I am curious about the (few) companies that price their blanks at a certain level all the same, from a 7' 3 weight to a 9'6" 6 weight. At other blank companies the longer and heavier blanks can cost twice as much. I am assuming that material cost is the most important consideration, given that perfectly well made blanks can be bought for 30 bucks. My guess would be that certain brands can get away with this pricing model because of perceived prestige. Can anyone shine some light on these pricing practices?

No, labor is the greatest cost in blank production. And some materials require more care and effort to work with. But the material is almost never the primary cost in any product.

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Not all companies use the best materials they can find, others don't, or can't. Using a 40 year old graphite and resin system is simply cheaper and easier to get than the upper end stuff. We are also low man on the totem pole, companies will sell large orders to bigger clients before the rod companies that buy very little by comparison.

There is also a demand issue. My guess, and it's only a guess, is 1, 2, & 3 weights enjoy less demand that 4, 5, & 6. Got no idea why a 12 weight ought cost more than a 7, 8, or 9. Just proves that marketing types do strange and mysterious things.

So does it cost twice as much in labor to make a longer, more stout rod out of the same material? I get that things are priced by what people will pay for them, but it does not intuitively make sense that people would pay more for heavier power rods than lighter power rods. I would think in most blanks the middle area would attract the most buyers. Maybe I am trying to understand something that is simply looked at differently by different companies.

You know Peter that at the end of the day, questions and answers really change nothing.

If you wish to buy a particular blank you pay the price for the blank. It matters not, what the labor cost is, the materials cost, the overhead. Remember, when there is a big building with a lot of workers there are taxes insurance, liability protection, building maintenance, health insurance etc. etc. etc.

Now, if you go overseas, where folks get paid pennies per hour to work with no benefits, no health insurance, no paid vacation, and a lower cost of living the finished product costs much less to produce - compared to production in a more expensive country with more expensive everything.

Take care

Prices are determined by what customers are willing to pay. If they are not willing to pay a price on which a company can make the profit it wants then the company does not offer that product. The price a company is willing to take can depend on the overall company strategy, as in sometimes offering a product at a price which produces no or negative profit in order to support the overrall company strategy.

The customer's decision is based not only on the one product, but on alternative products as well.

Messy, but it works.

Roger has it right. you determine whether the product you want is offered at a price you are willing to pay. Trying to determine all the aspects of pricing is impossible and accomplishes nothing.

The best indicator of a rod or rod blank's price is not its performance - it's the advertising budget.

rod builders are not just builders of rods but often the builders of rod building tools also and probably the biggest competitor for the commercial tool makers..

Phil, and we have no way of knowing the size of the ad budget either.

By the way, I'd really like to try a "soulful" rod and have not been able to find one. Can you tell me where you buy yours? Brand? etc? thanks

Michael: I believe advertisements for "soulful" rods were discontinued a few years ago,. Why? I don't know. Maybe religious objections.

Rats! Big disappointment.

There are lots of strategies for pricing discretionary types of items. I heard what I considered a reliable report years ago about a person affiliated with Sage going ballistic on one of the managers at St. Croix for building high performing, high specification fly rods without adding prestige pricing. I had seen fairly similar behavior at a trade show a few months earlier. The story went that St. Croix’s disruption to the price/performance ratio would damage the entire industry. The business model being defended had lots of promotional and R&D costs for a relatively small volume of rods. They could make it back along with a good profit margin if no competitors broke ranks and consumer expectations continually increased.

Discretionary items are imported from the same countries and sometimes even the same factories with very different pricing strategies. Recreational and branded items aren’t priced by supply and demand dynamics as are basic commodities. Perception and attempts at differentiation often greatly influence what people will pay verses what products cost companies to produce and distribute. Black, spandex clothing items from China can cost under $10 or well-exceed $200. They are the same fabric with the shape being determined by the wearer.

oh no! not spandex too, and graphite rods..i hope e-glass is not next..

I would be interested to know which expense in a rod blank business is greater: materials, labor, or marketing?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2021 01:42PM by Phil Ewanicki.

Phil Ewanicki Wrote:
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> I would be interested to know which expense in a rod blank business is greater: materials, labor,or marketing?

WHY?