Angling Direct, great service (again)

[TrickyD]

Ordered a 5ltr bucket of hemp&maize on Monday, it turned up today. I saw their own brand, Advanta, 5 ltr buckets at £12.99 with free delivery, so thought I'd give it a go. Bonus was that they had 20% off Advanta stuff, so came to about £10.50, well worth a punt even at full price.

 

[Anglingman]

I would love to report positively about Angling direct but last time (physical visit) I was overcharged by £10 (wrong feeders charged). I had to go back and go through the refund process. Ok mistakes happen but in the same transaction (£30+) I was asked if I wanted a bag ? "

"Yes please"
"we charge 10p each"
" OK the supermarkets have to charge for plastic bags"
"ours are paper sir"....
"so why am I being charged" ?
"just our policy".......

with so many bits I had no choice, I got an A4 size brown paper bag....

10p is nothing but its just the principle, my local independent tackle shop used to make me a tea, give a bit discount, round to the pound generally (down wards) and make me feel both welcome and wanted.

AD process is robotic and aimed at obtaining the very last piece of blood.....
Online process I dont even bother with...never have the bits in stock

 

[Fishy Medic]

There is an AD local to me but I prefer to shop with smaller retailers. I order a lot of things online from Bobco and Ians tackle who are both excellent. I also find AD less personal in their approach generally.

 

[tipitinmick]

I use Willy Worms at Drax but, I guess there will be a day when I become just a number to them. How does a business grow and yet keep that personal touch ?

 

[dubdog]

Yeah AD are a bit of a monster. But when they do ten percent off it can't be sniffed at. Bob co do twenty percent but not on top end poles and you get points.

 

[Arry]

I have 2 tackle shops one is 15miles away (Keswalls) and is mainly carp/predator oriented and it's bait isn't brilliant... whereas AD is 10 miles down a straight road and has everything I need as well as good quality bait... plus they give points and do regular discounts, bit of a no brainer really

 

[Ken the Pacman]

Its the difference between a Fishing Tackle Shop and a store that sells fishing tackle and there is always a difference but its fair to say some of the stores have better managers than others.
As long as the anglers continue to desert normal shops and buy their gear from a chain like AD or any of the others the numbers of traditional shops will continue to decline at the current rate as the shops become less viable and shut.
It is a well trodden path and has been discussed many times on here and elsewhere but the combination of less people going fishing and the rise of the multiples together with fisheries selling bait plus basic tackle are some of the reasons traditional high street shops shut, its the evolution of the trade from how it was to how it will be in the future.
We still do OK as we have a wide customer base and try to give them what they need but like the VHS rental shop it is inevitable that at some point not enough people will come through the door as habits change and the need to actually visit a shop declines the interesting part comes when the bubble bursts like FR found out.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I don't have an Angling Direct (or Fishing Republic) local to me. I'll be quite content if there never is. However, AD occasionally have some excellent offers that I simply can't turn my nose up at. On the infrequent occasions I have bought from them (no more than ten times in the last ten years), they've always been very good.

 

[dubdog]

Love to support my local independent shop. But when they don't have the tackle in stock that you want. What can you do? Wait a week for them to order it in. Na times have changed.

 

[BTMS]

I have an Angling Direct half a mile away (Colchester) and must admit they are brilliant. Needed a new pole did not get on with the Prestons 50 so I asked what they could offer they arranged 5 different poles 16m for me to try. got a box same as my one and let me have a dangle with all of them. Get 10% discount because I subscribe to IPCF magazine. if they don't have something in stock they check other branches and order it in. A good bunch of guys good laugh and very helpful. Bait ie gentles squats etc is always good.

 

[Anglingman]

I'm always fair and although I might have bit of downer on AD I also recognise :

• Shops differ in culture due to the management I guess so will be good, bad and ugly.
• Online delivery has always been excellent and good value for money.

 

[TrickyD]

The nearest tackle shop to me is about 4 or 5 miles, but can take 30 - 45 minutes to drive there, and its on a red route, so parking limited at best. The Tacklebox in Dartford is about 20 miles away, but can get there in less than an hour. AD in Guildford is about 20 miles and will take an hour plus to get there. I find their shops a bit hit and miss whether they have stuff in, but online I only order what's in stock, and never been let down.

 

[Markywhizz]

We don’t have a tackle shop within 25 miles and we don’t have things like dual carriageways in deepest Derbyshire. I am forced to use mail order and have always found both Angling Direct and Fishing Republic to be very good. I have recently tried Bobco and they were very good too so on the basis of so many MDs recommending them I’ll be making them my first port of call from now on.

 

[Wise Owl]

That answers my Question @Markywhizz i was gonna look up to see what Shops ya had with me working in Huddersfield.

 

[Markywhizz]

That answers my Question @Markywhizz i was gonna look up to see what Shops ya had with me working in Huddersfield.

No I live in Buxton now. Lived in Huddersfield for most of my life before that though.

 

[Silverfisher]

My local tackle shop is less than a 10 minutes drive I away so I use it for the vast majority of my bait and terminal tackle and whilst they don’t have many rods and reels physically there they can order most things in. I’ll occasionally go to a different shop that’s a little over 20 minutes away if I’m in the area which has a bit more physical stock but isn’t sufficiently better to make it worth the extra journey often. Ordering from angling direct just fills the gaps with things I can’t get in either shop really although I’d go to their stores as well if I had one near me.

 

[PAB]

One thing I have learnt about AD is if you shop online put all the things you want in the cart and leave them there a day or two if you are in no hurry they then email you and offer you an extra 5%-10% off if you complete the transaction I do it all the while now as soon as I start getting low on something I just put it in my cart when I need them maybe a week later I have got a discount.

 

[sikez2012]

Very interesting the views regarding Angling Direct, One area that raises constantly is the % off offer which is what most seem to look for when wanting a perticuler item, They have most of the market covered, They are though being called into line by some of the big players with new terms/conditions supposidly giving a level playing field, 40 shops by next year then floated and we all know what happens then.
Totally off topic..heads up price rises across most brands come Oct 1st so any big purchases get them before 1st oct. It's looking between 8-12% dependant on the £ against the $.