Deals at online Retailers

Wetswinger said:
Ya, something is goofy. I'd call them, as elsewhere on there site it states that anything over $75 ships free. I ordered one last week for $82 and got free shipping..
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I called them and talked to one guy who was new and didn't know anything and then another guy called me back telling me "Nope, nothing's wrong, no free shipping when I put it in my cart." I explained that the website says "free shipping over $75 dollars" and he says "I don't know about that but we'll have to fix that, and look, these are Gary Loomis blanks..." and goes into a rant about supply chains and so forth. He also completely blew me off when I had questions about other stuff "I can't help you; it's all on the website."

Way to be a shit salesperson. Time to buy an Echo.

Edit: the second guy called me back and said they were able to offer free shipping after all but they'd have to take the order manually. So I ordered the blank. I also ordered an Echo from @SpawnFlyFish because Josh and crew have always been super helpful community members both here and in the greater fly fishing sphere. I've learned a ton from their videos.
 
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Order processed and headed your way! Truly appreciate you!
adamcu280 said:
I called them and talked to one guy who was new and didn't know anything and then another guy called me back telling me "Nope, nothing's wrong, no free shipping when I put it in my cart." I explained that the website says "free shipping over $75 dollars" and he says "I don't know about that but we'll have to fix that, and look, these are Gary Loomis blanks..." and goes into a rant about supply chains and so forth. He also completely blew me off when I had questions about other stuff "I can't help you; it's all on the website."

Way to be a shit salesperson. Time to buy an Echo.

Edit: the second guy called me back and said they were able to offer free shipping after all but they'd have to take the order manually. So I ordered the blank. I also ordered an Echo from @SpawnFlyFish because Josh and crew have always been super helpful community members both here and in the greater fly fishing sphere. I've learned a ton from their videos.
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SpawnFlyFish said:
that is interesting sale, we have not been able to restock very many of there hooks. Wondering if they are just giving up. On Firehole B2B most of them are out of stock!
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Checked around a bit.

fireholeoutdoors.com

Firehole Outdoors | Barbless Fly Tying Hooks & Beads

Firehole Sticks™ & Firehole Stones™ - 100% barbless hooks and tungsten beads for fly tyers. Jig, nymph, dry fly & streamer designs. Ships from New England.
fireholeoutdoors.com fireholeoutdoors.com
 
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As usual, going to the source provides some important context:
fireholeoutdoors.com

Firehole Outdoors | Barbless Fly Tying Hooks & Beads

Firehole Sticks™ & Firehole Stones™ - 100% barbless hooks and tungsten beads for fly tyers. Jig, nymph, dry fly & streamer designs. Ships from New England.
fireholeoutdoors.com fireholeoutdoors.com

No more direct to consumer. I remember putting in an order in March '23 during the giant sale and I now have enough of certain types of hooks for a lifetime.
 
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Buzzy said:
@Mike Cline - any intel on this?
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When Joe Mathis wife passed, it put a severe strain on fulfillment of consumer orders and eventually Joe decided to only distribute his hooks and other stuff only through dealers. The packaging for direct to consumer and to dealers was different so he decided to consolidate everything into dealer only sales. As far as I can tell that part of the business is still going strong with a lot of online sellers and local shops carrying the Firehole brand of hooks. I know J. Stockard still carries the full line of Firehole hooks.
 
We plan on continuing to carry the product and support both Firehole and everyone that loves there products its been a great product and company to work with. I had not read that article on there site! We will continue to monitor the B2B for updates on inventory and restock ASAP when it's back. In the meantime we have brought in a huge line of Hanak which hopefully will help offset some of this. Hanak is set to land later this week!
 
@adamcu280 do remember nothing is "free", the company is paying for that shipping. And on a USA made blank that is already sub $100, that's asking a lot off the topline and they likely aren't making much off the sale. Not saying marketing shouldn't coincide with the cart, but just remember the big picture. NFC makes the cheapest American made blanks period which is a real gem in an expensive world of outsourced rods. I love Batson, but anything under a couple hundred bucks is made offshore, whereas North Fork its all done down there in Woodland.

For any site, especially small businesses in the US I try not to use the free shipping option.

I pickup all my blanks in person from them and will offer to do so for anybody else to get them to the South Sound. Meet at a watering hole, beer is on you (y)
 
Divad said:
@adamcu280 do remember nothing is "free", the company is paying for that shipping. And on a USA made blank that is already sub $100, that's asking a lot off the topline and they likely aren't making much off the sale. Not saying marketing shouldn't coincide with the cart, but just remember the big picture. NFC makes the cheapest American made blanks period which is a real gem in an expensive world of outsourced rods. I love Batson, but anything under a couple hundred bucks is made offshore, whereas North Fork its all done down there in Woodland.

For any site, especially small businesses in the US I try not to use the free shipping option.

I pickup all my blanks in person from them and will offer to do so for anybody else to get them to the South Sound. Meet at a watering hole, beer is on you (y)
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Fresh off ignore and right into another lecture with some virtue signaling on top!

