Buying terminal tackle online

[Mr Fish]

@chesilpete ’s post in Banter got me thinking about online bulk orders, Veals specifically but it could apply to any online retailer.

20-odd years ago, I preferred to use my local tackle shop as was and he would do say 100 bulk bags of crane swivels that while not cheap, worked out a far better deal than buying 10 at a time.
Likewise Veals (and others), I could buy a box of 50 3/0 hooks from them, or 100 swivels, whatever, for an acceptable price.
It still wasn’t ‘cheap’ by the time I’d stocked up and paid postage but the supplies would last me months and it was cost effective.

Now I know prices obviously will go up but you don’t seem to get nearly as many ‘bulk deals’ now and often the maximum number of hooks you can buy is 25, while the prices continue to climb.

Has anyone else noticed this? You just don’t seem to get the bulk deals or availability you used to?

I’m sure there are plenty of eBay or Ali etc offers from china but no way of gauging the quality from a picture online and I’m not going to to take a chance on cheap and inferior components then lose a decent fish.

Which is why I continue to buy from Veals (or whoever) because I trust the quality of their components, though I would like to see better bulk buying opportunities available again.

As far as local tackle shops go, sadly my favourite shop as was closed down and as for the rest, I’m afraid the prices are just too high now and you can rarely pick up hooks etc in any meaningful bulk amount.

 

[crablante]

Owner Mutu Light Circle 2/0 - I think I paid £3.50 for a 6 pack at the local tackle shop, I don't mind so much, they gotta make a living and rent is a killer BUT it's odd that big packs of hooks seem to not exist yet 50 or 100 packs of swivels or beads etc are readily available.

 

[Searcave]

I used to buy bulk quality hooks and bits from uk hooks but alas this business is no more as the owner has died.
I now buy all swivels from Gemini when they have a sale on which is typically up to 20% discount

 

[Robbie_B]

I bought these in a tackle shop not too far from me, 23 euro and 19euro for 100 hooks in each. A pack of 10 is around 3 euro give or take, I do try and get in bulk but find it hard to get swivels and clips in bulk.

 

[Mr Fish]

Owner Mutu Light Circle 2/0 - I think I paid £3.50 for a 6 pack at the local tackle shop, I don't mind so much, they gotta make a living and rent is a killer BUT it's odd that big packs of hooks seem to not exist yet 50 or 100 packs of swivels or beads etc are readily available.

Indeed!

 

[Mr Fish]

View attachment 79182
I bought these in a tackle shop not too far from me, 23 euro and 19euro for 100 hooks in each. A pack of 10 is around 3 euro give or take, I do try and get in bulk but find it hard to get swivels and clips in bulk.

I’d happily pay that from a local shop if such an option existed here.
Yep I guess they make more in packs of 10 but realistically how many people buy them like that?
Shifting in volume with a lower mark up would make more sense to me.

 

[Searcave]

Found a couple of sellers of kamasan hooks in bulk one on ebay and another called Saul page tackle in deal Kent that also does decent bulk swivels. Not used either so use a credit card to purchase that way if it’s lost you can get your money back

 

[Mr Fish]

Found a couple of sellers of kamasan hooks in bulk one on ebay and another called Saul page tackle in deal Kent that also does decent bulk swivels. Not used either so use a credit card to purchase that way if it’s lost you can get your money back

Yes maybe I need to shop around but it’s always a bit dubious what you’ll get isn’t it.
I do own a credit card but it has zero balance on it and will stay that way until I go abroad again and want to avoid paying exchange rate charges…

 

[Robbie_B]

Would you or have your ever bought in bulk from the likes of temu or ali express?

 

[Mr Fish]

Would you or have your ever bought in bulk from the likes of temu or ali express?

I haven’t, but many do. My concern is what the quality would be.
Not so much the cost but would it lose me a fish?

 

[crablante]

We should put things into perspective - fuel, parking and bait are the main cost to a fishing session - so whether your hooks cost 50p each or 15p each is inconsequential(?)

 

[welshtroutfisher]

I tend to bulk order on veals when they have an offer on. I know its not cost effective in terms of its not a bulk sized pack rather multiple packs of smaller sizes.

I would prefer to buy a pack of 100 hooks/swivels/bait clips and be done for a few months though.

 

[Mike]

We tend to find with hooks that the retailers would rather not stock the bigger bulk packs, they prefer the small packets that stack on the racking better. Likewise, the only shops that buy big bulk spools of line are the ones that spool up reels for customers, other shops just want standard 4oz spools as their mainstay. Bulk rig bits like swivels still sell OK.

When I was a retailer, we used to do big bulk packs at decent prices, and we found them a hard sell.

