Fly Rod Purchase | Sweetwater Fly Rods

SweetwaterFly Rods - Purchasing, Payment Options & Returns

MAKING FIRST CONTACT - Placing the CUSTOM Order

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This main purpose of this site is to showcase the variety of selection and craftsmanship in building high quality fly rods for those that have a desire to own the best equipment with which to enjoy the sport of

Fly Fishing - "The Quiet Sport"

In other words, this is a "custom fly rod shop" where

you can get what you want, just the way you want it

or just buy it "off the rack".

See the "Blanks Available" page on this site for various blanks that can be built to order. If what you want is not listed, then call or e-mail and let me know how I can help!

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E-MAILS: (SweetwaterFlyRod@aol.com) BEST WAY..!!

Please describe what you are looking for as best as possible and I will respond promptly. Please include your FIRST and LAST names, plus a phone number for contact purposes.

PHONE CALLS: 540.691.6290 (Cell) Feel free to call and inquire about a custom fly rod that you are interested in having built or need additional info about one found on my site that was a ONE-of-a-KIND, as-built Fly Rod ready for immediate sale.

You can call anytime during the day from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm EST. You can text me as well at the same cell number if you wish. If you call and I don't immediately respond, please leave a message, pronounce your name clearly and please slow down when leaving your phone number.

Texting is good here too! - however, still tell me

who you are and how I can help.

CUSTOM PRICING:

GRAPHITE & FIBERGLASS custom rod pricing for Fresh or Saltwater models is difficult since these builds will all be quite different based upon what each client desires. That is why the customer will get a personal one-on-one discussion with me about what they would like to have designed and built. When all of the details have been decided upon, a proposal will be generated and submitted to the client showing all the design items and the cost to build the rod requested.

CONSTRUCTION TIME FRAME:

Delivery of the completed customized rod is mainly dependent upon the work load in the shop at the time the client places the order.

The customer will be notified by E-MAIL & TEXT when work begins on their specific rod order. Updates will be delivered at various times during the build. Any issue on my part that will have a major effect on the rod delivery will be conveyed to the customer as promptly as possible.

DESIGN CHANGES:

Any design changes to the custom rod will be considered only when received by e-mail notification and if the construction has not advanced to a point that the change would not be feasible. Design changes, depending on where they occur in the build, may incur additional fees.

SHIPPING-HANDLING & INSURANCE:

Completed rods will be securely packaged, insured & shipped by US Postal Service (Priority) or UPS,

whichever is the least expensive. I will package and ship completed rods promptly after FINAL payment has been received.The customer will be given the tracking

number with the final receipt and paperwork.

CUSTOMER MAILING ADDRESS:

Very Important all orders whether from this site or a call or email for a custom build, PLEASE make sure your

HOME MAILING ADDRESS, or any other address you want your order sent to, is the CORRECT ONE.

If I am given a wrong address from within PayPal or in an e-mail, and trust me it has happened, and your order has been shipped, there will be another shipping & handling charge for a second shipment attempt to your correct address, and that is contingent upon the Postal Service

or UPS being able to stop the delivery before it gets

to the wrong address or in the case of it becoming undeliverable, or the shipper decides to return

the rod to me, the Post Office or the UPS terminal.

I cannot be responsible for the attempted delivery of an order to the wrong address. That's why I will

always require an adult signature to be

obtained upon delivery and that signature

must be the purchaser's or a specific designee.

NOTE:

Rod Sales from this website are limited to the

United States ONLY

NO International Sales at this time

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ONE-of-a-KIND, as-built Fly Rods:

All of the rods that are on my site are basically One-of-a-Kind. Built and designed as to what I think the majority of customers would like to own. These high quality fly rods are available for immediate sale "as built."

These will be displayed in the Sweetwater Fly Rod Shop and can be personalized for an additional fee if desired.

Personalization, such as a name or quote, etc. will be an option for these for an additional $15.00.

The personalization will delay shipment by approximately one week due to the curing of the epoxy finish over the applied decal.

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HOW TO PRESERVE THE INVESTMENT

IN YOUR NEW FLY ROD

Please read these two articles by Tom Kirkman --"PREVENTING BROKEN RODS" and "ROD FAILURE".

Both articles are in one PDF file and can be down loaded as needed for future reference. Reading these articles will give the new owner, or even a well seasoned one, some good insight on what can happen to a rod blank to weaken it, why one breaks at the wrong time and a lot of info on how not to do the things that endanger the life of your new fly rod.....!

