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Old 03-28-2020, 03:44 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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Default rod warranties

Don't want to derail the other thread...so...

Some interesting comments concerning warranties came out of the other thread so I am wondering what your thoughts are.

Given that most if not all manufacturers offer limited warranties on materials and workmanship of their products;

Some scenarios;

You buy a shiny new F250 and scrape the bumper pulling out of your garage...should FORD repair that free of charge for you?

That $20,000 600mm F4 CANON lens you just bought for your camera rolls off the table onto the floor....should CANON replace it free of charge for you?

You cut that $100 RIO floating flyline between two rocks...should RIO replace it for free?

You crush your recently purchased flyrod in your car door (which apparently folks did in the other thread)….should the manufacturer replace it for free?
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Old 03-28-2020, 03:56 PM
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pikergolf pikergolf is offline
 
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The warranty is why I don't make rods commercially. I could never afford to warranty them. The cost of shipping and redoing a rod is almost as much as the rod initially cost. It's also the reason rods are stupid expensive. Rod failure from the factory is pretty rare, but manufacturers cover peoples stupidity, who knows why?
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Old 03-28-2020, 04:13 PM
fishpro fishpro is offline
 
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These companies aren't taking the loss you might think they are on warranties. I once worked at a warehouse that handled warranty claims, walk in price of $30 for a new piece on a rod where the warehouse paid $40 for all four pieces of a rod. There's a lot of markup when you consider profits need to be made in addition to operating costs for a manufacturer, possibly a distributor, then for the retailer.
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Old 03-28-2020, 04:41 PM
huntsfurfish huntsfurfish is offline
 
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Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
The warranty is why I don't make rods commercially. I could never afford to warranty them. The cost of shipping and redoing a rod is almost as much as the rod initially cost. It's also the reason rods are stupid expensive. Rod failure from the factory is pretty rare, but manufacturers cover peoples stupidity, who knows why?
I agree! Almost all rod failure is on the owner!
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  #5  
Old 03-28-2020, 05:43 PM
boah boah is offline
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The warranty is a THE selling point of TFO rods. No, a company should not HAVE to pay for idiot breakage, but they do. That’s why they sell.
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Old 03-28-2020, 05:54 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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Originally Posted by boah View Post
No, a company should not HAVE to pay for idiot breakage, but they do.
Actually, it is the consumer that pays for that...it is baked into the price.
YOU are the one that pays for the guy that slams the car door on his rod....
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Old 03-28-2020, 06:02 PM
calgarygringo calgarygringo is offline
 
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As a former retail store manager for many years and one of my stops was for one of the local fishing stores I have heard it all. Fishermen have to be be one of the worst for stories that are not even believable and I have looked after a lot more expensive products than fishing. Most dont get it. Buy a carbon rod and try to pull a big snag and snap and thats the mfg fault. Ice fish with an 18 inch light duty rod and this big pike grabbed it and broke it and want another. In many cases the rod does not even go back to the mfg the store just eats the cost and is a good reason warranty is denied as it becomes a loss to the store but get a better discount overall to make up for them. If a bad batch or bad design it can cost. Be realistic and if you screw up maybe you just learn an expensive lesson. Realistically most products do work well if you do as they are designed and follow instructions which we all know men do not do well. Just sayin and 20 plus years of retail management telling like it really is.
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Old 03-28-2020, 07:14 PM
boah boah is offline
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Originally Posted by flyrodfisher View Post
Actually, it is the consumer that pays for that...it is baked into the price.
YOU are the one that pays for the guy that slams the car door on his rod....
I’m alright with that. I bought one for a back up rod while my sage went for a trip to the states and back on my dollar. TFO breaks, l take it on on my next trip to Calgary.
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Old 03-28-2020, 08:07 PM
Pikebreath Pikebreath is offline
 
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Lifetime rod warranties have become the standard in the industry. If you want to sell your rods, you have to offer a competitive warranty,,, consumers expect it now.

