I apologize for locking this thread without at least leaving a note. Yesterday was a busy day...
There is no Better Business Bureau for fly fishing gear.
Most definitely, the Glass forum is not a BBB substitute. Questions about
is this store/brand/rod blank/eBay seller sketchy or
I ordered xyz and it hasn't arrived will get locked. Why? In nearly every case they turn into a $$$$ show. If the original poster has a grievance with a company, there is absolutely nothing the forum (or I) can do to make it right. Whether the grievance is justified or not,
someone will be sending me nasty-mails demanding that I delete the thread. I get stuck in the middle. One time I was threatened with a lawsuit. I love you all dearly, but not enough to jeopardize my life savings.
Alternatively, if you feel the need to ask,
Is this online deal too good to be true? then 99% chance you already know the answer. It's a scam. I'm sorry Virginia, the Internet is
full of scams. If we posted every fly fishing/outdoor gear scam our forum would break under the load. We aren't going there.
The Internet won't get better anytime soon, so learn how to protect yourself. Here are some tips:
- Don't do new online business with a cell phone. The screen is too small and the software isn't robust. The fine print is too small to read. Dangerous links are too easy to touch. If at all possible, use a laptop/desktop computer instead.
- Seriously review the website. Be skeptical and look for well written prose and professional web design. Does the "About Us" link make sense? For the company not mentioned above, the About link only discussed clothing styles, not fishing. That's a bad sign... The other webpages are a mess too.
- Does the "Contact" link give a US address and a phone number? Google search the address/phone number to see if they are valid. For the company not mentioned above, there is no phone number and the address doesn't exist. That's a really, terribly, awful bad sign...
- Use the Who Is tool (click the link, go to the page, and bookmark it. Do it now). Enter the main address of the questionable website, for instance try searching fiberglassflyrodders.com, and see what returns. If a search returns very little data, that's a bad sign. Look at the domain name creation date. The company not mentioned above was initially registered in August, 2022. Not even three months old? On a bad sign scale of 1-10, that's a 37...
As always, read
the Buying Guide and treat fly fishing deals like business, because they are business.
Tom