Rod shipping rant!!!!!

[M R Dux]

MY wife decided I had been a good boy and bought me a new ultra-light panfish rod and Omega ZO2 reel. The best deal she found on the Shakespere rod was thru Amazon. She got special 2nd day shipping and the pair arrived today. The reel came UPS without a hitch. The rod was shipped FedEx. When I got home I took one look at the rod shipping box and cringed. The rod is a 7 foot 2 piece. The overall length of the box was 4 inches short of 3 1/2 feet! Needless to say when I opened it, the rod was broken all to pieces. The box itself had no visible damage. It was a slip type of box that one section slid up inside the other. The problem was there was no shipping tape AROUND the box, just along the sides. The box had been mashed from the end and the 2 sections shortened in length since there was no tape around the box to prevent it from happening.

We contacted Amazon and they issued a return label. We should have our refund in FOUR WEEKS!!!

How hard is it to place a delicate item like a rod in a proper container and tape it up so it will travel safely? Amazon will not want my business in the future when I get done with this mess!

["G"]

It just happens sometimes....I have ordered rods for years though and only had that happen one time but they made it good and sent me another one.

[cajun fryer]

FedEx seams to be pretty hard on things.
i orderd a camo easy chair and waited 6 weeks to get it .
i noticed the box was banged up a bit. After I got it home and put it down stairs I found the big hole in the back.
Is there any pride in are work anymore??

[bdorman]

Sorry to hear about your rod.

When I returned a faulty trolling motor to Amazon they shipped a replacement next day shipping (no shipping charge to me) and emailed me a pre-paid shipping label for returning the original motor.

In cases like this Amazon charges you for the new motor and reverses the charge when they receive the faulty motor. In my case they reversed the charge within a week. It's a much better system than waiting until they receive the original before shipping the replacement.

[MrPaulAR]

Amazon is fast on refunds. They just quote the worst case.

[mutedblade]

I know this probably does nothing for your current situation, but I always try to find a local bait shop or tackle store and support them. I understand that you may pay a few more bucks but you get hands on the merchandise and get a good sense of whether you will like it before leaving. If I buy online, it is from a select few sites with employees that fish and know how precious our toys are to us. It's even better when you can become good friends with whomever owns the bait shop and get gear at a reduced (wholesale) cost. I truly am sorry to hear about the poor packaging and delivery from amazon! Do you remember which retailer it was that sold the rod? Might help others from not having to deal with the same issue.

[M R Dux]

This was my wife's deal and she is handling it. We could not find a similar rod from any of the normal sources that I have dealt with in the past, local or national. We ended up finding another rod at a major west-coast retail site at an even better price. Got my fingers crossed on shipping across country. At least I hope they know rods should be shipped in tubes. Never had an issue on a rod shipped in a rod tube.

This outfit will be a very specialized combo, used exclusively for redears and bluegills. Haven't used a push-button reel in decades and never owned one this expensive. I've heard really good things from friends about the Omega ZO2. It's really hard to find a quality, SLOW-SPEED gear ratio reel.

[mutedblade]

mrdux, I just got my daughter a Omega Z03 Pro. I took it out today and had a blast with it (I should have waited for my daughter to go with me, but I couldn't wait to see how it worked). Absolutely, hands down the best spincast reel. I put hers on a 6'6" Zebco Platinum Ti Casting Rod and it is a dream to handle. Probably gonna get a few for visitors. Although I only caught one crappie with it, it was about 1.75 lbs and the setup handled it beautifully. No binding, the brass gears didn't strip and an overall pleasure. My little girl and this rig should have a long a fish filled future. Can't wait for that giddy smile come across her face when she hooks into some nice crappie, walleye, drum, and catfish.

If you need anything I get my buddies wholesale pricing, so maybe give me a call and see if I can get anything for you at a reasonable price. Maybe spread the word too. My cost + $5 and shipping would be what I can do. So in this case, 53 for the Omega Z03 Pro, 15 for the rod + $10 for the two products and actual shipping. That was just an example, so if you can think of anything let me know. justin @ 719-469-6431. Thanks. and tell your wife she is an angel for making you so happy!

[jonboatfisher]

I have ordered 8,10,12,&16' rods from Monkscrappie.com and never had any problems. Monk tapes the boxes up very good and uses the postal service to ship them.

[OkieDon]

Like it or not, Amazon just beats the pants off of other places on price and customer returns. Many items over $25 qualify for free shipping. I was just looking at a Garmin 550c last night and Amazon was $60 cheaper than Bass Pro or Cabelas, and that doesn't take into account shipping. Many times when you buy something like outdoor gear or specialized equipment, the order will be fulfilled by another company. There are a lot of companies who have an agreement with Amazon. Even if you have a problem with a company Amazon does business with, they'll take care of it.

As for rods, I have to agree with you. Use a rod tube!! I've ordered many rods through the mail and luckily all have come in a thick, heavy rod tube. Hope you enjoy your little combo!