FYI, here's something I came accross while looking for Abu parts. This business has closed and has about $5000 in parts mostly for Ambassadeur 4,5,6,7000 size reels. The entire inventory is being sold off.
I contacted the owner and he was very open to talking, I suggested joining us here but he "does not do forums".
No affiliation with me, just thought somebody here might be interested.
Visit https://hookless.com for contact info.
i hope it works out. it's gotta be a killer deal for the right person!
Quote from: alantani on March 15, 2022, 12:15:07 AMi hope it works out. it's gotta be a killer deal for the right person!
DEAL IF you live across the Street otherwise SHIPPIN will EAT YOU LIVE.
Wow, didn't know Jerry was calling it quits. He used to build some really nice reels and had quite a bit of parts for Ambasssadeurs, just about anything you could think of.
That's a total bummer, I've bought parts from Jerry in the past and he is very knowledgeable and a great source of help. His prices are also very reasonable.
I've bought parts from him too, always called to make sure I got the right parts. Good guy, hope he's doing good
He is less than an hour away from me and I have been pondering it for a few weeks now. It is very tempting.
I emailed him this morning after seeing this post and said I always appreciated his knowledge and willingness to help. He said he lost interest and the business wasn't profitable. He's a great guy and will be missed greatly.
Quote from: Walleye Guy on March 15, 2022, 05:53:36 PMI emailed him this morning after seeing this post and said I always appreciated his knowledge and willingness to help. He said he lost interest and the business wasn't profitable. He's a great guy and will be missed greatly.
You can make money doing this ? :o
A handful of guys make money working on reels.
Really, only a handful...
I am not one of them.
Just approach it as a hobby that you enjoy —- on your own schedule, time, and balancing other more important aspects of Life.
Help others, make friends, keep busy. Might be a little left over to buy bait or offset expenses.
Best, Fred
I actually made pretty good money working on reels, but I was in a special position: I was the only reel repair outfit in SE Alaska, a place populated with (too) many lodges and charter boat operations. Some customers would give me a hundred or more reels per year. And typically, a charter operation had only two or three different models so managing parts inventory was fairly easy. Most of my customers (as opposed to most of my business) were sport fishers who would bring me a couple reels at a time. Without the charter fleet, my reel repair would have been a fun hobby, not a source of income.
Here is a compiled (lot of work this feller did )With his cost and list prices and number of pieces . (Call and make him an offer) I would guess .
MASTER INVENTORY 1-16-22.pdf
Quote from: foakes on March 15, 2022, 06:07:15 PMA handful of guys make money working on reels.
Really, only a handful...
I am not one of them.
Just approach it as a hobby that you enjoy —- on your own schedule, time, and balancing other more important aspects of Life.
Help others, make friends, keep busy. Might be a little left over to buy bait or offset expenses.
Best, Fred
That's the truth. In order to really make money at this, you need to do one of two things; have a stellar reputation and/or offer products for sale, be it parts, apparel, maintenance kits, or even rods if you're inclined to learn building them. I've been getting plenty of new customers on the service side due to a competitor turning his business over to his son. The son has very little interest in service and pretty much only sells parts now. The father turns a wrench one or two days per week, far less than his previous 5 to 7 days. In my experience, parts are a bigger money maker than service. Take the price of any reel out there, many of the highly sought after models are worth double to triple in parts what they are as a complete unit, especially if it's an out of production model. Parts like handles, side plates, brake plates, frames, and gears almost always garner sales. Most people aren't looking to buy a complete reel to get that one part they need, but they are more than willing to purchase them individually as they are needed.
As much as I love Jerry, and I say that with sincerity. He sort of pigeon holed himself only doing Ambassadeurs. To much of the fishing public, the Ambassadeur is the reel their father or grandfather used and it doesn't have the allure of something like a Daiwa Zillion or Shimano Calcutta Conquest. To them, it's a relic of a time gone by, even though they are still made. Most of the young crop of fishermen out there frown upon the Ambassadeur until they actually hold one in their hand and fish it. Getting them to do as such is a challenge all in itself.
That's a lot of parts. I wouldn't see recouping that anytime soon, even at half the cost as most are small parts and the handles, frames and the shinny stuff that sells are few.
I talked to him a couple of months ago. He won't ship and wants way too much.
Keith