Fake Sage?...we will see

[TimRobinsin]

soooo....guess what?

this is why I ALWAYS put my fly rod in the rod tube when I'm done, because when I don't it, it gets broken.

today while getting things put away after changing my spark plugs I shut my tailgate. the only problem was that my new sage 99 (which I questioned its authenticity a few months ago since I bought it on eBay) was caught in the hinge of the tailgate. I don't know about the rest of you but i went through this moment of panic followed by a few seconds of saying out loud "no no no" in a frantic effort to open the tailgate. I examined the rod and my worst fears were confirmed...it was shattered...2" above the butt of the 3rd section. my heart sank and it felt like being kicked in the nuts. i was sad then mad and then I was quiet.

So tomorrow I send it back to sage with the naive hope that it will be replaced. I realize that the warranty only applies to the original owner but I will see what happens... i have no other choice. the rod fished like a dream and I don't know what else to do. this is most disconcerting as I feel stupid for ever buying the thing on eBay. I know many of you will probably say that this iis why you don't buy rods on eBay or this why you don't buy rods with such high price tags, but regardless this is my situation and as such I will (for the curiosity of anyone one here who has purchased an item like this on the bay) update you in the results.

I realize it may seem like its not that big of a deal to many of you, but for those of you who know what it feels like to lose a favorite rod ( this quickly became my favorite because of the amount of nymphing I do) you'll understand, especially if you like me and generally cant afford this kind of brand unless its a true deal. So here begins the quest of finding out if it was a real sage and if buying high ticket items on eBay is worth it.

 

[PatriotFly26]

I'm not gonna be the guy to come out and say it was a stupid move to buy one off ebay. (I have never done it)

Whether or not it was a real Sage is something I can neither confirm or deny without seeing it. I feel your pain though. Having broken a rod after someone else was closing my door, when the rod tip dropped into the crack of the door. My first reaction was, well we will say not acceptable for an internet post. I flipped. It was a great rod, and I still keep it, because I remember all the fish I caught with that rod....I know this won't help, but in the end. A rod is just a rod. Our attachment to them comes through our love of the sport and investment into them, you can't take that away.

See this as a new beginning in your search for a new favorite rod. Just be more careful. I know that you, just as I will never treat them so carelessly....But hey, look on the bright side. At least it wasn't someone else who broke it. That, my friend. Is the worst.

 

[PoconoPuke]

This could be worse. It could have been an Orvis Battenkill.

 

[tomitrout]

buying the rod off eBay wasn't the stupid part....slamming in your tailgate was.

 

[FiveWeight]

Bummer. Another good reason not to change your own spark plugs. Hope Sage makes good for you.

 

[Squaretail]

Yet another prime example to get one of those $19.99 rod tubes with the reel holder on it. My tiny Tracker is a complete and cluttered mess between the dogs and the flyfishing equipment and I have shut the gate on the rod holder more than once.
Sorry for your loss for sure, but theres a very cheap solution.

 

[Fishidiot]

Having broken my fair share of rods over the years (but only one that I can remember in a car trunk), I always keep my rods in tubes. Since I build all my own fly rods and thus lack warranties, I use PVC pipe for tubes - heavy stuff but durable. Leaving fly rods in a car "untubed" is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Stimey]

sorry to hear that..... were you at Cabelas last night? I was picking up some tying material and heard this same story being told to the guy working the fly shop, anyway hope it works out for you.

 

[TimRobinsin]

Yeah, that was me at the walmart...I mean cabelas. That fly shop guy is super nice, I always enjoy listening to him. I took my brother up there because we didn't have anything better to do and he never saw it before so what the hell, of course I wanted to change the plugs in the truck before we went to see if it would help and of course this would be how I break my rod...arrgh! Oh well, the local shop has one just like it in case sage cannot replace it... I think I'll seek my golf clubs cuz they're not doing me any favors.

End of the day it's like this...I learned a really valuable lesson in how to slow down and always Always ALWAYS put it back in the case, especially when there are doplic morons flying around and with me theres always one!

 

[Ramcatt]

I've had broken sage's without cards... i think it was like $50 for a repair
http://www.sageflyfish.com/Resources/Warranty/

 

[TimRobinsin]

its off to Bainbridge island for a verdict, I called around 4 est. but no one answered... i think thats about lunch time for those folks. so fingers-crossed i'll get a call next tuesday once it gets there or wednesday with a verdict. I hope your right Ramcatt, that would be wonderful if they could repair it!

 

[GlockMan]

The Sage Lifetime Warranty
Every new Sage rod, blank, 6000, 4500, 4500CF, 4200, 3800CF, Click, 3000 & 2500 series reel is covered by our lifetime, original owner warranty.

Are you the original owner? No... then their warranty should not cover you.

 

[Chaz]

My 4 wt. 9 ft. Loomis met a similar fate, but the difference is I thought the lid of my cap would stay open. I left the rod hanging out the end, and wham the dang thing slammed down on the rod.
I sent it back and received a new blank for $50. Not bad.

 

[buffalo7]

The only rod I ever broke was a cheap rod, the day after I bought it, I figure it served it's purpose because I didn't have my good rod that day. Good luck, hope they replace it for you. Let us know what happens.

Sage, we're all watching to see what kind of company you are!

 

[TimMurphy]

buffalo7 wrote:

Sage, we're all watching to see what kind of company you are!

Dear buffalo,

What kind of company are they supposed to be? He admitted that he didn't buy the rod from a retailer, should Sage just take one for the team and warranty it anyway?

They very well might do that, but I don't think they are obligated in any way to do so. One of life's most precious lessons to be learned is that the cheapest way in isn't always the cheapest way out.

Repairing it for a reasonable fee, say $ 50 - $ 100.00 plus shipping. would be a reasonable outcome in my mind. YMMV

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Tiltaxp]

I broke my sage 7 years ago when i was fishing the firehole river in yellowstone and while it was unrepairable and an outdated product line that they did not sell anymore they still offered me a fair deal to replace it with the newer product line for $150. It was my own stupid fault that i broke the tip off when i hooked a big ugly tree and tried to snag it out, the line wrapped around it and *snap* went the first 6" of the tip. They were easy to deal with and i had no warranty card or receipt but i did buy it as a demo rod from a retailer. Best of luck to you.

 

[Chaz]

I forgot to say that Sage rods all have a serial number on them.

 

[wildtrout2]

TimRobinsin wrote:
Yeah, that was me at the walmart...I mean cabelas. That fly shop guy is super nice...

Yea, he is a good guy. Very social/pleasant.

 

[jayL]

In the last year, I have broken both of my favorite rods. The loomis and the dan craft. It happens.

Aside from the occasional amazing deal, I am going to be buying my rods retail with full warranty from now on. There's no savings in getting rods second hand, because they WILL break. I sometimes destroy gear. I am often clumsy and a bit careless. Warranties pay.

 

[ryguyfi]

Squaretail wrote:
Yet another prime example to get one of those $19.99 rod tubes with the reel holder on it. My tiny Tracker is a complete and cluttered mess between the dogs and the flyfishing equipment and I have shut the gate on the rod holder more than once.
Sorry for your loss for sure, but theres a very cheap solution.

For every rod I own that didn't come with a tube I put it in a section of PVC from the hardware store and put two end caps on it. One piece of advice if you do this... get the screw on caps. Sometimes the plain old end caps can get stuck. Typically costs me around $5 for all the components.