The Wholesale license thing is another circus act. I'm guilty of this myself - calling a vendor and paying wholesale prices, for a 1'sy 2'sy order, asking questions, etc. If you have a business, you shouldn't waste teh vendors time,unless you are placing a large enough order to warrant it. Mike Barkley hit on teh profit margins being extremely slim, worse is the wholesale pricing for guys who require a lot of assistance in placing an order. Time is money, if you take up somoene's time, they should be making money. As a Professional Rod Building Business, tehre's no need for a $20 order to take 45 minutes on the phone.

Different topic I know, but I just had to throw this out there.

The wholesale price does not usually result in major savings. If you can order in resonable volume then get a Employer Identification Number and a Registration for Tax Free Transactions both from the IRS. With these forms and also usually a business license you can get major discounts. The key though is to be able to order in significant volume.

I didn't bother to read the whole thread here - but my 0.02 is that the best companies that offer the best deals are located on the left side of your screen. I've looked at other companies and their prices are never better than some of the retailers that sponsor RBO. Some are more expensive than others - shop around. More important than the price, they offer great service and sponsor this incredible message board. 3 for 3 in my book! :-)

You are not prohibited from mentiononing from non-sonsors. Please read the rules that you agreed to when you registered.

You should remember that among the sponsors listed in the column to left, there is not a single rod building product you cannot buy or obtain. Therefore, why would you want to purchase from someone that does not contribute to the upkeep of this site? The sponsors are supporting... you.

I think it is wise to support those companies that support you and your craft.


,,,,,,,,,,

I agree Tom, at the very least on buying from vendors that support builders and the craft. Some of those however are not sponsors here, maybe they should be but for their own reasons they choose not to. The vendors that I buy from are mostly small, it is always one of maybe 6 or 7 , and all of them have excellent service to date. Some of them are on the side of this page, a couple are not. As I said before it was just a question of rule clarification, I knew what the rule said, but it seemed to be less strict than the one that was followed. The situation was for the biggest part hypothetical as I have tried to point out, although it seems some didn't notice.

I used to buy from places like Cabelas but have learned the hard way that everything that is said in this thread about big box stores is true.

I have no issue with any of the sponsors, I have bought from some and will buy from more in the future, I guarantee it. It would be hard to avoid. I asked the question because I thought "what if the case arises that someone can't get an item they need with a vendor on the side of the page and I know where to get it quick" If you have an order that can wait, I know someone over there can order anything you can think of from a manufacturer, but if you want it this week and it is monday, you will have to go somewhere that has it in stock. Somebody here knows where that will be.

Email is personal and a forum is an area where we all get together to try to help each other, so I try to keep email on a personal level.

We all know of reputable vendors that do not sponsor this site, some of us have a good relationship with those vendors as customers, so my question was the one you just answered, Tom, and thank you for doing so. I don't want to get on here and constantly plug for a business that doesn't sponsor the site, I know that would be against the rules and it would not be honorable for you to allow me to do so, you have to be loyal to those that keep the site going. If it is a price issue I will keep it on email, otherwise I will strictly limit my mention of other businesses within the forum.

By the way, the price shopping thing was something I threw in there just because it is something I have to do and I don't believe that I am alone, I am not gonna go get a business license just to save 2 dollars +- on a reel seat or blank. But I will continue to watch for sales and shop for good prices from reputable businesses. I mentioned about saving 10 dollars on a 25.00 reel seat because on certain ones it is possible others it is not. Best deal was not really the point of my question, just a very small part, I can see that I do need to keep that in email and apparently only to people I think I know or like because others are obviously not interested.

And that is all I have left to say in this thread.

Thank you and good night.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2008 12:12AM by Cody Vickers.

Cody, this site, along with the Rodmaker magazine has taught me more over the past few years than I learned in over 30 years of rodbuilding. Becasue of that, I will buy from sponsors of this site when possible. Most of my purchases are made from one sponsor and I have a loyalty to them for the way they have treated me. If they chose to not be a sponsor here any longer, I would still purchase from them. However, while I have given them kudos in the past in threads on this site, I would no longer do that if they chose to end their sponsorship. Would I still visit this site and reap the benefits? You bet. Maybe that is a case of situational ethics but it is what it is.

