No more lifetime warranty on new Shimano rods

[JZ]

Saw this on another site that as of Aug 1st Shimano discontinued their Limited life time OTC warranty replacing it with a 1 yr. It's a little disappointing but I guess if there is truly a defect in the rod it should show up within a year. I suspect most manufacturers will soon follow suit

[ShawnD]

I suspect most manufacturers will soon follow suit

I don't believe that, they ( the other manufacturers ) will use it as leverage.
Spending over 200-500$ on a rod to only get a 1 year warranty is BS

[Wallyboss]

That's what happens when too many customers want a rod replacement because they slam a door on their rod and the company replaces it no questions asked. It's supposed to be for manufacturing defects. I've read somewhere that some have returned to a store with 10 broken rod tips within a week of the Company coming out with a new model? I've only gotten one rod replaced and I felt bad about it. It was an ice fishing rod(not Shimano) and it broke on a hookset.

[JZ]

That's what happens when too many customers want a rod replacement because they slam a door on their rod and the company replaces it no questions asked. It's supposed to be for manufacturing defects. I've read somewhere that some have returned to a store with 10 broken rod tips within a week of the Company coming out with a new model? I've only gotten one rod replaced and I felt bad about it. It was an ice fishing rod(not Shimano) and it broke on a hookset.

Yup some people at idiots, plan and simple and its on the dealers too because a lot of times in examples like you provided they are complicit in the scam. They get their money no matter what so they just do the exchange. I think the problem with the LLT policy is not the lifetime warranty its the over the counter exchange. If you had to send in the rods and maybe even pay a few bucks for shipping people would be less likely to try to scam the system.
Its funny but whenever someone pulls a scam like this, whether its rods, stealing cable, pirating music/movies etc etc they justify it by saying "they are a big company" or its a "victimless crime" blah blah blah. Someone always has to pay and in this case its everyone.

[Tip-up]

What site did you see this on?

[toobinator]

The dealers only get money by selling a rod. There is no profit in handing a replacement rod over the counter. The limited lifetime warranty was just that, a warranty on manufacturers defects. I tried to be very clear on that when selling a rod, but a lot of customers stopped listening after "lifetime". It put a lot of pressure on the dealers, because a lot of people thought any break, or even a broken guide was warranty, even on a 10 yr old rod. We were the bad guys when warranty was refused. I think this new 1 year warranty is a huge step in the right direction. Let's face it, a manufacturing defect will manifest itself probably way before the first year is up. I really hope the other companies follow suit. The over the counter exchange can still be done if it is clear that it is a warranty break, although don't bring rods in to Paddletales for warranty if they were bought somewhere else . The dealer is then taking a chance that Shimano will replace it.

Ed

[JZ]

Hi Ed
Sorry for the generalization I wasn't implying all dealers were guilty of this, I was speaking of obvious situation like the example that was provided with the 10 rods. And no these shops don't make money for the rod transaction but they get the benefit of a customer who will spend money in their shop. Vs the honest dealer that enforces manufacturer defect rule and probably loses a customer because they will not do the OTC.

[lape0019]

What site did you see this on?

I have seen this in the ontario fishing community site as well as an in depth thread on tackletour. The one on tackletour I beleive has the wording from Shimano in it.

I agree that manufacturer defects will present themselves within a short amount of time and usually within the first month or two but I am not sure if shimano is going in the right direction with this one.

Dobyns has a great warranty and is one of the reasons I stick with them. I think it is safe to say that most warranty claims are for stupidity and as such , Dobyns has you covered with their $70 (I think) no questions asked warranty. I broke a rod in my rod locker. I knew it was my fault and was still able to get a new rod at nowhere near full retail.

If more companies did something like a 1 year on manufacturer defects and then a pay in program for stupidity, I think more people would be happy and that the rods themselves would be a little cheaper because the companies wouldn't have to mark them up for warranty claims.

This is just my opinion so take it for what it is worth. At this point in my life, I know something stupid will happen so I tend to stay away from 1 year warranties on rods.

Adam

[toobinator]

Loomis has the same style warranty as Dobyns. The Dobyns expedited warranty is $60.00, $70.00, or $80.00 US, depending on series. I have my fingers crossed that Shimano will follow suit.

Ed

[ShawnD]

At this point in my life, I know something stupid will happen

Adam

I'm going to take this out of context and use it in the future..

[TheMaverick]

At this point in my life, I know something stupid will happen

Adam

I'm going to take this out of context and use it in the future..

Comment is in the books for later use!

[CNs]

Meh,

Warranty shwarranty.

It's all Ed's fault.
He dangles all these shiny and new things at us.
We buy them
Then we expect them to last forever.
When they break we expect Ed to replace them.
If Ed didn't sell them
We wouldn't buy them
They wouldn't break
We wouldn't need to have them replaced

SO its all Ed's fault.

[toobinator]

Guilty as charged

Ed

[StarTzar]

Meh,

Warranty shwarranty.

It's all Ed's fault.
He dangles all these shiny and new things at us.
We buy them
Then we expect them to last forever.
When they break we expect Ed to replace them.
If Ed didn't sell them
We wouldn't buy them
They wouldn't break
We wouldn't need to have them replaced

SO its all Ed's fault.

It is just impossible to satify a TackleHoe

[Paul Shibata]

Not to alienate any of the simplistic "back to the roots" anglers within the Fish-Hawk community, the rest of us are all voracious consumers, probably in more than one facet of our lives. Tackle aside, some of us may be equally passionate about photography, skiing, cars, camping, electronics, pick your poison. Other than the rare exception, only has the fishing rod industry created the ridiculous "damned if you do, damned if you don't" catastrophe which is the "unlimited over the counter warranty" (OTC). Break your Nikon and they'll happily sell you another one. On day 366, smoke coming from your flat screen is code for "sweetie, did you see the Best Buy flyer" I also suspect that warranty coverage isn't crossing your mind as you double-clutch your Ferrari during a test drive. How did the fishing rod industry deviate from otherwise simple fiscal logic? And why should it continue??

Having had the privilege to be included in the strategic discussions affecting rod warranty policies, I was informed about how these overly liberal guarantees were born. Overseas mass production enabled the unit cost per fishing rod to drop so dramatically that free replacements became a reality if the selling price was sufficiently high. Efficient manufacturing didn't reduce the cost to pennies on the rod but there was more than enough margin that would satisfy even the most conservative business model. Not only did "OTC" reduce, nearly eliminate the need for costly "warranty service centers", but for zero technical improvement, the marketers now had a "new" feature to assist sales, "a lifetime warranty" Much like the image of William "the fridge" Perry tying an Ugly Stik in a knot, rod companies were driving sales and brainwashing consumers through warranties rather than performance. Since this time, anglers everywhere believe it is their God given right to get a new fishing rod regardless of how it was broken. As previously stated a true defect especially in the rod blank will reveal itself very soon after purchase. Subsequently the standard 1-year warranty will provide more than enough consumer protection.

I have communicated the aforementioned message countless times in the past in an effort to encourage rod selection to be made on the merits of real performance. And despite having done so, I was confused by those anglers who elected to ignore the obvious and gravitate to the warm and fuzzy OTC teddy bear. Armed with this information how do you think a manufacturer can afford to continue to offer free replacements if those hard costs weren't built into the price??? For me it's only about performance, so much so that I have no choice but to question the quality of materials, technology and workmanship of those rods whose business models allow for OTC warranties.

Now which fishing rod do you want?


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