Buying From US

[lido76]

Merry Christmas all!! I was lucky enough to get a bit of cash off santa this year and was looking at purchasing a reel from "tackle direct" in the states has anyone had any dealings with them before..
Cheers Brendan.................

[camsharkman]

Yes I have used them a few times. Good service. No complaints so far.

[Scalem]

Bring your business back to your local tackle shop I say! Some things I buy from US, but on items it doesn't matter like hooks. But last reel I bought I checked prices and "educated" myself with prices I could get it for, then went back to my local tackle guy who matched the price on the reel. Then I needed line, snap swivels, wire leader, and was taught another knot to tie to my wind on leader. I believe I got the best "deal" on the entire setup and even had the mono spooled up for me. If I ever had a problem with the reel, I will have no shame bringing it back to my tackle shop for repair.

Scalem

[PinHead]

a great sentiment Brian and I agree..but the prices are ridiculous on reels. You can buy 2 for the price of one from the USA.

[tunaticer]

I bought a new Stradic FJ from the states this week for 75 less than on the shelves here including shipping.

I would not ask my local tackle shop to match an overseas bargain, it is not fair to ask him to lose money just for the sale. I am sure his buying prices would be well above what the US stores buy for.

[Horse]

Its a hard call to make but I tend to buy my bigger items from OS if I can get significantly better value. I have used Tackle Direct a few times and their service has been great. What reel are you after?

[MEG-A-BITE]

I have used them for reels and rodsin the past the service is very good.

[Coodgee]

Tackle direct is good. You can ask them to Spool the line for you before shipping to reduce shipping costs. The thing about buying a reel from the US is you also save $30 on each spool of braid. Tackle w a rehouse dot com (no au) is often cheaper than tackledirect and have some awesome specials. I would check them first. You have to go through some fiddly id process with them the first time you buy.

[lido76]

Cheers guys. Scalem I would and will always support my local Tackle store but in tough times you need to stretch that $$ a little bit further. I am looking for light game reels and i was looking at the Fin-Nor reels, at first i was looking at the Marquesa range probably the 16 or 20 i then looked at the santiaga models and boom they come with a free marquesa 20 so i can get 2 reels for less than the price of 1 here. Mad if I dont I say. I will get the rod local though.
Cheers Brendan

[trueblue]

check out the best price overseas and here in Aus.

I noticed this week that TLD50 2 speed reels from a reputable supplier in Aus were the same price as through a big on line supplier in the US, and then shipping was required on top.

lots of things will be heaps cheaper overseas, but always worth the hunt here at home to see if someone is competing.

cheers

[Horse]

check out the best price overseas and here in Aus.

I noticed this week that TLD50 2 speed reels from a reputable supplier in Aus were the same price as through a big on line supplier in the US, and then shipping was required on top.

lots of things will be heaps cheaper overseas, but always worth the hunt here at home to see if someone is competing.

cheers

A few reels like Penns and the TLD series can be cheaper here. Others can be 30% cheaper

[Scalem]

I bought a new Stradic FJ from the states this week for 75 less than on the shelves here including shipping.
I would not ask my local tackle shop to match an overseas bargain, it is not fair to ask him to lose money just for the sale. I am sure his buying prices would be well above what the US stores buy for.

No, what is not fair is that we don't give them the opportunity to compete where I have been buying gear from the local guys for years, and, like I said - the reel is only part of the equasion, you need line and terminal tackle as well. Let them make up their own minds whether they want to pass the reel on to you at cost, or even if they lose money on the reel, if they value you as a customer they will do that and still be in the black after selling you all the other stuff that you will need. - The bait, the lures, the leader material bla bla bla. Nobody yet seems to acknowledge the value in having the local tackle store give you the benefit of years of their experience. They "give" me other things that far outweigh the benefit of buying a reel cheaper than what they offer as a ticketed price. If you can't negotiate a fair deal that both you, the customer and he, the tackle store owner are happy with, then you will be happier buying from www. I never walk into a tackle shop and only buy ONE THING. The reel must couple up at some point in time with a rod for instance. If you think I will buy a rod from a website, you'd be nuts! Oils aint oils, and two rods right next to each other, same make, same model are seldom exactly the same.

