How important to you is a warranty when you buy a rod?

Bought a 4pc rod from megabass. Broke the tip, contacted megabass, they have the tip which is only 6000yen, but they refuse to sell it to me. How incredibly annoying. And the guy at the customer service wanted to sell it to be, but his superior came by when the tip was being packed, and declined my shipment. Ever since this happened, i am thinking twice before buying megabass, even tho they're my fav brand for rods.

4 hours ago, Bassnyak said:

How important to you is a warranty when you buy a rod?

My priorities of importance when buying a rod from greatest to least.

#1, Warranty. Every rod can and will break, and with quality control during and post Covid, i want a rod that the company will back. If they wont even back their own rods why should i, or you?

#2 Price.

#3 Color. If i can get it to paint match a certain reel thats great.

# Sensitivity. I truly cant understand why guys spend so much on rods for this, get some braid and tungsten for $50 all together and call it a day.

 

But sadly most companies today cut corners at every turn, including now having bad customer service teams, poor quality control, and either got rid of warranty replacements, or increased the cost of a new rod through the warranty. Like my $275 St Croix new with tags, i cant use it because they became an awful company from recent reviews, and these rods snap easily now as well. I will sell it before i pay them $60 for another rod. To snap the next week.

Ill stick with my Ugly Stik GX2s and Daiwa Aird X's. Have never snapped the collective 20 of them i own. Threw them on the ground, dragged them across rocks, tossed them in the back of the truck, etc.... I would rather buy a rod for $30-50 that will last a lifetime than pay $100-200 for a rod i will need to replace for the next season. But thats just me.

 

1 hour ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Bought a 4pc rod from megabass. Broke the tip, contacted megabass, they have the tip which is only 6000yen, but they refuse to sell it to me. How incredibly annoying. And the guy at the customer service wanted to sell it to be, but his superior came by when the tip was being packed, and declined my shipment. Ever since this happened, i am thinking twice before buying megabass, even tho they're my fav brand for rods.

But doesn't Megabass have a 1 year warranty?

As long as the rod has a one year warranty I’m happy. Any defects from the manufacture will cause a breakage within that time.

18 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

My priorities of importance when buying a rod from greatest to least.

#1, Warranty. Every rod can and will break, and with quality control during and post Covid, i want a rod that the company will back. If they wont even back their own rods why should i, or you?

#2 Price.

#3 Color. If i can get it to paint match a certain reel thats great.

# Sensitivity. I truly cant understand why guys spend so much on rods for this, get some braid and tungsten for $50 all together and call it a day.

 

But sadly most companies today cut corners at every turn, including now having bad customer service teams, poor quality control, and either got rid of warranty replacements, or increased the cost of a new rod through the warranty. Like my $275 St Croix new with tags, i cant use it because they became an awful company from recent reviews, and these rods snap easily now as well. I will sell it before i pay them $60 for another rod. To snap the next week.

Ill stick with my Ugly Stik GX2s and Daiwa Aird X's. Have never snapped the collective 20 of them i own. Threw them on the ground, dragged them across rocks, tossed them in the back of the truck, etc.... I would rather buy a rod for $30-50 that will last a lifetime than pay $100-200 for a rod i will need to replace for the next season. But thats just me.

 

Was it a Legend tournament that you paid 275 for?

9 hours ago, Bassnyak said:

Was it a Legend tournament that you paid 275 for?

Legend Glass cranking rod, only paid $75 for it. I would have a heart attack paying over $150 for any rod.

Warranty is #1 for me. Dobyns and St. Croix are my favorite rods. Part of that is their performance but also their warranty. Knowing if anything goes wrong I’m covered, if I do something stupid, I can replace it for a discount, or if I want to try something nicer I can always upgrade. I don’t feel like I’m just buying any old rod, but I’m buying a product from a manufacturer that is confident enough to back it with an amazing warranty.

 

Shimano doesn’t have a long warranty, but with the replacement program, anytime that rod gets broken, it’s half off to get it replaced which is also awesome.

