Redington

[BOB@BBT]

Just an FYI, we've recently picked up Redington and should be getting in some stock in the next week or so. We have a mix or rods and reels coming in.

[Local]

Willyou be doing over the counter replacement for warranty? if so my new 9 wt will be a reddington. If not you already offer better value in other lines in my opinion.

[BOB@BBT]

After Redington was bought by Sage, they changed that old policy. And to be honest, that's why we waited until now to pick up Redington. We would have never picked them up if the old over the counter policy remained. Here's the policy...
http://www.redington.com/warranty.html

Redington Rod Warranty
Every new Redington rod, with the exception of the Crosswater Series, is covered by our lifetime, original owner warranty.

This warranty is limited to repair or replacement of the rod only, and does not cover direct, indirect, consequential, incidental or any other type of damage resulting from the use of the product. This warranty does not cover misuse, neglect, normal wear, fire, theft, loss, or intentional damage. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state to state.

In order to invoke this warranty, the original owner must send to Redington the entire Redington Product, including broken parts or pieces, freight pre-paid and insured to:


Redington Warranty Department
12715 Miller Rd. NE, #101
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Include a note explaining the problem, and package the Product either in its original packaging, or in packaging affording an equal degree of protection as the original packaging.

Redington reserves the right to determine whether to repair or replace any Redington Product covered by this warranty and the right to replace any discontinued models with newer models when necessary. Colors may vary between original and replacement parts.

Crosswater Series rods are covered by a one-year warranty against defects in materials or workmanship. Any claim against this warranty must include a dated proof of purchase.

For all return shipments within the U.S., the original owner will be responsible for a $20 fee to cover return shipping, insurance and processing. International customers will be asked to pay the actual shipping and insurance charges.


Redington Reel Warranty
Every new Redington reel, with the exception of the RedFly and Crosswater reels, is covered by our lifetime, original owner warranty against defects in materials or workmanship.

This warranty does not cover misuse, neglect, normal wear, fire, theft, loss, or intentional damage. Reels damaged for the above reasons will be repaired or replaced for a reasonable charge.

In order to invoke this warranty, the original owner must send to Redington the entire Redington Product, including broken parts or pieces, freight pre-paid and insured to:


Redington Warranty Department
12715 Miller Rd. NE, #101
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Include a note explaining the problem, and package the Product either in its original packaging, or in packaging affording an equal degree of protection as the original packaging. Please remove all fly line and backing prior to returning the Product to Redington.

Redington reserves the right to determine whether to repair or replace any Redington Product covered by this warranty and the right to replace any discontinued models with newer models when necessary. Colors may vary between original and replacement parts.

RedFly and Crosswater reels are covered by a one-year warranty against defects in materials or workmanship. Any claims against this warranty must include a dated proof of purchase.

For all return shipments within the U.S., the original owner will be responsible for a $20 fee to cover return shipping, insurance and processing. International customers will be asked to pay the actual shipping and insurance charges.


All Other Redington Products
All other Redington Products are covered by a one-year warranty against defects in materials or workmanship. Any claims against this warranty must include a dated proof of purchase.


2003 Redington

[Jay Z]

Bob

I have an older maybe 4yr old redington red start. Is that still covered by that new rod warranty? I wasnt sure in that warranty page if it had to be a rod built after sage took over... or any older redingtons were still covered as well.

Thanks

[BOB@BBT]

Any Redington's will now have to be sent back. The over the counter policy is history.

[Local]

Too bad, I think being able to do an in house warranty would give the full service shops a more loyal following. The way it is now it is just as easy to get service on the rod I bought on ebay for half price as the four or five I bought from you. I bought my bow, similar price range to a high end fly rod, from a local dealer because if I have a problem he handles it. If it has to be sent in he does it, I pay shipping or any charges but he knows the ropes and gits er done. I doubt if I could drop a rod off for warranty and get out of the store with out spending a bit of money also. Any thing a shop could do to foster customer loyalty in this day and age is worth taking alook at. I am certain you realize the internet, and large chains are going to put pressure on your bussiness. I may be dating myself but remember when every town had a camera shop. I am also sure you follow industry news and trends and know that the future for independent shops is going to get tougher. Maybe I am an exception but I am willing to pay more to buy local, in exchange I expect a higher level of service. Excuse the rant and good luck!