Yes at the end of the day, it does make fly rods more expensive, but it also gives the buyer the assurance that his investment in a fly rod is protected.
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Old 03-28-2020, 08:16 PM
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pikergolf pikergolf is offline
 
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Originally Posted by Pikebreath View Post
Lifetime rod warranties have become the standard in the industry. If you want to sell your rods, you have to offer a competitive warranty,,, consumers expect it now.

Yes at the end of the day, it does make fly rods more expensive, but it also gives the buyer the assurance that his investment in a fly rod is protected.
Maybe people should learn to look after their stuff, and take responsibility. Cannot think of another product that has such a stupid warranty. A rod should never wear out, so basically the Co. looks after you till you die, insanity.
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Old 03-28-2020, 09:22 PM
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JReed JReed is offline
 
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Originally Posted by fishpro View Post
These companies aren't taking the loss you might think they are on warranties. I once worked at a warehouse that handled warranty claims, walk in price of $30 for a new piece on a rod where the warehouse paid $40 for all four pieces of a rod. There's a lot of markup when you consider profits need to be made in addition to operating costs for a manufacturer, possibly a distributor, then for the retailer.
This right here ^^^^

All the companies I've sent a broken fly rod to, charge a "handling fee" on top of the shipping I pay to send it to them.

All these companies call it a rod "warranty"...... it shouldn't be worded that way. Its a false illusion, if it were a warranty, it'd be replaced without a "handling fee"

I agree with paying for the replacement though, unless in the rare event it was a manufacturer's defect.
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Old 03-28-2020, 09:40 PM
Jason.seaward Jason.seaward is offline
 
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Each company has their own warranty policy and conditions. It rarely a “you break out of neglect and we will send you a free rod”. Some companies have repairs or replacements for strictly manufacturing errors where others (expensive rods) have a free replacement (with a processing fee), but the extra free replacement rod is built into the $800+ rod cost. Companies are not willing to give away profits for others’ mistakes.

You might find this article interesting.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs...od-warranties/


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Old 03-28-2020, 10:36 PM
boah boah is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
Maybe people should learn to look after their stuff, and take responsibility. Cannot think of another product that has such a stupid warranty. A rod should never wear out, so basically the Co. looks after you till you die, insanity.
Maybe a rod should never wear out, but I have wore out the guides on my sage.
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Old 03-28-2020, 10:49 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
Maybe people should learn to look after their stuff, and take responsibility.
To pikergolf….Absolutely...best post so far!!!

To boah...Of course guides will eventually wear out...but you can significantly reduce guide wear by regular line cleaning and line replacement. A dirty line will act like sandpaper and groove guides prematurely.

My post was initiated by the other thread where some folks seemed to think that crushing their rod in a car door entitled them to get a free replacement rod....

Last edited by flyrodfisher; 03-28-2020 at 10:59 PM.
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Old 03-28-2020, 10:58 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason.seaward View Post
Each company has their own warranty policy and conditions. It rarely a “you break out of neglect and we will send you a free rod”. Some companies have repairs or replacements for strictly manufacturing errors where others (expensive rods) have a free replacement (with a processing fee), but the extra free replacement rod is built into the $800+ rod cost. Companies are not willing to give away profits for others’ mistakes.

You might find this article interesting.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs...od-warranties/


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Yes, thx Jason....I had read that link sometime ago..
Again, the point of discussion is not a manufacturers defect.
I think most manufacturers will stand by their product if used properly.
But rather should they honor that for improper user handling...or downright abuse?
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Old 03-28-2020, 10:59 PM
boah boah is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyrodfisher View Post
To pikergolf….Absolutely...best post so far!!!

To boah.

My post was initiated by the other thread where some folks seemed to think that crushing their rod in a car door entitled them to get a free replacement rod....
I would think there were no folks that thought their door crushed rod should be covered, until a rod company came out with a no questions asked warranty. All I’m saying is these warranties are selling points, and they do sell rods. I didn’t buy my sage blanks because of the warranty, but I was glad they had it when my rod snapped with a fish attached to it.
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Old 03-28-2020, 11:17 PM
calgarygringo calgarygringo is offline
 
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It sure does. In most products that offer replacement warranties they basically know what the breakage rate is going to be and then divide those costs and add it to everyones cost. You are paying for it but most feel much better. It is almost like insurance where you are paying for the replacement initially and just pay a deductible later if needed.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Pikebreath View Post
Lifetime rod warranties have become the standard in the industry. If you want to sell your rods, you have to offer a competitive warranty,,, consumers expect it now.

