Tackling Issues

by Luke Rudd

The rapid development of Ebay and other online auction sites since their birth in the mid-1990s has created an online selling platform upon which almost anything imaginable is available and being sold. The fishing tackle industry has been swept up during this growth, and while initially just reconditioned and second-hand items represented the majority of auctions, brand new fishing reels and other tackle often at incredible prices now account for a large number of items in these online auctions.

This is fantastic when you manage to grab yourself a bargain, and there are many good deals available from reputable, trustworthy sellers. However, you wouldn’t be the first person to think they’ve got the bargain of a lifetime only to discover a couple of fishing trips later that unfortunately it’s not all you were expecting. In this article I look to expose some of the key factors and issues to take into account when buying your fishing tackle, particularly fishing reels, through on line auctions.

There are many aspects to take into consideration when shopping for fishing tackle and reels in online auctions, and these first two factors are some of the most important:

• Avoid bidding wars. This happens regularly on Ebay where two people aggressively battle for the top bid, ultimately going well over budget and paying over price on an item. Decide upon your budget beforehand and stick to it! If you lose the auction because someone bid over your maximum budget don’t worry, the number of products circulating these auction sites means you can remain relatively confident that the same or a similar product will become available again soon.

• Secondly, if you are browsing and you come across for example a set of brand new, top of the range baitrunner reels such as those at www.carp-fishing-reels.com/baitrunner-reels at a price too good to be true, it probably is. Naturally the internet but particularly online auction sites are constantly the subject of cons and scams, and these shouldn’t be underestimated. Always check the feedback and scores of a seller’s profile, and as a general rule DO NOT purchase off sellers who haven’t established a good profile and positive feedback.

The product description for all fishing tackle being sold on auction sites requires proper examination. It’s very easy to simply skim read and get drawn into the images neglecting the text, but studying the product description may well safe you from ending up with a bad deal. Many sellers are very coy in their descriptions of products in order to mislead and divert attention away from issues or simply to leave out information about faults and problems. If you notice anything remiss about the description, send the seller an email, ask questions, and ensure you know exactly what you are bidding on before parting with your cash.

There are times unfortunately where you can land a bad deal off an auction site through no fault of the seller, and what’s worse is there is nothing you can do about it. This is one of the reasons I believe purchasing from official shops and retailers is a better option.

Unanticipated problems are generally much less painful and quicker to resolve through official shops and suppliers, where you can return or swap items. Purchasing through online auctions can also mean losing out on a standard guarantee that comes with some new items such as fishing reels (for example the Okuma range), and the buyer may not realise or even be aware that this standard guarantee was available if they’d purchased the item from an official shop! This can be a serious issue. Many new rods and reels that are sold through online auctions for super prices are often seconds, or graded goods in the same way that retailers at events such as Tacklefest are able to unload these items at very low prices. This can be a great way to pick up a bargain, however it can also spell trouble, and no guarantee means no compensation if something does go wrong.

Another main issue when purchasing second hand fishing equipment from auction sites, particularly items with delicate mechanisms such as fishing reels, is that anglers treat tackle with different levels of care and respect. Some anglers take real pride with their equipment, storing reels and other items properly in cases, and keeping them clean so that mechanisms don’t get damaged with dirt and water infiltration. On the other hand some anglers will obviously treat their equipment with less respect, which consequently affects their performance and durability on the whole. It takes surprisingly little for an item such as a fishing reel to suffer severe damage and have performance reduced; a drop in the water, particularly saltwater, can have serious consequences if it isn’t treated, and mishaps like this are not uncommon.

There is nothing more agonising than your carp reel breaking down at that critical moment while attempting to land a monster carp, for which the catch and the moment would have been worth so much more than the reel! My advice is to buy new with a guarantee if available, and hope that the extra money spent pays off with increased durability by owning a carp reel that will see you through five years work not just two.
Plus there really is nothing like the feeling christening a new reel with its first monster fish!

Luke Reed
www.carp-fishing-reels.com