In speaking with a fellow custom rod builder he told me that he has a minimum selling price for his rods. Is there a standard minimum price for custom rods?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

No, there isn't. But you need to decide why you're selling rods and what you need to make in order to make such sales worth it to you.

Frankly, I cannot imagine selling a rod to a member of the fishing public where I didn't make a bare minimum of $100 over and above my cost in parts, supplies, etc.

Now if you're just wanting to build for family and friends, or to make a few spare dollars to pay for your own boat gas, tackle, etc., then this may be different for you. It's just something each builder has to decide for themselves.

Obviously, the quality of your work and the demand for it in you area will have a lot to do with how much you can charge.

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

I'm with Tom. I do this as a hobby and because I enjoy it, but I want to make at least $100 for every rod I sell to someone other than family or close friends. I've got some inexpensive rods that I sell for $150, but most of my rods go for $250-$300.

Most of the rods that I have done so far have been for family and freinds, I just thought since this industry seems to be pretty tight knit that maybe as rod builders we would set a minimum so that we are not under selling each other. I've built rods for myself and freinds for the past few years, I really enjoy doing it and I love the reaction I get from others when they see one of my rods. This board has been a big help, along with Rod Maker Magazine, I feel that in the past few months the quality of my crafstmanship has increased dramaticly. Because of this I am getting more and more requests from people to build them rods. I truely love the craft and wouldn't mind making some money doing it.

I'd like to thank Tom and all the members of this board, we have a good thing going here.

Thankyou

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

Steve,

I don't think that would work for several reasons! There is a wide difference in rods from builder to builder. You also have to take into consideration location. A custom builder in a small midwestern town more than likely would not have the same clientele/market for fly rods as a builder in, say Colorado or Montana. There are totally different markets out there and different levels of skill/experience of the builders that determine price.. Few builders (myself included) would welcome the idea of ANYONE telling them what to charge for their work. Also, like Tom pointed out, some are trying to make a living from this while others are hoping to pay for their own addiction LOL!! Than you have to consider that some builders are paying wholesale price for components and others are paying retail.

And just who would decide the price. Like any craft, the builder should be the only person to set a value on their work. Generally, the market will determine the value!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike,

I wasn't suggesting that as a group we set a standard price, I was simply asking if there was such a thing between rod builders.


Thanks,
Steve

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

Steve,

"Price fixing is an agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at the same price."

"In the United States, price fixing can be prosecuted as a criminal felony offense under section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. [1] In Canada, it is an indictable criminal offence under section 45 of the Competition Act. Bid rigging is considered a form of price fixing and is illegal in both the United States (s.1 Sherman Act) and Canada (s.47 Competition Act)."

Source: [en.wikipedia.org]

I would imagine if pushed, even agreeing on a minimum price would fall under this, regardless of the "surcharge" imposed by each individual builder. I'm not an attorney, but sounds like that would fit into this category.

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Steve,

I wasn't implying anything and I hope you didn't take it wrong, I was just giving my thoughts on why something like "minimums" or "agreements between builders couldn't work.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike,

No problem, I see your point.

Thankyou

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

I am not a big-time builder; just do it as a sideline to my regular job. But, I do sell about 50-60 rods a year. I don't have much trouble at all getting $100 over the wholesale cost of materials. Unless the rod is for a good friend, or a co-worker, I do try to get at least this much.
When I started out, I was so slow that my hourly earnings were very small. But, the more rods I make, the quicker I get (it's amazing how this happens), and I am up to a fairly decent hourly earning at this point.
Steve Broadwell

Steve Broadwell-I'm where you were. I'm real slow-I can't think in hourly terms. I know I'm getting right though-when I delivered a rod to a friend the other night.....
he said "You didn't make this". I assured him that I did. That was the best. I could see faults in it that all of us would see...but not as many as there were just a short while ago. I shudder when thinking where I might be without the help that's available here. Chris

I have mine price out to make $20-30/hour no matter what I am doing.

Sean... I'm right where you are. Seems reasonable to me.

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There are a series of articles on this subject in RodMaker magazine.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..