[James]

I have gone to Rainbow (no jokes) Plastics in Berthod to buy Pot 'o' Golds. They were twice as much as they would be at BPS, Wal-Mart, or Sportsman's Warehouse.
I was going to order Mepp's Black Furys from their catalog (I wanted the white ones) $5.35. way cheaper in stores. Mister Twister catalog...same story.
I've looked all over for Daredevel (imp) in the hammered nickle patterns. Finaly I went to their (Eppinger) web site. $6.50!!! Come on! I don't buy em atg BPS becase they're $3.99. I don't remember the exact price, but they're even cheaper at Sportsman's. Plus if I ordered even just one, there was a shipping charege of almost 6 bucks.
Why do they do this?

 

[roadkill]

those other shops buy huge quantities and get a substantial discount and they pass that on

 

[jamiehughes]

some of the reason may be that some of the manufactuers may also set their prices so that they are not cutting the throats of the big customers that they sell their product to. these companies will spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with eppinger, how much are you gonna spend. i see it all the time in the automotive industry. in the same boat you have some producers that will sell your customer right out from under your nose...cheaper than the retailer can buy for. not a real good business plan. works out for the consumer but builds bad feeling on the retailer side of things.

 

[kirbydog]

Jamie has it exactly right. Manufacturers who undersell their retail outlets by selling direct to the consumer won't build alot of loyalty with those retail outlets and that in the long run will cost them sales.

 

[James]

I understand all that. I hadn't thought of Jamie's point, but that definatly makes sense. I guess I don't understand the huge differnce though. If everyone is selling (the daredevil) for less than 4 bucks, Eppinger is probably selling them for less than 2 and making a profit. I would have ordered even if they were $4.50 (51 cents more than anywhere else), but $6.50? That's well over 50% more than I'd pay anywhere else! Top that off w/ the 5 something for shipping & handeling. No one is going to do that.
I only checked out their site, because I couldn't find the color (hammered nickle) I wanted anywhere (Kmart, Wak-Mart, Sportsman's, BPS, Gander etc...). Also, If you go to RP in Berthod your spoons don't even come packaged (not that I care), but that should make them even cheaper.
I guess my point is this...I couldn't find the lure I was looking for anywhere. I go to the manufacturer, and they want a ridiculous price. So now, I'll just buy hammered Little Cleos, or some off brand spoons from Cabelas. Although my order would have been small, they still lose a sale.

 

[idratherbfishing]

The big retailers sometimes actually require manufacturers not retail any of their product. When a company like Walmart or BPS says, don't compete with me the manufacturers listen. And everything Jamie said is right on the money!

Dan

 

[epic]

I get Panter Martin Catalogs and they sometimes have great deals, and usually about the same as some of the other tackle companies prices. This could be the exception.