Hi Steven, thanks for joining!
"Would it be possible to name and share the stores on this forum? Not possible due to sponsorship reasons?"Yes, we do have sponsors and currently two of them sell tackle; namely Ocean Active and Saltywater Tackle. We have no problem with members of the site sharing their experience with finding hard to find products etc. at alternative stores. Our sponsors have kept this forum; it's upkeep and register etc. active for the past 7 years. This website is basically genesis of world-wide popping and jigging discussion and remains, still the most potent resource because of them. Without their help, the founders of the site simply don't have the financial ability or time to do so. So, in short, we encourage everyone to check out the forum sponsors; failing that, feel free to discuss alternative supply from other shops.
I'll give you a short example: Lets say you are European and want to grab an item from the US but the shipping costs, given your region are undeniably preventative (they aren't) for this particular bulky (or otherwise) item. As such, you find it closer to home for a much cheaper total (for instance). Before you go ahead and order the cheaper option; send an email to Jon/Nick or Sami/Ray/Paul and say where you heard about them and see if they can serve you better regarding the shipping. My bet is that they would sort you out and offer you more than you intended in the way of service or further products and advice. If they can't help you; go ahead and grab it from the other place and share your experience with us so that we can be better informed. In this situation, the sponsor was given a run for their money and couldn't help therefore another process is worth a mention...
To all our members, we would like to advise on our policy of posting links to other websites other than our sponsor/advertisers. We will not be prohibiting links to other websites where the item being linked is not available, out of stock or not shippable from our sponsors. That said, we also want to make it clear that we will not tolerate behavior that verges on spamming. In a nutshell, if you want to advertise on this forum, please do it the right way and become a sponsor/advertiser. If in doubt, please contact myself or Brandon.
So use your own discretion but be kind to the folks that help us make this place stay online!
Thanks mate