Tom Kirkman Rod Failure Articles

PAYMENT METHODS for Custom Fly Rods

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After all of the design details have been worked out and a cost finalized, I will send an initial PayPal invoice to the clients e-mail address, along with an e-mail and text, with all of the purchasing details clearly shown. A PayPal invoice can be used even without the client having a PayPal account. That way, the client can use any credit card they wish if it's accepted by PayPal.

Therefore, I don't need to have the

CC numbers in my possession.

This initial invoice will be for the minimum 50% deposit of the total selling price and will be required to secure the order. The deposit is NOT refundable once work has begun on the rod requested. If for some reason I can't start immediately after receiving the deposit, the client will be notified by E-MAIL & TEXT of a possible start time in the near future and if necessary, adjustments about the order can be made at that time.

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FOR POSTAL MONEY ORDERS, PERSONAL CHECKS

and CASHIER'S CHECKS

These payment methods will also be accepted

Personal checks must clear all banks prior to the start of any rod construction or delivery. This time frame now in the "Digital-Age" is approximately 3-5 days.

COD is not a payment option.

Please have these methods of payment to state the

"Pay to the order of" name as

Charles M. Armontrout

1907 Hot Springs Road,

Covington, VA 24426.

The client will be notified when I have received any of the above payments.

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SALES & USE TAX:

Virginia residents will be assessed the 5.3% Sales & Use Tax on their purchases.

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CLIENT NOTIFICATION OF COMPLETED ROD

Within a week or so of the rod completion, the client will be notified by E-MAIL & TEXT along with a 2nd PayPal invoice for the balance due, if necessary.

At this time the balance of the selling price will be required prior to final shipment or pick-up.

If final payment is not received within 7 calendar

days of the initial notifications, another notice

will be sent. After 5 calendar days from

the 2nd notification . . . . . .

I reserve the right to offer the rod or rods to other customers at my discretion.

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RETURNS or CANCELLATIONS of CUSTOM RODS:

Fly rods ordered that are to be heavily customized with special reel seats, exotic woods, unique guide systems, unique thread color schemes or snake skins, cannot be returned or have deposits refunded for obvious reasons. It may very well be a beautiful creation but it may not be desirable by someone else. So purchase responsibly with this in mind as no returns or refunds of deposits will be considered any time after the order is finalized and work has begun.

RETURN of ONE-of-a-KIND, as-built Fly Rods:

On occasion I will have various models of high quality fly rods available that will be for sale "as built" for immediate shipment. These are permitted to be returned if they are sent back in the same new, and unused condition in which they were received by the customer.

Returns for these rods must be post marked

within a 10-Calendar day time frame from the customer's initial receipt of the rod.

Customer will be responsible for the return

Shipping, Handling & Insurance sufficient to cover

the cost of the fly rod.

IMPORTANT NOTE for RETURNS of as-built RODS

PLEASE INSURE the rod shipment for

100% OF THE PURCHASE VALUE

as this is for your benefit! Also choose a delivery

option that has tracking and requires

a signature at time of delivery at my location.

This signature option is a must as it prevents

the delivery guy or gal from just dropping it off

wherever they want to, or even not at all, and then

using the excuse that no signature was requested!

Without a tracking number and a signature

requirement for ME at time of delivery,

I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOST,

STOLEN or MIS-DELIVERED ITEMS.

It will then be the rod owner's responsibility

to file a claim with the shipping company for reimbursement through their claim process.

Please see the document under "Fly Rod Warranty" for more details - Link Below.......

Once the rod is received at my shop,

the rod will be inspected and any adjustments

needed will be made prior to the monetary refund. Refunds will be sent by mail in the form of a Cashiers Check made out to the original purchaser.

PLEASE MAKE CONTACT WITH ME BY TEXT

OR PHONE CALL PRIOR TO RETURNING

A ROD SO I CAN BE EXPECTING THE SHIPMENT.

Please return the fly rod to my shop address below:

Charles M. Armontrout

Sweetwater Fly Rods

1907 Hot Springs Road

Covington, VA 24426-6104

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PHOTOGRAPHS:

For the purpose of record keeping,

all completed rods are photographed in detail,

files are archived and hard copy prints are

placed in the client's file before the rod

is shipped out.

Fly Rod Warranty Document