 

Sure I may never use the warranty program on most of my rods, but that peace of mind means I don’t feel as if I have to baby my rods, I can use them to their fullest potential, and just fish stress free knowing if anything goes awry, I’m not out full price on a rod

20 hours ago, Bassnyak said:

How important to you is a warranty when you buy a rod?

I rarely even acknowledge the warranty until I've already purchased the rod.

Sad part is we are all paying for a warranty when we buy the rod.

Whether we use it or not.

If I snap a stick (and I've blown up a few)

I don't expect the company to pay for my mistake or inappropriate use of the rod.

That's on me.

I'd love it if there were no warranties and gear prices came down 50%.

There's always a few bad blanks around and they blow up first use most of the time.

So 30 days of coverage is fine for that.

But a 10 - 15 year warranty is meaningless to me. 

There ya go.

A-Jay

 

It’s pretty important to me as my tastes have grown pricey.  As A-Jay mentioned, I don’t expect them to pay for my mistakes but mistakes happen and since they’re building in warranty cost already, at least honor one mistake. 

Warranty is one year, the rest is insurance and like some said I think you pay for that.  

I've been using G. Loomis rods for 30 years and never broke one yet (touches my wood)

 

but I know if I ever have an issue the warranty is good. I won't be paying full price for a replacement 

51 minutes ago, Hulkster said:

I've been using G. Loomis rods for 30 years and never broke one yet (touches my wood)

 

but I know if I ever have an issue the warranty is good. I won't be paying full price for a replacement 

Nice rods for sure.

But there's  a  decent chance your previous purchases paid for at least one replacement 10 times  over. 

A-Jay

 

 

Warranty is important to me, whether it's 1 year, 5 years, or lifetime.  I get what I pay for.

 

Ease of that warranty is similarly important.  I am not an online shopper for rods by any means because I need to pick up and hold a rod before I make such a purchase.  I have zero interest in packing up a rod and shipping it back.  Returning it to the location I bought it from in person is a big selling point for this guy.

Let’s see…

 

About 2 yrs ago, I bought a St Croix Mojo Bass for $120ish (had some GCs from Cabela’s). Broke the tip about a month and a half ago. Called St Croix - upgraded to a victory with a 15yr warranty for the same price as a replacement MB would have been, so…take it for what it’s worth…

Zero.  I don't break rods high sticking or hoisting fish into the boat larping as a pro bass angler.  If I did break rods I would opt for a brand that offers a replacement program.  These replacement programs are baked into the price of the rod so you end up paying megabass money for something that looks like an ugly stick but are free to make mistake or even abuse the rod and get a reasonably priced or even "free" replacement.  

Never bought anything solely because of the warranty.
If I need it I buy it, If I buy it I use it. 
If it’s defective I’ll know soon enough so a 1 yr warranty is sufficient. 
 

Sensitively is paramount for bottom contact presentations so that’s where most of my money goes
Length of the warranty is secondary 

 

For moving baits it’s even less of a consideration 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Made in the USA baby… my rods all except 1 Daiwa Zillion, which incidentally has no warranty now. 
 

All my Loomis rods are covered. 
I use to be a St. Croix dude but I just began to dislike the handles on many of the rods and went with Loomis predominantly.. 

 

It’s nice to have choices. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

20 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Nice rods for sure.

But there's  a  decent chance your previous purchases paid for at least one replacement 10 times  over. 

A-Jay

 

 

Possibly. but we are paying the warranty price built into the rod. That being said for me, Loomis has some advantages over others that I don't mind paying for.  Their tapers and balance is often better than comparable rods from others. Also they don't break easily like St. Croix's recent offerings do etc. 

5 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

Made in the USA baby… my rods all except 1 Daiwa Zillion, which incidentally has no warranty now. 
 

All my Loomis rods are covered. 
I use to be a St. Croix dude but I just began to dislike the handles on many of the rods and went with Loomis predominantly.. 

 

It’s nice to have choices. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

same. I used to have all St. Croix and Loomis rods, now I am all Loomis with only one SC left, a pre pandemic Premier Musky rod. 

