Mail Order vs Local Tackle Shops

This has started off from another post that I began and I think it may stir up be some bad memories from both local tackle dealers and mail order guys.

I am all for supporting the local tackle guys but when they start to take you for granted I think its time to move on to mail order.
I find that it will always be cheaper to get tackle of the internet but I also like to see and feel what I'm buying.

So as you can see I am pretty much torn from one and the other.

Whats your thoughts and Stories

Cheers
Stevie

most local tackle shops cant match the price you would buy items for of the internet,had a conversation about this about a week ago with a guy who owns and runs a very good tackle shop, and he said he is strugling to cope with items of the likes of e bay at the prices they are charging.the guys on e bay have NO OVERHEADS AT ALL,like vat ,rates and such so its now nearly impossible for a shop to match those prices.he also said the likes of the bigger tackle shops ie gerrys of morecambe and such are buying in such bulk and get far greater discount in prices for doing so,so they can put an item a lot cheaper than the ordinary tackle shop.it costs a lot more to get items to ireland than anywhere on the main land which also has to be factored in .cheers john

[round_ourway]

John

I agree with 100% and thats why I still go to my local tackle shops but when you are on the internet all day and see how much the tackle shops are most likely buying this stuff in for and the mark up.
An important factor I find is also the customer service and when you start to get let down more and more by the local's it hard not to start buying stuff of the like of the ebay, gerrys, veals.

Last edited by round_ourway on Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

John

I agree with 100% and thats why I still go to my local tackle shops but when you are on the internet all day and see how much the tackle shops are most likely buying this stuff in for and the mark up.
An important factor I find is also the customer service and when you start to get let down more and more by the local's it hard not to start buying stuff of the like of the ebay, gerrys, veals.

I will not mention any names or shops but I will let you draw your own conclusions and why the initial debate started off.

As you well know I recently purchase An Anyfish Anywhere Surf. I was gradually paying off this rod over a 2 week period. The rod cost £200 at the time of purchase and the tackle shop decided to give me a discount of £20 making the total amount payable. So I made 3 initial payment at 4 day intervals of approx £30 each time.
I went into pay off the rest of the rod of and collect the rod. In discovering this I found an offer of ''buy a rod of £200 or above value and recieve a AA match rig (£24) wallet and a tripod (£35) free. So i said to the shop assisant does this apply to me and he replied yes it does 'you get a free wallet and tripod'. Unfortunately my pay cheque had not cleared and was to take 24hours.
On return to the shop. The shop assisant had suddenly changed there minds and insisted that I pay the additional £20 that they had discounted from the rod to make up the £200.
So after spending alot of the money in this shop over the past year they where infact not giving there loyal customers any discount.

Apologies for the length of this, but I feel that I have still been had and infact insulted.

So you were due to pay 200 or 180?
If they discounted you the 20 euro then it was unreasonable to expect the offer when in fact you were paying 180. If you were to pay 200 then you can have the free stuff, no?

[round_ourway]

In fact it was stated that with every £200 ROD not £200 spent. Although I ended up giving them the additional £20 to get the free stuff.
My point was that I have bought alot of stuff out of that shop and not to get discount compared to any person that go in and spend no were near the money I have put in the till and get the same deal.. were is the customer loyalty

Last edited by round_ourway on Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.

In fact it was stated that with every £200 ROD not £200 spent. Although I ended up giving them the additional £20 to get the free stuff.
My point was that I have bought alot of stuff out of that shop and not to get discount compared to any person that go in and spend no were near the money I have put in the till and get the same deal.. were is the customer loyalty :?: :?:

I find the shops down here are fair enough once you get to be a regular. In that particular instance I think the shop was doing the right thing, it wasn't a £200 rod until you paid that for it. I think you were expecting a bit much to be honest.

I don't know of many businesses that honour two discount offers on one item.

To be honest if it was stated as £200 rod on the the tag it is then a £200 rod regardless what it was sold for. My main point is that , one day they were saying it was for no additional cost then they changed there minds overnight. It was not me that said it was for no additional cost but the actual shop.

On your point that you dont know any other shop that offers such as:
this rod is reduced from £100 to £50 BUT with every £50 spent you get a free rig wallet. (Veals, Gerrys,)
Seaweed mate

Well i can say this

The last couple of weeks ive been trying to kit the new boat out with good quality tackle in the end i opted for Penn rods and reels

Both taclke shops i visited not only had the the power stick combos with mono and braid attached but they beat mail order prices.

Im gona name the shops

1. JACK SMYTHS ANGLING STORE Lisburn

In which i purchased 6-12lb powerstick with 310gti

Imax 2 piece floation suit they threw in the bag to keep it in

Imax boat box

and a few traces

All this was discounted 10% off retail price (same as mail order) plus they threw in the imax waterproof holdall and a filleting knife.

Now hows that for service!!

CAUSEWAY BAITS and TACKLE Bushmills

Picked up the 20-30lb powerstick with 320gt2 reel

Again mail order price beaten.

Yes certainley tackle shops can be more expensive with some things than mail order guess it just depends what your after.

But in both these cases i got a cracking deal. Ended up going back to jack smyths last week to buy another imax suit for the girlfriend and again they threw in the holdall for good measure.

up in the my neck of the woods all local tackle shops are geared towards game fishing, i have trouble getting 5oz leads, so i use mail order, including some local firms which are based around the belfast area, the belfast angling centre foyle branch was the best shop for sea gear and bait but it wasnt well supported, not enough sea anglers in the north west(mackeral bashers dont count) i try and shop local but often have to go online, might start traving up to the Belfast shops once in a while, the fuel cost is about the same as couior cost

I buy lots of stuff from the net, but like to check the price of what i am after local first. Let your local shop know that you surf the net and know the prices, i have found that this works for me and seem to get good discounts. I also ask prices when in the shop about things i might want in the future, then check online, drop a hint to the shop and see what they offer me, if they dont get near the net price i go elsewhere. I do prefer buying local though, as it is easier to talk face to face of you have a problem with your purchase.

I would always rather go into the tackle shop than order off the internet. I have to admit with the likes of Belfast Angling they are spot on with the prices and would not be beaten by the mail order guys. both of there shops are well laid out and make it very easy to shop in and see exactly what you need.

At a tackle shop you get a hands-on feel for the stuff you buy - and good advice. The main problem is the limited crange of gear. With mail order you save very little when postage is added. I have stuff bought from mail order that I just did not need - cos it looked OK.

i use both , prob about 50;50

rods and reels i would want to buy local, but braid, lures, rigs etc i buy online mostly.

one thing i would say though is avoid mactackle, shambles