Broken Shimano Trevala

I wonder:
1. Will Shimano lower the price of their rods, since the warranty replacements are built into the price of the rod
2. Will any lower price be perceived as a lower quality product by consumers
3. Will Shimano try to change warranty terms for older rods. It doesn't sound like it from the release and I'm not sure they can since it was a feature of the product. I haven't read the fine print. Regardless, it seems over the counter is gone which was a huge selling point for the rods.
4. If Shimano honors the warranty on older rods, will that lifetime warranty carry over to the new rod? I think it should but I am guessing it will not.

IMO, abuse or not, crappy move by Shimano. They have discretion to deny warranty coverage for abuses. They should just exercise it instead of diluting the perception of their brand. If another company offers a quality lifetime product, I will likely buy that product instead. :/ Their rods are already made in China, and at $120 a pop with fixed retailer pricing I'm sure they make a killing off of us.

I think this quote sums up the issue: "We believe that this is a positive change for the industry"   In other words "we want to be the big mover on the greed train"

I agree with Skunkasaurus.
It's a bummer for the consumer, but oh well, there are about 10000 other fishing rod manufacturers...so I'll just have spend my money on other brands. 

3. Will Shimano try to change warranty terms for older rods. It doesn't sound like it from the release and I'm not sure they can since it was a feature of the product. I haven't read the fine print. Regardless, it seems over the counter is gone which was a huge selling point for the rods.
4. If Shimano honors the warranty on older rods, will that lifetime warranty carry over to the new rod? I think it should but I am guessing it will not.

I heard the same thing its not impacting the older rods which come with a lifetime warranty....though the new rod will only have a 1 year warranty.  I wonder if Shimano can set the "trend".  IMO if this was a few years ago they may have been able to start the trend....with so many smaller more independend rod makers on the market now, I don't see the success of the move.....I have a feeling if other manufactures do not follow and make it a competitive advantage to offer a Lifetime warrany, Shimano will start offerring it again.

Sold off all my shimano gear and switched to penn reels, guess I'll do the same and switch to seeker/gloomis/ maybe calstar.  I'm starting to lose faith in Shimano. Their  gear is always overpriced does the same job but not worth the dinero IMO.

just snapped a Lamiglas today...on the phone with them soon as I get off the water tomorrow/the shop where I got it is digging for my receipt...had a fish set the hook..fish went in hole...swell snapped the rod before I could let the bail out,same story- a first for me......I gotta start an envelope for fishing receipts 

Gloomis is owned by shimano. Also switching to a one year warranty so I hear.

I think my St Croix rods have lifetime warranties i hope, they were 280 each.

Gloomis is owned by shimano. Also switching to a one year warranty so I hear.

30 year on their rods.
The Shimano switch isn't a company switch, it's a store to store choice.
sportsmans Warehouse isn't taking away the Shimano Warranty.

Gotta find a good store that respects it's customers.

You guys who are snapping rods when a swell comes up have your drags set too tight.
Thumb the reel. That way when the swell does come up you can immediately release the pressure.
I've never bought a rod with lifetime warranty. I always figured I lose it to Poseiden before I'd ever have the opportunity to use the warranty. Plus I'm too cheap to fork out the $$ for one. Back in the day guys caught bigger and more fish on much less than what the cheapest rods are today. Just about any stick will work for me.

I'm just gonna learn to wrap my own rods. Forget this warranty stuff. I've never broken a rod from fishing, busted a tip once from placing it in the car since then I've used rod cases. But if I'm gonna shell out more then $100 for a rod I'd at least want a 3 year. 

Gloomis is owned by shimano. Also switching to a one year warranty so I hear.

The Shimano switch isn't a company switch, it's a store to store choice.
sportsmans Warehouse isn't taking away the Shimano Warranty.

Gotta find a good store that respects it's customers.

This is inconsistent with the release from Shimano to all retailers posted by yakhopper.

Is sportsmans warehouse offering its own warranty on shimano products?

The Shimano Trevala is a well built rod and I have heard of very few failures. Other rods like the Okuma Baidarka had a design defect in the blank and they broke frequently. Okuma was good about replacing them though. Etienne went through 4 of them. The last one I reinforced with fiberglass and it hasn't broken yet. You can tell if it is a blank defect by looking at the cross section where it broke.  I would e mail the Shimano warranty department. I bet they will replace it.

Building your own rods doesn't mean it won't break and I have broken a custom rod under normal loads. Any rod can be broken if you are high sticking. If you want a rod that will take a lot of abuse, get a Super Seeker.

just snapped a Lamiglas today...on the phone with them soon as I get off the water tomorrow/the shop where I got it is digging for my receipt...had a fish set the hook..fish went in hole...swell snapped the rod before I could let the bail out,same story- a first for me......I gotta start an envelope for fishing receipts 

Lamiglas warranty dept is not great to work with. 

I deal with thousands of broken rods on a regular bassis and it always amazes me what consumers think they are entitled to. Just because a rod breaks, doesn't mean you are entitled to a new one. 9 times out of 10 the rod has failed due to abuse (over stressing, scratched blank, etc.).
To think that a replacement is owed is of the same mentality as believing that you are owed a prize for buying a ticket to a raffle. It is true that there are many defective rods, but reality is, a rod breaking under a load caused buy a defect would have failed at the first load given. If said rod breaks after loading several times, the first question should be ... What changed?
How did this rod alter from the previous times it was loaded?
A defect doesn't occur after time, it is built wrong from the beguining and will show as soon as it is loaded.
Not saying all broken rods are abused, but please be real and remember there is a difference between "Defect Warranty" and "Customer Entitlement".

Erik,

   That is a good point.  I was in a similar situation when I worked for W.M.  The biggest questions is always "how can you prove it wasn't a defect?".  Some were obvious .... broken tip in the car door.  Others, snapped in half ....  no right answer.  Someone will always be the looser; the rod mfg or the customer.