I've been told by someone from a reputable shop that 3 bearings is good any more is just (as he put it ) "WINDOW  DRESSING" is that true or is more bearings really better in a spinning reel ?

Three, if they're quality bearings and in the right places (ex-bushings).

Roger

I'm not an expert by any means but I think that the bearing quality is much more important than bearing number. That being said, I do find that my reels that have more bearings are much smoother and cast farther than those with fewer bearings.

3 quality bearing packs for BC reels, is all that's needed for good free spooling.

For spinning reels it is a different story because of the torque that the crank has to get past to turn the rotor, plus the line roller, and crank paddle, so you would probably see 6 quality bearings minimum.

One crank bearing on each side of the body (=2), one rotor pinion bearing, one line roller bearing, one oscillation gear bearing (depending on mfg), 1-2 crank paddle bearing (again depending on mfg), plus 1 one way (AR) bearing. So here i've listed a possible 7+1...

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!