Berkley Lightning Rod Warranty

I don't like to spend much for my rods because I am hard on my equipment. I bought a 7' Lightning Rod when in the Nashville area last May. It broke just above the first guide. Clean break. I called Berkley and spoke to a nice lady who told me to take some pictures, including a picture of the receipt (which I had to call BPS to send me via email which was a piece of cake), in response to an email she sent me. Within a few hours, they are sending me a new one. Very cool. HOWEVER, the rule is that I need to spend $9.99 for handling. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. :laugh: Not like the good ole days when a product had a defect, they sent you a replacement for free..>Well the world is a different place now...Isn't it?? :ohwell:. but in 7 to 10 days, I will have a new rod.

I think $10 for a $50 rod that there’s 99% chance it wasn’t manufacturing defect is more than fair. You admitted that you’re rough on your gear, the warranties aren’t supposed to be used to cover abuse or misuse.

I too have used some low end gear and for that price I wouldn’t even consider going through the warranty. The reason warranties aren’t like the good ol days is because too many people abuse warranties now. Not saying you are, but that’s why companies are rarely doing full replacements and if they are the customer is expected to pay a fraction of the price for new.

:thumb up2:

I had a veritas rod that I broke boat flipping a frog fish on a friday, last fall. I took pictures, sent an email and they waived the warranty fee because their systems were down on the day that I called. Had the new rod by the following wednesday morning. Some people will look down on pure fishing, but they've been nothing but good to this guy. Btw, I replace the tip where it broke with a new tip and am still using the broken rod.

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Originally Posted by sanannbassman

I don't like to spend much for my rods because I am hard on my equipment. I bought a 7' Lightning Rod when in the Nashville area last May. It broke just above the first guide. Clean break. I called Berkley and spoke to a nice lady who told me to take some pictures, including a picture of the receipt (which I had to call BPS to send me via email which was a piece of cake), in response to an email she sent me. Within a few hours, they are sending me a new one. Very cool. HOWEVER, the rule is that I need to spend $9.99 for handling. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. :laugh: Not like the good ole days when a product had a defect, they sent you a replacement for free..>Well the world is a different place now...Isn't it?? :ohwell:. but in 7 to 10 days, I will have a new rod.

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Sounds like they took care of your issue.

that ten bucks covers their total costs of the rod i bet.

I think you're lucky that Berkley even has a warranty on those rods. $9.99 is a great deal.

I compare Berkley to Chevrolet. They are a good "peoples" rod. One for anybody's budget. I picked one up the other day, it was light weight, slim, and had good action. $10 for a rod is a good deal for you.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

Early pistol grip Lightning rods were great. Newer Shock rods not so much. Had a couple break on hooksets. Was out of warranty though

I walked into Cabela’s before BPS bought them with a rod that the tip broke off. I asked a salesman if they had a tip that would fit on this so I could repair my favorite rod. He said “let me take a look at that, that’s a Cabela’s rod” yes it is I said. They replaced the rod for free without a receipt and I’m guessing the rod was about 10 years old. God I miss the real Cabela’s.

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Originally Posted by Fireball

I walked into Cabela’s before BPS bought them with a rod that the tip broke off. I asked a salesman if they had a tip that would fit on this so I could repair my favorite rod. He said “let me take a look at that, that’s a Cabela’s rod” yes it is I said. They replaced the rod for free without a receipt and I’m guessing the rod was about 10 years old. God I miss the real Cabela’s.

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I did that same thing years ago with a bps rod at bps

I've had two Berkley Shock rods break. I had to do the same but the replacement rod came in with the tip broke...lol. I gave up and replaced the tip myself. Shock rods seem to have quality issues. Been using old Lightning rods for panfish for couple decades. They were good quality

Complaining about something like 10 Bucks on a warranty replacement :roll: on the BBC while reminiscing about the "Good Old Days" has became quite commonplace kind of reminds me of a Hank Williams Jr Song here's a rendition including Kid Rock hope it cheers you up

https://youtu.be/Ju5kllqurd8

10 bucks for a new rod, sign me up every time!