How much do you think the actual cost of a rod is?
I saw Hardy Demon advertised with £100 off and was wondering how much they actually cost to make? Even knocking a hundred quid off, the shop must still be making a hefty profit so I wonder how much Hardy make per rod.

According to Steve Parton it can cost around £5 to get a perfectly acceptable 9 foot 7 weight fly rod with bag and tube made up in China. For something to meet Hardys or Sages requirements, probably about £12.00.

Yes, it makes you think, don't it?

This is what steve Parton says on his website:

Remember though, cost of production probably bears no relationship to the amount of profit Hardy (or sage, or Loop,.....etc.) make on the rod as there are markups at each stage. So, if as you say, the shop can knock £100 off rrp and still make a healthy margin, then they must have bought it from supplier for even less than that.

I dont think the shops are the ones who are making all the money!

I have often thought that if a company offers a "lifetime gaurantee" on a rod but charges £30 per section then they are probably still making a profit on the replacement sections as well as the original rod.
I effect they are just selling you another rod!

I see a Challenge

Any honest retailers willing to say how much they buy in for

__________________
Allan
Only dead fish go with the flow.

Indeed it does . I often wonder how much difference the average angler can tell between your £100 and £500 rod. I know that I am struggling at times.
Last year I bought a cheap 5ft 3 wght from the states I did a review on here of it
At times when fishing with it club members had a cast with it first thing they always asked was how much was it. Some I told the truth about £50 including postage from USA , Some I told it was around a £150 plus postage
Strange thing is they did think it was better if they thought it was expensive.
Now you draw your own conclusions.

Andy

I'd imagine their "lifetime guarantee" is fully written into the original price of the rod.

Yes the difference between manufacture cost of the rod and selling price will be massive but here's some things to think about:

Factory overheads
Shipping
Advertising (massive!)
Sponsorships
Research and Development
Retail outlet proportion of selling
Warranty provisions

Their costs add up and bear in mind their revenue is from selling rods, all of these costs have to be factored into the selling price. On top of which they MUST make a profit if their business plan is long term. So yes they will make probably quite significant profits on their rods in "our eyes" but it's not as obvious as selling price minus manufacture cost.

It makes me think what proportion of the profits are used to offset costs of setting up manufacturing facilities, marketing, supply-chain, research and development etc. The bare bones cost per rod may well be £12 but that is taking advantage of an established factory, economies of scale in supply of components, a ready market gagging to buy the end product and a fleet of ships on standby to bring them over.

It's always easy to criticise big business by isolating certain costs from all the other factors that are involved. Sometimes you must take a look from the other end of the scale, and figure out how much it would cost YOU to produce an equivalent rod, from scratch, market it and maintain an adequate after-sales service. Then expand the business to cater for a mass market to compete with the likes of Hardy, Sage and Orvis.

Looks like Scotty beat me to it anyway!

Mind you I have always believed that we in this country could have a bespoke rod manufacturing operation similar to what they do in the USA.

We have one of the best blank manufacturers in the world in Harrisons of Liverpool. We make a lot of the hardware that goes onto rods. All we want now is the will and enthusiasm and we could make some superb fly rods without having to farm everything out to China as Greys and Hardy have done. Also, most top class American rods are made there now.

Those figures of mine were a little out I know but were based on those several years ago.

Ron do you think that would make them cheaper?
If you do think again. They are made in Korea because of cheaper labour/tax etc. Not because the materials are any better/worse.
Some people think that just because things are made abroad they will not be up to task. I beg to differ,Ron, what is wrong with Hardy Greys? I think greys is one of the best SELLING. Why is Steve Parton not? If he can produce so cheaply ,get them on the market. I think if he was selling them for chocolate,he would'nt get enough to fill a smartie. I've had one of his rods,its in the garden keeping peas up.

Brian