This topic might be taboo, but I'm curious about prices of custom wraps. I have built many surf rods in the past for between $200-$400 with quality fuji components, and usually between 12-18 inches of decorative wrap ranging from Diamonds, to crosses, to thunders birds, flags, and crests. I build rods mainly because I love fishing with the excellent community of fishermen here at Flagler Beach Pier, and I want to see them with a good rod and catch excellent fish. I am blessed because often rod builders may not see what is caught on their rods, but on a good summer day on the pier a good 12-15 of my rods are out their being used and catching fish ranging from a whiting to a 6-7ft shark. Anyways...back to the subject of my post, recently we had an influx of new fishing guys....great guys, but they don't realize how much time it takes to build rods, and are always asking me for dirt cheap deals. How much is decorative wraps really worth?.......$20-$40 an inch? Am I already giving them a dirt cheap deal, or am I charing top of the line prices?
Thanks guys,
Anthony

There are three issues of RodMaker that have a hefty amount of information ... Order them from the RodMaker magazine link to the left.

Volume 8 - Issues 3, 4 and 5

Ultimately, they're worth what the market is willing to pay. In my experience, few fishermen will pay you what amounts to a reasonable fee for a nice decorative wrap. Not many, anyway.

Offer them a rod for $200 versus the same rod with a very nice decorative wrap for say, $300, and most will hand you $200 and forego the extra threadwork. Everyone likes to look at that sort of thing, but most won't pay you for it. A shame perhaps, but that's the way things are.

Keep in mind that most fishermen aren't concerned with how long it takes you to do such a wrap. They either want one on their rod, or not, depending on what it's going to cost. In my custom rod business I'd guess than less than 1 in 10 guys would opt for extra threadwork. If they were going to spend extra money, they'd put it into better guides or something like that.

So, you end up doing it because you like to do it. Perhaps do it on every rod and just figure it into the price, not offering them the option of a rod without it. Or, you just accept the fact that only a handful will pay you what you have to get to make it worth your while.

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

Anthony,
I think that Tom hit the nail on the head. But I think that there is one more alternative. Virtually every rod I build has a diamond butt wrap on it but it is one that only takes me about 15 minutes to do. If you can develop a decorative wrap that just takes a few minutes to do then the whole issue become academic. If the wrap that you do is just a bit unique then it makes your rods recognizable as yours in other words it becomes a signature almost like your trademark.
However, if part of the satisfaction you get out of building rods is doing the different decorative wraps on each rod then throw that idea out.

Every rod I do at the very least has a diamond or a chevron. I do decorative wraps because I love it, however if a customer request something special I may charge $25-$100 more. Thanks for all the information guys.

I guess I'm the exception which proves the rule because I truly hate doing butt wraps. I've done my share of fancy thread work as I cut my teeth on heavy salt water rigs, but I've always dreaded doing it. Add to that the small diameter and short working room on ultra lite and fly rods (which is what I do most of these days), and it quickly becomes a hair puller for me. My solution is to charge a hefty extra for it. As Tom pointed out, most anglers given the option will go for the lower price, or will spend the extra on performance rather than looks. I rationalize this by doing single thread trims on all my guides and a simple cap on the grip with some drop threads unless they ask for something else. I'll do a simple open wrap for the regular price, but when they start talking st. croix cross, fish, etc, the price goes up in a hurry. Oddly enough I get way more requests for my signature, or the owners name on the rod than I do fancy thread work. When this first started happening I took the dale clemens approach and tried to come up with some kind of specialized jig or transfer method which would make it a quick and easy job without looking like some drunk did it. After much trial and (mostly) error, I struck on the idea of using a light to put a "line" on the blank and then simply practiced writing on blanks until I could make a decent job of it using my "line" of light as a guide. These days though, the availability of quality, affordable decals pretty much makes my method obsolete.

I'll do the stupid thing first, then you shy people can follow. -FZ-

i talked to a local tackle shop that builds thier own rods and they told me that the butt wraps usually add about 30-40 dollars on to the rod

We use simple diamond or chevron wraps, and even simple "barber pole" or "stacks" of colors. For example, if the underwrap is gold and the guide wraps a re royal purple, we'll build a band of alternating gold and royal purple wraps, sort of like an underwrap, up from the winding check in proportion to the rod and the space till the stripper guide. We include it in the cost. Remember, most folks see various kinds of tape or machine-wound stuff on every Wal-Mart rod they see. As someone said in one of last year's seminars, and as I think Tom has written too, a lot of buyers can't tell the difference and aren't willing topay extra for it. We figured out that using the Gudebrod pre-made "strips" is also a quick and easy way to do X-wraps.

