Having owned and loved Albright's A5 in a 5 weight for the last several years, I've been keeping an eye on Albright's new products. Working with Lou Tabory over the last few years, well known fresh and saltwater fly angler and author of many books on the subjects, Albright has continued to develop well-received fly rods, reels and other gear at prices that make most people smile. That said, can someone please explain to me why it seems like Albright Tackle is constantly having a 70% off sale? If your products are perpetually on sale or in close-out, doesn't that mean they're really not? Wait. What?

Given that Albright is an online-only outfit and thus their products aren't sold in stores, what's the point of setting high-end MSRPs at which their products are never actually sold? For instance, Albright's very well regarded XXT fly rod, is currently on super duper double beatloaf mega sale for $209 (off its MSRP of $679). Quite the bargain, right? Well, sure. But, how much of one? Chances are, and can't guarantee this, not a single XXT was ever sold for anything approaching $679, because everything on the site is always on sale.

The degrees of these sales vary (i.e. I've read of the XXT going for as low as $179), but why bother with the fictionally high price tags? If Albright is simply pulling a marketing scam to convince potential customers that they are getting a rod that stands up to $700 competition for $200, maybe they should stop banking on the gullibility of the American consumer (despite what a strong play that likely is) and just let their products speak for themselves. Companies like Redington have been providing extremely high quality products at economical prices for years, and the quality of these products is what has potential customers noticing, not some snake oil nonsense.

Hey, guess what? Albright's having a really big sale right now. Go check it out.