a great sentiment Brian and I agree..but the prices are ridiculous on reels. You can buy 2 for the price of one from the USA.
Greg, it's not a sentiment at all. I do my research before I approach my local tackle store, armed with at least two other prices that i can get the reel for. Then I weigh up all the other things that will make me happy with my plot to catch fish. If you can't see the value in having the relationship with local tackle store people(I hope that is the part you agree on) who very much have contributed to the my knowledge and my ability to catch fish, then this discussion never had grounds for lift off in the 1st place. But I have negotiated some pretty great deals over the years, and always get my discounts on plastics. Picked up a rod recently too where other stores had the same rod for $40.00 more, so I am happy.

Scalem

[trueblue]

what tackle shop do you go to?

your local doesn't sound like any of the tackle shops near me - I would be more than happy to buy lots from a good local tackle shop if the prices were reasonable, but they are dear as poison on everything. the thought of having a personal relationship with the local tackle shop is just a pipe dream for me.

Unfortunately I only see the local tackle shops as an expensive place to pick up the essentials when other shops are not open or not convenient to get to at the time

cheers

[Rodman]

Mate You need to be aware that USA equipment are imperial sizes and some parts are not available here
You have to purchase replacement bearing from the USA as they are imperial meassurement and not metric as in Aussie

Ken

[DTHCoCo]

Mate You need to be aware that USA equipment are imperial sizes and some parts are not available here
You have to purchase replacement bearing from the USA as they are imperial meassurement and not metric as in Aussie

Ken

Just because an item that is shipped / sold to US doesn't mean that the reel has imperial bearings, the only reason it would is if it was manufactured there and that's still not a guartee. The only reason I have some insight is because working in a parts department in motorcycles and Honda atv's mostly come out of the states and they are metric. This simply comes back to Honda being a Japanese company and Japan and most of the world are freaking metric dumb yanks!

[Scalem]

what tackle shop do you go to?


cheers

When I am on the north side or have a significant purchase to talk to the guys about, Jones' Tackle. Always find their knowledge and helpfulness are things you can't put a value on. In particular ( while Neil and Lyn are great) I have always struck a chord with Steve who knows my likes and dislikes, and the style of fishing I do.

If I need a top up of plastics (mainly), BCF Loganholme who are closer to home are a good bunch of blokes, both the manager and co manager know me quite well, and special discounts can be applied if I tell them I can buy cheaper somewhere else.

Scalem

[PinHead]

No, what is not fair is that we don't give them the opportunity to compete where I have been buying gear from the local guys for years, and, like I said - the reel is only part of the equasion, you need line and terminal tackle as well. Let them make up their own minds whether they want to pass the reel on to you at cost, or even if they lose money on the reel, if they value you as a customer they will do that and still be in the black after selling you all the other stuff that you will need. - The bait, the lures, the leader material bla bla bla. Nobody yet seems to acknowledge the value in having the local tackle store give you the benefit of years of their experience. They "give" me other things that far outweigh the benefit of buying a reel cheaper than what they offer as a ticketed price. If you can't negotiate a fair deal that both you, the customer and he, the tackle store owner are happy with, then you will be happier buying from www. I never walk into a tackle shop and only buy ONE THING. The reel must couple up at some point in time with a rod for instance. If you think I will buy a rod from a website, you'd be nuts! Oils aint oils, and two rods right next to each other, same make, same model are seldom exactly the same.

Greg, it's not a sentiment at all. I do my research before I approach my local tackle store, armed with at least two other prices that i can get the reel for. Then I weigh up all the other things that will make me happy with my plot to catch fish. If you can't see the value in having the relationship with local tackle store people(I hope that is the part you agree on) who very much have contributed to the my knowledge and my ability to catch fish, then this discussion never had grounds for lift off in the 1st place. But I have negotiated some pretty great deals over the years, and always get my discounts on plastics. Picked up a rod recently too where other stores had the same rod for $40.00 more, so I am happy.

