What's going on with our Web Site?

We started our web site in 1998 as an on-line advertisement for our business, which we intended to carry forward into being an on-line tackle store.  But our experience over the past several years has caused us to re-think our site design.

We have found that most On-Line customers, also have a local source for equipment and rod building supplies .When talking with an out of state customer who was buying a reel, the customer mentioned that he had spent a great deal of time at his local dealer going over the reels, and making sure the reel would fit his rod. He'd even brought the rod into the local shop to make sure the balance was right.  He then found us through a search engine, and was happy to find the same reel for $15.00 less than his local dealer.  By buying through us, he saved the sales tax, (which would have been $2.00 LESS than the shipping, so his net saving was $13.00.  Did the customer really get a bargain? Maybe, Maybe not.  

He did have to wait a couple days to get his reel.  He also had to spend time at his local dealer getting the dealer to help him figure out what reel would work best for him.  Then he had to spend a lot of time surfing the WEB for the best deal.  Was the time worth $13.00? And what happened to the local dealer who took the time to help him?  

We have been experimenting with our Website for six years, and we have been watching similar sites, as well as the general trends in the Fishing Tackle Industry.  We have received a huge amount of email and catalog requests, and spent a great deal of time responding to people, most of the time without getting responses back.

We have decided to add point and click ordering to our web site as a convenience to our customers, but the web site will remain secondary to our main business for these two reasons.

1.  The time we spend answering emails and trying to support our web site takes away from the time we enjoy spending with our local customers.

2.  The future of the local tackle shop is in jeopardy.  The turnover and failure rate in this industry is very high.  Stores will not be able to afford knowledgeable staff, and stay current with new products if customers buy everything on-line.  We feel the best way for us to protect our own business is concentrate on the service and support that we do best, and not take away from stores in other areas that are providing their own high level of service and support.

We enjoy our sport, and want to help other people become successful and responsible anglers.  In order to do that properly we want to treat our customers more personally.  Those of you with whom we have spoken, seem to appreciate our approach, even if you are outside of this area.  In these days of the "Mart" type stores, and the huge sporting goods warehouses, we have found that customers are getting a lot of tackle that simply ends up taking up space in their tackle box.  

Nothing is more frustrating that spending money on fishing tackle, and then finding out that the equipment doesn't perform well for you.  Manufacturers are constantly barraging us with new products.  We find out what works through customer feedback and our own trials.

As for the customer mentioned above...We sincerely appreciate your business, but we also hope that the local guy who helped you will be around to assist you in the future.  We would like to see privately owned small businesses like ourselves grow and prosper, so we encourage you to support your local dealers.

Sincerely,

Erich & PK Lichtenberger

Website Copyright © 1998 -  2009 Mako's Tackle Supply, Inc
Last modified: April 17, 2010
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