In article ,
Ken Fortenberry wrote:

Softhackle wrote:
Ken I am not saying all factory rods are bad because thats just not the
case. But let me put it to you this way a custom rod will hold up
better over time. A custom rod will be less expensive for the same
blank and components because the customer is not paying for a warrenty.

OK, let's do the math. We're talking about 7/8 weights here so let's
take the Winston BoronIIx 7wt. This is a 4 piece rod with a fighting
butt that sells as a factory rod for $615 and as a blank for $308.

Blank - $308
Components - ~$60 wholesale
Labor- at least 10 hours

Ok, my local dealer wanted retail for the components and $110 for the
labor. If you want to make it top of the line, figure $160 for struble
titanium reel seat and fighting butt, $20 for flor cork, dont know the
price of the other compontents. I just bought the boron 2x rod and it
was only $248 out the door (2 day shipping) for people in the fly
fishing industry. The blank was $120 plus shipping, and taking it to
the local rod maker would of been $110 for the labor, plus about $20 for
the cork, plus about $50 for the reelseat, no idea what the rest would
be, but would be a hell of alot more than the rod.