I love my avid, but was not impressed when I had to pay 40$ just to ship it out to them when I broke it and that was 5 years ago, nowadays its probably more. I would go to your local tackle shops and ask how they handle warranty claims with the different brands. My local shop has a Shimano rep that comes by and picks up the rods, and if warranty claims are approved they ship the new rods out to the tackle shop. For example, my buddy broke my Compre last year and I got a new one for 8$ (shipping fee). Sometimes you might get lucky and the rep hand delivers the new rods back and you pay nothing. Something to keep in mind.