Brick and mortar store demise 2024
KP Duty reply :
Everyone's noticed the lack of any high end, or even mid line performance rods at their local retailer. I wasn't that bothered by it until I went to bass pro on Wednesday to pick up rod wrap and thought I would fondle some rods while there. Nothing. A mojo and E6x was the best they had. Not cool for 'the' pro shop of bass.fishing. My first loomis, an imx 844 I purchased after fondling for 4 months, came because I could wrap my paws around it. Went to Dicks yesterday because I heard bluebasser86 say he scored a flap slsp on sale, and they had an envy 7'1" for me to handle...and you would have thought I was handling a megabass legara...it just felt that nice to hold a higher end rod that I wasn't already an owner of. This online shopping may cost us.
wdp reply :
I agree. I've never bought a rod without checking it out 1st at a store. Not sure I will ever buy one online, unless it's a model I already own & I'm buying another exactly like it.
dwh4784 reply :
I bought my first online rod this year, the Gander Mountain Vortex they discounted for $12.99. Otherwise I really do like to pick through them and buy in store. I found a good local place I'll support whenever possible but sometimes a deal is too good to pass up.
fishnkamp reply :
I am blessed to have a local tackle shop nearby me. The owner opened his doors just a little more than a year ago. He lives in a business environment that includes a Bass Pro, plenty of Dicks Sporting Goods, a Gander Mountain and even a Cabelas all located within an hour drive. He has tapped into the needs of tournament and other serious anglers. So yes, there are some brands like Strike King and Zoom in stock, just like BPS. He also stocks full lines of Picasso, Reaction Innovation, Spro, Keitech, Lucky Craft, and others. For rods he stocks more than a dozen different models of each product line from Powell, Irod, Dobyns, Cashion, Shimano, Duckett and more. Going in and fondling high quality equipment is a joy. He has made a huge financial commitment to building the type of store that truly makes stopping in worthwhile. I understand and appreciate what it takes to accomplish that task. I also reward him with my business as often as it makes sense. If an item is close in price online and in his store then I buy it in his store. Sometimes an item is available for a lot less online than in any store, so then of course I go online. Just look at recent prices of new reels available online. Often they can be purchased for up to $50 off retail online. That is why my last 4 Tatulas reels came from online suppliers. So far I have purchased 3 rods from him and a bunch of tackle as well. I have my eye, or hands, on a couple of others that I will most likely purchase within the next year as I have been upgrading my arsenal over the last few years.
I realize he is building something special. If you have a local tackle shop near you stop in and see what they offer, if they do not have certain product lines in their store talk to the owner and see if he is willing to bring it in. If he does reward him with your business.
The reality of Johnny Morris buying Cabelas, Ranger, Stratos, Triton, and companies like Gander Mountain closing many of their stores means that the big box suppliers will carry more of "their" product lines and less of the mid to high end gear you are interested in. This is unfortunate but true.
The Fisher reply :
I'm lucky to have a few local shops in Dallas. One carries Dobyns, St Croix, Falcon rods. Several years ago the local Academy was good but not really a decent selection today.
burrows reply :
I have never bought a rod over 80$ at a sports/tackle shop I've always purchased online the prices are better and better selection also if you don't like it return it for a refund or exchange. I usually shop tw I'm very picky and I have made many exchanges over the years if I don't like it once it's in my hand never had a problem it's more convenient for me.
lonnie g reply :
I do respect the local shop walk in put your hands on it way. especially if person behind the counter has good knowlage. good deals else ware are hard to pass up. but if price is close buy local. don't forget you are also supporting your local economy. be glad they are there. sure is nice when you want something quick. I love taking my grandsons letting them touch,feel,and basically get excited about the sport. and if you keep your ears open you might even learn something new. new toys are fun!!!
kickerfish1 reply :
Couldn't even tell you the last time I bought a rod locally. We have a Cabelas, BPS, and a Scheels here and I rarely shop at any of them. 99% of what I buy is online meaning I don't get a chance to handle a rod before purchasing it. There are so many reviews and knowledgeable folks out there that have great insight on rods and rod models that by asking the right people I can get the info I need to make a decision. Most of my rod purchases have been mid to higher end rods bought online or custom builds.
burrows reply :
I do go to my local tackle shop during the colder months I buy hooks and power bait live bait and the occasional crank bait I spend my money there rather than the big retailers i have picked up a few rods and reels in the past but I will make my big purchases online. I do try to support the old mom and pop shops but they are a dying breed it's sad but it's the way it is.
