Unsold Fishing Reels

[DirtyD64]

Just a weird morning coffee conversation I was having with my wife... Where do all of the unsold fishing reels go? I was hunting eBay and noticed a seller offering a price reduction for each reel you bought (older TD Lunas) and thought, he must have a stock of them to offer incentive per reel bought. Still I searched and read further with no concrete answer. I know there is no way EVERY single reel sells when a factory builds a run. They must end up somewhere. I assume they don't get them back and decommission/melt down each one? I also know this is how a surplus works in countries like the USA. For example, not every honey smoked sandwich meat sells, but profits can accommodate losses. Thing is, expired foods can go to fertilizers, animal feed, etc. (they naturally decompose for most products).

So this brings me back to the topic at hand, what happens to unsold reels? Do workers take them home? They don't end up in thrift stores from what I can tell because fishing equipment holds value decently. You would assume to see 5-10 year old reels for CHEAP in a ton of stores if so. Is it possible this is all just something I am imagining and companies have much better estimates of how many they will sell versus how many they produce (less surplus)???

I just feel there must be stockpiles of unsold reels out there, no way every single low gear ratio, shallow spool option, $500+ reel, or any other niche option sells out 100%. Just something to think about and I hope one of you on here can shine some light on the question. Thanks.

[Johnny A]

Based upon previous LONG AGO experience with other sports products, it gets broken and sent to the landfill.

[DirtyD64]

Based upon previous LONG AGO experience with other sports products, it gets broken and sent to the landfill.

After posting I kept reading on and on, there is a possibility of this. I read that analytics and research play a HUGE part because that directly saves money and pollution/overhead, but that still doesn't ensure 100% sell rates. Not like if Daiwa made 1 less Steez than needed they will just fire up the entire factory to make you one more. I would just be amazed to imagine some of these $500+ reels being put in a landfill, or worse broken. Someone on here has to know something as to where they go. If they do go to a landfill I am headed to Japan with a shovel.

[Johnny A]

Based upon previous LONG AGO experience with other sports products, it gets broken and sent to the landfill.

After posting I kept reading on and on, there is a possibility of this. I read that analytics and research play a HUGE part because that directly saves money and pollution/overhead, but that still doesn't ensure 100% sell rates. Not like if Daiwa made 1 less Steez than needed they will just fire up the entire factory to make you one more. I would just be amazed to imagine some of these $500+ reels being put in a landfill, or worse broken. Someone on here has to know something as to where they go. If they do go to a landfill I am headed to Japan with a shovel.

I’d like to amend my previous statement a little. There’s also the possibility, with fishing tackle (and firearms for that matter), the durability of the components can be shelved or repurposed. They can limit production runs of some models, like the Steez or Zillion, until consumer response i.e. purchases is determined. Then, there is also the niche market or private branding, like the MAGO models, the reels Jun used to have on japantackle website.
Another consideration is Just In Time delivery of parts. Daiwa or Shimano probably aren’t sitting on half a million bail springs in the warehouse. In a way, COVID has been beneficial by tightening what could have been a glut of fishing tackle. If you’re of the mind, think of Pharoah’s dream with the 7 years of fat cows and 7 years of skinny cows.

[LowRange]

They go to discount stores and other venues to be sold. Overstock baits store was selling old agurest based excellers for $50. Random ebay sellers are still trying to get rid of T3 Balistics. Same with JDM discount retailers are selling SS SV103s. They can get them for dirt cheap and list them indefinitely until they sell.

[uljersey]

It’s likely a mixture of some of the above mentioned scenarios. They do a lot of research beforehand before production even begins to determine how many units they’ll sell, excess inventory is taboo in virtually every business in existence. There is probably very little excess to begin with.

Another one I see first hand in my industry (off highway/industrial diesel engines) is the German manufacturer we are a distributor for will often instruct us to destroy brand new unused obsolete stock for a few reasons, one of them being they don’t want it making it’s way out into the marketplace through back door channels and causing possible issues which could potentially cause irreparable damage to the manufacturer’s reputation.

