I've been building custom rods for myself and as gifts for 5 years (yeah, I have lots of rods and so do my friends ; )

Is there a place /publication where I can research the pro's and con's of building and selling custom rods? For example, what's a reasonable markup over the cost of components (i.e., labor)? What kind of warranty is expected / provided? How about including an "owner's manual" with the rods to explain how to care for them (over-flexing, protecting the finish, etc, etc)?

Is custom rodmaking a reasonable small business venture or just a way of paying for a hobby?

Thanks

Skip

Because of the questions you've asked, I can only assume that you do not subscribe to RodMaker. All of those questions have answered, and in great detail, in the many business articles the magazine has run. Examples of warranties and customer care brochures have also been printed in the magazine.

I can't possibly cover that amount of info in a simple message board post, but in a nutshell will tell you that business is business. The same pitfalls and problems face you in selling rods as they would if you were selling other items. It can be done, but you need to face the fact that you will need to advertise, will need to develop a warranty, will need to figure out what you need to make in order to make it worth your while, and you will need to consider your own geographic location as it pertains to possible business. You also need to acquaint yourself with the Sportfishing Excise Tax as well as your own local business license and tax requirements.

.............

Tom,

Thanks for the reply. I have been a subscriber to the magazine for several years and have kept the old copies. I'll certainly take your advice and go back through them looking for advice.

I live on the Chippewa Flowage in NW Wisconsin. There are plenty of guides who work that lake and I'm sure that if I enlist a few of them, I can get a business started.

I guess I'll do more homework before getting committed.

Skip

Skip,
In a nutshell, at least to me, the pros are the fun and pride in doing it, as well as some extra cash/favors. As far as the cons... I don't think there are any. If your work equals the price, great. If it doesn't, you stand to lose the investment in your licenses/permits. Are you willing to stake your reputation? There is the small amount of extra effort involved in taxes, but I don't see it as a con.

As far as price, that's a tough one. I charge a lot less that many other builders. If I were trying to make a living doing this, I'd charge more. I don't have time these days to give every free moment to rods. I work word of mouth and the occasional person I give my unadvertised (and still not fully complete) website. I did this as a "second" job before and overextended myself and got burned out. I promised everyone the world and ran myself into the ground to deliver. You have to be able to put people on a waiting list.

Warranty.. I give the mfgr warranty on components and generally 6 month warranty on my workmanship. Longer if I know the people and know they don't whittle wraps when the fish aren't biting.

I always include a brochure explaining do's and dont's, component and thread specs, and general care, again tailored to the individual. Normal guys get a normal font with the basics and some humor. Bubbas get a lot of fine print.

You can have a succesful venture in this, but as Tom said, it depends on your location. As a 16 year old kid in northern MN, I made a lot of money. Here, many years later, I don't make much. People in my area are Kmart guys. I do some stuff for tourney folks but overall, the general population just doesn't fish, and if they do, they are clueless. I've built more stuff for people in MN than I have local folks.

Best advice I can give you is to start small and build your reputation. The most important thing you have is your reputation. That will make or break you. Anybody can call themselves a custom builder. A guy who never built a rod in his life can read a book, start a website, and call himself a custom builder. Many do with dreams of becoming world famous and getting rich. They fail, and they also give the custom builder in general a bad name.

You can make money, but test the waters first. Ease into it before quitting the day job. However good your work is, if your market can't support you and/or you haven't built a reputation.....

Not for nothing - but I am watching Bass Saturday on TV. herd a fisherman talk about going to K Mart to pick up weights for his line. OK, while he is there is he not going to look at the rods, line, hooks??? Also they push Bass Pro on there! Can you compete with there prices???
Some thing to think about

Skip,
I think that Mick is right on and has given you some excellent advice. The only thing that I would like to add is, if the guides there are anything like the guides here I would stay away from them. The ones here have the attitude that they are doing you a favor to use one of your rods, they expect to get them for nothing and then they abuse them and expect you to warrant them forever. There are a lot of guides here and this is of course a generlization and not true of all of them but when a guide comes to me I have learned to just tell them in a nice way to go on down the road.

Skip, Bill is right! You,re never going to be able to complete with the K-Marts, Wal-Marts, Bass Pro Shop's or Cabela's. Most if any do not have the buying power to even come close.

IMHO, custom rods are like any top of the line product. Everyone wants one, but only a few are willing to pay for it. What I mean is, it has been my experience almost everyone I talk to about custom rods wants one, but only a few are willing to pay the price for one.

Even most I have buit for, elect not to pay for anything fancy. Most rods I build are built on medium priced componets and consist of cork grips, graphite seat, hardloy guides, and have not much more than a few decals, trim wraps and either a chevron or diamond butt wrap.

Even as hard as I push the spiral wrapping, most still want their rods setup conventionally.

So, If I were you, I would surely heed the advice above and start small.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

There aren't many fancy fresh water guides here where I am, but there is a plethera of saltwater charter boats. Many of these guys don't want high end equipment because their charters beat them up so bad. Heck they stand a chance of having them dropped overboard on any given trip. A friend of mine is always saying he'd like to have some of my rods, but with the charters he runs he's better off buying a $75 rod from Wal-Mart every couple of years. Rods that I do build for charter boats are at a reduced price, but I don't warranty them as they are intended for rough duty. If I do warrant my work for them, it is for only 6 months.

I never really had a marketing strategy. This is until 3 weeks ago when I brought a simple 30-50# stand up rod and display rack to work. I own a restaurant on Harkers Island, NC and have many boat builders, charter captains, and weekend fishermen come through here. The first week garnered me a few looks and comments. The second week earned me orders for 6 rods (four of which will go to a charter boat & two for @#$%& at a local marlin tournament in July). This week, week 3, I got an order for one more. Still haven't sold the rod on display, but it has paid for itself in short order just by sitting around. In this same time frame I have talked to two other charter captains about re-wrapping some of their abused rods and fully refinishing others.

Jay

Jay
I would put a sign on it ( not for sale ) it's making you some money

Jay, can I borrow that rod?..lol

I will add one more point if I may and that is, when I build a nice fly rod, I will often be much less expensive or more competitive than what even some of the large outfits like Bass Pro will charge and I stand to make a reasonable profit for my time and effort. But with basic spinning rods and casting rods, it's super tough to beat the likes of Bass Pro. I would think about specialty rods and fly rods if I was truly interested in making a profit which thank God I'm not.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2005 10:27PM by Rob Grider.

FOR LEASE:

(1)- 5 1/2' Calstar E-glass stand-up rod

$200/week lease

(rod owner gets 10% comission on all rods sold using this promo material)

:-)

better yet: can I put one of mine up there?? LOL