Baitcasting reels again

[Ranger99]

Most all I'm seeing in new offerings
is the thumb bar release/ high speed
gear ratio type. Mostly very expensive
( to me)
Realistically, I don't really need any more
fishing tackle, but I've noticed a few of
my outfits are getting on the edge of
ready for the trash. The majority came to
me used, I just gave most a good douche
and R&R and they were fine.
I'm not really enamored with the reels
I'm seeing, especially the prices.
I don't need a $200.00 reel and a $200.00
rod to catch fish, any more than I need
a $1500.00 gun to hunt with.
If that's what someone else wants, that's
OK too.

Besides the classic Garcia and the BPS
almost copy, is there any newly offered
baitcasting reels built as they were a
couple of decades ago, or am I just SOL?

[Lloyd Smale]

bait casting reals (cheap ones) have gone the way of the dinasours. I use them but use them with down riggers on the big lake and mine are on the expensive side. Ive got 4 of them and i hate to admit what i paid for them. could have bought alot of fish. But i guess its like anything else. I dont bat an eyelash at paying a grand for a rifle or a 1911. One thing about those reals. They are built like a tank and my grandkids will be using the. There probably an overkill for fresh water. The salt water guys  that fight 500lb fish need precision and strong stainless and ball bearings much more but i think the demand is so low for a cheap bait casting real that you will never see one again.

[Bob Riebe]

If you can deal with Ebay, you can get some good , top line from the past there for fifty dollars or less.

Those that do not show the surface wear of time are priced higher as there is a growing catch of reel collectors but if you do not mind a few scratches and worn paint, you can get an old fashioned heavy duty real for a decent price.

I bought four old school top line chain-saws that way, Stihl and Dolmar, and do not regret it.

[Ranger99]

Well, I was thinking that if anybody
knew of anything that might be
available anymore I might be able
to find out something.
JMHO-  the ABU Ambassaduer reels
I have left will most likely outlast me
well after I'm returned to the compost
stage.  I'm not particularly fond
of buying and especially selling
online. I've done some of both,
and my takeaway is that many
people younger than myself think
that everybody on earth can take
paypal and credit cards and funds
transfer accounts and ship anywhere
on the planet overnight and that
whatever I sold them should have
a warranty.
I have had a couple of decent deals
with a few people, but the bad ones
were enough to sour me towards
online transactions as an individual.
I do know I'm not the only one that
feels like I do. I've seen posts on
other sites I visit expressing the same
sentiment

[Bob Riebe]

Ranger I know how you feel, and for a long, long time I would not use paypal and paid only by cashiers check because I almost got hacked by a faux Paypal site.
The web site was identical , EXCEPT, for the phone number.
 I called the real ones up and told them , plus if they were that easy to imitate  I would no longer even try to use them.
When paypal was divorced from Ebay, not owned by same people, I gave them a chance, OK so far, with refunds.

At that --  I have had two deals on Ebay go bad, one I never got a battey charger, and after, I got my refund after playing hardball but is was FedEx who screwed up, and refused to send it back to the sender. The dude I bought it from ended up taking the hit.

Second one I bought a Cannon chain saw bar, best there is and the gent sent it, I opened it , sealed box, and it was an empty box; he finally refunded my money when I again played hardball with Ebay, BUT, this is sad, I found this out at a Arborist site,  gents who have bought straight from the company (these bars cost 100 plus dollars) ended up recieving an empty box.

In the long run I have come out OK, but I have not sold on Ebay yet, and when I did on Gunbroker, it was , NO RETURNS, AS IS.

[Ranger99]

Yeah, I have some experience with
the way many modern freight handlers
do business, especially USPS
All that said, I've seen a good many
of the reels I'm interested in on
fleabay, but I'm not interested at all
in opening one of those money transfer
accounts with zenmo or Zell or any of
those similar to paypal. Not long ago,
a gentleman I know wanted me to
help him out sending some funds
through one of those services, but
I'm sure I made him mad by being
unwilling to sign myself up for it.

If I live long enough and need to buy
any other reels and I'm still physically
able to fish, I'll probably go around to
the pawn shops and estate sales to
see what they have. A good percentage
of my reels came from those sources
to begin with,  but I've put a lot of
miles on them.
I don't begrudge those who have the
spendy items, I just don't need anything
elaborate and expensive to bring fish
and game to my possession.
I've watched a man that makes videos
fishing in the GOM, but about 500
miles to the east of here. He's usually
holding about 600-800 dollars worth
of rod and reel with every cast.
I've fished basically the same water
and most of the same species, but
most of my tackle didn't cost even
a third of what his costs.
Again, I don't have a problem with
whoever using whatever they can
afford and whatever is legal