A Word to the Wise Shopper

Over the years, especially the last 5 to 10, I've bought a considerable amount of fishing tackle. Lures have comprised many of those purchases, and in most cases, I didn't seal the deal until I had compared prices among two or three different retail outlets.

The few times I failed to do comparisons can be attributed to one or both of a couple of factors. I either was in a hurry for the baits, or I knew for a fact the advertised price was right.

That background brings me to the point this past Wednesday when I ordered some baits from Tackle Warehouse (TW). I didn't do a comparison because I knew their price--$8.99 each--was reasonable. How did I know? Because of my previous dealings with TW. They just don't jerk around their customers. If anything, they bend over backward to ensure their customers are happy.

Today, however, while I was doing some unrelated research on the Internet, I stopped at the Oceans East 2 website, whereupon I checked their price for the same lures I ordered Wednesday from TW. It turns out they ask $19.95 each, which, for lack of a better way of putting it, simply amounts to nothing short of highway robbery. Consider, too, that the identical lures at Bass Pro Shops retail for $9.99 each.

The fact that Oceans East 2 inflates many of their prices is common knowledge among locals. However, the markups don't always mirror what I found today, or they never would have received the small amount of business I've given them to date.

Don't get me wrong. I have, on a few occasions, paid more than $20 for a lure, but everyone's asking price at the time was in the same ballpark.

My intent here is just to serve notice to fellow local anglers that you need to weigh the prices at Oceans East 2 against at least one other outlet before completing a purchase there. Otherwise, you may lose your proverbial shirt.