Lew’s LFS Weird TW Packaging

[MontclairDave]

TW had great deal on this reel: $63. So it comes today like this; no plastic bag, no schematic, no warranty card, etc. Seems sketchy to me.

 

Reel feels/looks fine otherwise.

 

Should I be worried?

 

 

[Cbump]

Nah

[casts_by_fly]

Looks like it was a return to me. Was it on clearance as a used item?

[MontclairDave]

8 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Looks like it was a return to me. Was it on clearance as a used item?

Nope. Clearance/new. Rumor has it they are coming out with updated version at iCast so clearing out current stock. 

[Justinfish]

1 hour ago, MontclairDave said:

TW had great deal on this reel: $63. So it comes today like this; no plastic bag, no schematic, no warranty card, etc. Seems sketchy to me.

 

Reel feels/looks fine otherwise.

 

Should I be worried?

 

 

I would return it and ask for an exchange. I ordered one from TW earlier this week, waiting for it to arrive. We’ll see if mine arrives the same way. 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, MontclairDave said:

Should I be worried?

Call them while they're still open. You have an hour.

[MediumMouthBass]

I ordered several $200+ Lews reels a few months ago, when i opened the boxes i thought maybe they were used or returned. I thought maybe their cheaper reels wouldnt come with it but their more expensive stuff should. Emailed their customer service and they told me they no longer give anything other than the reel in the box.

[jbrew73]

It doesn’t surprise me that lews would cheap out.   They have been getting cheaper and cheaper for years.  
 

Very disappointing.

[JediAmoeba]

I don't know what retail is but a reel for $63 is cheap. As long as it is what you want I would be OK with it - I don't think the resale market on sub 100 dollar reels matters if you have the box or not.

[MontclairDave]

3 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I ordered several $200+ Lews reels a few months ago, when i opened the boxes i thought maybe they were used or returned. I thought maybe their cheaper reels wouldnt come with it but their more expensive stuff should. Emailed their customer service and they told me they no longer give anything other than the reel in the box.

Well, I think that’s kind of ridiculous. How much does it cost to slap a plastic bag on the reel so i at least know I’m the first one to use the thing? I called TW and the guy said it sounded weird… and that I should send it back for an exchange. Now from what I’m reading here I may be wasting my time and will just get another exposed reel in an otherwise empty box. I guess I’ll find whether it makes any difference. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Never had this before with any of the Shimano, Daiwa, Quantum or Abu reels I have. 

[ironbjorn]

I couldn't say for sure in this particular situation, but I know for a fact shady behavior isn't beneath TW. Other than the credit card hacking situation, I returned a reel for exchange not too long ago because it just wouldn't dial in no matter what I did. It was an SLX XT. I have several of these reels and love them, so I know it wasn't me. When I got the "new" reel in exchange, it was the exact same reel I returned. I know this for a fact because the reel I sent back had a very unique scratch on the side from a lipless crankbait hook. This reel had the exact same scratch in the exact same spot.

[PhishLI]

3 hours ago, MontclairDave said:

I called TW and the guy said it sounded weird… and that I should send it back for an exchange. Now from what I’m reading here I may be wasting my time and will just get another exposed reel in an otherwise empty box.

Call again tomorrow. Get the salesperson to do a physical check so you're not wasting your time. They did it for me a few weeks ago. It wasn't a problem.

[Tackleholic]

3 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

I couldn't say for sure in this particular situation, but I know for a fact shady behavior isn't beneath TW. Other than the credit card hacking situation, I returned a reel for exchange not too long ago because it just wouldn't dial in no matter what I did. It was an SLX XT. I have several of these reels and love them, so I know it wasn't me. When I got the "new" reel in exchange, it was the exact same reel I returned. I know this for a fact because the reel I sent back had a very unique scratch on the side from a lipless crankbait hook. This reel had the exact same scratch in the exact same spot.

Does it work properly now?

[Tackleholic]

Maybe it is a new cost cutting procedure.  More reels packed into a bulk shipment could cost less to transport from Lews to TW.  TW may find they save $ by placing each in a generic box without a plastic bag (and a wrench and oil).  They sell a lot of reels , and most likely record the serial numbers;  Lews probably has the schematics available on line.  If it works for them, others will follow.

[rangerjockey]

Or, Maybe spool it up and try it. As long as the thing works as it should the box would be the least of my concern, especially for $63.

[Spankey]

A brand new reel, clearance or not should have been in plastic with manual. There is generally a cardboard insert in the box that keeps the reel from moving around. 
 

Low price or not a new reel does not come like this. I use TW almost exclusively, seems a bit odd. Never received any reel like that. 
 

Spool it, try it. You should be ok. Just a dang head game to play on someone. Just seem out of the ordinary. 
 