[BOB@BBT]

There was three things wrong with the old warranty. First, it forced shops to carry a bunch of "hand out" rods in the back room. For example, if I ordered 15 rods for a week in salmon season, that could be wiped out by guys coming in for a replacement and I could possibly never sell even one, because they all went out the door for free. In the salmon season, we'd have to have $5000 worth of rods in the back room just to give out. Many shops are going to finance $5000 worth for some companies policy. Second, with guys knowing that they can break it and get a brand new one for any reason, a lot of guys abused their rods while fighting fish. And why not? You can just run into a store and get a brand new one. You could do it three times a day if you wanted. Third, rod companies want to phyically see the rod to see where it broke. If enough rods break in a certain place, it could be a defect and it then can be corrected. And they also can tell if it was broken on a fish, car door, over a knee, etc by looking at it under a microscope.
Basically, many rod companies are trying to get away from the old lifetime warranty. It's really a pretty odd policy if you think about it. Name me another product that you can get fixed or replaced, for free and forever, that you know is eventually going to break. You can't do that with your car, your appliances, your gun, bow, TV, electronics, etc. The rod companies let the genie out of the bottle and are now trying to figure out how to put it back in. The old Redington policy was bad enough that it stopped us from ever wanting to be a Redington dealer. I hear you on customer service, but we don't hand out "new ones" free of charge on any other item. I don't see why rods should be the lone exception. If anything, fishermen need to realize that most of these rods are made for casting a fly line. They're not really designed for the rigors of chuck and duck, 20lb Amnesia, 12lb Maxima and the drag cranked down. In that scenario with a 25lb king salmon in a small river added, something has to give way. And usually, it's the rod. Many guys need to lighten up the leader and loosen the drag a bit. IMHO

[BOB@BBT]

Rhino, I don't think we ordered one. Currently, our spey rack is pretty full with St. Croix, Cortland and Loomis speys. The Croix's and Cortland are a great rod for the money. Pretty reasonable, especially the Cortland at $199.95. Of course, we can always order a Redington spey rod for you. As we sell down some of the other spey's, we'll certainly get at least one Redington in here. Truth be told, we sell only a few spey rods, but we'll sell 50 regular 9wt's for every spey.

[Local]

My point is a lttle different than your reply. What warranty exists is up to the manufacture not the dealer and my beef is how the warranty is serviced. If I buy a bow, a gun a truck ect, from a local dealer they service the warranty I dont have to handle it. The way it is now I can buy internet or mass marketers considerably cheaper and receive the same level of service. The tioga reel I buy from you for a 140 bucks I can buy on ebay for 89, give me a reason to buy it from you! When you buy a rod you are paying for that warranty. Living in scottville I drive to baldwin or have the same product delivered to my door, your services decide which way I go. The fly thing is leveling off to say the least and I hope some local dealers will be left. I enjoy just stoping in from time to time even though I always spend more than I thought possible. Again I know you guys dont set the warranty policy but when you say you wouldnt carry a line because its inconvenient or is gonna cost you a little extra in interest I feel you havent earned the loyalty you could have.Thats all.

[BOB@BBT]

