Ordered two blanks on 5/5. Reached out after a month was told could take 3-4 months. Funny, website said allow 3-4 weeks. Reached out again on 8/5, same answer. Asked for a refund was told he’d ship as soon as it was made.
Opened a dispute with AMEX, notified NFC about dispute. One more vendor off my list.
That’s unfortunate. With that kind of customer service, the company life span is limited.
Were these fly or spin/bc blanks?
It’s pretty common knowledge that it can take up to 4 months to receive blanks from them. It sucks but if it’s in stock it’ll ship relatively quickly maybe 3-4 weeks, other than that it’s a waiting game.
Most people I know including myself will put a large order in and just wait it out. If I need a blank asap I’ll order from mudhole or one of the other companies that have blanks in stock
This is not a shock if you have ever ordered from them before and/or read any threads about their delays. I have probably a hundred blanks from them in my bedroom. I stocked up years ago.
It’s been this way for years and they are still in business. Any time they post on IG people start roasting them.
That may be. After hearing about these lengthy delays and lack of response, I would personally shop elsewhere.
For me, it was the first time I’ve ordered from them, 8 & 10 weight 1 piece fly rods. Wanted to build my own, may just buy now. I’ve ordered blanks from Batson, Mud Hole and Voodoo never an issue with them.
OK, I’ve moved this to the fly fishing section for other members’ reference.
Are they that good that they could survive this terrible service and hate online? Must be incredible blanks if still in business…
They are pretty good blanks and have a strong following among builders. I think they are related to a big name manufacturer (Loomis?) but a little fuzzy on the story.
When I was looking for replacement rods awhile back, I cast a few that John Mauser built. Cast a lot of rods and it was definitely one of the best feeling rods in the price range I was considering.
NFC, as I recall, is owned by Gary Loomis, started after he left Loomis (sold). At one time they had a join partnership with TFO rods but then broke off.
How did you like John Mauser’s rods? I’ve fished with him, good guy and good guide.
It was started by Gary Loomis after he sold g loomis to shimano and beat his cancer diagnosis. So they make pretty good rods.
What a lot of people fail to realize is your ordering from a manufacture. They cut out the middle man distributor. It’s a factory that happens to sell to the public and with that you give up a lot of things you get by ordering from a business that’s sole job is to sell what they stock.
If you need a blank or two quickly it’s probably not the best option, if you need two orders of 30-50 blanks a year for your rod building company it’s one of the best deals.
Not to say you can’t order two blanks, just have to go into it understanding it’s not mudhole and it’s gonna take time especially if they need to build the order number up enough to run a production batch.
I liked it a lot - was about to buy one, actually, but then found that echo ion and it blew me away- especially for the price. Still my favorite rod.
They’re rolled in the USA…only a few USA blank manufacturers still exist, most of the rest of your $1000 fly rods are built on blanks made in China or elsewhere. Pretty much par for the course these days where outsourcing to China is popular because companies can make more profit. Not hating but it’s the truth in most cases.
TFO and Hardy’s blanks are made in South Korea. Not everything is made in China, fortunately.
Ordering from a mfg is no excuse for Loomis to be so late and poor on deliveries. TFO is a manufacturer and they let you know if it’s in stock or not, and if it’s in stock you get it within a week. There website is excellent for showing current stock levels.
Send them an email, I don’t work for them.
I can say that when I recently ordered mine, they plainly stated on the site, that it could up to 3-4 months or as little as 2-3 weeks. I wanna say I got it in the 3-4 week range. The blank itself is fantastic, see my build post/review on it for the details. Unfortunately their business model leaves a little to be desired, for individuals like myself, but if you’re a builder and can stand to stock up on several, you can get some good deals.
Rod Geeks, (St.Croix) customer service is lacking as well, and usually takes about 2 weeks to get a blank.
You want fast, solid customer service Casey @ Voodoo rods, followed by Mudhole. Unfortunately Casey doesn’t stock much with fly Rods, but can drop ship.
Nobody else is wondering why Mac felt the need to store a hundred rod blanks in his bedroom? Just me?
You guys are weird.
I built custom rods in a past life…