I've bought a lot of gear in my time and being a tackle affecionado I still want to own a little of everything. For me it's part of the joy of fishing, getting to try a new combo (toy) every now and then. What I've found is that you need to first set your sights on what is going to work for what you're trying to accomplish. For example I had used a Daiwa Emcast Sport 4500 with 33lbs of drag to catch whiting and pomps. However, I decided to downsize because I wanted it to be a bit more of a challenge. I switched to a Daiwa Regal Plus 3500 BRI. It's a smaller reel with less power than the Emcast so it makes the retreive with a smaller fish on actually feel like you have a fish on. If I hook up with something bigger like a slot Red then some skill is going to be required to land it to the cooler. The Emcast is still in the arsenal, just relegated to throwing bigger baits on bigger hooks for bigger fish.
Once you've deteremined what kind of gear you want then it's time to start shopping for the item(s) that will fulfill that need. I always think quality. A quality piece of gear will last decades if properly maintained; rinsing it off with fresh water after each use, oiling the external parts regularly then taking it apart to clean and grease the internal components once or twice a year. That will keep it working and looking like new for a long time.
When I first start my search for gear I go to the manufacturer websites, Daiwa, Shimano, Penn, Lamiglas, St. Croix, etc... I want to see what they've got in the class I'm looking for and see if any new products have been added. Once I've narrowed my choice then I start looking at online retailers to find out what they are selling it for. Cabelas, Bass Pro, Tackle Direct, Alltackle and Digital Dagger. Once I get an idea of price then I go to Ebay in hopes of buying. Yep. Ebay.
On Ebay I tend to shy away from used items sold by individuals. Generally that's where you are most likely to get taken for the ride your wallet wants to avoid. I generally look for mom and pop outfits that have sold a lot and products that have the letters "NIB" on what they are selling aka new in box. If I do buy from an individual on ebay, and I have, I look for individuals that have sold a lot of items and have high ratings. If there are negative ratings then I dig deeper to find out why.
The countless 'Mom & Pop' shops across the country are the bread and butter of Ebay. These are people who own small shops for which they make their living. They sell by volume on the internet and therefore can offer deeper discounts. They usually have sold thousands of items on ebay, have great ratings and fair prices. They either sell at auction or buy now prices. Do pay attention to the shipping rates. Outrageous shipping prices is one place unscrupulous sellers make a killing. I've bought from sellers on ebay such as poorfish, catfishsupply and simmons sporting goods. Simmons just sold two Abu Blue Yonders at auction for $122 and $115. That reel retails for $150, plus tax ($160).
If you want to buy at auction on ebay the way to do it is by being a sniper. That's right. Sniping. No not taking a rifle and shooting anything from long range but by letting everyone else battle it out for the product unitl the last few seconds when you swoop in out of nowhere and take it. Lets say you want a Blue Yonder. Find out what the average retail price is for it. Lets say it's $150, $160 with tax. Determine what the maximum price you want to spend for it with shipping. Lets say you don't want to go over $130. Shipping is $8 you can spend $122 + 8 is $130. Do not bid on it at all until the very last seconds of the auction. Yes, resist the urge to even place a small bid on it. All you will be doing is helping drive the price up and benefiting the seller. Wait until there is the least chance you can be outbid. For me it's the last 15-20 seconds of the auction. If you see the item days in advance put an alarm or something in your cell phone or somewhere to remind you when the auction ends. Get to your computer about 5 minutes before the auction ends. Keep refreshing the page often to keep abreast of the time. When the last 15-20 seconds arrive place your bid. Put in your maximum. In our example it's $122, then hit confirm bid. That took you about 10 seconds to do. Anyone else waiting to bid won't see your bid until it's too late. They won't have enough time to react to the new price. By the time they see your bid and enter a higher bid the auction will be over.
The key to trusting sniping is understanding how the Ebay automatic bid system works. The ebay system will only spend what it needs of your bid ($122) to win the item. If the item is now $100 when you bid the system will place your bid at about $102. If someone else bids $110 your bid will then go to about $115. This will continue until another bid exceeds your max bid or the auction ends. Sniping just doesn't give someone else the opportunity to outbid you. On Ebay most bidders place bids days in advance. They are just hoping someone else doesn't want to spend more than they bid, which is not the case especially if the current price is way below retail. With sniping you're just hoping people don't drive the price up to where it won't matter where you buy. I have made 18 snipe bids on ebay and have only lost once, probably another sniper. In those 17 wins I've probably saved hundreds of dollars.
Part II will talk about the online retailers I've found whose prices are consistently excellent.