My presumption is most anglers don't make that many rigs, and the recycle of older components is high.

I think UK Hooks was probably the mainstay for many an angler back in the day for those who wanted to buy in bulk.

Found a couple of sellers of kamasan hooks in bulk one on ebay and another called Saul page tackle in deal Kent that also does decent bulk swivels. Not used either so use a credit card to purchase that way if it’s lost you can get your money back

Saul Page is a top bloke and most likely the best match angler in the country, he's a really nice guy and works his nuts off in his business and his fishing - you'll be fine ordering off him

 

[Mr Fish]

We should put things into perspective - fuel, parking and bait are the main cost to a fishing session - so whether your hooks cost 50p each or 15p each is inconsequential(?)

Not necessarily. If I can buy 50 6/0 at £10, hypothetically, or pay 3.99 for 10 in a tackle shop, it’s a significant saving.
Decent hooks aren’t cheap but given how many I get through, bulk buying is a no brainer if I can do it.
Parking is a cost but a lot of local marks I don’t need to pay and if I’m staying local, fuel is relatively minimal too.

 

[Mr Fish]

We tend to find with hooks that the retailers would rather not stock the bigger bulk packs, they prefer the small packets that stack on the racking better. Likewise, the only shops that buy big bulk spools of line are the ones that spool up reels for customers, other shops just want standard 4oz spools as their mainstay. Bulk rig bits like swivels still sell OK.

When I was a retailer, we used to do big bulk packs at decent prices, and we found them a hard sell.

My presumption is most anglers don't make that many rigs, and the recycle of older components is high.

I think UK Hooks was probably the mainstay for many an angler back in the day for those who wanted to buy in bulk.



Saul Page is a top bloke and most likely the best match angler in the country, he's a really nice guy and works his nuts off in his business and his fishing - you'll be fine ordering off him

IMO retailers prefer 10 packs because they can knock them out at a bigger mark up, though no doubt display space is an issue.

Good to hear a recommendation for Saul though, will look at his page.

Tbh though, shop retail is a smaller part of it and doesn’t really explain why, in my experience, the online retailers no longer seem to offer larger/more cost effective bulk options.
I used to be able to get 50 or 100 hooks, now I’m lucky if I can find them in 25s.

I suppose the other aspect may be the occasional angler market is bigger than the more frequent angler market? I don’t know, but wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case.

 

[crablante]

Not necessarily. If I can buy 50 6/0 at £10, hypothetically, or pay 3.99 for 10 in a tackle shop, it’s a significant saving.
Decent hooks aren’t cheap but given how many I get through, bulk buying is a no brainer if I can do it.
Parking is a cost but a lot of local marks I don’t need to pay and if I’m staying local, fuel is relatively minimal too.

Sure - I'll never say no to half price (based on your numbers) and for the ideal situation where parking and bait is free and you can walk to your mark then hooks are a relatively bigger expense BUT for the average session then fuel/parking/bait are the main cost.

 

[Angrybear]

We should put things into perspective - fuel, parking and bait are the main cost to a fishing session - so whether your hooks cost 50p each or 15p each is inconsequential(?)

That depends on your income
I used to buy hooks in boxes of 100, and swivels in gross bags from Torbay Angling, they closed in 2006 I've still got loads left, so it could be argued that selling in bulk is not good business sense, better to keep the customer coming back for smaller bags.
Even better I bought a bulk load of 8mm coloured beads from Trago mills 20+ years ago, £2.99 per 1000 black, white, green, yellow, red, still got 100's & 100's of each.
Veals & Glasgow angling probably sell in bulk if you ask them, but they make more from packs of 10 and many casual anglers, especially youngsters, can't afford to have several £100's tied up in 10-20 years worth of spare tackle, so they're going to advertise what sells best.

 

[groundswell]

Various kamasan patterns in boxes of 100

 

[Robbie_B]

Problem with going to a local tackle shop isn't the price or being able to buy in bulk, it's coming out with what you need and the extra rod, reel etc that you don't need

 

[Mr Fish]

Sure - I'll never say no to half price (based on your numbers) and for the ideal situation where parking and bait is free and you can walk to your mark then hooks are a relatively bigger expense BUT for the average session then fuel/parking/bait are the main cost.

Well, I said hypothetical. It was just numbers from thin air to demonstrate bulk buying over packs of 10, but if the reality is £2-3 that’s still £2-3 I can spend on other gear.

Ref the costs, yes typically that’s true but I was referring to my situation where I live on the coast and although not every trip, for a significant portion end tackle and bait are the biggest expenses.
Regardless, I look at keeping costs down across the board so shorter distance trips, bulk bought tackle, bait I’ve caught/foraged myself, it all helps.