I had nothing to do with the company choosing their sale price or offering free shipping. I will question any company that doesn't honor what they are offering on their website, especially when it comes with a shitty attitude.
 
adamcu280 said:
Fresh off ignore and right into another lecture with some virtue signaling on top!

I had nothing to do with the company choosing their sale price or offering free shipping. I will question any company that doesn't honor what they are offering on their website, especially when it comes with a shitty attitude.
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It honestly sounds like your attitude fits right in with what you perceive of theirs 👍
 
Divad said:
It honestly sounds like your attitude fits right in with what you perceive of theirs 👍
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After all was said and done I did get an email back from one of the managers apologizing for their mistake and the attitude that I got from their person on the phone. So it appears my attitude was justified.

And I'll continue to support @SpawnFlyFish and my local fly shop because they've always been super friendly and helpful and awesome from the start.
 
clarkman said:
I have the 5wt. While I wouldn't classify it as super fast, it's pretty fast...more of a tip flex with a 5wt line. I fish it more like a 6wt , which is what it feels like. From the sounds of what you're looking for, the 4wt (or even 3wt) might be more appropriate. Regardless, they're fantastic blanks.
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Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll consider a 3wt or a 4wt for a build.
 
Divad said:
@adamcu280 do remember nothing is "free", the company is paying for that shipping. And on a USA made blank that is already sub $100, that's asking a lot off the topline and they likely aren't making much off the sale. Not saying marketing shouldn't coincide with the cart, but just remember the big picture. NFC makes the cheapest American made blanks period which is a real gem in an expensive world of outsourced rods. I love Batson, but anything under a couple hundred bucks is made offshore, whereas North Fork its all done down there in Woodland.

For any site, especially small businesses in the US I try not to use the free shipping option.

I pickup all my blanks in person from them and will offer to do so for anybody else to get them to the South Sound. Meet at a watering hole, beer is on you (y)
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I expect that shipping costs are figured into the price when a company offers free shipping and I don't want to pay twice for it. When I go to Walmart to buy something, I don't expect them to add shipping costs at the register.

I have built on blanks from both Batson and North Fork, I'll deal with Batson given the option.
 
Wayne Kohan said:
I expect that shipping costs are figured into the price when a company offers free shipping and I don't want to pay twice for it. When I go to Walmart to buy something, I don't expect them to add shipping costs at the register.

I have built on blanks from both Batson and North Fork, I'll deal with Batson given the option.
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I am not sure comparing a local business to Walmart is apples to apples but I get your gist. I will concur marketing text should concur with the experience you have onsite, just remember they are small, they have faults in their system, which isn't exactly uncommon with small businesses operations. An American made blank manufacturer where you can buy one for sub $100, sprinkle the fact the tapers are built by Gary, and that is quite the value proposition. A little crit thinking and you will find that a $75 blank while offering free shipping leaves little if any room for the company to make money.

I do enjoy Batson, they have amazing customer service and run a well oiled machine up there in Sequim. They also outsource blanks under that 200'ish dollar mark oversees as the margin is too small when made here.
 
A little "crit" thinking will tell anyone that the company is setting their own prices and offering free shipping. Maybe they want a Walmart-style loss leader to get people in the door to maybe buy some other stuff (which was something I was planning on doing until this experience), or need to blow out some overstock, or maybe their normal margins are so high that selling a blank that retails for $250 for $83 is actually still a win for them. Who knows. Gary's been in this business a long time. He should know that having a website that even their staff knows is horrible that requires customers to follow up with phone service that's based on snobbery is not a great way to bring in or keep new customers.

As a consumer there are a ton of places to spend my little bit of spending money. If I'm not buying from the classifieds here, I'm probably looking for "deals at online retailers" as well as deals at my local shops. If I can I'll try to time my purchases for when I'm in Oregon because hey, saving WA sales tax adds up. Very rarely will I be buying at full retail and if I am, it's going to be reliable products from brands that stand behind them (Echo) from a reputable dealer (Spawn or Confluence) that treats me well from the start. All of the above are small WA-based companies that have functional websites, treated me well, and earned my support. If the only difference is overseas manufacturing, well, that's a whole other topic.

I'll look at Batson to get the components I need to finish this blank.
 
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The thing about NFC is, fly rods are a niche market for them. The bulk of their business is spin and casting rods. They have raised the fly rod prices for their upper and classic lines substantially over the last year. The LMX and Iconoglass seem to be their "budget" line of fly rods and as such occasionally go on sale for a "budget" price. Thing is, these lower priced rods are excellent and a great value. So I'm happy to pick one up when they are on sale and expect them to act in a responsible, professional manner towards me. Their service could be better. It took me months to replace a broken tip I sent in, but I stick with them and their little problems because they're local and make a good product..
 
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Old tools and farm implements, old bottles, lots of interesting stuff in the $5-10 range.

My wife's friend is selling her late dad's stuff.
 
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