Earlier this year, Oak Ridge decided to stop offering warranty exchange service for Dobyns rods. We did so for a couple of reasons:
(1) Last year, one out of every four Dobyns rods we purchased went to warranty exchanges. In other words,
we made no profit on one out of every four rods we ordered from Dobyns. Also, because we have a small store, we typically stock only one of each rod. When one of the rods was used for warranty exchange (for no profit), we didn't have that rod available to sell to anyone else (for profit) until we received a replacement rod from Dobyns.
(2) The truth of the matter is that
the warranty program gets abused. A LOT. Should dealers be expected to offer warranty exchange service to someone who:
- Bought it at another store or online? Everyone brings us their broken Dobyns rods regardless of where they bought them because we have the largest selection of Dobyns rods available for warranty exchange around the lake.
- Bought it used off of Craigslist or from the back of a truck at First Monday? It happens.
- Bought it ALREADY BROKEN just for the warranty value? Because broken Dobyns rods can be used for warranty exchanges, they DO have value (retail value of a new rod minus the cost of warranty exchange). And yes, people DO sell and trade broken Dobyns rods just to get a better deal on a new rod!
- Wore it out and wants a cheap new replacement? I literally have had guys walk in with a well-used but perfectly good rod and ask for a warranty replacement. When I pointed out that there was nothing wrong with the rod,
they offered to take it outside and break it! Despite that obvious abuse of the warranty program, we still provided them a replacement.
It is exactly because of these challenges that Dobyns offers dealers the
option to participate in the no-hassle warranty program. Ultimately, the no-hassle warranty exchange program has real costs associated with it. Fortunately, Dobyns recognizes that it is up to each individual dealer to determine how much of those costs they are willing to incur.
These issues are a problem for all rod manufacturers and warranty programs. They are why most rod manufacturers now have customers send warranty rods directly to them. What in-store warranty exchange can you get from: G. Loomis, Shimano, Megabass, TFO, Abu Garcia, 13 Fishing, Duckett... etc.? None. They require the customer to send warranty rods directly to them.
As we added more rod manufacturers to our store, it was simply easier to handle them all the same way: send all warranty customers directly to the manufacturer.
i think it is BS that you can be a dealer and not participate in the warranty.
It'd be like a Chevrolet dealer not being able to do warranty work on your truck.
Not at all. A Chevrolet dealer is paid by Chevrolet to do warranty work (independent of profits made from car sales). A Dobyns dealer is not paid at all to provide warranty exchanges. In fact, the
dealer pays Dobyns to buy the rods to sit on the rack to be available for warranty exchange.
You're both applying a use of the word "dealer" that just isn't applicable in this case. Extreme example for illustrative purposes: Suppose a Dobyns dealer sells no rods and processes 100 warranty exchanges per month. In this case, the Dobyns dealer has invested the money to order and stock 100 rods and put $0 profit in his pocket. Question: How long till he goes out of business?
Dobyns shouldn't allow some dealers to reap all the financial benefits and honor none of the Dobyns commitment.
Reap all the financial benefits? Seriously?? Do you honestly think that the profit we make on rod sales compensates for the 25% of Dobyns rods we order and keep in stock for no profit at all?
Try getting Walmart to stock a product knowing in advance that they wouldn't make any profit on a fourth of them and see what they say.Back what you sell or don't sell it.
Generally speaking, we recommend the products we stock. However, in some instances, we stock products because people ask for them. Who are we to tell someone what products they can and cannot buy?
There are people that want to buy a XXXXXX reel. If I personally know that the XXXXXX reel is a piece of garbage, I can offer my opinion and they can choose to take it or not. In the end, I'm not EVER going to "back" a XXXXXX reel (even though I may sell it because the customer wants it).
As an angler, I like Dobyns rods. I recommend Dobyns rods. I USE Dobyns rods. I also appreciate our customers and pay attention to their feedback, so... If you buy your Dobyns rod from Oak Ridge, we will continue to offer the no-hassle warranty exchange service to you. Simply bring in your broken rod and your receipt and we will warranty exchange it, if we have that rod in stock. We will not offer warranty exchange service for Dobyns rods that are not purchased from Oak Ridge.
If having Dobyns warranty exchange available at Lake Fork is important to you, then you probably should consider buying your Dobyns rods from Oak Ridge.