Dobyns Rods Customer Service

[willmann817]

Hey everyone, just posting to hear thoughts and wanted to share my experience. Up until now I have always fished casually and for fun from my Tracker V18 Combo with a 200 ProXS. All my rods and reels have been budget (since I spent the big money on a new boat and bought cheap rods from Walmart (sub $100 like Lew's or Abu; many on clearance) with great success. Now I am in a position to buy higher quality rods and reels and since I am a member of the military, I found out about Dobyns that offers a great military discount on all their rods. I began doing research and watching videos online. I have not seen any bad reviews about their rods, and they offer rods at all price points. They are the only rod company I know that offers a discount.

However, I recently learned they were acquired last year by GSM and then saw rumors that in January they shut down their office in Sulphur Springs, TX. Many of the videos and posts online I had read said they had wonderful customer service where you could call in, they would help you pick rods based on what you are fishing and types of bodies of water.

When I called it was a number for GSM outdoors and though I was not put on hold it sounded like the person who answered (who spoke great English) might have been overseas and I asked them if I could speak to someone/a technical expert on rods that would be best for my fishing applications. They told me they couldn't put me on the phone with someone now, but they took down my information and said I would get a call back. This was today so I am not sure how long it will take but it is concerning compared to what I heard they used to do.

I am not necessarily concerned about the quality of the product degrading and do not have any knowledge of this. But I do hope they put me in touch with someone who actually knows the products. If anyone else has experience with this I would love to hear it. Tight lines,

Will

[bjg11771]

This breaks my heart. They are an awesome team. They always help you pick the best rod for your situation and budget. I live in Dallas and they would give fishing tips for various lakes around the DFW metroplex. I hope the team is still in Sulphur Springs!

[willmann817]

Yeah I saw some post online last week when searching online that said the Sulpher Springs office was shut down and now when you dial the number on the website it goes to GSM Outdoors. I have many hunting products from companies owned by GSM and have not had any issues with those products or their quality for how I use them. Again, I have no reason to believe their product quality is down and I do not currently own any Dobyns rods but I want to buy them because I can get their rods at a significant discount. But they have such a large offering of rods I want some advice from people who actually use and know them all.

[chris c]

Check out the Dobyns Rods Community on facebook, very helpful.

[willmann817]

Yeah, bad news, I called again and they told me this....so basically, they no longer have a staff dedicated to helping you select rods that are best for your preferences the way they used to apparently. Again, I have seen podcasts and videos online with Gary Dobyns who said that was the hallmark of their company. He designed and built the blanks and had high quality-controlled factories that would manufacture them but the big thing he always highlighted is they had people here in the US in Texas that would answer the phones. Now all that you get is someone from overseas answering the phones to help with warranties and returns etc. No longer able to call and ask for advice from people that know first-hand the product. Sad day....I will probably still purchase a few rods given that I can buy high end rods at a good price point (at least for now) via Guidefitter. But I cannot imagine that will last much longer. I understand he is 65 years old and maybe he will still be designing rods for them but was ready to take his retirement and enjoy time with his family and his hobbies. But I was really hoping I was going to be able to talk to someone with in depth knowledge who could recommend what would be best for me as a casual angler wanting something higher end for my specific fishing situations on the types of waters I fish. Thanks for the advice Chris C, I will check them out on FB.

[johnnybass]

You can tell from what's happening from the all of the discounting on Dobyns. A couple of days ago, they had extreme 704c's on Amazon for $189! There have also been several 25 percent sales. Pretty sad for a an iconic brand.

[dragon1]

Hopefully Dobyns won't go the way of the OG Texas made All-star and Castaway rods...

However that's a beeg but(t). Haha.

[ECobb91]

I’d recommend giving ALX a call. Or contacting cidgrad on here (the owner of ALX).

I think you will be hard pressed to find better, and more transparent, customer service from any other company.

[dragon1]

Bump up to top for a member to find easier.