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I have a bunch of stella's (last count I think 9, I get one every year and get rid of my other crap reels in the process). The reason is SERVICE. There is no question shimano has the best reel service bar none. I also have zeebaas, penn, salita's and had one VS. Shimano blows them all away in service on their high end gear.
When you buy a high end reel from Shimano, beyond getting an awesome reel, you are enrolled in their Platinum service plan. Meaning you get it back pronto and if you are really in a hurry like 48 hours if you upgrade to that level shipping. I have only done that twice, most of the time you get it back in a week via reg UPS 2 day.
But while they charge you a service charge of 28.50 per reel, the reel is basically upgraded to the latest technology. There are version numbers on all the bearings and these get upgraded to the latest and greatest. It is like a new reel when you get it back. If you bought one of these bearings at a locl reel repair shop you would pay more than 28.50 ...prob closer to 60. ( and there are a boatload of bearings in those reels) They are pretty exotic materials for a fishing reel. Moreover, if your reel is in rough shape they will simply swap out the reel with a new reel !!! I have gotten 3 new reels. (no charge whatsoever) (and I thought the reel worked OK when I sent it in, it was making a little noise after a season of hard use) If you have a reels that they no longer support (ie real old stellas) they will offer you an upgrade at a very reasonable cost and you get the latest and greatest reel. Frankly, no one else does this. YES, you pay up the wazoo for a new reel but the service is key. Frankly, they are pretty much the only reels I will buy anymore. They take care of me and my gear better than any other reel company. I have tried them all, and for the platinum service reels...they are head and shoulders above the rest, the non plat service reels they are not much better than any of the others. Moreover they are the most comfortable reel to fish and have outstanding performance. Yes you have to take care of it and I rec sending them in at least once a year but it is well worth it.
As for the lower end shimanos (takoda's, baitrunners,thunnus etc)....They are NOT on the platinum plan. I have tried to send them in along with my stellas, tiagras and talica's, etc at the same time and they will separate them into two separate service packages...the platinum and the other...the plat reels come back quick with a 28.50/per reel and the others take several weeks...6-10 depending on the time of the year. Now, the service fee on those is 28.50 + PARTS... now the parts are not as expensive but the total can be a lot higher. The Platinum reels service usually includes all parts, at least this has been my experience.
Have they ever screwed up? yes. One time they made a mistake and installed the wrong model part in one of my reels and it worked poorly. I called them, sent it back and it was fixed no charge.
10000sws...what do you plan to use it for? if for tuna? go 18000 or 20000, if for surf fishing for bass 8000 is plenty, 10000 is too big for surf IMO. I have a 10000 and don't seem to use that one as often as the others.
All that said, if you fish underwater, constanly drop your reel in the sand or don't maintain anything....this is not the best choice, go with the clunky and stiff VS, it will hold up better for that kind of use.
Good luck.
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