Ordering Tying Materials

[flyty1 0]

BPS and Cabelas both started in somebodies back corner and eventually as brick and mortar mom and pop shops from nothing but the humble American dream of small hard working regular people. Now they are a multimillion dollar mega store employing thousands of people directly and thousands others indirectly, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to environmental issues and vastly enriching the communities they open in. I'd say that's worth supporting.

 

My closest fly shop is about a 45 minute drive and they also sell online. As I always say, a global market place is the best thing ever for consumers and your internet shopping is most likely supporting somebodies local mom and pop shop somewhere. I do like to browse the fly shop but it seems I only ever pick up a few dickie doo things that I wasn't looking for because of limited selection. By all means support local but i generally go to cabelas in Hamburg pa because they have the best selection of any place within two hours of me and I like to see, feel, and fondle material when I can.

[flyty1 0]

The internet shop may be supporting a mom and pop shop - but the money most likely doesn't find it's way back to your city/county/state...if you want to see local shops around in the future, please support your local businesses. Maybe you are too young to remember what the shopping malls did to the local stores on main street USA...internet shopping is on the verge of doing the same thing to retail stores - yes, including places like Bass Pro/Cabelas (which are one company now).

[ChillBilly 0]

For the prices and bulk amounts of synthetic materials, check out Fly Tyers Dungeon.

 

As far as other sites, I like to see where they ship from which in turn let's me know how fast the shipping will be relative to shipping price (if it isn't free).

 

I've ordered some tools from J. Stockard before and was pleased. Just ordered some materials from "Feathercraft" which is based in St. Louis and got my order in a matter of 2 days which was pleasing, so if you're near the midwest give them a look.

[Poopdeck 0]

The internet shop may be supporting a mom and pop shop - but the money most likely doesn't find it's way back to your city/county/state...if you want to see local shops around in the future, please support your local businesses. Maybe you are too young to remember what the shopping malls did to the local stores on main street USA...internet shopping is on the verge of doing the same thing to retail stores - yes, including places like Bass Pro/Cabelas (which are one company now).

I wish I were to young. I remember the first mall going up in a field we use to hunt. I remember well the shops on Main Street. I also remember how great it was to have such selection all under one roof. I also remember no air conditioning in my car or home and black and white TV's. Rolling with the times is a must. Retail as we know it will be dead at some time in the future and there's not much we can do about it. I don't have a local fly shop and I really can't remember ever having a local fly shop. A 45 minute drive is not local. When I make the drive I generally drive home with something other than what I wanted. I can get everything I need in minutes from my kitchen table.

[Philly 0]

I usually buy my stuff at the "local" shop. It's a 40 minute drive for me since there are no shops within the city limits. I've been doing business with them for almost 30 years. There are a couple of shops closer, an Orvis store about 20 minutes away and a TCO shop about 30 minutes away. I get to Cabela's, Hamburg, 3 or 4 times a year. It's fly fishing section's OK. The one down in Wilmington, DE is half the size of the Hamburg store and I don't remember if they even had a fly fishing "shop". Bass Pro is in Atlantic City and their materials tend to be salt water oriented. On line I like Feather Craft, for materials, they have a good selection and have always been helpful when I've talked with them. For a lot of my hooks and spinner bait skirts/skirt layers I use either Barlow's or Jann's Netcraft.

[flytire 0]

the bass pro (massachutes) and cabelas (connecticut) are 2 stores i would not catagorize as "fly shops" as both stores are quite limited in fly tying materials

[Sight Cast 0]

I have to agree with supporting the local fly shop. That's always my first choice. But as we all know, no one store has everything you need...and that includes the online stores. You're forced to go online and shop around to search for the materials you need.

 

I've tried a bunch of online stores and I'm still trying to find that one store that has everything you need in stock, has free shipping, and great customer service.

 

Here's my experience with a few:

 

J Stockard - Seems to have the most in stock and a big selection. I like how their website is setup and is easy to navigate. They offer incentives to frequent buyers and also to give product reviews. I love how almost every product has good quality reviews. The free shipping threshold is at $100. However, the orders seem to be processed and shipped out slowly. From placing the order to arriving at my house usually takes about 2 weeks. I've had one of my shipments delivered to the wrong address and in return I received someone else's shipment. I contacted them and they sent me a prepaid shipping label to return the wrong order and then they resent my order....except for the items out of stock that had to be backordered. Then I never received my backordered items, probably because of all the confusion of the returns and stuff. They need to overhaul their ordering system and get more organized.

 

AvidMax - Good selection of stuff, free shipping at $25, but I hate how their website is setup. It's very difficult to filter by categories and find the stuff you're looking for. I usually get frustrated after digging around for a few minutes and then leave to try another online store. The orders I have ended up placing usually arrive pretty fast though.