Yes at the end of the day, it does make fly rods more expensive, but it also gives the buyer the assurance that his investment in a fly rod is protected.
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Old 03-29-2020, 02:06 AM
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FlyTheory FlyTheory is offline
 
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I think the option of replacing sections of rod for a fee is the best solution. Allows the user to be able to use their rod, but pays for incompetence. The caveat is actual manufacturing defect, which should be replaced by the company.
I’ve had a brand new (from manufacturer) rod snap at the butt section from casting on the lawn. That should be on them. It wasn’t though, and cost me $60 for a replacement section. Worth it though — it’s the best 6wt I’ve ever casted and it’s fights fish like a beast 🤙🏼💪🏼
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Old 03-29-2020, 08:49 AM
haggis57 haggis57 is offline
 
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Originally Posted by FlyTheory View Post
I think the option of replacing sections of rod for a fee is the best solution. Allows the user to be able to use their rod, but pays for incompetence. The caveat is actual manufacturing defect, which should be replaced by the company.
I’ve had a brand new (from manufacturer) rod snap at the butt section from casting on the lawn. That should be on them. It wasn’t though, and cost me $60 for a replacement section. Worth it though — it’s the best 6wt I’ve ever casted and it’s fights fish like a beast 🤙🏼💪🏼
This is a good thread. My post in the other thread regarding warranty wasn't as precise as it should have been. Neither cover Echo or TFO deal with car door breakage as a "warranty" issue. Echo has a "Replacement Rod Tip" process($60/section) and TFO has a "Broken Rod Service" ($30/section). Warranty claims for manufacturing defects are handled by separate processes.

I think these approaches are basically in line with most of the comments above. The attractive part for me is being able to purchase broken tip sections locally, not having someone else pay for my clumsiness. I would hope that both manufacturers are covering all the costs of these replacement programs with the fees they charge me, not in the original cost of the rod. I never purchase an extended warranty for any other product and don't want to for fly rods either.
Ken
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Old 03-29-2020, 09:35 AM
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Bushrat Bushrat is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by calgarygringo View Post
It sure does. In most products that offer replacement warranties they basically know what the breakage rate is going to be and then divide those costs and add it to everyones cost. You are paying for it but most feel much better. It is almost like insurance where you are paying for the replacement initially and just pay a deductible later if needed.
This ^.

Also calculated into that is most people who do break a rod don't know it might be warrantied or can't be bothered so just go buy another rod. The percentage of rods that actually are sent/returned for warranty is quite low.

It's kind of like rifle scopes, the cost of repair/replacement
/ warranty return rate is factored into the retail price. it's just another marketing tool.
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Old 03-29-2020, 09:50 AM
Pierre Pierre is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pikebreath View Post
Lifetime rod warranties have become the standard in the industry. If you want to sell your rods, you have to offer a competitive warranty,,, consumers expect it now.
Case in point, years ago I bought an expensive (for me at the time), $325 GLoomis GL3> A year later I broke it (own fault), called Shimano who owns them, they said sorry, nothing we can do.