[DirtyD64]

They go to discount stores and other venues to be sold. Overstock baits store was selling old agurest based excellers for $50. Random ebay sellers are still trying to get rid of T3 Balistics. Same with JDM discount retailers are selling SS SV103s. They can get them for dirt cheap and list them indefinitely until they sell.

I specifically remember TW selling the Ballistics for under $100 or something like that. Wish I had picked one up but that was when I first learned about fishing/tackle. I also remember the Zillion TWS selling for $179 or so, wish I had picked up a 5 and 6 speed. The SS/SV I bought was also around $179. I just asked all this because I know there are more crazy low prices and deals out there to be had, someone is sitting on a ton of new reels that just never sold. eBay cracks me up though, they charge more for used reels than JDM sites charge brand new. I personally have not seen a good deal on eBay in a while...

[LowRange]

They go to discount stores and other venues to be sold. Overstock baits store was selling old agurest based excellers for $50. Random ebay sellers are still trying to get rid of T3 Balistics. Same with JDM discount retailers are selling SS SV103s. They can get them for dirt cheap and list them indefinitely until they sell.

I specifically remember TW selling the Ballistics for under $100 or something like that. Wish I had picked one up but that was when I first learned about fishing/tackle. I also remember the Zillion TWS selling for $179 or so, wish I had picked up a 5 and 6 speed. The SS/SV I bought was also around $179. I just asked all this because I know there are more crazy low prices and deals out there to be had, someone is sitting on a ton of new reels that just never sold. eBay cracks me up though, they charge more for used reels than JDM sites charge brand new. I personally have not seen a good deal on eBay in a while...

I did. Not a good reel. It bombs baits with Magforce 3D but is geary, noisy plastic abomination made from what looks like spare parts. You get the same performance out of a T3 MX without sounding like gravel is stuck inside.

[slipperybob]

What I've seen from local retailers is that they only have in stock reels for the fishing pre-season. Meaning like the spring before the fishing season starts or the fall before the ice fishing season starts. They don't particular carry much in high end stuff. For example maybe two or three Metanium or three or four Chronarchs, maybe one Aldebaran or one Antares. When the reel gets sold, then that's it.

It used to be, that when I wanted something, they could order it for me. Now it's like, they cannot order it. Well it seems to be like this for the last 10 yrs or so. That's where I've gone to buying from online sites, as the news says there's a shift from brick and mortar stores to online orders.

Local retailers. close out specials.

[DirtyD64]

What I've seen from local retailers is that they only have in stock reels for the fishing pre-season. Meaning like the spring before the fishing season starts or the fall before the ice fishing season starts. They don't particular carry much in high end stuff. For example maybe two or three Metanium or three or four Chronarchs, maybe one Aldebaran or one Antares. When the reel gets sold, then that's it.

It used to be, that when I wanted something, they could order it for me. Now it's like, they cannot order it. Well it seems to be like this for the last 10 yrs or so. That's where I've gone to buying from online sites, as the news says there's a shift from brick and mortar stores to online orders.

Local retailers. close out specials.

See our local retailer (about an hour away in Northeast AR) is the opposite. They have a ton of equipment and it just sits. This is where I bought my wife's first Revo Premier from. It was the first generation (shiny weird metal) and listed for $250, sat till the 2016 version came out and they sold it to me for $90. Then it broke and ABU sent me a free 2016 version, great customer service but made me wonder how much these reels cost companies. Either way, this is also the store that had an original Daiwa Zillion sitting there forever and I didn't know what it was so it went for super cheap. Now today, they have a ton of new lures that don't sell very well, but still have a ton of mid to higher end reels just sitting there. There is still an original REVO MGX they want full price for. Maybe some of these unsold reels to just sit in stores till the end of time???