You can absolutely nab some excellent deals if you shop sales, wait for next year’s model to come out, or trawl auction sites. This can be a lot of fun and you can certainly find some amazing things.
But you can also strike out a lot and damage your eyes from staring at a computer screen for hours on end.
Sometimes just buying something new and right away is more convenient. That doesn’t mean that you can’t save money, though. In fact, there are some simple ways to get brand new gear from fly shops and manufacturers with steep savings.
Here are three ways to save money today on everything from rods to clothes to fly fishing footwear:
Browse fly shops in “weird” places.
I bought some of my first saltwater gear from a fly shop in Missouri. Even if you’re not a geography wiz, you’re probably aware that Missouri is not near any oceans. I went in for some tying supplies for trout patterns and walked out with what I needed for stripers. At deeply discounted prices, too.
You don’t need to drive across the country to do this. Hop online, using a tool like the Casting Across Fly Shop Box, and start clicking around. That shop in the Keys might have a good price on a 5-weight. The store in Kentucky could be doing their best to offload a big 10-12 weight reel.
Plus, you’re supporting local shops and getting the experience of seeing some interesting fly fishing culture.
Install Capitol One Shopping.
I’ve been using this plugin for a while. It can be installed in a browser like Chrome or run through an app. Here’s how it works:
You can scroll through or search the featured online shops that have current deals. Or, just go about your normal online shopping. Usually within a day you’ll get an email notification based on something you had looked at. It will offer you cash back, a deep discount, or both.
Are your shopping habits being watched? Yes (but they are anyway, FYI). Do you get a lot of emails? Yes (see my note below).
But I’ve saved a lot of money over the last year or so with this app. And it has worked on sites like Orvis, LL Bean, and Zappos. It isn’t going to offer much if you are looking to patronize small shops, but if you’re going to spend money at a bigger store why wouldn’t you want to save money?
Sign up for all the emails.
So many companies offer a 10 or 20 percent coupon code if you sign up for marketing emails. In the last few days I’ve done this twice to save about $75.
Again, you’re going to get a lot of emails. Your options are:
- deal with it.
- create a burner @something account.
- unsubscribe as soon as you’ve used the discount.
All three of those seem like they’re worth it if you’re going to save enough cash.
Have any other tips for saving on new gear? Let me know in the comments below.