Dobyns sells to GSM Outdoors

[ManxFishing]

I had to look up GSM
I buy from about 50% on the Fishing companies
And on the Hunting side about 30%

Just hoping the Quality doesn't slide, But then again I don't buy allot of Rods these days

[78Staff]

Dissapointing, but I get it - Gary needs to do what's best for Gary. I don't know that we've ever really seen a brand buyout like this improve anything, in fact as already mentioned it typically goes the other way, whether GSM or especially Feradyne.

I'm happy with my current Doybns rods, and typically that have been the automatic choice for me for rod purchases. So I won't be fire saleing any of my 30+ Dobyns, but will start looking at other brands for future purchases. Have always wanted to try ALX rods, I like that the are Made in USA. (at least I think they are - says "handcrafted in America". Or is "handcrafted" just a catch-phrase for assembled, but with offshore parts...

[Marmooskapaul]

Dissapointing, but I get it - Gary needs to do what's best for Gary. I don't know that we've ever really seen a brand buyout like this improve anything, in fact as already mentioned it typically goes the other way, whether GSM or especially Feradyne.

I'm happy with my current Doybns rods, and typically that have been the automatic choice for me for rod purchases. So I won't be fire saleing any of my 30+ Dobyns, but will start looking at other brands for future purchases. Have always wanted to try ALX rods, I like that the are Made in USA. (at least I think they are - says "handcrafted in America". Or is "handcrafted" just a catch-phrase for assembled, but with offshore parts...

Are you sure you need anymore rods??? I joke, I joke

[Mcjenson]

Dissapointing, but I get it - Gary needs to do what's best for Gary. I don't know that we've ever really seen a brand buyout like this improve anything, in fact as already mentioned it typically goes the other way, whether GSM or especially Feradyne.

I'm happy with my current Doybns rods, and typically that have been the automatic choice for me for rod purchases. So I won't be fire saleing any of my 30+ Dobyns, but will start looking at other brands for future purchases. Have always wanted to try ALX rods, I like that the are Made in USA. (at least I think they are - says "handcrafted in America". Or is "handcrafted" just a catch-phrase for assembled, but with offshore parts...

In my experience the rods assembled overseas are put together with much better quality control than some of the made in the USA brands. I like the idea of buying made in the USA, but a few of the rods I’ve bought assembled here should have never made it out of the factory.

[78Staff]

Are you sure you need anymore rods??? I joke, I joke

Yeah, its a sickness lol... we all have it to some degree :(. It all started with a Randy McAbee 805 and 764 Crankbait rods, and just exploded from there to all manner of crankbait rods, Extremes, and even a few Xtasy's.

I'll be honest, Gary's very generous Mil/Vet discount is also a large reason I have so many...

[geodebasser]

Doesn't effect me. I build my own

[Crankin]

I have had amazing service from Bryce at Dobyns. I really like the rods but if I were to hear that my buddy Bryce were to get screwed over , My loyalty would not be the same.

[rjvana37]

[QUOTE=alanhore;13492587]What else would you expect him to say?

Excuse me, But , he could have said FU I'm out of here.

[LateralLine]

I am confident they will elevate Downsizing and Layoffs to new heights

I will remain involved with the company’s Fat Checks They Will Send Me

a force to be reckoned with in the fishing industry and they are just getting started Fing it up to soon sell of again!

Spoken like a real Private Equity Firm!

[78Staff]

Gary posted over on TFF... sounds like Gary staying around in some capacity and no staff changes... but who knows how it pans out a year or two down the road. As mentioned, Gary believes in what he is doing, but as we all know it is very rare for a Corp/PE/VC type buyout to keep existing quality and cs. Hoping for the best though.

Hey guys,

I saw another post on here about the sale of the company. THX to all the guys that supported or offered congrats, much appreciated!!! As always there's the less than positive guys. Here's some facts guys, and the ones of you that know me, know I've got a stubborn streak a mile wide, and no one will put words in my mouth, period. We're still an advertiser on TFF. All of our team is staying and working out of the SS warehouse. It'll take a little while, but you'll be seeing more GSM products in SS warehouse, even a few hunting blinds out front. All pro-staff stay, with no changes. I'm hired to stay around at a nice salary (100% my choice), I believe in what GSM is doing and their PEOPLE, so I invested heavily in GSM (again 100% my choice). I happen to know the Pres/CEO and Sales Manager very well over the last 4 years. I asked the CEO what are my parameters? What can I do or not do? He simply said "do what you always do". We got hit with big Dick's Sporting Goods order late today, and it needs to be ready early to mid-morning, the guys asked if they could come in two hours early tomorrow to make sure everything is done and ready. This is interesting topic in itself. First off, obviously my team is committed, which shows great moral, and everyone is working together. Secondly, this requires overtime. Which has never fazed me in the least, but we all know overtime in big companies is "not preferred", I okayed it on the spot, as a decision I would normally make. I later sent a text to both CEO and sales manager and got a quick response, all good!!!

I'm sure there'll be some changes, but I'll be involved, and common sense will prevail. These are great people with GSM. The only big change is our systems for everything. This is a big change so anyone walking in or calling in an order, we'll be a little slower than usual as we all learn this new system. Please give us a couple of weeks and we'll be back to normal. The system is working and it's almost business as usual. There's another change and it's 100% on me. We're going to drop our Seirra Micro guide series. I've been cutting it down every year as sales decline in micros. We only have 9 models left and the sales numbers have dropped 75% in last two years. It's simply not worth keeping and needed to go away. Again, 100% my call. The Dobyns baits may get moved to another bait brand GSM owns. No decision has been made, but it would make sense as we're a rod company. I'll be working on some new baits as well. If I could've gotten my kids and grandkids here things might have been different and might not have changed either. I hit that BIG 65 number two weeks ago and for the first time in my life a birthday bothered me a bit!! I'll get to spend more time with grandkids and keep on trying to drag them out of NorCal to TEXAS!!! I do look forward to the new challenges of helping GSM with a bunch of their brands and future brands. Just a little hint :) :) Plus, have you guys seen all the hunting shi* GSM owns :) :) My wife is concerned, because if I get a deal I kinda go overboard a bit :) :) THX guys and drop by our warehouse if you're in the neighborhood!!! Look forward to seeing you!!!

[Mcjenson]

Gary posted over on TFF... sounds like Gary staying around in some capacity and no staff changes... but who knows how it pans out a year or two down the road. As mentioned, Gary believes in what he is doing, but as we all know it is very rare for a Corp/PE/VC type buyout to keep existing quality and cs. Hoping for the best though.

Interesting, I noticed the baits were already pulled off the website. Not a huge deal, but I though they made some decent jigs, especially for the price.

[78Staff]

Interesting, I noticed the baits were already pulled off the website. Not a huge deal, but I though they made some decent jigs, especially for the price.

Yep good quality jigs and spinnerbaits too. I'm not sure who makes them for Gary, but I don't think they've re-ordered jigs for a while, thier stock has been down for a long time.

Minor rant - as an IT guy, they should have removed the Baits section from the banner, instead of leaving every category available with essentially a blank page stating "no products found". Stuff like that triggers me as a coder lol. Would have been quicker and easier code change to boot.

If I had to guess, the reels might go away also... I don't think they've been very succesful... You really don't see any info on them other than a few reviews from sponsored types, and they certainly don't get near the discussion as other brands. Seems like a pretty small niche for rod builders, a few have come out with thier own branded Doyo's or whatever - Gary, Trey at Kistler, 13 Fishing etc. I guess there's enough profit margin on the offshore generics to make it worth it though.