o.k Lesson learned, that was the 1st (and last) time I bought a GLoomis product.
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Old 03-29-2020, 11:08 AM
lds lds is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
Maybe people should learn to look after their stuff, and take responsibility. Cannot think of another product that has such a stupid warranty. A rod should never wear out, so basically the Co. looks after you till you die, insanity.
Lots of other products have warranty like that. Bass pro socks, Canadian tire tools as well as princess auto and lots of other tool companies actually. Those are just a few that I know of but I know of lots that I have heard of and don’t use so don’t remember. I believe MEC has a pretty good warranty. If a company uses it to sell a product and they make lots of money and are a successful company how can you say it’s a stupid idea. It’s a great way to get happy customers that will do your advertising for you. How many threads on here have happy tfo customers telling other people to buy the product. Pretty smart if you ask me. I’ve personally bought 3 tfo rods and because of the warranty and customer service I have convinced several people to buy multiple rods of theirs. I get nothing from it other than I’m a satisfied customer. And yes I have lost the top section of a rod because I didn’t have it on tight enough an never noticed it fell off until it was too late. They replaced it. I also had another rod leaning on my car and as I shut the door it slid down into the door. I learnt a lesson and lost an expensive rod to a stupid mistake. That rod had no warranty so I now buy rods with good warranty for human stupidity. If they offer it why not buy into it. It’s just part of selling a good product.
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Old 03-29-2020, 12:24 PM
calgarygringo calgarygringo is offline
 
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That it is for most retail products. Sometimes there is none and sometimes a new product is a bust and costs them a fortune. Seen that a few times before too. Then either the product gets a makeover or they raise the price up to cover it. And yes there are a lot of people that bring rods back for warranty. I know because I got to deal with the difficult ones.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushrat View Post
This ^.

Also calculated into that is most people who do break a rod don't know it might be warrantied or can't be bothered so just go buy another rod. The percentage of rods that actually are sent/returned for warranty is quite low.

It's kind of like rifle scopes, the cost of repair/replacement
/ warranty return rate is factored into the retail price. it's just another marketing tool.
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Old 03-29-2020, 02:09 PM
kilgoretrout kilgoretrout is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boah View Post
The warranty is a THE selling point of TFO rods. No, a company should not HAVE to pay for idiot breakage, but they do. That’s why they sell.
And that's why you pay 30.00 for the replacement piece so if you are prone to breakage for whatever reason ie doors ,fans, poor casting,poor landing of fish etc etc etc....... you should stick with the company that brings them in for 40.00 and sells you the replacement part for 30.00 which still beats paying 2 to 3 hundred new..... still gets down to paying for quality which is different for everyone ...... I know when I take out friends or kids new to fly fishing I give them a TFO or Redington for exactly this reason. The high end rods are rarely lent out.....
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Old 03-29-2020, 02:14 PM
huntsfurfish huntsfurfish is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
Maybe people should learn to look after their stuff, and take responsibility. Cannot think of another product that has such a stupid warranty. A rod should never wear out, so basically the Co. looks after you till you die, insanity.
Agree, those that look after their rods pay for those that dont.
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  #26  
Old 03-31-2020, 04:17 PM
RangerG RangerG is offline
 
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A few years back my kids bought me an Echo rod for Christmas. Second time using it and the tip breaks off. I hadn't done anything different than the hundreds of other times I've fly fished and never broke a rod.
Contacted Echo and they had me scrape the name off the broken rod and send a picture.
A month later I call to see where my new rod is and guess what? They don't make that rod any more. They then sent me the next model up in line, with the closest sizing they had. 8' replacing an 8'6" 4wt

Lots of optic companies offer no fault warranty as well. That's why Vortex are the greatest!
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Old 03-31-2020, 05:32 PM
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pikergolf pikergolf is offline
 
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Well for me, I'd rather pay what it's worth and not subsidize destructo's. That goes for rods and optics. I look after my stuff and resent paying insurance for those that don't.
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Old 03-31-2020, 07:09 PM
Don Andersen Don Andersen is offline
 
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Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
Well for me, I'd rather pay what it's worth and not subsidize destructo's. That goes for rods and optics. I look after my stuff and resent paying insurance for those that don't.
Thank you,

That is exactly how it should happen.

I sell rods I manufacture. You break it, I repair it following the lead of General Motors. My fault, I fix. Your fault, I fix, you pay.

Don
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Old 03-31-2020, 08:21 PM
flyrodfisher flyrodfisher is offline
 
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Originally Posted by pikergolf View Post
well for me, i'd rather pay what it's worth and not subsidize destructo's. That goes for rods and optics. I look after my stuff and resent paying insurance for those that don't.
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