Love my old Alvey, was handed down from the old man and still use it out the back floating pillies
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Love my old Alvey, was handed down from the old man and still use it out the back floating pillies
Sent from my iPhone using Ausfish forums
Yep, got a couple of alvey reels, one was given to me by my uncle 50 years ago and I still fish with it. Got a ship load of egg beaters and use them when new (fishing shows and "expert" mates reommending this one and that, but always seem to gravitate back to the old alvey.. shame about alvey closing but we are all to blame in not supporting an Australian Icon.. they kept true to their word.. would close before going off shore!!
Has anyone used one of the new SS alveys ? Alway thought they would be a good thing but never talked to anyone that used one.
BigE
Tried to buy a spare surf reel today just in case some lowlife pinches all my beloved Alveys. Tried three tackle shops and all were sold out of just about every model. Half of the new stock coming in has been pre-ordered. Big effort by everyone but it will be shortlived unfortunately. Eggbeaters in the surf just seems unnatural to me. Makes me uncomfortable to think they won't be available soon, even though they last for years. Still have a boxful of the bakelite and wooden jobbies in the shed, but all a bit too small for the surf. Sad days.
From a post I replied to back in 2010:
I agree with Kaidon's thoughts on Alvey. I had one of their compartment buckets and lost the lid out of the boat coming home. I called myself a d!@%head and forgot about it but the missus rang them to see if she could a replacement lid. The next day a courier dropped off a new bucket and lid with a couple of promotional videos inside all for nicks. To replace something that was lost through no fault of theirs, pay for a courier to deliver it and to chuck in a couple of vids was far beyond the service to cutomers that we expect nowadays.<br />
<br />
Buy Alvey products with confidence.
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Yes it is always sad to see an iconic brand like Alvey go out of business -
Honestly though , their days were numbered many years ago .... I'm actually surprised that they lasted this long . You just can't cater for a diminishing niche market for side cast reels - the world has moved on and no doubt the fishing / social media has accelerated the process .
Chris
Its hard to believe it's happening.. if you're beach fishing, blackfish fishing or any sort of bank fishing for things like whiting, an alvey is the go to reel.
i want to buy a few of their deck winches. Anyone know what they retail at?
Ive just put in an order for a 600 lever drag model.
Aparantly they have run out of them so they will be sending me either a 600 star drag or a 650 lever drag.
If you want to buy an alvey reel i suggest you get in soon, i was told they have aleady run out of some models and parts and whats left is being snapped up fast.
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Yeah mate I was the one who started that thread! For the record, the replacement Alvey yabby pump is still going strong, had to replace the washer last year but other than that haven't had any issues at all.
It's sad to see Alvey go, but it was really inevitable. The world has changed around them and they didn't really adapt to the modern market. I'm not aware of any new products Alvey has introduced in the last few years besides their (very) overpriced aluminium models.
Sure, we could blame corporate greed, flashy sponsorships, rampant consumerism and capitalism itself, but realistically the fishing scene itself has changed a lot since Alvey's hey-day. Braid, graphite rods, light lures and relatively cheap, well-performing spinning reels are all the go these days, regardless of who's to 'blame'.
However, it certainly does say a lot about a company that has to close its doors because their products were made too well, lasted too long and were produced locally. RIP to a Queensland icon.
Could we see Alvey go offshore ? .... China perhaps
It will be too late once all of our manufacturing jobs have gone to China..... long way to commute!
Both sides of government in this country have a lot to answer for.
Nice to be able to blame the politicians but it's the average bloke who buys everything from overseas and not supporting Australian manufacturers, and I am just as guilty as the rest of you . Funny how now alvey are closing and now they are selling more than ever , not sure what the answer is but it sure is sad . Matty
Id like a dollor for every fish that was caught on a Alvey:D.
On the face of it yes, but dig a little deeper ..... Why do we all buy from overseas? - it's cheaper!
Australian business are swamped in red tape and huge overheads. Electricity bills alone are killing off businesses!
The end result is prices go up to cover costs. Prices go up, consumers look for cheaper alternatives and the problem compounds.
The power bill at the Alvey factory is probably $10k - $15k /mth, possibly more. How many reels do they need to sell just to pay the rent/power/phone/internet/ect just to keep the doors open, and they haven't even started paying wages/super/workers comp let alone the owners actually making some profit (this bit actually comes last).
Yes, there was a big problem at Alvey where the reels they sell last a lifetime, and less people are using them however the underlying issue is effecting many businesses out there.
So yes, there is something the government can do to save Australian jobs.... Cut the red tape, and help business be more financially viable, and that doesn't mean hand outs.
The end result is more jobs!
While I don't disagree these are valid issues for business, I don't see them being Alvey's primary reason for their downfall. They have simply not kept up with the trends in modern angling. Look at what people spend on a reasonable quality spin reel or overhead reel for offshore - more than what an Alvey is worth by a long shot let alone if you want top shelf stuff like Saltigas and Stellas. If they wanted to increase market share without changing their designs they would need to offer a huge price point advantage which they may get by going offshore but even then I don't see mainstream fisho's coming back to (effectively) a centrepin design simply because the others are better tools for the job on a lot of occasions. I own a few - most stay in the racks these days unless they suit a specialized application for exactly this reason. I still use one on the beach but I'm a boatie at heart and if I'm chasing luderick they are great but for pretty much every other application I partake in there are (in my opinion) more efficient tools out there for what ever reason (most of which have cost well more than I have spent on any Alvey I purchased) - lighter, faster, better drag, line lay for braid (massive for me - rarely use mono any more) are just a few.
I don't know if Alvey ever investigated tooling up to manufacture other reel designs. Possibly they did but I suspect they have such belief in their product (and to a point rightly so) that they would have seen it as a step backwards. Kudos to them for this and their unwavering commitment to keeping manufacturing in Australia but I simply think this has led to them "falling on their sword" so to speak.
It will be interesting to see whether any of the distributors that do use offshore manufacturing will pick up where Alvey left off once the competition is gone from the market place. For someone like Wilson's, they could be a good addition to their product range.