How bad will plug prices be at RISSA this year?
 

I am not looking forward to this, I am afraid we are in more more sticker shock. Any guesses out there?

If I bring the wife even the bombers are too much and I hear "you already have a bunch of these things","waste of money","We have no money","You never catch any fish anyway why bother".
If I go alone I get what I want and hide it all before I get home.

Note to self.....Buy a bag of hooks and get a receipt for proof I bought something cheap and complain it was boring and I may not go to the next one.Next one comes and you just say you'll need more hooks.


Hope she doesn't come on this site and read this.

If she does then I may not make the show.

Salty, is it true all your plugs are now being made here?

http://www.sulekhab2b.com/ViewOffer/...le-factory.htm

-spence

You are still pretty reasonable and produce enough of them to go around. You are almost in your own nitch within the plug industry. IMO You build the "working mans fishing plug" and build enough of them so that if (when) you lose one the pain in your hip pocket stays there and doesn't bleed into your savings account.

I saw some auctions this winter on harder to get plugs that almost drove me to the lathe! Seriously, the cost for some of these are over the top. These were not collectors items...just fishing plugs. I know it is a supply and demand thing but when prices get that high it becomes too painful.

It is not just the US either. I bought a few plugs from overseas this winter to check out...they are pretty expensive as well.

better question.. what booths will be accepting plastic? :bl:

I never have that much green on me, but I always have plastic, which I use rather proficiently. I'll be at RISSA and I'll have plastic.:heybaby:

:bgi: O.K. Scott

adam_777
 

trust me.....

when i say...................

you are not alone.....

Sum booths have deals, sum doant!
it is whatit, IS !:faga:

I heard a vicious rumor that "The Don" of AYC and Big Larr were
giving their first 10 plugs away to the Ho's that *moan the whiniest and gripe the grumpiest
and cry the teariest and hold their breath the redfaciest and stomp their feet the stompiest* in a
brazen attempt to get them to "disount" their fine craftsmanship!!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

GIMME A BREAK!

man up, it's only once a year, to keep this RISAA Event as one of the premier events of the Show season. if you want all the vendors to give things away how can ya expect them to keep coming to Providence? I relish the idea and thoroughly enjoy the fact that we can see all of the custom builders of our region together, in one place, fogeddah bout the killer seminars :angel: :angel:...................

Can we do sumthin bout the Gansett suds, though!
Not bad, but how's about some cold Sam's or BASS,
get it, BASS Ale :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

My feelings also, its a great opportunity to get a chance to see and talk to the everyone involved in our sport.. And in alot of cases meeting some for the first time that we come to know and do business with on these internet message boards over the years..
Been doing it at the Jersey shows for years and last year headed up to RI for the first time and looking forward to making it a annual trip
now..

To the question on this thread about how much for plugs, well I look at it this way these builders put alot of time and effort in creating these lures for us surfcaster's and I don't think there is a ton of profit after factoring in the cost of materials and hours spent on each lure so I am happy to spend what they charge for each..Bottom line if I don't think its not worth it I don't have to buy it. But what I have found is that they do not try to get over on anybody and try their best to keep them affordable for all...

I agree whole heartedly ... while I would prefer that plug prices be lower, these guys all work hard and can you honestly ask them to do their work for cheaper? How fair is that to them - I have a lot of plugs, will buy a few more, but what I pay for them is worth it to me - the effort put into it by these guys and the benefits I get from using them is worth the price to me. And after you catch a fish or two on one, it has already paid for itself.

The mass produced lures could be less expensive -- those you find at all the 'Marts, etc., but for the custom wood - worth every penny.

Granted I bought an old Atoms swimmer in an auction when I felt I paid too much for it, used it a lot, caught a ton of fish on it and then one day launched it out to the universe when my line caught on the rod in some freaky manner and that was the end of it. Just out of reach of my back up rod and saw it float away ... hope someone found it and is able to use it. And I feel it got more than my money's worth for it.

Plug prices will adjust to what the people want to pay for them. When the prices get too high people will not buy them anymore and you will see prices drop. I am done buying expensive plugs.

IMO the sudden increase of plug prices are caused by a few JAs buy up every up every plug on e-bay no matter the price which is causing a feeding frenzy...eventually these JAs will lose the desire to fish and sell them at 50% of what they paid.

Its cash and carry at BigFish Larry's!:btu: Plastic is no good if you want BigFish wood!:bgi:

In all seriousness......I am struggling to keep prices down as the cost of wood has spiked, and hardware is up....everything has gone up! Some of my prices have remained the same and prices on a few plugs have had to go up just a bit!

Hope to see you all at the show!