 

[Tackleholic]

Tackle Warehouse is an advertiser on this site.  It may be good business for them to post a reply on this subject.  Tackle Warehouse>>>>??????

[Spankey]

I fish with that reel also. I grabbed my box it came in. Took a pic. I can shoot you a pic if you want it. 
 

Reel was not wrapped in plastic bag, Owners manual is in plastic bag, cardboard box insert To keep reel lock in place is intact to box. 
 

You are probably gonna be fine. But if you feel you need to make a point about packaging I can shoot you a pic. 
 

[MontclairDave]

1 hour ago, Spankey said:

I fish with that reel also. I grabbed my box it came in. Took a pic. I can shoot you a pic if you want it. 
 

Reel was not wrapped in plastic bag, Owners manual is in plastic bag, cardboard box insert To keep reel lock in place is intact to box. 
 

You are probably gonna be fine. But if you feel you need to make a point about packaging I can shoot you a pic. 
 

No owner’s manual. I returned it. We shall see what I get back. Basically, whatever I get back I will use and not obsess over my $63 purchase. But this will probably be the last reel I buy from TW, especially if the packaging I get back is more thorough, meaning something shady happened with the first one.  At least I got someone on phone quickly—that’s a lot better than some sellers out there. 
 

I also agree that as a site advertiser it’d be nice for someone at TW to respond to this thread. 
 

Now I’m going to fondle my Zillion to wash away the frustration over all of this. 

[MediumMouthBass]

This is going a bit too far, i dont understand why people are talking about no longer doing business with Tackle Warehouse over this. This isnt their fault, this is how Lews does thing now.

I spent over $700 on Lews reels and got them exactly like yours, i was thinking maybe these were returns or someone stole the accessories, i emailed their customer service and they replied to me that my reels were all brand new and this is how they do things now, they do not include any plastic wrapper for the reel, no oil, no warranty card, no manual. Doesnt matter if you buy a LFS or a BB1 Pro, all you get is the reel and box. Your reel is more than likely brand new.

Im guessing Lews is doing this to cut the costs down so they dont have to raise the prices of their reels $5-10.

[Spankey]

Never heard of manufactures doing that. Shimano and Daiwa do not. My last baitcaster purchase was a BPS Pro Qualifer 2 @ 50% off and it was complete with manual. 
 

I’m not gonna dis TW. My experiences have been great. But I don’t think I would have been all warm and fuzzy with opening the box and seeing that. 
 

Can’t see printing costs in China or some 3rd world country driving the costs up on anything. 
 

 

[jjwalker67]

20 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

This is going a bit too far, i dont understand why people are talking about no longer doing business with Tackle Warehouse over this. This isnt their fault, this is how Lews does thing now.

I spent over $700 on Lews reels and got them exactly like yours, i was thinking maybe these were returns or someone stole the accessories, i emailed their customer service and they replied to me that my reels were all brand new and this is how they do things now, they do not include any plastic wrapper for the reel, no oil, no warranty card, no manual. Doesnt matter if you buy a LFS or a BB1 Pro, all you get is the reel and box. Your reel is more than likely brand new.

Im guessing Lews is doing this to cut the costs down so they dont have to raise the prices of their reels $5-10.

 

I would agree, I've spent thousands of dollars at TW. Only issue I've every had was UPS saying they delivered my package when it wasn't. TW shipped me out another reel and rod next day. They have also allowed me to return a few reels that went bad months later. 

[MontclairDave]

4 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

This is going a bit too far, i dont understand why people are talking about no longer doing business with Tackle Warehouse over this. This isnt their fault, this is how Lews does thing now.

I spent over $700 on Lews reels and got them exactly like yours, i was thinking maybe these were returns or someone stole the accessories, i emailed their customer service and they replied to me that my reels were all brand new and this is how they do things now, they do not include any plastic wrapper for the reel, no oil, no warranty card, no manual. Doesnt matter if you buy a LFS or a BB1 Pro, all you get is the reel and box. Your reel is more than likely brand new.

Im guessing Lews is doing this to cut the costs down so they dont have to raise the prices of their reels $5-10.

That’s good information they gave you. But it’s not the information their customer service rep gave me. I wish he had: I would have avoided the wasted time of mailing it back to them.  

[MediumMouthBass]

@MontclairDave it might not be a total waste, they might have some older stock LFS boxes with the extras in it and give you one of them if they have any left.

[TLHSS]

My last Lews spinning reel was not purchased from TW. Came in the box with no plastic or manual. 
 

I’m actually good with this. The manual and schematic are on-line. Less product waste is a good thing (at least for me). I cringe every time I get an Apple product at the amount of waste just to package the product.