Writing for Angling Trade, Steve Schweitzer and Kirk Deeter reported yesterday that several Costco locations in the U.S. west have stocked and heavily discounted selected Simms and Sage products — including the popular Sage Z-Axis fly rod and Simms G4 Pro Stockingfoot waders — and that Sage and Simms appear to have been victimized by unethical purchasers.
“Costco has played this hand before. The pattern: they target hot ticket items and ask the manufacturer to buy direct (with a clear message they will deep discount the item). If the manufacturer denies selling to Costco, then Costco seeks and buys sizeable inventory from third parties – dealers or shipping agents at wholesale prices, legally.”
