Selling built rods?

[pabrookie94]

Does anyone here build and sell rods? I am thinking about trying to build and sell them and was wondering if there was a good reason to. I mostly would like to sell just so I can practice building and enjoy another craft. I just would not want to lose money on it.

Is there any profit in building and selling rods? If you do not build would you buy a built rod from someone?

I am very new to it so anything helps!

Thanks!

 

[Chaz]

I haven't sold any rods that I've built, but there are some regulars here that do sell rods they've built. Maybe they'll give a holler.

 

[JackM]

If there was a market, it would be for custom-built rods and you would have to demonstrate that you can build them better than the name-brands. And, they would need to be less expensive. Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but that is my take on it.

 

[laszlo]

I build rods for myself, they're far from perfect. I don't sell any but they suit me just fine.

 

[SNJChef]

question for you rod builders, what do you suggest for a young child 4yrs old? we had a rod that broke and an old timer made a grea shortt rod for oldest use. of course through time it was lost by someone in the family. now i have find something for the next one to start fishing with. Or if anyone has yound kids what did you use? a 6 footer is not going to work with my daughter..

 

[JackM]

A fly pole is a long rod. Don't go smaller than 8 foot. 5 or 4 weight should be about right.

 

[PennKev]

pabrookie94 wrote:
Does anyone here build and sell rods?

I have built more rods than I care to remember. I tried to sell them briefly in order to fuel the hobby.

I am thinking about trying to build and sell them and was wondering if there was a good reason to. I mostly would like to sell just so I can practice building and enjoy another craft. I just would not want to lose money on it.

Unfortunately, the world is full of "custom rod builders" who are trying to pawn off their practice rods. Don't be that guy.

If you are going to sell rods. You need to develop quality that is at a minimum as good or better than a factory rod.

Is there any profit in building and selling rods? If you do not build would you buy a built rod from someone?

I would not expect to make a living off building rods. Even using it just as side gig will be tough, at least for a while. Developing any business so that it provides a steady stream of income is difficult and more importantly takes a lot of time.

Would I buy a custom rod if I didn't build them myself? I would definitely consider it, but there are maybe only a handful of builders that I have seen whose craftsmanship and quality are what I'd expect from a custom build at the prices they charge.

I've also seen a lot of builders whose rods while well made, do not really offer any improvement in blank or component quality over factory rods.

I am very new to it so anything helps!

Thanks!

If you are new at this, don't jump into the business side of it yet. Build a few rods for yourself for practice. Work on getting your wraps and finishing nailed down. Maybe then build a few rods for friends and family at cost then go from there.

Keep it a hobby for now, IMO.

 

[tomitrout]

If you're looking to 'make money' on this endeavor, easiest route to get started is to talk to your buddies, find out who's in the market for a rod and offer to build for them for the cost of mat'ls. You do a good enough job and you'll probably get a tip of sorts, a six pack, a case of beer...but until your skills are top notch I wouldn't expect to be able to sell 'em for much more than what you've got into 'em. There're plenty of skilled builders out there with established reputations and I don't see much of a market for sub-par work. I personally wouldn't put my name on a product for sale to the general public if it wasn't up to expectations and custom rods are a pretty tight niche.

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

There can be money to be had in building rods but do not quit your day job on it.. I like custom built rods for a few reasons. I just making it my own. color of wraps, single or double foot guides, endless kinds of reel seats, custom name on the rod.. list goes on and on..

downsides of building a rod. Once you accept a payment theres a good chance that person will come back to you at some point for a repair or to fix a minor blemish, or worse.. break the rod.. and i could go on and on about building on lifetime warranted blanks but thats beside the point.

i have a steady flux of both store bought and custom built that i use.

I am a custom fly rod builder but will be brutally honest here. Out of respect of the group I will not push the sales of my rods on this site because i do not advertise and its not fair.. Come the event i do sell a rod on here i had told DKile i would immediately do something to cover costs involved.

im sure i am missing some key things but just speaking off the top of my head. Im sure others will chime in

Good luck

 

[gfen]

SNJChef wrote:
question for you rod builders, what do you suggest for a young child 4yrs old?

A Zebco combo.

 

[ColdBore]

If you do not build would you buy a built rod from someone?

Keep in mind.... you asked....

I would not buy a rod from some independent "builder", especially a novice and with no name recognition or rack record.

I *may* buy one from a good buddy, at cost, to basically just allow him to practice without taking a total loss. Even then, I'd expect a quality product, not a charity event "just for trying". We could have fun talking about while using it on a stream some day. I highly doubt that it would ever be my main rod though.

As others have said, you need to show me WHY somebody (me) should be buying your practice projects, as opposed to a known quantity factory rod. Unless you can provide better quality (doubtful), or fill some special niche or need that I can't find a factory rod to fill (also doubtful), saving a few bucks on a rod that offers no real benefit just doesn't appeal enough to me to make me do it.

None of the above is meant to be spiteful or taken personally; just answering your question and explaining my answer. That may turn you off of the idea totally, but if you do decide to pursue it, you will hopefully be going into it with your eyes more wide open.

