Feathers And Losing Business

[podum]

That example is the equivalent of buying gas at a 5x premium because you like the station owner. It makes sense at a few cents more, but not at multiples like those in play with the feathers.

[Gavin]

Sold over $2000 worth of extra's..and still have plenty left....Cash in if you have more than you need.

[jdmidwest]

Gavin has a good point, yank off all of the good feathers you need and sell off the excess. Take the profit. put it in the bank till next year or so and buy new stock.

It is a fad, it will pass shortly. Remember the AR gathering shortly after Obama was elected. Prices skyrocketed, there were widespread shortages. Now the market has a glut, prices have fell below what they were before the election. There are some great deals out there now on AR style weapons.

[Mitch f]

I'm sure it's tough for local fly shop to watch their valued customers spend their money at Bass Pro, Cabela's, Ebay, and any of the online fishing catalogs because they value the price point above the level of expertise and service. The knife cuts both ways.

X2

[Phil Lilley]

Mine are in the back, like Tim's. You have to ask for them. But I don't have a ton... I sold a bunch to a hair salon owner several months ago before I knew what was going on. But she bought stuff that had been on my rack for years- a few over 5 years... and the prices were 5 years old too! That also tells you something - fly shops, at least mine, don't sell a whole lot of barbel saddles at $35- $40 each so when they get a chance, they sell them.

I'm with Gavin - if you can make big money selling your old stock that's sitting around, I'd do it. Nothing wrong with that! Like buying gold low- sell it high.

[stlfisher]

I'd agree with others...it is hard to fault a fly shop or individual making money while they can. That being said I do find the whole fad kind of annoying. If I had extra's I would sell them and make a quick buck. Unfortunately, I am running low and funds are tight until I get back from summer vacation. Paying extra for hackle is not on the bucket list. If I really needed a certain fly I would just buy one probably. If I paid extra for hackle the fishing god's would conspire against me and the fish most certainly would not eat that fly anyway!

[troutfiend1985]

X2

There may be reasons why these two shops are losing customers like myself, and I doubt it is the fact that I can purchase materials for 10% cheaper online. I understand that the guy has to keep his lights on, and I have no problems with a free market capitalist society. But with that out there, how does it reflect on a business when you actively jump up the FMV of a product? Free market is fine, but the ethics of a business owner need to match. When I was in K&K, a guy asked to buy the whole cape, but the owner said he is selling it at 2 dollars per feather. You should have seen the guys look on his face. Now that strikes me as wrong. If an owner is struggling to keep the lights on, then sell the cape. It's not the idea of making money, but the fact that some people are taking advantage of loyal customers that strikes me as wrong in this situation. I understand that FMV of an item is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller, but you and I know that these feathers weren’t worth 2 dollars a feather two years ago. This is a good reason to shop online, or buy from a different shop. And in the meantime, the shops in KC seem willing to cut their customers for short term profit.

Lilley and Tim seem to be at a different level. Selling to anyone is one thing, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, taking an item and basically pricing it off the market for the customers you are trying to attract is a whole different ball game, it's a predatory idea.

I know of compraduns, X-Caddis, Fat Alberts and CDC's(still think sparkle duns are better and easier to tie that Compraduns btw). But the principal remains the same. I want to do business with someone who treats customers fairly, and not an owner that is willing to take advantage of the people who keep their lights on. I guess next time that I'm down at RR or Taney I will stop in at Tims or Lilleys. Just makes me think of who I have been giving my money to, and in the future I van garauntee that K&K won't be getting my money as I am lookin for a nice 5 wt. when I graduate law school here in a year.

[troutfiend1985]

Ever hear of no-hackle flies? Comparaduns?

How about nymphs? Streamers?

There are plenty of fly patterns that catch fish that don't need hackles.

Just quit buying hackles. When the feather hair fad wears out, you still won't need hackles cuz you learned fish bite better on flies without them anyway.

But I would stop shopping at a shop that did what you described. Just like flies that catch fish without hackles, there are other shops out there that still care about flyfishers.

Just while we are on this topic, I'd still take an Adams(traditional) over a compradun. May be my personal favorite, but it's a fly that I won't go without. I love a sparkle dun, but I think an Adams is just as effective, not to mention they're a beautiful fly. And anyways, not in the market to buy hackle per se. Just commenting on some business practices that I have seen.

[Gilly]

Troutfiend,

I was somewhat sympathetic to your arguement until you injected 'lawyers' into it. Obviously you haven't been pressured to meet hours billed yet.

Get back to me in a decade and we'll talk about 'fair and square' then.

[ness]

K&K lost my business a long time ago. Not because of anything unethical, they lost me on their service, attitude and atmosphere. Kevin has never understood how to treat people, and what he doesn't understand is that no matter how good his business is, it's only a fraction of what it could be.

I'm all for making a buck, but when you've got a fly fisherman (I'm assuming that's what this guy was) in the shop and you tell him tough luck this time, you're thinking pretty short term. He would have been better off pulling the stuff off the shelf, saying it's not available and selling it back-channel if he needed the cash so bad.