Allright, decided to go with either the C3 or C4 6501 reel by Abu. The only difference that I could see by looking at the stats is the C4 has one more ballbearing and has a higher reel speed. Does this justify the price difference?

This reel is going to be 95% of the time for Eels which I'll be fishing slowly of course. I don't imagine any time where I'll need a high speed retrieve. The reason I'm asking is I know of a website that has some 6501 C3s in stock for a good price. :D Also, the reel handles on HO.com, will those fit all 6500 series reels by Abu?

Patrick,
The C-4 has a bearing levelwind in addtion to high-speed gears. If you are on a budget the C4 is probably the reel to go with since you can always reel a little slower. The HS gears are nice for thos occasions when you will be working plugs and might need a little more speed to stay ahead of the surf.
In addition if you ever move up to a big game you can soup it up with the parts from the C4.

You might want to try mikecc for your upgrades (power handles and such). He can get about anything, and he supports the board :).

Not much to add but I know that Mike has the power handles and Weekapaug can get them too if they don't have them. The discounted prices on the C3 minus the $15 rebate is certainly the way to go when on a budget and if the $15 off is on the C4 too (like last year) - that's definitely the way to go. You basically get the power handle for free after the rebate because the handle is like $15-20. The high speed gears are nice when you want to crank higher speeds for Albies or Blues (thinking about getting a 5600C4 for just that, Ablie and Bonito fishing) but you would need to crank a tick or two slower working eels than with the C3. One recommendation would be to toss some smoothie washers into them if you are getting big fish working over the drag...

Fishpart covered the difference in the reels. I believe the price difference (before any rebates) is only $5. The high pseed gears and the bearing levelwind are worth more than that. Try to retrofit a Mag elite with the bearing levelwind and you'll see that the $5 extra for the C4 is worth it. If anybody find out that the 15 rebate applies also to the C4 , let me know!! :)