The $170 cast

[Jig Man]

I bought a $150 avid for my grandson for his birthday.  He has been away at college and didn't get to use it until last week end.  He came to the lake and made one cast.  The rod shattered between the grip and the first eyelet before the bait hit the water.

I took it back where I bought it and was told that they don't make that rod any longer.  The newer rod is $20 more so I had to pay $20 for an exchange.

That seems a bit much for a rod with a lifetime warranty. >

[Uncle Leo]

I believe if you sent it back to St. Croix they would have honored the warranty.

[Raul]

I took it back where I bought it and was told that they don't make that rod any longer.

Bingo ! the defective/broken rod should have been sent to StCroix, besides, they did honor the warranty, you gave them a broken rod ( worthless ) and they honored you $150 didn 't they ? you had to pay $20 more for a replacement on a $170 dollars rod.

[.ghoti.]

At 20 bucks, you got off cheaper than you would have had you sent it back.

[flechero]

For what it's worth, the new avid blanks are better (my opinion) than the old ones. Worth more than the $20 upgrade charge.

I understand your frustration and don't think you should have been charged for the upgrade.... the avid is still an avid, you bought an avid and they should replace it with an avid, end of story. It wasn't your fault that a model has been changed. If the new model was junk, would they have refunded a portion of your price with the warranty rod? I suspect that was a store decision, not a St. Croix decision.

As ghoti mentioned, you would have spent the $20 in shipping anyway so you probably came out even.

[Jig Man]

For what it's worth, the new avid blanks are better (my opinion) than the old ones. Worth more than the $20 upgrade charge.

I understand your frustration and don't think you should have been charged for the upgrade.... the avid is still an avid, you bought an avid and they should replace it with an avid, end of story. It wasn't your fault that a model has been changed. If the new model was junk, would they have refunded a portion of your price with the warranty rod? I suspect that was a store decision, not a St. Croix decision.

As ghoti mentioned, you would have spent the $20 in shipping anyway so you probably came out even.

I did look at the St Croix warranty and decided to try the instore.  I am sure that St Croix will replace the broken rod for the shop without an up charge.  I feel like they made $20 off me for their trouble.  It still burns my butt since I bought 4 of them at the time and that didn't make any difference to the store.

[mike bat]

see what happened here is ,,, the store took your broken rod and your 20 bucks sent it in and had the rod replaced .... st croix doesnt want there rods exchanged over the counter ( for what ever reason ) ... they want you to send the rod to them ,,, they do charge 20 bucks ( for return shipping of the new rod ) .... they dont charge any difference for a newer modle ... i know this because i had 2 legened elites that i broke over the coarse of 3 seasons ,,, i was just too busy to send them in ( lazy to be honest ) ... i ended up sending them in together ,,, they asked me to send 20 bucks for the return shipping ... 3 days later there was a tube on my porch ,, the new brown legeneds ...  so think of it this way ,,, the store saved you ... why do i say this well ... you didnt have to pay shipping charges to send a tube to WI ..  last time i sent rods in it costed me well over 20 bucks ,,, then factor in the 20 for return shipping ,,, my over all costs were over 40 bucks ... so you did well ... i understand its a pain when a rod breaks and you have to deal with warrentys .... ive delt with st croix for years now ,, they really do take care of there customers ... thats why i stick around ...