Please let me counter your response, and I'm not looking for the last line.
Fly fishing shops, like a Nordstrom store, offer higher ticket items along
with customer service...overheadis more per/sq ft. The higher ticket items
do not, normally produce big numbers of sales. Sage will not allow Sage
Rods in KMart, or even a bigger sports retail outlet for fear they will be
discounted. I would not want my Sage Rods to be discounted. They would
lose lots of proud ownership from me, personally. It takes a qualified
salesman to sell those type of higher priced ticket items and thus the
higher overhead. I used to get customers stopping into Eddie Bauer and
asking me about SA fly lines. I'd tell them that they were not nearly as
good as Cortlands 444 fly lines. I knewthey just wanted to take up my time
and find out what line they needed and then they'd head down to Outdoor
Emporium and buy their SA lines for about what I paid for them. When the SA
guy came into the store and asked my why I didn't sell any SA lines, I told
him precisely why. He knew our Cortland sales were huge, but they did not
let the 444 lines be discounted. In the end, Eddie Bauer got out of fly
fishing/hardware because there was not enough markup in the products as it
was.
One of the things I've had to grapple with is the snob appeal criticism you
hearaboutfly fishermen. This is what, I personally, am now satisfied with.
I fly fish, in part, and it becomes a bigger part every year I get older, is
the fact I do not enjoy being around the person on mimimum wage, that
wouldn't spend more than a few bucks for his gear. This guy is a low wage
earner more than likely because his social skills are lacking and they are
often displayed on the water! I enjoy lure fishing for steelhead, but I do
not participate much anymore because of the type of "sportsman" it attracts.
That's just what I've come to experience. When you discount the products
like all the other discount stores, I also think you discount the human side
of it also. Hard to have someone be environmentally responsible, and
acquire the whole package necessary to be a good fly fisherman when he, or
she, is irresponsible at lifes other matters. In my selfish way, higher
priced goods and itineraries are a way of keeping these people off the
water's that I fish. I will drink beer in their bars, however!
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2001 10:09 AM
Subject: Re: sportsmans/flyfishing shows
> I agree with you on many of your points, Jere but the one thing I will
> counter with is this. The sport of fly fishing suffers from elitism and
> price gouging based on image. The mom and pop fly shop will always get my
> business over a mass distributor. At the same time, the image oriented
shops
> that cater to the SUV driving, latte' sipping, couldn't save their butt
out
> in the wilderness if they had too but would look great when they died from
> exposure crowd will never get my business (Sorry if I offended anyone.
Not a
> personal attack just a generalization. I like latte's! Really, I do.
> hehe.). I think the trade shows offered the consumer a way to off set the
> outrageous prices on some gear that tends to be dominated by the upscale
> shops. Yes, you can counter that the high prices were caused by the shows
> but to that I say fly fishing gear that is only available at the quality
fly
> shops continues to rise in price (especially rods) while the gear that is
> available on a more mass appeal (like float tubes) have come down
> significantly.
>
> We all like great service and appreciate the small shops. My favorite
shop
> owner in Spokane sold his store a few years ago and have been unhappy with
> the selection of shops here since. It isn't that the gear selection is
less.
> It actually is more. However, gone are his cups of coffee on a rainy
day,
> the reading couch in the corner with all the latest mags and videos to
watch
> and the individual customer attention. In its place is a shop full of
gear
> but lackluster customer service. I find myself shopping online more and
> buying what I can at the likes of the White Elephant stores.
>
> There is no simple solution to the issue but I think the point we were
trying
> to make is that going to these shows to play with all the gadgets, buying
a
> few new toys (at a discount so we can justify it to the spouse!) and
seeing
> some great presentations made it a fun day and really didn't do that much
> damage. Much of what I often bought was additional things I typically
would
> not have thought about getting or more of an impulse buy. The fly shops
> still got all of my regular business. Going to a show just to see 200
> fishing guides, the latest, greatest Ronco gadget and some presentations
just
> lacks something.
>
> I hope you are settled in your new home in the Idaho Falls area and are
> enjoying the great fishing in that region.
>
> Mike
> Spangle, WA
>
>
>
