Merrick -V- Penn ?

[Swimmer]

Not to cast dispersions against anyones reasoning here, but if all the reels were the exact same price we or you would have a case. But their are differents reels with different prices manufactured by different companies. You will probably be stunned to know that most manufacturers of a product that make any article for sale generally get a 300 % markup on their products, and that price representitive of the 300 % cost plus profit cost to the retailer is the wholesale value of the item.


Reading the Water is a love story!

[Vermonter]

With Penn and Merrick, or Penn and all their retailers with this gold level idea, is this something which Penn has always done or is it something which has come up since Penn was bought out a few years back?

[MakoMike]

Vermonter,
With Penn its new since they were bought out. Before this they couldn't have cared less what the retailers sold their reels for.

[Mr. Sandman]

I came accross a similar statement like that the other day. (I can't seem to find the page now but when I do I will post it) Penn would not sell them inter'al reels because they were discounting them and they were not on their gold lable list. Their complaint was that they had been doing this for 20 years and now they are blacklisted so to speak. They said they will stop carrying their equipment.

It pains me to say this but Penn is headed toward the dumper anyway....their spin stuff is sloppy and poorly made and their high end conv'ls have been eclipsed by all the oversea makers....more every year entering the market....Penns market share has gone to a fraction of what they once were.
Sad but true.

[Swimmer]

It's incredible the amount of negative PENN opinon. I find it hard to believe they are still in business. Fisherman don't even have to jump up in price to get a better reel, so PENN should let the market decide on what is the fair market value for its product while they still have a company. Their is so much to choose from now than from when PENN's name became the reel deal. I started switching a few years ago to another brand. And I won't go back.


Reading the Water is a love story!

[Surely Bassey]

I own a company that has similar market share concerns in niche markets. Penn would not care if the retailers gave the stuff away below cost except only the biggest 1 or 2 retailers could afford to do this for any period of time. All the other smaller retialers would eventually drop the line as unprofitable and Penn would then be left with 1 or 2 large customers who whould ultimatlely control Penn.
Very complex issue....

[Vermonter]

Thanks for the reply Mako, that was the impression I had gotten but wasnt sure. As for Penn products and designs, the anit-reverse with the SS line never bothered me, I expect to do some maitenance on reels and that was simple to deal with, never had a problem with it. Tho I think an altered bail design would be a good idea on the SS series. Ive just been nervous about their future ever since learning about the nature of the recent buyout. There is a great deal more competition these days with Tica, Okuma and others jumping into the market recently, and since Penn on their higher-level reels cant compete on labor costs, you'd think they would try and stay competitive with design features. I'll spend slightly more for a reel that I know is made in this country.

[softail]

The Reason why Penn is doing a top shelf program is because Shimano has been doing it for years, they want to keep the integrity of the product line, which in most situations helps the consumer, so if you go into store A and then go to store B the product would be the same price, I know what you are saying well what about Walmart or K Mart etc, they sell them for less, well that is going to change, Penn wants to help the small retailer out, because they know how important they are.

[basswipe]

Originally posted by Vermonter
Thanks for the reply Mako, that was the impression I had gotten but wasnt sure. As for Penn products and designs, the anit-reverse with the SS line never bothered me, I expect to do some maitenance on reels and that was simple to deal with, never had a problem with it. Tho I think an altered bail design would be a good idea on the SS series. Ive just been nervous about their future ever since learning about the nature of the recent buyout. There is a great deal more competition these days with Tica, Okuma and others jumping into the market recently, and since Penn on their higher-level reels cant compete on labor costs, you'd think they would try and stay competitive with design features. I'll spend slightly more for a reel that I know is made in this country.

Penn has reintroduced the 5500SS and the 4000
series as the SSG.All the features that the Jap companies have had on their reels for years.Waterproof drag,bails that supposedly won't trip during a cast,even line lay,a few more BBs.

[MakoMike]

Originally posted by softail
The Reason why Penn is doing a top shelf program is because Shimano has been doing it for years, they want to keep the integrity of the product line, which in most situations helps the consumer, so if you go into store A and then go to store B the product would be the same price, I know what you are saying well what about Walmart or K Mart etc, they sell them for less, well that is going to change, Penn wants to help the small retailer out, because they know how important they are.

You can bet your bottom dollar that penn isn't going to stop selling to Walmart. In fact they initally adopted the program to protect their Brick & Mortar retailers from the internet retailers. But that has already been declared a failure since they caved in to some of their internet retailers like Shark River Mail Order. Make no mistake about it, the program had nothing to do with protecting the consumers. They get screwed on the deal the only ones that got anything out of it ws the small B&T shops.

[Vermonter]

Bass....I knew they had altered the graphite bodies and redone the handle but wasnt aware they had worked on the bail or line lay for the SSG's......well hopfully they'll get around to redoing the 6500 some time in the not too distant future.

[basswipe]

Originally posted by Vermonter
Bass....I knew they had altered the graphite bodies and redone the handle but wasnt aware they had worked on the bail or line lay for the SSG's......well hopfully they'll get around to redoing the 6500 some time in the not too distant future.

I'd like to see the bigger reels revamped too.It be nice to see the 6500 and 7500 reworked.They also worked on the antireverse.

I'm considering 450SSG to replace my 4500SS on my small schoolie rod.But gotta see and feel one first.I've had nothing but headaches with 4500 and 5500 SS reels in the past.

[Swimmer]

When you start talking about Walmart as opposed to small retailer like MIKECC and the other tackle shops the unfair disadvantage there is that Walmart calls PENN and says we want this many reels and this is what we are going to pay you for them. End of discusion. I first heard of this tactic mentioned while talking to a PLANO rep. Walmart placed the order and PLANO shipped for exactly what Walmart was willing to pay. The funny thing about Walmart is the prices there aren't any less than they are at any of the local small shops and in fact a better deal can be had at the small shops most of the time. Find somebody to help you at Walmart. I always get a kick out of the parking space at the Halifax Walmart thats reserved for the employee of the month. I'm wondering which employee is paid enough that works for Walmart so they can afford to park a car in the emloyee of the month parking space. Buy your gear from a company that pays taxes in Massachusetts and supports the comunity.

And watch out for the dune monsters!