Oklahoma Mike reply :
Yep. I went into Bass Pro on Friday with the idea of buying a new rod and noticed the same. They had a bunch of mojos, a couple Avids, and two legend tournaments. I might have grabbed one of the LT's but they were not in the rod power I was after. The only Loomis rod they had was the E6X, and I would never spend my money on one of those. I was pretty disappointed.
Cabelas carries some higher end rods - they even had a couple of NRX's when I was in there last week. Bass Pro just sucks. I have $200 in Bass Pro gift cards and can't even find anything on their website that I'd really like to spend it on.
wdp reply :
On 1/21/2017 at 2:40 PM, dwh4784 said:I bought my first online rod this year, the Gander Mountain Vortex they discounted for $12.99. Otherwise I really do like to pick through them and buy in store. I found a good local place I'll support whenever possible but sometimes a deal is too good to pass up.
I also bought a vortex on sale for $13 about 3 yrs ago. I've been using it for pond hopping & figured I wouldn't mind if it gets beat up since it was so cheap. I actually bought it at a G Mtn tho.
Been using it for shakey heads, flukes, worms, & some topwater. It's actually a decent rod, especially for $13.
crypt reply :
this is one of the reasons that I started building my own rods.plus Mudhole is only 45 minutes away..........can put my hands on hundreds of blanks, handles,grips,etc. all at once.best thing I ever did.
bigturtle reply :
Funny thing, my local store actually carries megabass super leggara rods, along with X7, C40, XX, Levante, and Hyuga. They also got NRX, Champion Exretme, Legend Xtreme, and a slew of other mid-high end rods. Their price is a bit too high for my liking so i only go there to check out the rods, and order it online.
CTBassin860 reply :
No local rod shops near me.BPS is right down the street and the best rods in store are definitely the E6X and the SC Avid.One row of Abus,7 rows of BPS brand rods and the ugly stik section.I have to order rods because they don't carry anything I want to buy.
wdp reply :
The thing I like about a brick & mortar store is seeing something in person. It's not just rods, but I like to look at lures & baits too. Sometimes, a picture on an internet site really doesn't cut it.
Angry John reply :
On 1/22/2017 at 1:45 AM, bigturtle said:Funny thing, my local store actually carries megabass super leggara rods, along with X7, C40, XX, Levante, and Hyuga. They also got NRX, Champion Exretme, Legend Xtreme, and a slew of other mid-high end rods. Their price is a bit too high for my liking so i only go there to check out the rods, and order it online.
This is the reason there is no value to having high end rods in stock. You test drive and buy elsewhere. Why carry high end gear if people are not going to buy it???
Sam reply :
Where are you and what BPS did you visit? Please add your location to your avatar.
Each retail store has a fishing department buyer who stocks the fishing section based on past sales and new items being introduced.
Maybe your BPS is waiting for their new rod shipments. Or, maybe for some unknown reason the buyer wants you to order on-line?
The two BPS stores in Virginia, Ashland north of Richmond and Hampton Roads in Tidewater carry strong assortments of both salt and fresh water rods, reels, baits and tackle. So there is no reason your BPS does not.
May I suggest going back to BPS and asking to speak with either the fishing department manager or buyer and tell them of your situation and find out if they will be getting in additional stock in the near future, especially for their February sale.
And now is the time for us all to do our homework on new equipment in anticipation of the BPS February sale.
Good luck and please let us know which rod you finally purchased.
BrackishBassin reply :
On 1/22/2017 at 7:18 AM, Angry John said:This is the reason there is no value to having high end rods in stock. You test drive and buy elsewhere. Why carry high end gear if people are not going to buy it???
