there’s no other option. Still waiting for delivery, but for the reduced cost still hope it doesn’t turn out to be like the drywall – a bad investment that looks so promising that in the end just causes headaches :confused:

4

It is my understanding that the color printing process is much less expensive in Hong Kong and for that reason many of the fly tying books are printed there. That being said i would like to have the opportunity to see “Made in USA” on more products.

5

it is one of the best books on fly tying techniques regardless of where it was printed!

6

I have a friend in the publishing business. According to him, the cost of producing hardcover and even softcover books is exorbitant which is one of the reasons printing is done offshore. A TON is done in Italy as well.

Also many of the best presses and lots of the paper is NOT made in the US either so…

…you are fighting a losing battle trying to adhere to MADE in the USA only policy when it comes to NEW books.

7

I have to set the record straight, I refered to the book as a $100 book because that was the retail price of the book. I bought my copy off of Ebay for $59 and paid $4 to ship it which translates into $63 delivered to my door. I hope that I didn’t mislead anyone by referring to it’s published list price.

The book is still an expensive book and while I have dug into the book deeply enough make any final personal judgement on the content, I was just frustrated with economy and us selling our souls overseas. This isn’t a new issue for any of us, but just wanted to vent. Again thanks for letting me do so. I stand by my original position that if I had known this before buying the book, I would have passed on it. There is so much solid info on the internet these days with video to accompany it that this purchase was a want and not a need.

8

I wish more of us had this feeling years ago when no one looked at the place of manufacture. We were content in paying the same price for brand names as we did when they were employing our neighbors to manufacture their goods. The fact we didn’t care sent a strong message to corporations that we Americans are naive to a fault.
We can’t go back now but from the get-go I looked at labels and had the thought we would lose in the long run. The real eye opener for me is when the term ‘fair’ trade was somehow miraculously replaced with ‘free’ trade.
Oh well… I still thank my lucky stars for the America my parents generation handed us. Opportunity up the wazoo!

9

We are all reading this on computers NOT made in the US.

10

Bamboozle,

Thanks for the chuckle. While I agree with the buy American movement, I also have to admit that many times, it is simply not practical.

Jim Smith

11

Your point is? :rolleyes:

12

Unfortunately Jackster is pretty much right. Although the computer he is using may have been made in the USA, the parts were probably made overseas.

In fact, if you took out everything in your house that was not made here, the house would be darn near empty. You would probably be naked too.

Dave

13

I got the book for subscribing to Fly Fishing and Tying for a number of years – 3 or 5 – fI can’t remember. I went out to buy it but thought it was too expensive. The same day a promotion for subscribing came t hat included a free Benchside Guide. So, I went for it.

Now, I just recieved information that the book is now in disc form.

14

i think its been on disc for awhile now

15

It is on disc and has been for a long time (at least 5 years cause I saw it at Orvis)

I agree that we are in deep doo doo and we did it to ourselves. I TRY not to buy Chinese if given the alternative.

But I am also thinking on this subject of my posts in the past for USA made rods, and how many support their $20. rods…where are they made? Not to mention the flies or even the material we use to build them.

The fact remains, there is no book on the market that can come close to offering what this book can.
Do you need it to be a great fly tier? Nope.

16

Where are the disks made?

17

Uh, guys…

I’m going to put up a contrary opinion here, just because I see this all the time and it’s like a knee jerk to agree with this whole ‘sending our jobs overseas’ crap.

It was ALWAYS going to happen. Had to. We could not, nor should we have tried, to stop it.

This is STILL the greatest country to live in on the planet. We STILL have the best personal freedoms to standard of living ratio in the world (if we wanted to be socialist, we could up the overall ‘standard of living’, but some us prefer the freedom of choice to suceed or fail on our own merits).

For the last hundred years, America has set the standard for growth, inovation, and productivity.

Our women are not sitting in a sweat shop sewing dresses for pennies an hour. Our women are becoming doctors, lawyers, fly fishing guides, or whatever THEY want to be. If they choose to sew, and many women run home businesses doing just that, they are making things that THEY choose to make, and selling them for the price that THEY choose. So are many men (though probably not as well :wink: ).

Our children aren’t forced en mass to work to help keep their families from starving.

We as Americans can choose any business or endeavor we want to pursue.

That some jobs, crafts, or procedures can be done in other areas of the world at more reasonable prices should not be a surprise, nor a reason for opprobrium, to anyone! Let them do it. Why is that a bad thing?

This is not a ‘zero sum’ game. Just because a printing firm in China got a contract, it doesn’t mean that a crew of American printers got laid off. It just means that they are printing something else.

If an American printing firm wanted to print the ‘refference’, all they’d have to do is bid the job at a reasonable rate and COMPETE for the business, just like EVERY OTHER BUSINESS in this country does. Apparently, the printers in this country didn’t want the job (I know they ‘can’ compete, but sometimes a business has other priorities…places where they can maximize profits more successfully…I know nothing about printing, though).

Business is business and it’s not just maker to consumer. It’s not anti American to buy things made overseas. Most of the ‘cost’ you pay for something goes to American businesses and American households anyway. You aren’t buying it from a store in China, or Korea, or India. Few of the stores that sell imported goods actually send a check overseas. Stores may purchase goods made overseas, but most of them purchase them HERE, from wholesalers and distributors HERE. The employees of the distributors and wholesalers are living, paying taxes, and spending their incomes HERE. The stores that sell imported goods have their premises HERE. They employ AMERICANS in their stores. They pay taxes HERE.

We need to get over this. Our economy is too high tech and evolving to get stuck in the 1800s. We can’t make everything profitably. Not a bad thing at all. Let someone esle do it while we do something we WANT to do.

Nice thing about this country…if you have a problem with an overseas made product, you have the absolute right to set up a business to make a competing product yourself and make it right here…and if you can’t, that’s your problem, not America’s.

Buddy

18

AMEN and well said!

19

This thread should be moved to “Sound Off.”

Or The Lodge.

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From “Flyfishing & Tying Journal” that recently arrived…cover ad…CD-Rom $34.95 …shipping included