The Most Experienced/Skilled Rod Builder

[dpammenter]

i've dealt with Gene on a couple of occaisions and in generaly, i thought he was pretty polite and extremely helpful

2c

[Chris Shelton]

Chris, while the lack of difference in price between the individual components and the kit also does not make sense to me, you need to consider the following:

- It could quite easily be confusion i.t.o. your communication with AAO / Gene
- He does not know your level of rod-building experience (as Mario stated)
- IMHO getting the correct info clearly & quickly is much more important to me than "Dear" and "Thank you". Remember that these guys are dealing with significantly more customers and volume that the local guys. What you experienced as "abrubtness" may just be a case of efficiency over niceties ?
- I have dealth with Gene on several occasions and the service has consistently been excelent, quite often with extras thrown into the bag for free as mentioned before.

PS If you want serious information overload when it comes to rodbuilding components, try browsing the www.mudhole.com (Mudhole Custom Tackle, Inc) site for an hour or so

Forgive me for my ignorance in this regard, but my initial request was headed Sage TXL 000 kit! I was pretty happy with the reply until Mario said that I should have specifically asked for the kit price. Now I was unaware that there was a kit form. My basic list of requirements IMHO did not do much in leading anyone to believe that I knew what I was talking about......it was way too basic. The bottom line is, why should I be told of better options by members of this forum, when I am dealing with the owner of the business? Surely, better alternatives and suggestions should come from him?

The niceties are a seperate issue.....but not something that I will lose any sleep over. It is surely my prerogative to express a dim view when I have one......why keep quiet about these things? I am not the gatkruip type! I owe the man nothing but common courtesy and respect and as such expect the same treatment in return.

[Chris Shelton]

Would you mind sending me this via PM or email ? I have also experienced the abruptness when making enquiries via email, but always just wrote it off as it being his way. Quite interested to see the response.

Hi Shaun. I'll fill you in when I get back to my home pc where I conducted the email exchange. I am in my office in Paarl at the moment

[dizzy]

I bought some components from Mudhole recently. I can strongly recommend them, I received excellent service.

[Michael]

I have dealt with a lot of companies, and I can seriously recommend J. Stockard Fly Fishing. http://www.jsflyfishing.com

They sell everything you need on rod building, and fly tying. Their prices are good, but more importantly, they are ALWAYS friendly, give you speedy replies, and are on the ball when it comes to deliveries.
James Vick at JS is a great man to deal with...if if you are looking for a special rod item he doesn't have, he will get it for you chop-chop.
Their quality is excellent too...they stock blanks like Sage, Thomas & Thomas, G. Loomis, St. Croix, Rainshadow, Forecast, etc.
Their fly tying materials are very well priced too. They have quite a lot of customers in South Africa.
Their website IS EASY TO USE TOO!!! Very NB, some guys's websites are quite confusing or hard to navigate.

[croozer]

Looks great !

Out of interest and I know I did ask you already Rendier , whats the price more or less on shipping to sa ?

[Michael]

Looks great !

Out of interest and I know I did ask you already Rendier , whats the price more or less on shipping to sa ?

croozer...just take the price of the item, and times it by 8.64 (Item cost in US$ x 7.3, plus 20%). That's roughly what it will land at (worked out cost, after shipping, VAT and clearance fees at the post office). It's about 20% total added to the cost of the item, on average.
Sometimes it can be much more (heavy package, small)...and sometimes it can be less, if it's lighter and a standard size package.
Like, put a few books in the shipment, and it will cost a lot more!
I've had stuff come in and it only cost 16% more than the cost on the site, and some were 60% more because I had some heavy, hardcover bamboo rod building books in the package!

Have a look at this site, you can work out an average price:
(I always use Global Express Mail with Insurance, 'cos it's insured and they give you a tracking number, but there are many options.) They also offer flat rate boxes, of certain sizes:

http://www.usps.com

You can work out an exact cost to get to you. Just remember, at the post office here, you will pay 14% VAT on the value of the goods, and a clearance fee (normally R 25.00) when you collect.

Then when you ship, you can ask JS Flyfishing (or whoever) to ship it USPS (US Postal Service) Global Express Mail, Express Mail, Normal Mail, whatever option you think is best for you.

[croozer]

Awesome , thanks !