Scalem

true about the relationship with store staff but I am not one to spend very long in a store of any kind..I actually loathe and detest shopping of any kind..even boats and fishing gear. So I guess I will never have that "relationship". One store you did mention had the reels I was after for $289 each..that was the best price. When our dollar was at $1.07, I got 2 of these reels from the USA for US$155 each incl postage. Twas a bit difficult to buy local based on that. To each his own...some buy overseas and some buy local.

[Rodman]

Mate
I work in the reel repair business and have first hand knowledge especially concerning bearings as all reel purchased in the USA has been fitted with imperial size and not metric as they have been manufactured for the usa market not the overseas market?

[markos]

I think local tackle shops have to lift their game, sent my sister x-mas shopping for squid jigs at local tackle shops at Rye and Rosebud vic. I told her exactly what to buy for presents, she was treated quite poorly at both shops and left empty handed. If the staff didn't know what yamashita no. 2 squid jigs are when they had them on their shelves then they don't deserve my business.

[Brent_P]

Here is a link to the US site Smoothdrag.com, which is the US distributor of Carbontex drag washers. They also sell bearing upgrades. As you can see, halfway down this page, Shimano and Daiwa bearings are metric in the US, as are Fin-Nor OFC's by the look of it, and metric bearings are readily available in the US. I buy most of my metric reel bearings from the US site bocabearings.com.

http://smoothdrag.com/price.html

Brendan,
My experience with Tackle Direct has been good, but you might want to check the prices at http://www.tacklewarehouse.com.au/ (Brisbane). They're having a 20% off (their already reasonable prices) sale for 4 days ending tomorrow, which means, for example, that you can buy a Shimano Stella 5000SW for $679 with free postage, which is cheaper than Tackle Direct even before you add postage, and close to the cheapest you can buy one on ebay. I haven't done a price comparison on anything else, but probably worth a look.

Brent.

[chris69]

Mate
I work in the reel repair business and have first hand knowledge especially concerning bearings as all reel purchased in the USA has been fitted with imperial size and not metric as they have been manufactured for the usa market not the overseas market?

What sort of reel are you talking about american brand reels made in the USA or shimano or daiwa made ....for.... the USA.

[odes20]

What difference does it make if the reels have metric or imperial bearings?? You can buy both in Stainless at any serious Bearing shop here in aus. Ive been servicing reels and replacing friends bearings for years. never had a bearing I could not get here in aus.

ALSO, Online buying is here to stay guys. This christmas Australia Post handled an extra 5 million parcels compared to last year. They claim its all online shopping. I dont know the answers for retailers, but criticising online purchasing is a waste of breath. tHE WORLD HAS CHANGED. FOREVER.

Cheers
John

[ranga7]

You'd be the only fisherman in the world that doesn't like shopping for fishing gear or boats:).
true about the relationship with store staff but I am not one to spend very long in a store of any kind..I actually loathe and detest shopping of any kind..even boats and fishing gear. So I guess I will never have that "relationship". One store you did mention had the reels I was after for $289 each..that was the best price. When our dollar was at $1.07, I got 2 of these reels from the USA for US$155 each incl postage. Twas a bit difficult to buy local based on that. To each his own...some buy overseas and some buy local.

[Strewth]

All Shimano and Daiwa reels bought in the US (or elsewhere) use metric sizes for bearings. Same for ABU.

[Just_chips]

I work too long and too hard to pay extra coin for a local product based on the romantic notion of giving my local a 'fair go'. Give me the best price and you will get my cash, simple as that. Until that time most of my purchases will come from overseas unless needed in a hurry. I do my homework both online and if the purchase is substantial enough on the phone and instore before committing.

Kev

[Mudlicker]

Hi Guys , Ihave used tackle direct a lot and found there service to be excellent , also have used american legacy fishing , bass pro , simmons sporting goods , and real############.com, all of the prices have smashed anything i could find locally, last purchase was a shimano 5000 stradic FJ , $ 169 with free shipping , what a steal that was .I think its time the local guys stopped saying they will match prices and drop the mark up surely the buying power here is the same as the USA , if its not the suppliers need to talk to the importers . Just my 2 cents!!::)