Tackle shelves,slim pickings

[Choporoz]

I agree with all, @TOXIC

 

But, what saddens me is that their success relates very directly to the demise of those mom and pops that gladly catered to experienced fishermen....those that continued to be willing to pay the premium for the service and community offered

[Koz]

My nearest BPS is an hour drive but the few times I have gone there they did have sizeable inventory on just about everything. We do have a local DSG, but it's 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the traditional DSG. There were a few times when I went looking for a bait that they did not have in stock and they immediately paced orders for them and I had them within the week. Occasionally I order from TW and will probably do that again when I add to my rods and reels.

 

Since I bank fish and backpack it I stay pretty lean with the amount of baits that I have and don't have boxes or racks of baits sitting in the garage and other than soft plastics I don't double or triple up on baits. It works for me.

[Deleted account]

3 hours ago, EWREX said:

...is awful and literally my last resort if something is 100% needed that they have when other's don't 

Yes, exactly, now, if you turn around 180º and view this from the retailer's point of view, it makes perfect sense to keep a small inventory priced at (or above) MSRP of the items "the enthusiast" will come in looking for, while catering to the actual customers. We do bikes, and this is our strategy. Makes for interesting Yelp reviews, but makes $. Chasing sales at the expense of profits has led many small sporting goods retailers to go out of business. 

[EWREX]

Just now, BassWhole! said:

Yes, exactly, now, if you turn around 180º and view this from the retailer's point of view, it makes perfect sense to keep a small inventory priced at (or above) MSRP of the items "the enthusiast" will come in looking for, while catering to the actual customers. We do bikes, and this is our strategy. Makes for interesting Yelp reviews, but makes $. Chasing sales at the expense of profits has led many small sporting goods retailers to go out of business. 

i'm very lucky and live in the same town as tackle supply depot. they do run out of item's often (because they are the premier tackle shop in the area, and cater to the avid bass angler) but re-stock very fast. i can order online and pickup locally, or just visit the store and buy while i am there.

[yosef]

On 6/20/2019 at 12:14 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I actually heard a rumor that BPS wasn't going to carry Gamakatsu anymore. I was in the one in Olathe last week and checked with the intention of buying another pack of drop shot hooks but there was almost no Gamakatsu hooks stocked, just empty pegs, so maybe there's some truth to it. 

The one in hooksett nh was out of every Gamakatsu hook they carried but then again they were out of stock on most hooks anyways last week when I was there

[Fishes in trees]

I think that it is important to patronize brick & mortar stores, if we don't, they go away, and then where would I be when I just want to walk up and down the aisles and look and not buy stuff today?  I feel fortunate that in the KC Metro area we have Rogers, which is a very good fishing/hunting oriented store.  I use on-line stores as a last resort, mainly because I'm not thrilled about putting fishing purchases on credit card - IMO fishing purchases should come out of immediately disposable income and not future income.  But I make exceptions and I am frequently  weak and undisciplined when it comes to tackle purchases.

[flyfisher]

So at what point do mom & pop shops become too large and everyone boycotts them because they want to "stick it to the man" like many posts on this thread?  If i recall, BPS was started in the back of another retail establishment and grew to what we know it as today.  

There is a local shop near me that i patronize for most of my lures but they don't carry some stuff I like so i get them either online or BPS.  I don't really care about customer service in a store like BPS because I generally go to get something specific and know what I want to get.  I also don't have an issue with a salesperson trying to upsell me on a product if I have intentions of something else.  I can listen to what they have to say and maybe change my mind and if not so be it.  Now if they continue to get pushy then I may have an issue but they have a job to do and I have been on that side of the retail fence before too.  

Bottom line is I buy stuff from wherever I feel like and the majority is online these days anyways because of convenience.  I have never been to thrilled with TW prices but their selection is top notch.  Seems like the few items i just checked that bass pro and TW are the same price.

 

[diversity210]

In my area the big chain sporting stores are the go to.  Bass Pro Shop and outdoorsportsman.  A lot of time it is hard to find the exact bait or tackle you are looking for in the bigger stores.  They do seem to cater more to casual fisherman who might know what they are doing but arent so technical that they are looking for a specific hook in a specific brand.  Around here where I live its hard to come by the gamagatsu 1/0 - 5/0 wide gap hooks because its what everyone buys.  Also Zman baits seem to be fairly sparse around here.  Mom and pop stores seems to be the way a lot of people go in the south and the south east but here mom and pop stores are literal holes in the wall with very slim pickings.  Ultimately I end up ordering what I need online so I always take and inventory of what I need after my last fishing trip to prepare for the next. 

 

Retail stores in general have just gotten really sub par these days.  I think so many have turned to online shopping that retail is still struggling to trying and keep up.  What amazes me is walking in a store and looking for something that even the most novice of anglers would know about because its so popular and am told they dont carry it.  Not its not in stock, but they just dont carry it.  Seems to happen a lot.  Now correct me if I am wrong but it wouldn't it be a smart tactic for a struggling retail store to stock the newest and most popular items?  Apparently stores dont think so.  Bass pro usually has a lot of the more well known tackle but they are also starting to fall out of favor with me, because every time I walk in the store it seems like they have replaced more brand names for their own branded product.  Now bass pro shop has a lot of great branded products but most of the time Im looking for tried and true specific product.  Not bass pro shop brand