General rod quality ... Or the lack of :(

[jpd0144]

I've had a few rants here on TT lately and almost didn't post this but I'm just too aggravated to let it go by...

Today I received two different brand rods from two different companies that the majority of us do business with.

One rod has a MSRP of $149 and the other of $169. Upon getting home and seeing the two tubes under my carport I was excited to open both.

First rod up ... Inspected ... Guides aligned pretty decent. Pretty clean build. Flipped it over with the guides facing down and stared down the blank and you guessed it ... About fourth guide down from the tip it was hooked pretty good to the left. Less than happy !

Ok one to go ... All seemed to put me in a better mood till ... Yup flipped it over and at about fifth guide from the tip hooked even worse to the left !!!!! REALLY !????

I've had this happen before but was once in a blue moon.

I usually buy a little over this price point. Is this just the standard for the industry now between the $100-$200 market or did I just hit a run of bad luck !?

How many of you send them back... ? Or should I ask how many of you look at the price point and just say I halfway got what I paid for and fish them ?

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Disclosure: No retailer or rod brand was used in this rant !

Jeff

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

just paying more wont be a guarantee

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=63370&sid=4e03fea3 ... 448e91a637

[GOOD YEAR 71]

Bummer... I say return both. Is this harsh? No it is not. If consumers accept subpar inventory then subpar inventory will continue to be delivered. Guides are supposed to be straight. None of us would buy a new truck and accept it delivered with a bent frame, would we? Nope.

That said, this isn't a new truck and those sticks will probably fish fine. But that's not the point. This is a new product and should be delivered as advertised, damn it. I say stand up and make a point of it. Get your money back and spend it someplace else.

[africanbass]

Send them back!
If a company like MajorCraft can produce A+ quality builds on their budget rods,why can't the rest?

[jpd0144]

Thanks for the advise guys.

Do you guys think that some of this could result from inventory being stored for a length of time standing in upright bins ?
Another words tips to the wall and butts to the ground causing bend in the blanks.
Especially if they are stacked this way with several on top each other. The ones closest to the wall supports the most weight and takes on a arch ?

Maybe I'm far off ... I don't know. Just thinking out loud shanking my head.

[Teal101]

Thanks for the advise guys.

Do you guys think that some of this could result from inventory being stored for a length of time standing in upright bins ?
Another words tips to the wall and butts to the ground causing bend in the blanks.
Especially if they are stacked this way with several on top each other. The ones closest to the wall supports the most weight and takes on a arch ?

Maybe I'm far off ... I don't know. Just thinking out loud shanking my head.

No. Would take some serious time and weight to cause a permanent bend in a blank.

[Mattman]

Thanks for the advise guys.

Do you guys think that some of this could result from inventory being stored for a length of time standing in upright bins ?
Another words tips to the wall and butts to the ground causing bend in the blanks.
Especially if they are stacked this way with several on top each other. The ones closest to the wall supports the most weight and takes on a arch ?

Maybe I'm far off ... I don't know. Just thinking out loud shanking my head.

No. Would take some serious time and weight to cause a permanent bend in a blank.

You're not going to put a permanent bend into a graphite blank.

[Hogsticker2]

Send them back!
If a company like MajorCraft can produce A+ quality builds on their budget rods,why can't the rest?

No doubt. A lot of big name rod companies could learn a thing or two from Major Craft

[Dink Dawg]

First, your post is not a rant. It's an observation and a statement of fact. The issue is quality control. Most on line retailers take it seriously to sell a quality product free from defect. If they don't they can expect to fail when the word gets out. Even worse is the possibility a Manufacture's reputation is put in question. I would send them back in a minute, ask the shipping cost be covered by the seller and ask them to pass your dissatisfaction onto the manufacture's representative. When your new rods come in, inspect them and post the results. That's fair. Rods are essentially made by hand and finished by hand. Some craftsman are more consistent than others. This post inspected by #29

[Antonese]

Its a pain to return but if you're OCD like I am it will bother me every time I look at those rods. You should feel satisfied with the purchase. Only you can truly answer that. I would most likely return them.

[njbasscat]

Send them back. It doesn't matter is something costs $20 or $2000, if it's poorly built, it shouldn't be acceptable.

[civicrr]

Its a pain to return but if you're OCD like I am it will bother me every time I look at those rods.

Same with me.

Had the problem with an impulse purchase (rod) from a retailer a couple hours away. It was a hassle to return but I knew it would bother me every time. I called up the store & they told me to bring it back. Ended up going with another brand when I couldn't find an example that I found acceptable.

[Cracker]

My recent experience:

1. Respectful American brand, rod broke on a hookset (retail 149.00), send it for repair/replacement (paid shipping from me and processing fee - total around 30USD)
Received a replacement rod (built in Mexico), noticed the tip and one of the middle guides are not aligned with the rest. Emailed with pics, said - I'm not going to pay those 30 dollars to get another one, they answered - OK, we will send you a new one, keep that one. Received a new one (everything straight), after a day of fishing the rod broke on a hookset at same place, emailed with pics, received another rod - and again - you can easily see how guides (5th and 6th from the top) are not aligned. Decided to keep it as it is.

2. Respectful Japanese brand, also makes decent reels. Ordered high-end 2ps rod, the rod came - guides OK, however the blank has a 3mm curve to the left side, rod built in Thailand. The seller are going to pay my shipping back to Japan, and ship a new rod to me. USPS Express shipping of 2pc 7'3" rod cost almost 70 dollars. Compare that with prices Japanese or Chinese sellers pay to ship to US ONE piece rod! USPS doesn't even except one piece rods.

P.S.
How respectful fishing brands can have Quality Control like that???

[jpmoney]

I agree, It sucks that respectable brands (even japanese brands) have QC issues. From my experience if I get a rod that has a defect I would send it back and evaluate how well the customer service at that company handles the issue. If they are slow and don't show much concern then I stop buying their products and move on to something else. If they have good customer service but their product keeps failing or I keep getting sub-standard quality replacement rods then I move on. If you get replacement rods that are as bad or worse in terms of defects, that is a clear indication that the manufacturing QC is not there and that you should stop buying. Slumping sales send a clear message to the manufacturer to change their ways. I had several QC issues with one well known rod company, and although many rant and rave of their top notch service and warranty I found that repeated warranty claims with slow turnaround were annoying me - so I sold off all those rods and moved on to something better, with less problems.

[Rich Frye]

I have to ask. Is it verboten to even mention a company by name when offering factual information?
I have to assume it would be acceptable in the reviews area.
Why no naming names? We can all benefit from others' bad ( or good) experiences. Because a thread does become a bit of a rant if we are all just saying that we don't like how 'some companies' suck...