Support Your Local Shop

[tinbanger]

Couldn't help but notice alot of OFNrs got BPS gift certificates for Christmas

 

I myself ended with $75 CTC certificate ( insulated rubber boots )

 

just don't forget your local tackle/bait shops . these are the small buisness owners who we rely on when we a) forgot some critical items at home need some live bait c) don't feel like driving an hour .

Not only that they have some truly good deals .

At my local shop here in Barrie I have bought several items in the last couple of years ( Several rods , 3 floater suits , 2 ice augers and numerous smaller items)

Just today had a great experience when I had to exchange a too small floater suit.

 

I shop around as much as the next guy but why not ' buy local' when the price is right.

 

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

Tinbanger

[Photoz]

I'd LOVE to support my local shop, and I DID try today! First stop . . . Gagnon's in Oshawa . . . CLOSED?? Boxing Day?? Oh well, Tightlines it is then . . . . pulled off the highway at Brock Road in Pickering . . . . CLOSED TOO?? Geeze . . . . all I want is a couple reels spooled up with line . . . . next stop . . . Angling Specialties way y y y y up on Kennedy Road in Outer Scarberia . . . . UNBELIEVABLE!! ALSO CLOSED! So o o o o o . . . . . the one that EVERYBODY loves to hate . . . . . . L-E-B-A-R-O-N-'S . . . . . do THEY want some business? As I approach, I see the parking lot is full . . . . . SOMEBODY wants my money! Pretty good crowd . . . . I get a few items . . . . out the cash line in minutes. THIS is how to compete with the 'big (nasty) box stores' . . . . be open when they're open!

[irishfield]

Glad to see the small "family" stores closed Steve! They ALL should be !

[tinbanger]

My shop was open ! at least till noon

Thier hours of operation have not been an issue for me . they seem to be open when I need them and yes they do close down for 2 weeks in early december for well earned vacation.

 

One thing I forgot is they can be a good source of local info ,whats working , whats not .

 

Just to clarify I wouldn't call the big shops 'nasty' as I shop them and I work for a big 'nasty' US chain. Just check out the small shops now and then

 

tinbanger

[verno]

I got $100 gift cert for Gagnon's so I will be supporting my local store. They have a Grohmann knife with my name on it when they get one back in stock.

[GNODDY]

I totally believe in the Small store family Idea BUT. When I leave the BIG store ticked and want to go back and spend 600 bucks at my local shops there closed. (Gagnons and Tightlines) That was a lot a of money for me to spend considering i'm a pincher when it comes to money. Seeing as they were closed and I needed new gear I ended up buying it from another BIG STORE and was surprised to see actually how much money i saved.

[fishindevil]

yes and i do support my local stoe too,thats also gagnons,but hey when i can save alot of money on certain things i will go to where my wallet sends me,i always do my business there too,but sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Rizzo]

share the wealth! Although BPS somehow seems to get my big purchases (better selection of cameras, trolling motors, fishfinders etc), majority of lure/tackle purchases come from the smaller shops. By the end of the year, the smaller purchases have probably totalled more than the "big" item (at least in my case).

[jordan]

Almost everything i get is from my local tackel shop, I like the service and i get good deals haha Well my dad buys it for me haha lol. Fishing Fanatics great place i got my okuma sheffield from there, Great reel.

 

 

 

jordan

Edited December 27, 2006 by jordan

[Mike the Pike]

We don't have a BPS here but I have had the pleasure of shopping there what I liked was the enormous selection of lures and gadgets that I would have never found elsewhere.

 

I give most of my business to the little guys I like tthe personalized service and sometimes the sales guys will let me in on some fishing spots.We have Le Baron .and Baron sports would we our bigger stores.We are supposed to be getting a Cabella's this spring.

 

I would'nt drive around and waste five bucks of gas to save 2$ on an item.I like service thats what counts for me.

[wolfville]

Went to BPS this afternoon....boxing day and did not see anything I was interested in on sale. Thought it was gonna be the time I finally picked up a rod for float fishing...but none on sale.

 

I wasn't surprised though.... it has been like that for my last couple visits....

[lew]

I buy 99% of my fish'n stuff at 2 local shops and always have, and probably always will, but if I'm looking for a big ticket item and can get it in one of the big box stores and save a couple hundred dollars, whether thru normal pricing or tax free days, well then, that's where I'm gonna get it.

 

 

It's nice to support the "little guy", and I usually do, but at the end of the day, the $200 difference is better in MY families pocket than anyone elses

[JFR]

I deal with the same local tackle store as Tinbanger does here in Barrie. One good thing about them, if they do not stock the item, they are willing to go that extra distance for you, and place an order from their suppliers catalogues.

 

Ask the big box stores to do that

[OhioFisherman]

The local tackle store by me is great (The Rodmakers Shop, Strongsville, Ohio) They don`t have everything but enough to give you a good start at whatever you decide you want to fish for. A decent selection of all kinds of freshwater tackle. The crew there also fishes and they are good, help is provided if you need it. I like going to the big box store once in a while, but the local shop can handle my needs most of the time. Also a good spot to get info on area tournaments, and the owner puts some on late in the year.

[fish4me]

I just dropped 300 atJB after passing through BPS with nothing. Got a few japanese lures and a nice albiet expensive fishin net. I'm supporting them ! and forgot about the 100 at Lebaron's.

[camillj]

Well ... here in the west end of the big smoke ... Le Barons has been my local shop for many years ... and being only a 5 min drive away ... it is the place I do most of my 'pre-shopping' ... but I ALWAYS stop in at the local shop whereever I am actually fishing that day ... to spend a few bucks buy some bait and share in the local knowledge ... which IMHO .. is worth EVERY PENNY of the sometimes inflated prices ... without those guys we'd have lots of equipment and no 'gatheirng place for the local knowledge ... when I was growing up there was no electronic communities ... the local bait shop was our 'Fishing Network'

[setomonkey]

It's not either/or, I prefer to buy my more expensive items from the big shops b/c the prices are usually better by quite a bit, but I like stopping in at local stores to buy a little extra tackle or bait.

 

Mike

[fishindevil]

i did i just came back from gagnons in oshawa where i live and they have a NO TAX DAY TODAY,so there is a few things on sale as well so its worth checking it out. cheers

[knotaclue]

I've tried the smaller stores and i'm sorry my favorite one moved away,but i'm sick of paying 20 bucks for something a box store sells for 12,so now i save up and make the trip to bps, bring the wife and kids and make a big deal out of it,i'm sorry but there's not to many stores out there where i can look at lures and all the boating stuff i could want and they can shop for clothes and stuff for the dog all at the same time.

[Mike Pike]

I do not 'support' local tackle shops. Rather, I give my bussiness to local tackle shops IF they've earned it.

 

The "little guy" who puts up a sign, stacks a few shelves with the same tackle I can get at a chain store for a lower price hasn't earned my business. Sorry. I feel no more duty to 'support' them than they would to support me if I needed it.

 

Now, give me an enhanced shopping experience with things like; a deep product selection, specialty items I can't find at most other places, open early weekend mornings with live bait, a good staff with lots of local knowledge, etc., and I'm there!

 

Notice I never even mentioned prices! Too many times, small retailers think this is the ONLY reason people shop at one place over another.

[Crazyhook]

I spend my fishing money everywhere. I shop all over the place and love the stores around me ( Manotick Bait abnd Tacle and Bits and bits, Lebaron and Sportsaction)

[Mikey]

I go to my sponsors first....and if they don't have it...I go to the next best source...

 

Mikey