Hey Rob,welcome to the forum!
The best way to post pics is to download the app on either android or ios and post them directly in the thread.
I'm new myself but I'll say this from my research - depending on the intended purpose the market is different. I've seen custom tuna rods for $1400 and custom bass rods for $250 and everything in between.
What makes a custom rod desirable is different for each individual. If I were to purchase a custom rod (or make one myself which is the avenue I chose) I would want as little thread and epoxy as possible, the lightest components within practical cost/benefit ratio, and high quality blank/components.
Some people want a rod with beautiful thread art that makes it look wicked cool and obviously custom.
Nobody wants a rod from somebody who has only built one rod.
If I were looking into custom builds I would ask about experience and that would be a deterrent for me. Unless you can sell me on why you could still make me a better rod than a St. Croix legend for about the same price - why you design rods better, components are better, engineered better, etc. Or perhaps because you only built one rod you could build me a SCv quality rod for less money - that is always desirable to people.
You're not only competing with other custom builders trying to make a business, but tried and true mass manufactured rods, people rave about Shimano Expride and Poison Adrena - are your rods better for the same price?
A lot of this boils down to marketing, which is the same for absolutely everything we buy. Shimano claims the Poison Adrena has 140% increased sensitivity- great marketing, everybody wants that. But it's 140% more sensitive than what? How was it measured? In the end it doesn't really matter, they're allowed to say it and some people will believe it and buy it.
Here is an example of research and data that backs up a claim of increased sensitivity, and when they make reasonable claims in there marketing that are backed by data I'm inclined to trust them and purchase from them [
www.rodbuilding.org]
At the end of the day there are people in mall kiosks selling rocks because they convince people that the vibrations resonate with the univers and into their existence affording them peace or strength or balance. And they do sell them... rocks... that are rocks- for money. So if you can market it, you can sell it. Look at bottled water - absolutely brilliant idea. Let's take that free water from the spring, put it in a cheap plastic bottle, and make astronomical profit - brilliant. You won't see on a bottle of water a claim to be regular water, but that's what it is. I think it's Avon that is actually filtered tap water - brilliant!
This goes for everything in life my man, this is why the same 100 garbage songs are on the charts and fantastic artists are never heard. It's why the shelves are filled with low quality products in every isle across the store. It's why some revolutionary ideas and products don't survive and we're left with well marketed junk.
Having a product and knowing how to sell it are 2 VERY different things, you need to find a way to market your builds to draw customers - but if the quality doesn't match or exceed the price your reputation will quickly become one among many that people will not buy from and that is a very difficult uphill battle to recover from. some products are released without enough testing, or with known flaws that aren't expected to be so bad, and then it turns into recalls and loss of trust from the consumers. So make sure you have a product that will build your reputation and not hurt it.
Good luck with your builds and your business my man! Stick around and ask more questions, I think you'll find a wealth of knowledge and experience from wonderful and kind and helpful people here.
Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2023 08:43AM by El Bolinger.
