Loomis Rods

[coelacanth]

Guess who G.LOOMIS worked for before he went out on his own.(hint, it wasn't shimano).IAN

[Stuart]

From the dark depths of my brain, that would be Lamiglass. Do I win the car?

Stu

[OzRods]

I was told I think it was Gary Loomis or his nephew Bob Loomis had also worked for and was part owner of the Rogue Rod Company after he sold G Loomis.
Garry Loomis now has a lot to do with fish conservation and he is passionate about banning Long Lines and Drift Nets.
Apparently the U.S. commercial fishing industry has got it in for him and try's to discredit him when ever they can.
Bob Loomis now owns ATC (Advanced Tubular Composites) originally named Shikari

[croangler]

Maybe I am having a bit of a bitch session but here we go.
The G Loomis Drop shot rods are selling in Australia for $510.00 the cheapest I saw. In America the same rod is selling for $240 US which is about $260AU + $60 delivery to Australia. I am just shocked by the HUGE mark-up these rods have in Australia. Remember that this is buying rods individually, if you bought 4 rods I am sure that you can get a discount to cover the delivery. I would love to know how the retailers justify selling rods with making a minimum of $250.00 – $300.00 profit (per rod).

[Stuart]

Gee mate, that’s a bit light on. I would have cut them a new hole. Haven’t you heard, Australia is the land of the middle man? Mate, we have been taking it up the bum for years by the do goodn mongrels. Tackle that has been important should be the cheapest it ever has been, but no, we are still getting reamed out. It has almost got to the stage where you go to pay for your new outfit and you must assume the position. What ever happened to Shimano when they had to increase prices when the Aussie dollar hit 45 cents? Now its 93 at my last look they still haven’t dropped the prices.

Now these middle man stooges are bitching about people buying in from overseas, my heart bleeds for them. I have no sympathy at all for these middle rip off guys, if they want to screw us, then we simply take our money offshore, can’t help that. If you could buy petrol for 50 cents then why in hell would you pay 1.50? It gives me the shits when they start crying because thy are doing it tuff, must be hard when they aren’t making 500% mark ups anymore. I could go on for ever, but I won’t. One more thing, we are paying in excess of 400% mark up on guides and rod blanks in this country, how the hell are we meant to compete when the rest of the world is paying less than half that.

Stu

[nigelr]

Thanks for the insight Stuart.
Someone certainly has the Aussie tackle market by the b$lls.
What I can't understand, as a grass roots consumer, is why we don't get the same gear available in the US and Europe, and Japan, etc.
Maybe we are just the disposal ground for all the 'last years' models' etc.
Very interesting topic, IMHO, we Aussies certainly spend a $ or 2 on gear.......
Cheers.

[OzRods]

Maybe I am having a bit of a bitch session but here we go.
The G Loomis Drop shot rods are selling in Australia for $510.00 the cheapest I saw. In America the same rod is selling for $240 US which is about $260AU + $60 delivery to Australia. I am just shocked by the HUGE mark-up these rods have in Australia. Remember that this is buying rods individually, if you bought 4 rods I am sure that you can get a discount to cover the delivery. I would love to know how the retailers justify selling rods with making a minimum of $250.00 – $300.00 profit (per rod).

I can tell you now its not the retailers making the huge profits. I sell to a lot of tackle shops and I am also friends with a number of them they aren't making anymore then 40% if there lucky and out of that they are paying freight from the supplier and the GST. I will also probably get a talking to for saying this but 90% of the time the suppliers are the ones making real money. Notice I said 90% because some are selling at the right price.

[Stuart]

Nigelr

We simply don’t have the variety here in Australia because the middle man can’t make the margins they do on other items. A middle man told me this some time ago, actually several did, so what do you do. Its getting to the point where my frustrations are getting more intense, ask my wife if you don’t believe me. I have invested tones of money, time, sweat and at times, many tears. Many great rod builders have left the industry because of this crap going on, some get supplied while others don’t, and it’s the biggest load of horse shit. The suppliers that pick and choose who they will and wont supply pisses me off to no end. They say it’s a level playing field, maybe in their own pathetic twisted minds. I know who gets supplied and who doesn’t; I also know who gets the good discounts and who gets none. Would you call this a level playing field? The fishing industry in this country is so warped and twisted it’s not funny. They make me sick to the gut and yes I have told them in no uncertain terms. You can see what I think of the fishing industry in this country. Sorry for the rant mate.

Stu

[nigelr]

Sorry to hear that the situation in regards to tackle is the same as in many other supplier/retail situations.
The outdoor power industry is one, suppliers dominate the retailers to an incredible degree, telling them what they can and can't sell, and how and where they have to sell it. With the other hand they supply product to 'big box' outlets, ie Kmart, Big W, etc effectively taking business away from the specialist retailers.
If the retailers don't like it, they will happen to go broke, plain and simple. Of course, no-one is game to say anything about it, the repercusions are potentially swift and devastating.
Cheers and best of luck to you and yours, I really appreciate your sharing your expert knowledge on this forum, and I'm sure others do as well.