I'll always ofer the completx stuff, but I simply price it at either $50 or $100 extra, figuring my time as the marker. I get very few takers.

But as was said above, our customers seem to delight in seeing their names inked onto a rod, opposite our name. Furtunately, my partner-in-crime can do this with one of those special pens, directly onto the rod, and do it so consistently and uniquely that we use one sample of it as our logo for our business cards, letterhead, and such. All I have to do is keep him in coffee or warm Diet Pepsi (don't ask).

I used to love doing some really nice stuff but it was really on our own rods. I literally did one example of each wrap in all three of Clemen's books, including the weaving stuff. I still like doing it but now my time is much more limited so I don't do much of it anymore. I'll have some samples at the show but I'd bet I won't get any orders when they hear the price.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

While I do mostly repair work here, and at that it's not for retail customers, but I do a few custom rods every so often. I enjoy building fancier rods, but most people simply don't want to spend any extra on it. Most will opt for better compenents before paying extra for any fance threadwork. I normally just do a short wrap to terminate the handle, if they want anything fancier, I charge accordingly, but I haven't had but a hand full over the years that wanted to pay for any fancy thread work. Most even balk at just the cost of a simply repair these days. I did more custom rods years ago, as time goes on there are fewer and fewer that will pay the cost. I am started to get a lot of guys showing up with older rods that they want me to redo an older rod. Anything to save a buck. I can fully understand sedimental value, but most of these are rods that they bought used for cheap in bad need of repair. I could never make a living doing just custom rods, there's just not enough who will pay for the labor required to build a truly nice and original custom rod. Most of the requests I do get these days end when I start talking about price and different options, it usually doesn't get as far as what they want as far as a custom butt wrap. The conversation usually starts with what color rod and wraps they want, and ends with "I can buy a rod already built for less".

Mine don't go out the door without a butt wrap. It's in the price of the rod. Unless the customer asks for a specific pattern, it gets what I want to put on it. The customer picks colors and if I think those colors stink, I'll wrap a sample and let them decide if it's what they really want.

You have to decide what you enjoy more: butt wraps or the money. What I do is charge a lot for a plain rod like everyone else does, and I charge a bit more for teh rods the way I build them. If they can go buy a rod for $250 frm someone else, I'll set my price at $400 for the same exact rod. i DO NOT want to build a plain rod like someone else, and if I do I'm goign to make a ton of money. What usually happens is people balk at that figure, but I tell them my "deluxe" rod costs $550, which includes top of the line blank & guides, and the butt wraps.

Even at the price I set, I make by far less money per hour than the guy selling the plain rod for $250, but I enjoy building the rod more than making the money, and all my rods stand out and none are plain jane - which is my goal.

I always put a butt wrap on my rods. I give the customer a choice of a simple chevron or diamond wrap for one price or I will do a mnore intricate and time consuming wrap for another. A weave adds $75. I encourage my customers to concentrate more on the quality of components than the extra threadwork. I think they will be happier with a rod with a great feel than a rod that has a weave or intricate pattern. Of course if they can afford both good quality and great thread work that is the best of both worlds. I am not trying to make a living building rods. I just like to fish with top quality equipment. If I was trying to make a living doing this I would go up on all of my prices.
PFD

when i used to buy custom rods sometimes i opted for the buttwrap and sometimes i didnt....the money wasnt the problem on the ones i didnt want a butt wrap on

i think some rods look excellent without a buttwrap and some rods look good with one...i like the simple look better

Its all about what you think it is worth and what people want to pay. What may seem expensive in one area may not be in another. With me, a basic buttwrap (diamonds, chevrons, birds) is included in my pricing. If they don't want a buttwrap, they don't get one, but the price of the total job remains the same. The butt is my favorite part of building a rod, so I don't normally consider it work to be paid for. I like to save them for last as a treat to myself. Sort of a reward for doing a good job on the rest of the rod. If I can't put one on a rod I feel like I am being "cheated" out of a big piece of fun, and anything that ain't fun, must be work.

Threadwork can take hours and people don't want to pay for it. Back in 1990 I developed my fancy wrap that looks good and takes about 15 minutes. Using "The Box" I pull eight threads at a time , four times up and back over seven inches of underwrap, then four times up and back with a single strand [usually prism] and tie it off on both ends. I generally have a metallic underwrap and black overwrap. I use automotive pin stripping tape for trim bands. If you are in business, "Time Is Money" Jesse

I don't do rods for money, but I've done lots of different types of things for money, and it come to the bottom line of how much is my time worth. then how long it takes to do the buttwrap and come up with a number from there. If I could do a nice decorative wrap in 15 minutes, I'd likely make it part of the deal, and have the option to leave it off and no extra cost, taking the question out of it from the beginning.