I wouldn't consider $5000 a little extra! LOL And I guess I wasn't clear, the old policy wasn't merely inconvenient, it was idiotic. :D That's why Sage immediately changed it. All I can say is if you worked here in the store for 10 years, you'd know what I meant. :) But seriously, we don't do the warranty work on any of the items. If your Tioga breaks, we still send it to Tioga. Same with Ross, Harris, etc. As far as Ebay, or Wal-Mart and Cabela's for that matter, it's almost impossible for small stores to compete with them. And it's buyer beware. Companies like Tioga, Ross, Harris, Sage, Redington, etc all have set factory prices for current retailers. An $80 Tioga is possibly used, stolen or a blow out from a retailer going out of business. No current dealer can sell a Tioga for $80. The particular shop selling those Tioga's on Ebay is blowing them out at just about cost because they're discontinuing Tioga. There's always somebody blowing something out somewhere. We're considering a bargain page on this site to blow out old inventory. That's why the Southfield show get's like 10,000 people through the door. Lots of last years stock is on sale at 30-50% off. But we can't set or match prices with someone blowing them out just to get their money back. As far as Cabela's, I have to be honest, I buy so much hunting stuff from Cabela's that they send me the A list hard cover catalog! I'm like a big time gambler getting comp'ed a room in Vegas. LOL But I still buy a lot of my hunting stuff locally. When I bought a new bow this Spring, I didn't get one that I could have got at cost through the store. I went to Al and Bob's in Grand Rapids and bought a Hoyt from them. I also bought a new sight and arrows from them. I ended up dropping around a grand. Why you ask? Because I felt that Ben, the manager there, answered all of my questions correctly and knew what he was talking about. That's the kind of service small stores can offer. Ebay or Wal-Mart can't tell you how the run is doing or where the best fishing is or isn't. They can't tell you what flies are working or what the hatch is either. They can't set up a car spot, set up a guide trip, sell you a parking pass or suggest lodging. And a store that discontinues a line has esssentially washed their hands of it. Ebay also can't suggest which Hoyt cam's and limbs are the best for what I want out of a bow. Anyways, I'm about done with this thread. I think we're pretty much on the same page but maybe just see some things a bit differently. I guess if someone wants to save $50, you can buy a Tioga from a store in California that is no longer going to carry that item or you can buy it locally. But as we've seen and will continue to see, if you go the first route, don't be suprised if some of the small local fly shops are gone in 10 years. That's one of the reasons I went to Al and Bob's vs. going somewhere big like Jay's or getting it on-line. The whole set up probably cost me $75-100 more, but I'm very happy with my decision. These are my thoughts anyways, for what they're worth.

[BrianF]

Sorry Local I have to agree with Bob on this, to a point. I think he answered your question dead on in his last reply! Manufactures have to set realistic return and warrantee procedures for their resellers. That does not mean Bob that stores are absolved from customer service. Case in point, I was on Cape Cod this summer and broke my rod just by rigging it dont ask me how, I still am trying to figure that one out, and, no its not a cheap rod, but one that comes with a 25 year warranty. I went right to the nearest authorized Dealer for them. I was not expecting a replacement but wanted to send the rod in for replacement so that I would have a good chance to have it back by salmon season back in MI. I bought a backup 9wt rod with me from MI and so I was set to fish even with my other rod broken. The store handled all the paper work, and then gave me a loaner rod to use; because the back up rod was a mid flex and not a tip flex which is what they recommend using. They did this free of charge for the whole two weeks I had remaining on the cape. I returned the rod and wrote them a thank you letter for their great customer service with a picture of the 39in 17lb Striper that I caught with their rod. They now have a customer that will buy all saltwater gear from them. They are a large store on the Cape; they do lots of classes and have lots of class rods to use as loaners. My advice to Local is to have a backup rod and reel. That does not mean you have to spend a ton of money on a back up either. I dont go anywhere to fight large fish without backups its just not smart to roll in to a local store and say here I am, give me a new one, because I just broke it!. I think that Bob is right that eBay or online deals do not get you the customer service that a local store can and you dont know what your getting when you cant put your hands on it first, before you spend the money. I buy my stuff locally when I can, because its important to me and to the well being of my community to buy it locally. Steve and Herb give very actuate fishing reports about the PM, thats good customer service that I hope results in sales of equipment for the store when people come up to fish based on their reports.

