Ques fot West coast

[pnc]

Was looking at a cataloge today. 2018 The Fy Shop. 40 yrs in business. Redding, California.
Has anybody delt with or know about these people ?
Travel packages make up half of the catalogue. I'm guessing being travel agents is what keeps them in business. Never have I seen such prices on equipment. Other than factory set retail prices. Everything including travel packages are twice what a reasonable person might expect. Fly box I just bought in store for 5 they want 10, get single rod & reel cases for 35 they want 79, had someone trying to talk me into a week on the Amazon for 1500 including air fair, packages start around 3 and go to 12 thousand.
Halfway through cataloge I threw it out. Don't understand how they are in business.

........ pc

 

[tcorfey]

I do business with them at least once or twice a year. Some good deals to be had like their fishing shirts with pockets big enough for the large Tacky boxes they go on sale for 29, they have a nice disk drag reel for under 80, they have a great deal on light fleece pants and top as a pair for under 40. In the shop they have dollar flies and the latest fishing reports for their area. Guess you have to do a little digging to find the deals but they have them (Their online catalogue has some deals in it but there are more in the shop.). Actually got two of Gary Borger's Light Touch rods (made by Targus) on close out for around 125 each. They may still have some in the bin at the back of the store. Really nice people and always willing to help.

Never used their guide services but I know they also manage several private fishing waters in the Redding area.

 

[mcnerney]

PC

I received the same catalog a couple days ago, I know we all see things differently but when I scanned their prices, they aren't that much different then any of the other fly shops that do business online. They list a gold beadhead PT is listed at $1.90, parachute adams $2, yellow Stimi $2, comparadun $2, try finding flies any cheaper at local fly shops at fishing destinations like Jackson, WY, West Yellowstone, MT, Ennis MT, Bozeman, MT, etc. Last year in Ennis, MT I think I paid $2.50 or 2.75 for a parachute Caddis pattern that I wanted to try out. The fly rods they offer are the same prices that you would pay anywhere else. The Fishpond landing nets are also the same price I see everywhere else. Their waders seem to be priced the same as everyone else! Maybe I'm just not looking at the items you say are priced too high!
Local fly shops have a very difficult time staying competitive with online retailers and the big box stores that can buy in huge volumes, so some of them are branching out, into the travel agent business. Several of our members have used "The Fly Shop" for travel and I don't recall ever hearing any negative about their services.

My local fly shop closed its doors this past fall, I loved those guys, but like I said it is a tough business to be just a fly shop, so kudos to those businesses like "The Fly Shop" that are thinking out of the box and offering travel packages. Sure, I will never be able to afford to go on one of those trips, but I commend them for offering what they do to those that can manage to scrap up the cash to go on a fishing trip of a lifetime.

Here is a trip report by one of our members that happened to use "The Fly Shop" for his travel:
https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/...targeting-permit-esbl-w-pics.html#post1091362

 

[flav]

It's Norcal, think of a price that's too much for something....then double it, and somebody from the bay area with more money than sense will gladly pay it.

 

[planettrout]

I have been a customer of The Fly Shop for almost 20 years and make a point of stopping in the shop when I go up the I-5 to that area or beyond. Like it's previously been stated, their prices are not out of line at all and comparable to almost all the quality shops here in CA...


PT/TB

 

[pfetz]

I've bought numerous items from the shop, including rods and reels. They are good people and very helpful and honest. I have used their guide service and private waters and have been very pleased.

 

[mjkirshner]

Was looking at a cataloge today. 2018 The Fy Shop. 40 yrs in business. Redding, California.
Has anybody delt with or know about these people ?
Travel packages make up half of the catalogue. I'm guessing being travel agents is what keeps them in business. Never have I seen such prices on equipment. Other than factory set retail prices. Everything including travel packages are twice what a reasonable person might expect. Fly box I just bought in store for 5 they want 10, get single rod & reel cases for 35 they want 79, had someone trying to talk me into a week on the Amazon for 1500 including air fair, packages start around 3 and go to 12 thousand.
Halfway through cataloge I threw it out. Don't understand how they are in business.

........ pc

One of the problems I perceive for a local shop that is both physical and online is that they have to pay for the "sticks and bricks" location, while simultaneously competing with online-only sellers who can be drop-shipping their products and never have to pay rent and all of the other expenses associated with a store. They are stuck between the rock and hard place, because they have to price their items sufficiently to turn the profit necessary to pay their overhead, but also compete with the online guys, and they can't really have their online prices set lower than their "in person" prices. It is unfortunate, because I would love to give my local fly shop guy all of my business, but if an online retailer can sell me a premium fly rod for a 10% to 20% discount, with free shipping and no sales tax, it very quickly adds up to a $200+ difference between what I would have to pay locally and what I can get online. I like my local fly shop, and buy tying materials and small items from him, in return for the advice that I get from him, but if I can save $100 or more on a bigger-ticket item by purchasing it online, I have to go with that. I am willing to pay a little more for personalized service and to help keep a local shop going, but I have to look out for my own financial interests, too.

