Local fly fishing shops re disappearing at an alarming rate and with them go good local advice. In my local town there were two shops Cliff Harvey Angling at the Cilfynydd end of the Taff and Pro Angling at the Treforest end. There were also shops a couple of miles away in Aberdare and Tonypandy both gone now. I usually use Cliff for most of my supplies as his local knowledge of that section of the Taff is invaluable and Pro Angling if I needed to know how the park stretch was fishing.
Pro Angling have now also closed and Cliff who is in his 70s was taken ill last year and may be close to retiring. If he does I can't see anyone taking over
I know both shops have had their trade hit by Ebay and the "at home internet sellers" who are prepared to earn little or nothing on every item they sell.
Last week I spoke with someone on this forum who is an internet seller. He was selling an item for £3 and I asked him how he could afford to do that. His answer was that he buys knock offs and overstocks from China for a £1 imports them and sells them on for a profit. Now you don't have to be a genius to work out that you can't actually earn a living doing that. The item was fairly bulky so would have cost him at least 60 pence to import in freight charges unless he was importing a full container every time. So he is now at £1.60 add on the agents clearing fees plus 20% vat that has to be paid on import and you are over £2 probably close to £2.20 -£2.40. Then you have the unsaleable items. He can't ship them back to China because thats not how the Chinese do business so he is probably making 30 - 40 pence on every sale. The guy probably holds down a daytime job or is subsidizing his dole money and we are stupid enough to buy from him thinking what a great deal we are getting and nor realising that we are the cause of that knowledgeable helpful guy in the little shop down the road closing his business.
Ask the internet seller what conditions are like on your local river which sections are fishing well and what fly is hatching?
Reminds me of the demise of markets and market towns since the eighties when a new breed of trader who wanted to invest his redundancy money started selling £10 items and making 50 pence profit on each item. The good traders were put out of business and the new guys burned their redundancy money leaving not many markets. Pontypridd market being a great example. In the 70s and early 80s traders came from all over the UK and coaches of buyers came to town. Now you are lucky if there are 20 stalls there. I know the world changes but who will pass on the decades of knowledge
Forgive my rant I may be going mad!!

Dont know how much of this is true but been told by a close school friend of cliff and a fishing friend of mine is that cliff is also going to internet sales also,it would be a shame hes a top guy and hope he is well soon.

TT

Do you mean he is actually going to close the shop?

Yes and he will run it from his garage so ive been told.

TT

This isn't just affecting tackle shops it's affecting everything and all markets it's also why branded names won't supply their products to just anyone. From what I remember, if you want to order from someone like Daiwa, they're looking for a first order in the region of £9K or thereabouts just as Levi's won't supply to supermarkets if they can avoid it.

There was a guy on here a while ago selling top quality flies for funny money which is all fine and well until the tax man catches up with you - and he will, then how will you be able to pay your advertising, mobile phone bill, tax, national insurance etc,. etc,.

What happens then, the guy packs it in because he's not making enough money to run even a cottage industry and some other joker takes his place. Eventually there are so many unreliable traders about that the dodgy dealers get in on the act. You post's 'yer money, you don't get your goods.

There's nothing wrong with looking for a bargain but it pays to trade with and support reputable, established traders before they decide it's just not worth it any more and shut up shop just like Cafaro's ( one of the oldest fishing shops in Glasgow ) intended to do last year.

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Tight Lines. :)

Yes, that’s pretty much spot on Black-Don. The new government intends to chase low level tax evaders. Anyone who is selling through sites like this or on Ebay and the like and who are not declaring their income, be it for fly tying, selling badge engineered goods or providing services or whatever, may be in for a rather big shock. They had better keep good records, because the onus of proof lies with them.

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At the heart of your fly fishing lies a Pitsford Pirate Castaway Fly Line - The Logical Choice

I know what you are saying Don,but I went into 4 tackle shops in the Borders for `economical` slotted foam fly boxes.I bought mail order and found out twenty minutes later Grommit was selling them even cheaper.
I bought 25 x Kamasan from a local tackle shop for £2.65 on Monday
Today bought them on line @ £5.95 for 100.
That wasnt a big "Angling Centre" but a small dealer that turns over a lot of hooks.
Bob

I was in my local shop the other day. Burns Tackle in York. Chas was saying that business has never been so bad.

I think that in not very many years we will end up with hardly any dealers , The big chains will survive , ie Orvis and shops that are really internet sellers but have a shop, Like Yorkshire Game and John Norris but I cant see how the smaller independants can survive, Its sad but I gues its the way of the world...So do what I did at lunchtime the other day go to your local shop have a natter and spend a bit of cash.. You may even get a cup of tea.. I did

Andy


Fly fishing North Yorkshire

Spoke to a couple of local tackle dealers last week. Both said that the prolonged cold weather, dangerous driving conditions, stuck in the house, bored out of their minds,had led to people just surfing on the internet and buying mail order "for something to do" Virtually no visits to the local tackle shop over Christmas and New Year and afterwards.
How long will they be able to hang on?

Exactly the point I am trying to make. Orvis and John Norris are both manufacturers come retailers who cut out the small dealers by selling directly.Airflo are another who do the same. Then you have the small internet dealers who work for little or no profit and won't be around long once the Tax Man catches up with them so who will be left to get that cup of tea and local advice from? Oh well lets have another bottle of wine