[Lucky_Phill]

Looks like I might have opened a can of worms here... !!

I agree that generally we Aussies pay way too much for our tackle etc. A lot of us are going OS to get Rod Building gear for this very reason.

I think as a rule we like to get value for money, not necessarily the cheapest price, but cost is a big factor when purchasing our tools of trade.

And of course, everyone likes a bargain.... !!

ON a personal note I would visit a tackle shop as a last resort for gear and in reality I would have purchased tackle from a retail store maybe once in the last 12 months.

I personally find it convenient to shop over the net and have stuff delivered to my door. For those that hate paying postage, work out ya fuel bill to go to the shop, time to do this and other little costs involved.. parking, waiting in the que..and the chance you'll buy something you don't really need, but it's on special... ..

thanks for the continued input.

Phill

[croangler]

I agree with you Phill, I too would go to a tackle shop as a last resource.

Someone must be making a killing. Either the retailers or the importers, I am not too sure. But when a joe bloe like me can purchase one new loomis dropshot with express post with insurance for less than $270 from US. A mate of mine bought 4 rods and the seller gave him all rods for $240 delivered each. The reason for the discount is because he bought more than one rod. Can you imagine if I bought 50 rods, what kind of discount I would get. If these rods are selling for a minimum of $510AU then the retailers and the importers are ripping us off.

To move away from Loomis and go to Daiwa team advantage reels.
A brand new TDA can be bought in Australia anywhere from $225-$285. You can get it from the US delivered for less than $150.00

Shimano Stradic brand new costs $225 in Australia. You can get it for $150 delivered from US.

There is no justification for this rip off.

In the US, they have suppliers and retailers and they all make a profit and still sell for less than what we sell here.

So in the end I am not so heartbroken when a local retailer closes down because we go elsewhere and save money. I now know that I have been ripped off for years.

[Mark Fisher]

Fellas I've been doing my buying from O/S for years now and the Aussie dealers just can't compete. With the Aussie $ being so high at the moment you would be mad to shop locally. In saying this sometimes you just need that extra spool of thread or an emergency guide etc which you buy locally. The bigger market items you buy O/S. The service is roughly a 10 day turn around. It used to be a lot harder when there was the $300 limit before paying import duties. Now that limit is way higher it makes it worth while importing.

Mark

[HOTRODS]

if i can jump on stew's sopa box for a sec...

jsue got another order of exotic components in from Japan...ordered online friday, contacted saturday with the 'your order has been recieved', invoiced and paypal'd sunday, sent monday amd recieved friday...

that is service !!!

now in comparision i faxed and order to an aussie supplier a week ago and havent even received a BOO...

dont get me wrong, we do have some great suppliers in Aus BUT more than 1/2 are conetent to play hard to get and yes...IT SUCKS !!!
sorry for trying to put food in my kids mouths BUT can i have some stock please ???

so where's the love ???

[R-U- Wet Yet]

I'm a newby...so..."for the cost of a local call"....here's my bit
....last xmas I was looking at purchasing a Calcutta dc200 reel...retail between $650.00 - $990.00 in Australia.... delivered to my door via online shop in USA less than $450.00 AU... exactly the same reel as sold in Australia..
USA models get 3 yr free service warranty...Aussie model reels get 10 yr warranty... no service... go figure

When I go to bed tonight and pray.... I'll be praying for all online shops to have real time stock control on their websites... then next week if God doesn't answer that prayer... I'll be asking for enough money to buy the gear to make my own stuff!!!! and I know he'll be listening... cause he's too busy listening to rod builders prayers too answer any of my emails!! or call back!!!!
Patience is a virtue.....apparently....lets all hope that we don't get to the.... " press fphree..3 to speek to..."...press 4 if you speak inggrish....argggghhhhhhhh!!!!!...
give the epoxy time to dry tho..while we ...Wait...and..wait....and wait..and wait...
Now..what was the subject again.... oh yes...Loomis rods... I've got an IMX and it was my best/favourite rod...until I made my own Hastings....Yep.... God's all smiles when he see's me proudly holding my very own rod....cause he knows how long I had to wait to make the bloody thing

Robbie

[mad_pierre06]

Well, i'm not too sure how to define a middleman, but I work for an unnamed international company which supplies parts and appliances to the caravan and motorhome manufacturing and service repair industry. A small plastic bolt which keeps a vent closed - $10. A 184 Litre propane powered fridge - $2100. A small three burner propane powered stove and grill combo - $1600. One of thpose rooftop air-conditioners you see sitting on top of a caravan - $960. And this is wholesale remember. This makes it almost impossible for the manufacturer or service agent to make a dollar as well AND not appear too greedy. And keep in mind that the company itself has the goods made in places such as Hungary and Mexico. For next to nix.

Looks like another win for the suppliers.