Brick and mortar store demise

[Gundog]

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]

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]

On 1/21/2017 at 11:48 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]

15 hours ago, 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]

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.