 

[SBecker]

gfen wrote:

SNJChef wrote:
question for you rod builders, what do you suggest for a young child 4yrs old?

A Zebco combo.

Yep, it is what my kid uses. Well that and a 4ft Fenwick ultra light.

 

[phiendWMD]

Are most mid range rods assembled by hand? I've seen some How It's Made type videos from fly rod manufacturers but they were all showing high end rods.

I guess the point I'm getting it at the people at factories probably assemble 40 rods a day. A guy making custom rods might do 40 a year. And practice makes perfect.

I'd be willing to buy a rod from a very small company but there would have to be strong reasons to do so over a bigger company with an excellent reputation.

 

[pabrookie94]

Okay so based on all of the opinions out there I do not think that I will try to sell rods. I just basically wanted to sell to keep up with the cost of materials and have fun building them. I thank you all for making my decision! To those that do sell rods and are very good at it I applaud you.

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

as mentioned above and im my own worst critic for it.. i started it as a hobby and because my wife wanted to fish with me (i wasnt buying her an expensive rod) so i bought a kit to build her one in case she didnt like it..

it ended up being fun, and for the longest time i would build for friends and family members for a case of beer +supplies.. so essentially what im getting at is my "time" was worth about 40 bucks.. which didnt amount to me making money

ive now grown to friends of friends and charge a bit more, but still merely a hobby for me. I've claimed i cannot compete with the orvis/sage/gloomis/etc. but i offer a unique customized rod at an entry level price for entry level fishermen/women

thats my angle and as most have pointed out above for me to sell to anyone who is "good" at fly fishing, i'd have to provide them with something more than a custom logo and thread wrap.. which is near impossible at what i've invested/my skills

 

[moon1284]

Are most mid range rods assembled by hand? I've seen some How It's Made type videos from fly rod manufacturers but they were all showing high end rods.

All rods are made by hand. Some are made by the hands of fisherman, and a lot are made by the hands of Chinese people who have never heard of sport fishing. This is why a Sage costs more than a Redington.

 

[MKern]

I built for a shop for a couple years and I would only do 2 or 3 custom rods for customers. They were willing to pay more than the factory rod to have better hardware and custom colors and other items. Usually about $40 more than the factory rod for things like extra trim wraps, extra colors and hook keepers.

I have also built rods for friends and coworkers and only made a couple bucks off them. Usually between $20 and $40 depending on how elaborate they wanted. However, most people want a cheaper than factory rod with just the basics. Which in my opinion is the wrong reason to have a custom rod. And $20 for about 8 hours of hands on work doesn't really amount to a great turn around.

Custom is all about treating yourself and getting something better than the norm, even if it's just different colored thread or extra wraps.

Most custom rod builders charge per wrap. Usually the standard is $10 per wrap. I personally would charge $5 for a single color, or $8 for 2 colors and $10 for three colors.

Oh and when working for a fly shop they took 15% as a referral fee.

Oh and rob building turned into rod repair quickly. I fixed so many spinning rods this time of year it wasn't funny. 3 or 4 a day.

 

[poopdeck]

My interpretation of anything labeled "custom" is an inferior rod at a high price. I guess if you like paying for a lack of a production line, fancy thread colors, a signature and a picture of a flounder on your rod I guess its worth the extra money. Although some will say otherwise, no rod builder makes a better performing rod than any major manufacturer. they may equal but they do not perform better. So im out on custom rods.

All is not lost though. It is still a great hobby to be enjoyed for years to come that can still pay off in other ways. Example - I pour my own "custom" jigs and "custom" weights. I tie my own "custom" teasers and "custom" buck tails. I do not have a 26' center console with twin 175 engines or a 23' center console or a 24 WA or a 28 world cat. However, I give my buddies a ton of weights, teasers and buck tails according to what they like the most. I simply cant get out on their boats as many times as I get invited. Its a heck of a lot cheaper then actually owning the boat and everybody is happy. When I deer hunted I quickly learned if you cook and wash dishes you will be invited to more deer camps then you could possibly go to. Same concept.

Moral of the story - have at it, enjoy it. It will pay off in other ways.

 

[MKern]

Not true.

When you go custom you can select all parts of your rod. Of course that cost more, but way better stuff than most rods come with from the factory.

Cheaper cork, guides, threads and thinner coats of finish. Regular sized tip tops, no hook keepers, and cheaper reel seats.

All reasons to go custom.

Factory rod companies use the cheapest material to save cost over thousands of rods. For $30 more you can have a rod with all the comforts.

Do you drive a base model car, or one with a sunroof, heated seats and climate control?

 

[poopdeck]

I drive a truck with 184k on it. No heated seats, no sun roof, no climate control (other than my heat and a/c go to 5) I would never spend my money on that over retiring at age 56. Guides, cork, real seats, finish, are close to all the same, have almost zero effect on fishing for me. It sounds good when engaged in the latest "rod shoot out" conversation but I can't gauge cork thickness in my hand or how the line goes through the guides or how well my reel is seated or how balanced my rod is. All rather insignifacate to me. Catching that one extra fish that may have gotten away again makes for good conversation but is also insignifacate to me. I think I'm pretty average.