I would love to support my local tackle shop by buying from them, but I'm going to buy online if they're going to charge an extra $30 - $50. Early this year I was looking at reels and had every intention of buying a Tatula CT from them. I went in there and they wanted $139 for it. I tried to haggle them down a bit, but they wouldn't budge. Even when I talked with the owner and showed him that I could buy the same reel for $98 online, shipped to my door. The shops need to either find a way to cut overhead costs so they can compete with the online retailers or they're going to fold eventually. That's just how capitalism works.
Bluebasser86 reply :
My local store, Mondo Tackle, carries an excellent selection of high end rods, reels, line, and tackle. I can buy Megabass, Lucky Craft, G Loomis, Shimano, St. Croix, Daiwa, Phenix, Powell, and it's not a small selection of gear. It's no more than 3 miles from the nearest BPS store either, so they're really doing something right.
offsidewing reply :
The stores will carry whatever sells. I've had a cabelas and Field & Stream open right by my home. They open with high end St Croix and Loomis rods. $800 reels. Tatsu line, Mega Bass jerks baits. You name it. A year later all the high priced stuff they opened with was still on the racks/shelves. They eventually marked all that stuff 50% off and I bought a bunch of it.
Now, the most expensive line either store sells is Inviz-X and they'll get a half dozen Avid X or E6X rods in the spring and thats it for the season.
Angry John reply :
On 1/22/2017 at 8:23 PM, BrackishBassin said:
I would love to support my local tackle shop by buying from them, but I'm going to buy online if they're going to charge an extra $30 - $50. Early this year I was looking at reels and had every intention of buying a Tatula CT from them. I went in there and they wanted $139 for it. I tried to haggle them down a bit, but they wouldn't budge. Even when I talked with the owner and showed him that I could buy the same reel for $98 online, shipped to my door. The shops need to either find a way to cut overhead costs so they can compete with the online retailers or they're going to fold eventually. That's just how capitalism works.
There are many problems or things that have to be worked threw as a brick and mortar store. Overhead is one. volume is a huge one. TW may sell a hundred of a certain reel and do ok making ten dollars a sale. That same mom and pop shop may sell five the entire year and have to make a certain profit per unit to stay in business. My third and maybe most important factor is the owner. If your going to buy and you show them the price difference they should work with you. The store cost may be a lot different from the high volume stores so if they work with you understand that all thing are not equal.
KP Duty reply :
On 1/22/2017 at 7:56 PM, Sam said:Where are you and what BPS did you visit? Please add your location to your avatar.
Each retail store has a fishing department buyer who stocks the fishing section based on past sales and new items being introduced.
Maybe your BPS is waiting for their new rod shipments. Or, maybe for some unknown reason the buyer wants you to order on-line?
The two BPS stores in Virginia, Ashland north of Richmond and Hampton Roads in Tidewater carry strong assortments of both salt and fresh water rods, reels, baits and tackle. So there is no reason your BPS does not.
May I suggest going back to BPS and asking to speak with either the fishing department manager or buyer and tell them of your situation and find out if they will be getting in additional stock in the near future, especially for their February sale.
And now is the time for us all to do our homework on new equipment in anticipation of the BPS February sale.
Good luck and please let us know which rod you finally purchased.
This was the one in Broken Arrow, OK. Before the last spring classic they had megabass xx's and a few other nicer sticks. When the classic wiped them out I haven't seen them back. I figure they are stocking what is moving, but I just feel they need to have the upper end lines to be big league.
Hulkster reply :
Even the BPS up here in Canada is the same. there is one near me in Ontario and its 90% bass pro shops house products and very limited everything else. no daiwa at all. a few shimano reels. only loomis rods they carry are a few E6X. highest St. Croix they carry is the Avid, but its mostly all BPS house brand rods.
Further North reply :
The reality of retail is that they are going to carry what is popular and what sells the best...and what sells the best is seldom high end equipment...
Here's the rest of the deal: "Popular" hardly ever equals "best".
A great example: Years ago, before Cabela's went public, many of their stores had Gun Libraries where a SxS shotgun nut like myself could go and easily spend a couple hours looking, pondering, and scheming how to work up enough cash to buy a nice Spanish, Italian...or even sometimes an English shotgun that was a work of functional art...
The people that staffed these Gun Libraries were knowledgeable, and knew the Difference between an Ugartechea, an Aguirre y Aranzaba, a Watson and a Poli...