I will be buying a few plugs at the show, I don't want to spend more than 20 a pop but I may go to 25 if I really want it. but I have all the plugs I regularly fish so I don't really need more

I may not be able to go to the show. For me to go I need to get this project I am working on by Thursday...I doubt it will happen :(

jim-i heard they're starting at about $85 ea......

the plugs that are being sold on the other site are waaay over priced....i know some shops that are selling these plugs less then 30 bucks

shhhhh!!! ;)..... we dont want all of them raping and pillaging our store :jump:

This is why God made eels and bunker....

:banano:

oh right...i forgot :hihi:

You know, after building my own for these many years, I think plug prices ( directly from outlets like tackle shops and retail stores not flea bay or BST Forums) are actually fair.

When you figure the cost of making them in time, materials, legal coverage and other business expenses and most importantly the thought of being in the business to make at least a small profit and based on todays costs for all of the previously mentioned they are pretty much right on target.

I really have no problem with paying the freight for todays wooden plug builders models.

Procuring the materials and then building the plugs is a lot of work and time consuming.

My hat is off to these guys, I couldn't do it. I get frustrated building 20 or 30 a year.

Each guy has to draw the line somewhere. If a plug is so expensive you are afraid to lose it , you probably shouldn't get it.

What surprises me is that the price of plugs hasn't dropped with all the publicity sluggos and storm wildeyes and other rubber have gotten.

I still have lots of Gibbs plugs (needles , poppers , danny's darters) that i paid an average of $7.50 for ten years ago. I doubt I will ever spend over $20 on a plug. At some point its smarter to use something else or start making some yourself.

Oh , BTW , this is not a comment on whether or not the plug builders efforts are worth the money. Its simply my opinion as to what price level would drive me to a different startegy like rubber or rigged eels , etc.

Hint taken. See ya Larry.

I wasn't an economics major but it seems to me it is a simple matter of supply vs. demand. The number of quality hand made plugs vs the number of us who want them is in favor of the builder. It should be as far as I am concerned. I load up with the WalMart specials and then pick and choose my custom plugs. Probably why i don't catch large often but it is my own economics at work that dictates what I can spend my leisure money on. I say get what you can get for your plugs builders. Quality aint cheap in anything we buy.:humpty:

A plug is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Some builders make excellent stuff for a fair price.

I agree with the people that said that the prices are worth it and it's a supply/demand thing. I dont' think any of our favorite plug makers are getting rich on making plugs and I'd venture to say I don't think any of them do it as a full time job (I could be putting my foot in my mouth, but I would be very surprised if any of them did). It's a labor of love and if these guys break even they're lucky. On the flip side, if any of them did get rich more power to them. I mean, think of the market for this stuff, it's very niche, not only is surfcating in general very nich, but the market for $20-30 plugs has got to me even more niche.

We buy plugs to make us happy. Fishing them is only a small part of it. Yesterday I paid 17 bucks for a new style jig (looks like a crab but is still just a JIG for Christ's sake) made by Shimano. WTF was I thinking? So it goes.

I think I may have miscommunicated my thoughts on this topic. (it happens) Like many of you...I have a ton of wood from most builders here and I am happy with everything I have purchased and think their price for the most part is fair. Very recently I purchased a bunch of 3 oz tattoo darters from Surf-casting RI for what I thought was a great price of 15 bucks each, with no tax and no shipping (for orders > than some min)...can't beat that with a stick! I certainly can't make them for that.

My concern is mainly about this auction activity and the possibility that it might eventually bleed over to the retail shops and possibly the direct sellers. When you see some plugs selling for triple digits online and you are selling the same on in your shop for 1/4 that price... I am sure the thought has crossed the minds of the shopkeepers. Moreover, we all know the "feeding frenzy" that is created at shows like RISSA when say someone has a limited number of plugs. (Heck, it has already started! I can feel some of you drooling already over here) I endorse the limits that are placed to a single buyer but with that much demand the business-man in anyone has to see that this will support a higher price. My concern is will this be the show that you see $50+ plugs being sold as a way to chill the hot demand slightly.

Again I am sorry if I POed anyone, I've tinkered around and made a few plugs myself and know the amount effort that goes into a some of these. If I sold a plug I made, and charged my "going rate" to build it....I couldn't afford to buy it and no one would pay that for a plug.

I know you're not making any "big money" building plugs... my fear was that could this auction thing force retailers to change their business model. I had posted this thread after getting upset at some prices paid for some pretty standard plugs on ebay and was wondering if we might see this type of thing follow thru to rissa. I do recall SWE held the line on beachmasters last year but I know there were some guys that probably flipped them within a few days of the show. If this continues to happen the retailer or the builder himself can cut out the easy bucks made from this and cash in himself...you can't blame him for doing it.

Man all this controversy over peices of wood that rarely catch fish.