 

I don't like some of the downgrades they have done like the guides on the new avids and avid panfish/walleye rods etc. A big drop from the alconite guides of the original avids. 

3 minutes ago, Hulkster said:

Possibly. but we are paying the warranty price built into the rod. That being said for me, Loomis has some advantages over others that I don't mind paying for.  Their tapers and balance is often better than comparable rods from others. Also they don't break easily like St. Croix's recent offerings do etc. 

same. I used to have all St. Croix and Loomis rods, now I am all Loomis with only one SC left, a pre pandemic Premier Musky rod. 

 

I don't like some of the downgrades they have done like the guides on the new avids and avid panfish/walleye rods etc. A big drop from the alconite guides of the original avids. 

My first Avid was a flipping model and it was fire! Then I grabbed a few more models.. but yea things changed with them and I moved on. Had a ML 7’ spinning rod, maybe my all time favorite but man.. St. Croix, what are they doing?? Anyway.. plenty of other choices. Totally happy with my GLX & IMX rods.. 

On 11/17/2024 at 10:34 AM, A-Jay said:

I'd love it if there were no warranties and gear prices came down 50%.

There's always a few bad blanks around and they blow up first use most of the time.

So 30 days of coverage is fine for that.

But a 10 - 15 year warranty is meaningless to me. 

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

Now that I think about it, the rod market feels a lot like the health insurance market over the last 14 years...

On 11/17/2024 at 7:34 AM, A-Jay said:

I'd love it if there were no warranties and gear prices came down 50%.

There's always a few bad blanks around and they blow up first use most of the time.

So 30 days of coverage is fine for that.

But a 10 - 15 year warranty is meaningless to me. 

Wouldnt be a bad idea if companies offered rods at a discount for a no warranty option.

But everything made today isnt made to last sadly, quality control is a companies last priority these days. Hopefully in a year or 2 qc will return to where it was or better, if thats the case then warranties would be truly pointless.

I agree and disagree with your 30 days, its probably all thats really needed to see if a rod goes bad, but some of us (mainly me) will buy a rod and leave it in a corner for a few months before using it.

I have about 8 rods i bought within the last 2 years that i havent used yet, and about 6 reels too.

But yeah the 10-15 year is meaningless, its not even a warranty, its an insurance policy.

A 1 year is great, but 10-15? I mean cmon new St Croixs wont even take a week to use it.

1 hour ago, MediumMouthBass said:

A 1 year is great, but 10-15? I mean cmon new St Croixs wont even take a week to use it.

LMAO

 

St. Croix really needs to fix their rods their reputation for breakage is just brutal now 

 

 

The fly rod industry went through this 20 years ago. Orvis launched a no fault lifetime warranty as a sales ploy. It worked but it drove customer expectations and rod price through the roof. Soon everyone had to offer it. I think most have course corrected now but it’s caused a lot of harm in the industry. 

 

On 11/16/2024 at 7:10 PM, LonnieP said:

As long as the rod has a one year warranty I’m happy. Any defects from the manufacture will cause a breakage within that time.

this is where I am. All a rod needs is a one year original buyer warranty. When I built rods that’s what I’d offer.  If a rod blank has a defect and is going to break, it will usually do it the first time you fight a fish on it or set the hook on a stump. A reel seat popping loose maybe a little longer. Guides don’t break on their own and thread/epoxy will be just fine so long as it’s in there. Anything I do stupid to break one and it’s on me 

 

 

That’s said, while it isn’t my defining reason to buy one, if the rod I buy has a warranty then I’m going to use it if needed. 

Pretty important. I’m debating between sticking with Dobyn’s or trying a new Daiwa steez AGS. Dobyn’s rods come with a lifetime warranty, though you have to pay a replacement fee. The Steez AGS only has a 5 year warranty.
 

I plan on using my rods for way more than 5 years. Yes, the steez ags will be more sensitive than the Dobyn’s champion extreme HP. But is it worth $200 more and giving up a lifetime warranty for a 5 year warranty? I’m not so sure.