Each Gun library would have at least a couple dozen guns that were far, far beyond what most people would ever consider buying, much less shooting on a regular basis. These gun libraries were destination gun shops for the high end gun crowd and some of their inventory were absolutely the best possible guns available, some costing tens of thousand of dollars.
I just went to the website and looked... in all of the gun libraries, all across the country there are only 6 Aguirre y Aranzaba shotguns, two Ugartecheas, no Polis...and certainly no Watsons. And...they list...Huglu and CZ shotguns...as "fine guns". There's only one Arietta...and it's nothing special.
...but there's a reason for all that: They looked at their customers, and the costs of maintaining and staffing those gun libraries and the money they were bringing in...and made a business decision that they needed to move their offerings a little closer to who they were selling to. THey still have a lot of great shotguns from Browning, Beretta, Benelli, etc...but they are not inthe "best" market like they used to be...because they can't make the money they need to selling those guns.
Fishing equipment is no different...neither are lures, or boats...or anything else.
blckshirt98 reply :
The big chains I've been to have never carried the high end rods. BPS is 80% in-house brand rods, they don't even carry all of the rods they have in their catalogue. I'm guessing it's because like people have said it doesn't move quickly and they can't have all this money tied up in inventory that won't sell that they'll just have to mark down when the newer stuff comes out.
I've always had better luck at the local tackle shops. One carries the high end Phenix/Loomis rods and even carries the Megabass Orochi and Destroyer rods for you to handle and feel.
Gundog reply :
Its been said already but I'll say it again. Retail stores are expensive to operate from a new economy standpoint. Add to the expense carrying high end products that may or may not sell and it becomes even more expensive. Shelf space is a commodity in retail. But internet businesses don't have this problem. A small warehouse can take orders and ship products to your door without the massive overhead of chain-type stores. Macy's, Sears, K-mart, JC Penny and CVS are all closing stores across the country. All of these chains have been hurt my online sales.
basszilla reply :
The pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers also comes from tax codes that penalize retailers for inventory that doesn't move out quickly enough. More and more, they don't stock the items needed to complete a project properly, or to even start a project that isn't a mainstream activity. This forces customers to shop online for specialty items, and that encourages shopping online for the more popular items as well. Speaking from personal experience, I get really tired of driving all over town for some little hardware item that was common and easy to find just ten years ago. Now, even if I'm not concerned about price, I'd rather order it online and not worry about wasting my time and gas hunting it down.
Spartyon2k reply :
On 1/22/2017 at 12:48 AM, Oklahoma Mike said:Yep. I went into Bass Pro on Friday with the idea of buying a new rod and noticed the same. They had a bunch of mojos, a couple Avids, and two legend tournaments. I might have grabbed one of the LT's but they were not in the rod power I was after. The only Loomis rod they had was the E6X, and I would never spend my money on one of those. I was pretty disappointed.
Cabelas carries some higher end rods - they even had a couple of NRX's when I was in there last week. Bass Pro just sucks. I have $200 in Bass Pro gift cards and can't even find anything on their website that I'd really like to spend it on.
I must be lucky, being in the north, as our BPS has nearly everything on hand. Bought an Ike rod (had to actually pick between 3 different models I'd been reading about). The have Saints, G(ee I'm over priced for not being a fly rod) Loomis, Shimano, and a bevy of house rods and the ubiquitous Ugly, Berkley, et all.
Further North reply :
On 1/23/2017 at 12:48 PM, blckshirt98 said:I've always had better luck at the local tackle shops. One carries the high end Phenix/Loomis rods and even carries the Megabass Orochi and Destroyer rods for you to handle and feel.
...and that, right there, is the biggest reason why we need to support our local shops over the big box stores.
At the end of the day, if we don't, our access to the better equipment will keep shrinking and our eventual choices will be limited to "popular" and "average".
I know that's not what I want...
Yudo1 reply :
I wish I had a local tackle shop that carried high end gear. Unfortunately, I only have some big box stores that carry your typical stuff. I haven't bought a rod or reel hands on in years. I've used the recommendations of others I read here and other forums and they've given some good advice. If I had a local shop that offered the stuff I like, I'd probably be in big trouble.
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