[Dfishinfool]

Local,
Ever try to return one of those half price Redington Rods? I bought a couple of brand new redington AL reels from e-bay and they had a slip inside that said they carried NO warranty. I didn't find this out till after the fact.They also grind a small marking inside of the reel on the frame so as to mark it a no Warranty reel. Not sure about the rods from e-bay but I would definatly ask the seller about the warranty.
I talked to the folks at reddington and the older Rods that carried the unconditional lifetime warranty will still be honered. They do ask that you return the whole rod now. Before we just snapped them off above the markings and just returned the reel seat to save on postage.
St.Croix is the one to beware of. I know two guys who returned lifetime warranty rods only to have St.Croix charge them for the repair. Read your warranty very carefully.
Good Luck! Don

[BOB@BBT]

Brian, I agree 100% with you. Service is basically all we do. I have no problem sending the rod in. We'll get 100 in this salmon season. We do all the paper work, etc. There is a shipping charge. Now the rod companies are getting more specific with their policies. They want them sent in. And we set all the rods up with backing, line etc. We do that all day long. That's why we're here. We tried demo-rods, but quicky found that most guys that broke their own rod almost always broke the demo in a matter of hours. So, now we suggest buying a back-up rod. We have some Cortlands that are great for $79.99. They're a lot nicer than an $80 rod should be. You'll find that most, if not all rod companies are going to start charging something to re-coup their losses from the lifetime warranty. I believe they're calling them "shipping and handling" charges. Croix has started it and I think Sage may have this year too. Loomis has an option where you get a new rod Fed Ex'ed to you and you put your broken rod back in the box, put on a pre-printed return label and give it back to the Fed Ex guy. It's $65 for 2 day and $50 for 4 day. Also, if Sage or St. Croix drop ships an ordered you to you, it's $25 and $20, respectively. That's just the way it's going to be. As I said, the most of the old warranty's were really a mistake and now the rod companies are trying to get away from them because they took a beating with them. And hey, I didn't make the policies...please don't get upset with me. LOL :)

[Local]

BrianF you descriibed the kind of service I would gladly pay a premium for. I do have several back up rods and dont break alot. Also dont get me wrong I have bought several rods at bbt and will do so in the future. I am just thinking that after the sale there is no support. I also want to see the independent shops survive.

[BOB@BBT]

Local, as I said above, we're more than happy to do all the paper work and send it in for you. And that's for reels, waders, etc. too.

[Local]

Something I missed in your earlier post Bob, I just saw you said you guys would do the shipping on warranty claims. When I checked at the store before I was told to go to the stcroix website for the address and send it in my self. As the father my kids let me buy all the fihing tackle. I had bought three 8 wgts in 3 years from you guys.

[BOB@BBT]

That would have been Rick. When he first started here, we neglected to explain the broken rod procedure to him. He told me he was just telling customers to do what he told you to do. Kind of an opp's on our part. But trust me, we send the rods in. We'll have a pile of them to go back every week in September. Sorry about any screw up in your case.

[Steeldrifter]

Local i can understand where your coming from but i have to totally agree with Bob on this,i mean stocking enough rods to just hand out over the counter during salmon season along could cost a small fortune. And if guys know that they will be able to get a broken rod replaced in a matter of a few minutes from the river i can just see everyone going up on leader size and cranking the drag down with a pair of vise grips :eek: :D

Far as the getting better deals on ebay and such goes then sure there are things on ebay that you can get cheaper and some of it is good stuff i have even bought a few things off ebay for myself. But i always try to buy from my local fly shop first(fly mart fly shop) or if i'm in baldwin i buy from BBT, even if i dont need anything when i'm in baldwin i will come in to BBT and spend at least $20 on stuff. Why would i buy stuff that i dont need "at that time?" because if everyone tried to save a dollar or two on every bit of fly gear they bought then the small "local" fly shops wont be there anymore when you need them the most! Plus like was mentioned the info bob,steve&herb give is worth more than savingt a buck or two.

Maybe see if craftsman makes a rod, they might have a warrenty you would like :D ......sorry i couldnt resiest ;)

SD

[Steve@BBT]

I have told many a person that it would "likely" be quicker to send it in themselves and I believe that to be true. When these companies get six or seven rods from us, a dealer, every week, I think that they take care of the individuals first...

I've personally talked with guys that sent their rods in at around the same day or the same day as mine went in thru the shop with others and they got theirs back as much as weeks earlier.

These companies have sent us letters encouraging us to "go by the book" and have the purchaser send it in, but we do it for them anyway, as a service. :)

Steve