No more Lifetime Warranty- Shimano Rods

[WoodT]

Tight lines, Jeb.

[mark poulson]

Since Shimano bought Loomis, I've stopped buying their rods.
I paid for G. Loomis because they were, well, G. Loomis, and made in the U.S.A. Local jobs.
I still love and fish a 15 year old GL3 8200 popper rod. It's my favorite finesse baitcasting rod.
To me, Shimano rods have always been overpriced, but the lifetime warranty was tempting. I tried one of their Crucial rods when they first came out, and, when the guide came out of the wrap on one, I was able to do an over-the-counter swap where I bought it.
But it was no great improvement over other rods at a lower price point, and they were made overseas, too, so I went to another rod manuf.
My friend loves Shimano, and tried one of the Cumara rods. When it broke within the first month, he took it back to Shimano in Irvine, CA, and still had to wait a week for a replacement, even though they had the rod in stock. It took a week for them to handle his warranty issue, even at their West Coast headquarters.
He stopped buying them, too, and he is a tackle junkie.
Unless they bring their prices down to the competition, there's no reason to pay for the privilege of using Shimano rods.

[Bantam1]

G.Loomis is still made in the US by Americans. Most of the employees there have been there for 14 years or longer. Many have been there for 20+ years. They have their own engineers and development teams that have been designing rods since before our purchase of the company back in 1997.

For your friends rod- the replacement could have been in stock but at our east coast warehouse. It takes a week for the rods to ship from there to CA. We now ship the rods directly to our customers. We used to have them shipped to our location, contact the customer and have them drive back to get it. We tried to make it better for the customer by eliminating their second trip to us.

The time of day and month can also affect our shipping times at the WC location. The warehouse can get behind due to last minute orders, or deliveries of product show up that need to be placed into inventory first before they can be pulled and shipped. I realize this sounds like an excuse. It isn't. It's a simple truth about how things operate.

[bronzefly]

Since Shimano bought Loomis, I've stopped buying their rods.
I paid for G. Loomis because they were, well, G. Loomis, and made in the U.S.A. Local jobs.

I have been to the G Loomis factory in Woodland, Washington, recently. I have met the people who build G Loomis rods every day for a living. They are made in the USA by US citizens all of whom are employed locally to the Woodland area thanks to G Loomis, and some hard working folks they are. Buy what you like, but your comment seems to imply that G Loomis rods aren't made in the US and that they don't support local jobs. That simply isn't true.

[mark poulson]

I didn't realize G. Loomis is still made here. Sorry.

[bronzefly]

I didn't realize G. Loomis is still made here. Sorry.

No worries. There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there about G Loomis and it's always nice to present the facts on these matters.

[SteveSchmelzle]

well, I do know the G Loomis facility that was located in Mount Hope Ontario is shut down....Lorne Green used to run that shop, making some of the best quality Loomis rods to date.

But, glad to hear they are still being made in North America.

[Bantam1]

The Loomis Canadian factory was not associated with G.Loomis in the US. All of the G.Loomis rods have always been made in Woodland, WA since the beginning.

[SteveSchmelzle]

ok bantam.

i have purchased g loomis rods directly from that Canadian factory.

built in that factory.

you are saying they weren't g loomis rods?

or are you saying there were two g loomis companies, one Canada and one USA?

either option doesn't make much sense.

[Bantam1]

They were two different companies not affiliated with each other. This is how it was explained to me when I was asked this question several years ago.

ETA *I received a little more clarification on this. That office did build rods with G.Loomis blanks from WA. They also had another line of rods called Frontier. These were not made with G.Loomis blanks. This is where my confusion came in.*

[seymour]

I am fine with companies not offering a lifetime warranty. Manufacturer defects will show up in the first year with normal use. If it makes it a year, then breaks... it was likely something I did. But... the cost of that lifetime warranty is built into those rods. I am sure the rods are more expensive because they have a lifetime warranty. So, if the lifetime warranty is going away, the price should go down since Shimano will be replacing far fewer rods.

[Chode]

i'm ok with taking away the lifetime warranty...my problem is only 1 yr...how r u gonna go from the best warranty in the business to now one of the worst...make it like 3 yrs or something...but 1?!?!?

[Boondock]

I will not be buying anymore shimano rods for sure. Haven't bought a loomis is years...
Good thing they came out with the curado I. Downward spiral overall for shimano IMO.

[njbasscat]

I am fine with companies not offering a lifetime warranty. Manufacturer defects will show up in the first year with normal use. If it makes it a year, then breaks... it was likely something I did. But... the cost of that lifetime warranty is built into those rods. I am sure the rods are more expensive because they have a lifetime warranty. So, if the lifetime warranty is going away, the price should go down since Shimano will be replacing far fewer rods.

Good point but I predict the prices will stay the same. I've always wondered, especially with Shimano and St Croix, how much of the rod cost was to pay for the warranty.

[Quillback]

I am fine with companies not offering a lifetime warranty. Manufacturer defects will show up in the first year with normal use. If it makes it a year, then breaks... it was likely something I did. But... the cost of that lifetime warranty is built into those rods. I am sure the rods are more expensive because they have a lifetime warranty. So, if the lifetime warranty is going away, the price should go down since Shimano will be replacing far fewer rods.

Good point but I predict the prices will stay the same. I've always wondered, especially with Shimano and St Croix, how much of the rod cost was to pay for the warranty.

Yes, rod prices will not come down, but the warranty is degraded. Saves the rod company money, but not the consumer.