Any of the businesses I deal with take care of the problem and don't "PASS THE BUCK". They deal with the manufacturer. There are plenty of good businesses out there who want your business and will take care of the problems for you. Change supplyer, that is what I do. I take care of the businesses that take care of me, it is as simple as that, PERIOD.

I also agree with Kerry!! If Phil is correct that the blank he revived may a problem. That blank should not gotten threw any of the quality control factors they must pass threw before going to the customer. Quality control at the factory and lastly quality control at the suppliers end. Phil also stated that the manufacture is also a sponsor on this site it does not take a rocketman to narrow who they could be. If it were me I would contact the manufacture and let them know what I think maybe wrong

Good Wraps Bob

I strongly echo what Kerry Hansen says. And speaking form first hand experience, dealing with manufacturers can be an absolute nightmare regardless of whom they are or how long they have been in buisness.

I too agree with kerry. Do what you have to do to get this one fixed, but id be buying my stuff elsewhere next time. Although i totally see what is being said about the manufacturer setting the warranty policy, im seeing this more as a customer service issue. My thought is it should have never been shipped to you that way. If i buy a new product the last thing i should have to do is get it warrantied before i ever use it. I think the viewpoints may vary because a lot of people on this board are professional builders. Many of us are however hobby builders. When i buy a part i pay retail, and i kind of expect retail type customer service. Now maybe that doesnt work for some suppliers, and that is fine, but then i will just choose to head downt the road next time.

Very often we talk about how builders should explain their own warranty policy to customers so that there'll be no misunderstanding if something should happen to the customer's rod. If the customer knows the policy beforehand, then there are no surprises.

This is the same situation. The rod blank has a written warranty policy. The customer should follow that warranty policy. Folks can argue all they want about what they think the dealer could or should do, but the fact remains, the blank has a written warranty written by the company that made the blank. The proper course is to follow it.

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Please bear in mind that many manufacturers REQUIRE distributors to refer ALL warranty claims to them ... regardless of specifics, length of term, etc.

I wouldn't be so quick to assume that anyone is "passing the buck" in this situation. In my years of experience, I have found manufacturers to be extremely accommodating, very responsive and terribly efficient. Odds are good that a replacement blank can be on the way within days. Occasionally, items slip through the cracks. My guess is that the blank in question was in a factory sealed bag - meaning it would have been completely impossible for the distributor to even know that there was an issue.

Pickup the phone, call the manufacturer, politely explain the situation and experience the remedy - it is very unlikely that you won't have a positive outcome.

Instead of going though all that - does the tip fit the butt ? If so buy how much ? If the tip is too long you can trim it yourself.

Just a thought.

Bill - willierods.com

Over the years lots of both retailers got stuck with merchandise that was not actually defective, but actually damaged by the user. The user ended up with new merchandise, and someone else got stuck with the user issues.
As a result more and more manufacturers and retailers both - will simply do not returns, unless they have an RMA number from the manufacturer.
The net result is that the real manufacturing and warrenty issues ane being addressed and resolved, and "users of the system" are being rejected, as they should be rejected.

Yes, it is more inconvenient, but in the end, likely the best thing for the market.

Roger