As for what I believe your original question was, if someone is looking for an item that a no sponsor carries, I just can't see anyone giving you any grief for pointing them in the right direction to find it from a non-sponsor. I for one would appreciate that if I was looking for something that I couldn't find.

One other thing that bears pointing out....take this topic to any other site or forum and tell me if different points of few are discussed as calmly and with as much respect for diveregent opinons. Gotta love this site

Jeff Hunter

I'm certainly not attempting to tell anyone who to buy from. That's the individual's perogative and it should be. But there is no reason for anyone to use this site to steer people to a favorite vendor who is not a sponsor, when you can just as easily steer them to a site sponsor that carries the same products. I think that's the crux of the issue and Cody seems to have pretty much said the same thing in his last reply. I doubt we'll have any issues along these lines. I appreciate your understanding.

I do get emails from a few folks who want to know why they can't mention the online @#$%& sites. Well, most people selling on those sites are engaged in a regular @#$%& business and it is their responsibility to foot the bill for advertising those @#$%&. At one time I'd come in here in the mornings and have to read through a dozen "please see my @#$%& listings at www...."

There is a buy/sell/trade page here for those builders who are not engaged in the regular business of selling components and it allows them to move a few unwanted items from time to time. There is no charge to use it and many report that it's quite effective.

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

One issue I wanted to address that came up in this thread regards rod building component supply vendors in general. This is a tough, tough business these days. Margins are thin and competition is extremely high. And it's been made even tougher with the advent of email. Nowadays, a builder will type of a list of items he wants and then hit a single button and email that list to a couple dozen vendors asking for their "best price" and then await the lowest bid. Vendors don't have to time to price out a list and then "bid" on it. This sort of thing is a thorn in their sides.

Just something I wanted to mention.

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

Off the original subject but in regards to Toms last paragraph, I have never done that, and it was not what I referred to as price shopping. I go to a lot of dealers websites/catalogs and find who has the best advertised price or sales going on what I am looking for with reasonable shipping rates or rates that are in line with what I am ordering.

I understand - I just added that because I know that some do and while we were on the topic I wanted to bring it up. Many vendors spend a good portion of their day pricing componets for what amounts in many cases to "tire kickers" and with this business as tough as it is these days, they don't need that sort of game going on.

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

Cody,

I have been building for just over a year and also on a tight budget. I too would like to be able to buy cheaper. I can not find any one with in an hours driving time to help me and answer questions. Everything I have learned came from either this sight, Rodmaker magazine, or a couple of books I have. Books and magazines are great, this site is even better. I can ask any question and get multip[le answers. If I still have questions I get detail explanations. With out these sponsors this site would not last. Personaly, I need this site to continue to grow, and I would not buy from some one that could not or would not help me better myself.

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

FIrst of all, I've NEVER found lower prices than I get from the sponsors on this BBS. I've been quoted lower prices on some things by non-sponsors, but then it turns out the shipping is really out-of-line or the product itself is not what I need. So that argument is pretty much not an issue. The argument that a sponsor would charge you more to cover the cost he pays for being on this BBS is totally out of line.

Second, the sponsors here absolutely stand behind their products. That's worth more to me than a few pennies in price.

Third, getting a "resale" license just to get a lower price has been discussed on this BBS many times, and it's not a good idea for a lot of reasons, but I'm not going into a great long thingy here to repeat what's already been said. Suffice it to say, either be in business, or don't. Some vendors will give you a "wholesale" better price - and some won't.

We have some suppliers who provide specialty products to us, that the sponsors here don't carry. They are not sponsors. We found them from referrals from other builders who had a need for the same products and graciously told us about them. We would refer them if asked, but privately, even though they are not actually competitors for the sponsors here. But that's why therre's email and phones and such.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

The amount of money the sponsors pay to be here is a pittance. It comes out to under a buck per day and yet reaches more custom rod builders than any other website. I doubt any have had to raise prices to cover that sort of thing particularly when you consider how much additional business it nets most of them.



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