 

Bob Marriott's - This is probably my favorite store. They started out as a small family-owned fly shop in California and still operate that way even though they've expanded. They have a great selection of stuff and usually have everything I'm looking for. The website could be a little easier to navigate, but it's not too bad. The free shipping is at a $100, which I wish was lower. The customer service is great and my orders get shipped out and arrive fast. When items need to be backordered (which is almost always the case), they will give you a call and let you know. So far, they have a good track record of keeping up with the backordered items and have a good system in place to handle it all.

 

Caddis Fly Shop - Another small fly shop going big, this one is in Oregon. This is usually where I end up when I just need a few things because the shipping is free at $25. They don't have the biggest selection but most stuff seems to be in stock all the time. Everything I've ordered is shipped out fast.

 

Fly Tyer's Dungeon - Can't say enough good things about this place. The guy is like a mad scientist creating his own line of quality fly tying materials out of his house. When you need EP Fibers go here and order the Congo Hair for a fraction of the price, it's very close to the same material. They also have a great selection of flash and dubbing too. The price of everything is super cheap, so cheap that you can afford to get every color he offers. The shipping cost is fair and is shipped out very fast. I've had orders delivered to my house in 3 days.

 

RD Fly Fishing - This is a sister company of Renzetti. They have a bunch of hard-to-find fibers, brushes, and flash. Selection is limited to a few types of items, but you can't find this stuff at most fly shops. Only drawback is they don't offer any free shipping.

 

 

If anyone has any recommendations or has found a good store with excellent customer service, I'd love to give them a try.

[mikechell 0]

The internet shop may be supporting a mom and pop shop - but the money most likely doesn't find it's way back to your city/county/state...if you want to see local shops around in the future, please support your local businesses. Maybe you are too young to remember what the shopping malls did to the local stores on main street USA...internet shopping is on the verge of doing the same thing to retail stores - yes, including places like Bass Pro/Cabelas (which are one company now).

1) Since "your" taxes are rarely spent on what you'd like ... supporting local shops may or may not support the future of that shop. If that shop wants to survive ... it needs to keep up with technology and sell online, too.

2) As I recall, local stores on Main Street moved into those Malls. Inner City mentality was already destroying "Down towns" before Malls came on the scene.

3) Bass Pro did not buy Cabela's. That deal fell through and, as of last February/March ... Cabela's was still on it's own.

[flyty1 0]

Sorry Mike but you should check your facts...the upshot of supporting all local stores is that this support will help keep these businesses around rather than letting these places (and jobs) go to some other state (or country). The old mom and pop shops on main street largely closed since they could not compete with the national store chains that took over the shopping malls. As far as the Bass Pro/Cabelas deal, the FTC approved the merger in July. Since Cabelas was publically owned and Bass Pro is privatly held, the integration of the two businesses has to follow a long careful process.

[Gene L 0]

There are no local fly shops where I live.

[notenuftoys 0]

I have no issue supporting local fly shops. When I used to travel around the country, I would look up local fly shops and usually bought a few things from them whether I was fishing in the area or not.

 

But this is a large, diverse country. Where I live we have Cabela's and Bass Pro, with their limited selection and a fly shop that caters to the high earner. Their primary clientele just buys all their flies for whatever trip they are booking through the shop. So tying material is lacking, especially compared to a J Stockard, Caster's Fly Shop or Caddis Fly Shop.

 

So I buy 90% of my material online. When I run out of UTC thread, bucktail or craft fur, I run over to Bass Pro. But as of a few weeks ago, they didn't even stock ice dub!

[mikechell 0]

As far as the Bass Pro/Cabelas deal, the FTC approved the merger in July. Since Cabelas was publically owned and Bass Pro is privatly held, the integration of the two businesses has to follow a long careful process.

I've read up on this, and it looks like the deal went through ... however, it was supposed to close in July, and there's still no news articles that it did. I am waiting for the report that BPS did buy ...

 

But, we'll have to agree to disagree with the rest of it. It's the mom-n-pop store owner's job to keep the business viable ... not my job to support them. When I go into a small shop, (I've visited many more than most people) and all their prices are a $1 or more than anywhere else ... I'm not paying it. If they want to stay in business, they need to give me a reason to visit them. A "friendly face"? I get that at BPS. A better selection? I get that online. Lower prices ... oh, they don't have that either. So what's my motivation?

[Moshup 0]

How about them being a advocate for your local waters and enviromental concerns Mike ? Guy up here by me does stream restoration through his shop. There's a lot more to it than the extra buck. We'll all learn this soon enough.

[mikechell 0]

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. Shop your local guys.

[flyty1 0]

When I talk of shops of course it includes fly / tackle shops but the thinkinhg can be extended to all retail outlets. Think of the small extra on the prices as an investment in your locality.