 

[planettrout]

So I pick up my mail this AM and this was in it:

...97 pages in, is the end of the catalog before the Travel Section:

This is the Travel Section:

...probably some of the best bucket list FF destinations on the planet...and then...they announce that a separate fly tying catalog will be shipped in the Spring:

...I believe it's called "manufacturing misery" - to complain... and then, they have these guys named Mike Mercer and Tim Fox, who have worked and guided for that shop...


PT/TB

 

[Bigfly]

There isn't much money to be made in fly stuff.........T-shirts make you the most....
But travel on the other hand.....is flush with spenders.
I have noticed a difference in attitude (surprise) between the coasts....
I guess we are acclimated to spending money out here....I don't b-tch about prices since it is the way it is...
Flies don't cost 75. anymore.........
Heck, gas is priced at $3.89 here.......how much do you guys pay?
We all know that things are only worth what people are willing to pay....and folks seem to buy life style, no matter the cost. (First there was a life...now it's a life style.)
There is a cultivated attitude, about being the best guide shop in Norcal.
As soon as you believe you are the best.....
They do have everything though.......

Jim

 

[azflyrodder]

Just got this catalogue as well, seems like a good shop. I honestly like looking at the pictures in the travel section and dreaming of fishing Mongolia.

 

[ghostrider408]

I received one of their catalogs too last year. Haven't checked my mail yet today. Never done business with them, but I enjoyed looking through the travel section. An eye opener for all the fly fishing destinations in the world. They also have their own, in house brand of waders that I have seen ads for in Fly Fisherman magazine for years now. They are $179 and seem like nice waders. Does anyone here have any info on their waders. I have two pair of Simms that have slight leaks. I need to send them in to Simms for repair, but I have always wondered about the reasonably priced waders from the The Fly Shop.

 

[fredaevans]

Also check out Oregon fly shops ,,, no sales tax. I think California is about 10%

 

[mcmac]

I've done business with them on-line as well as in the store in Redding. Their prices are in line with what I see here locally in the Northwest. Good people and a long time anchor business for the area. They had just opened when I graduated HS just down the freeway in Anderson... Can it really be 40 years.... : )

 

[planettrout]

The Fly Shop policy on sales tax for residents of CA and out-of-staters:

http://www.theflyshop.com/pdf/y17MidYearCatalogOffer.pdf


PT/TB

 

[fredaevans]

"We don’t charge sales tax on orders shipped outside California Forty-five of our fifty states (and Washington,D.C.) charge a sales tax, and many cities add a local tax to that figure.The Fly Shop™does not charge sales tax on any order shipped to any location outside of California."

As cash strapped as Cal is I wonder how long that will last? I know many Washington shops will wave tax if you have an out of state driver's lic. That said becoming a bit unusual due to the paper work they have to fill out,

 

[tcorfey]

As far as the fly shops waders I only know one guy who owns a pair and he has had them for about 4 years. Never heard him complain about them. However he did rip them once when he fell and slid down a steep hill and a sharp stick ripped a gash above the waist. if I remember correctly we fixed it with aqua seal. That was about two or three years ago and he was still wearing them last fall.

 

[lake flyer]

I buy hooks from them quite frequently. Their hooks are excellent quality and now they have an even lower price, so I am putting together a pretty sizeable order from them. I also bought some shooting line from them that was kind of difficult to find elsewhere. I thought their price was no higher than what I expected to pay. I place my orders by phone and always found them to be very helpful and prompt with delivery.

 

[acorad]

"We don’t charge sales tax on orders shipped outside California Forty-five of our fifty states (and Washington,D.C.) charge a sales tax, and many cities add a local tax to that figure.The Fly Shop™does not charge sales tax on any order shipped to any location outside of California."

As cash strapped as Cal is I wonder how long that will last? I know many Washington shops will wave tax if you have an out of state driver's lic. That said becoming a bit unusual due to the paper work they have to fill out,

Interstate commerce. Not taxable. Federal law.

Andy

 

[pnc]

Been at FFI expo for 2 days.
Did not mean to get people excited over this...... was shocked to see pricing.
Talking to a few people at expo. One just raised eyebrows and said.... "somebody has to pay for all the free stuff out there".
Assumed he spoke of taxes.

......... pc