I had an experience with Zebco last year that showed some of the quality issues but also the support behind the products.  I have an Omega Pro Z03 now many years old -- you know, heavy all metal pre-Bullet.  Short story is, after several years of owning the reel, I found a problem, and after several email messages both directions, I was sent a package with the wrong part, more messaging and the correct parts sent out quickly (about 3 days IIRC), all without cost to me.  Zebco wanted the old parts back probably to see exactly what I was explaining and I'm sure the prepaid postage cost more to Zebco than the parts.  Seeing the new parts I can tell that the design was already changed for the better.

 

 

On 5/11/2021 at 9:41 AM, MAN said:

Spincast are making a strong comeback...and surprisingly in the high end game.  

Expect to see many more in the near future. 

I recently read a bass pro shops catalog and they had a 100$ dollar zebco spincast reel for bass and musky. It was the first spincast I have ever seen pass 20 bucks so it was pretty surprising. 

3 hours ago, Bankc said:

Yeah, that is the thing with Zebco.  Their quality control is pretty atrocious.  When I got my latest 33 combo at Walmart, I had to go through every one they had in stock to find the one reel that actually had a properly functioning drag.  Then I had to go through all of the rod tips, and swap tips (two piece rods) to get the one tip with straight line guides.  Definitely worth the $10 I paid.  But you gotta keep a finger on the line, because that rod has the sensitivity of Archie Bunker.  

 

The lesson is to not buy a Zebco 33. The reel’s price has barely changed over the years, and if your product is that massively behind the inflation curve then corners will be cut somewhere.

 

What people remember their old 33’s as being is basically the Omega.

The Bullets are heavy as a brick and the one I got my kid before he learned how to use spinning took a crap just as fast as any other spincast reel

When the price does not follow inflation, the quality is usually going down.  When you go in BPS and pay the retail price for a reel that cost $25, it probably cost less than $4 to make the that reel.  Not much room in that for quality.   

My son's wife's brother in law is the head engineer with TRICO wiper blades.  I was talking to him about this and he said the most expensive blade they make, the ones you can pay $30 or more for in a parts store, cost them $3.27 to make (they are made in Mexico).

On 5/12/2021 at 7:39 AM, Msl819 said:

My wife is usually cool with it as well.  She cannot understand why a rod/reel cost so much or is so much better than another, but she is usually ok with it.  Especially if it is a rod or reel she can get me for a birthday or Christmas that she knows I will really enjoy.  She isn’t a bad fishing partner either!  

Same here. My wife doesn’t care what I buy as long as the bills are taken care of and she has some walking around money of her own. She also doesn’t understand the differences between a $50 bc and a $200 bc. She does love to fish though and that is a blessing as well.