I know shipping costs keep going up but for the builders who do surf rods 9'and above it seems that it's getting harder to buy them. I keep getting "it cost to much to order that blank but I have one of these" Well if I wanted one of those I would have asked for it! It seems it's more effective to order mutiple blanks but that is alot of $$ to put out all at once. I'm sure the pro-builders must keep a pretty good stock but they must have to order a one off blank at some point. Has anyone else had this problem?

Are you coming from a builder or buyer perspective with that? I'm not sure if you are saying that as a builder or hearing that said as a buyer.

I'm not building surf rods (I'm know the shipping is more) but on rods I'm building I factor the shipping of components (blank, guides, handles, seats, etc) into the build price. That's part of my profit model is to compensate for that cost of doing business.

Shipping rods is still more economical than delivery/pickup for anything more than 30 miles round trip - given the new $0.585 for mileage and $17 to ship a rod (for me anyway).

Alex - thank you for the last paragraph of you post - never occurred to me! Extremely good logic and very timely!

We are considering changing our plans for 650 mile round trip to pick up large numbers of blanks on a monthly basis. I think you just saved us some money! Maybe we can all hope for the "Star Trek Transporter" system to be operational to Zap us all to High Point!

Gon Fishn



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2008 04:46PM by Bill Stevens.

I'm saying it as a builder buying from a supplier. I have a supplier near me but I'm at their mercy and what they have in stock. I'm not a pro builder and I'm not going to buy 6 blanks at a time because it has to be ordered from the maker or wait months until the supplier puts in an order and piggyback my order with theirs. It's just someting that I've started noticing since some of the blanks I've wanted I haven't been able to get, Not a real big deal I guess!

For intance: I ordered a 11' blank and the supplier came back with " I have that blank factory cut to 9'3" for bunker spooning" Well then it's really not that blank then is it?? Maybe I have to go some where else and just deal with the high cost of shipping. Like I said it's not a big deal, I was just wondering if others were having problems getting long blanks.

You have a couple options to consider - are there any other surf rod builders in your area? I used to co-ordinate with 2 other local builders and we'd go in a couple times a year and buy a bunch of Seeker 1-piece blanks, about a dozen at a time. We'd divvy up and split the shipping. It only costs a few bucks per blank that way.

Or... if you come to the ICRBE next February, contact a dealer who is going to be there and tell them what you want to buy. Most are happy to order it and bring it to the show for you to pick up there. If you're going to be there anyway (in a car or truck) it won't cost you anything extra to lug them back home with you. Of course, the event's not until February so if you need something now, this won't help much. But if you know what models are popular, you may be able to plan ahead for next year.

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

John... I didn't even think of that perspective. I'm going to have to think on that one. But no, I haven't run into that, but I'm dealing with pretty generic stuff.

Bill... we can discuss "mileage credits" to add fantastic savings to the already incredible MultiModulus solution for overeager bassaholics!

John -

It is VERY expensive to ship anything over 9'0". The prices for shipping have become so incredibly high that drop shipments from the manufacturer are almost the only way to obtain them. I am sure you have heard this before ... but consider/reconsider going to a two-piece design. You would drop your shipping expense by a huge amount, make storage easier AND make warranties more tolerable.

IF you are going to continue to purchase one-piece blanks over 9'0" AND you don't want to get absolutely killed by freight ... you are probably going to have to pony up and buy a larger quantity and just sit on them.

IMO, the distributors are actually keeping costs down by doing the dropship ... most likely if they were to bring them in and then ship them to you, the added expense of the double shipping would be buried in the price you paid for the blank.

That's a great idea Tom ,I'll have to remember that come show time.
Jim I understand why, it's just frustrating not being able to get what you want when you want to get it. I have bought more two piece rods lately and their fine but many I would like are 1 peice.

One other thing to think about is, Is this hurting the blank manufacters?

The blank manufacturers are making what the market demands. Some of them are, for exsample, discontinuing 2-pc sticks in shorter lengths (for example, 7ft or shorter) because the current market has been brainwashed to believe that 2-pc rods are unreliable and have a "stiff spot".

The shipping issue is a separate thing.

Find yourself a vendor who will make you the best deal for exactly what you want; if that's a one-piece rod, then that's exactly what you want. Drop ship from the mfg will be less expesnive but beware the vendors who add a drop-ship charge to the order. There are certain vendors we avoid because they have made their shipping costs a "profit center" that often exceeds 20% of the order, not matter how big or small the order is. On the other hand, some vendors will send your small parts in a soft-pack, USPS. Cheaper - but a LOT slower.

Yes, it's gonna be more expensive than it ever has been, regardless of the approach you take. Unfortunately, we're all in the same boat on this one.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods