Kaufmann Streamborn out of business?

[stlhd]

I just heard from a very reliable source that Kaufmann's closed up shop Monday without notice. Has anyone heard anything about this??

[dreamboater]

Originally Posted by stlhd

I just heard from a very reliable source that Kaufmann's closed up shop Monday without notice. Has anyone heard anything about this??

I heard that too. Their Seattle store also
Really hate to see this happen to a fly fishing icon like Kaufmanns

[Pete]

Please observe the Ifish policy on rumors. We don't permit them. If you believe something has occurred, take the time to verify or else site your source. "A very reliable source" is not something others can independently verify.

How about someone give them a call during work hours tomorrow, ok?

[stlhd]

Originally Posted by Pete

Please observe the Ifish policy on rumors. We don't permit them. If you believe something has occurred, take the time to verify or else site your source. "A very reliable source" is not something others can independently verify.

How about someone give them a call during work hours tomorrow, ok?

Just verified by Kaufmann's employees ...

[dreamboater]

Originally Posted by Pete

Please observe the Ifish policy on rumors. We don't permit them. If you believe something has occurred, take the time to verify or else site your source. "A very reliable source" is not something others can independently verify.

How about someone give them a call during work hours tomorrow, ok?

It's not a rumour anymore

[Gipper32]

thats nuts!!! i drove by there yesterday and was in there a week or so ago. everything seemed normal......

that is really not very good for the guys that live on this side of town. there is nothing close for us to just go in and get stuff. River city is great but i am not gonna drive 30 minutes for stuff.

[Jaydub]

Originally Posted by Gipper32

thats nuts!!! i drove by there yesterday and was in there a week or so ago. everything seemed normal......

that is really not very good for the guys that live on this side of town. there is nothing close for us to just go in and get stuff. River city is great but i am not gonna drive 30 minutes for stuff.

River City is only about 10 minutes from Kaufmann's.

Sad new though. I've been going to Kaufmann's for over 30 years. Before the internet their catalog was among the best.

[mkwerx]

Originally Posted by Gipper32

thats nuts!!! i drove by there yesterday and was in there a week or so ago. everything seemed normal......

that is really not very good for the guys that live on this side of town. there is nothing close for us to just go in and get stuff. River city is great but i am not gonna drive 30 minutes for stuff.

I doubt it's even a 10 minute longer drive to River City vs. Kaufmann's, and Don always had better prices on gear. I liked Kaufmann's - but their prices were generally too high on the same gear that Don sells/sold. It sucks to see Kaufmann's go under - but we've still got it pretty good on the west side now - with Fisherman's and River City. Poor guys in other areas are still clamoring for something like a Dick's or Sports Authority, let alone a real fishing tackle shop.

I hope the guys that worked there the best - and they're not standing in the unemployment line very long.

[Wingdam]

Wow, that was quick. I thought business might have been going down hill a couple years ago when they stopped printing their catalog. That's just a sad thing. It's like when Larry's closed. I'm stunned. I had history with them all the way back to their first 99W store. The majority of my fly fishing/fly tying arsenal was purchased from them over the years. Another icon goes down. Thankfully there's other options.

[Gipper32]

Originally Posted by Jaydub

River City is only about 10 minutes from Kaufmann's.

ya thats true but driving from Newberg definitly made it easier to just go to kaufmanns. especially for the small stuff.

it is sad. i wonder if they will liquadate their inventory. by the looks of it they are just shutting down, and thats it.

[Buccaneer]

That is sad news and kind of an end of a era.

When I read this, I looked up from my desk to my bookcase--

American Nymph Fly Tying Manual.....by Randall Kaufmann

Tying Dry Flies......by Randall Kaufmann

Bought those a long time ago. I wish everyone involved well.

It was always a fun store to visit.

[bullhead]

I have a friend from Vancouver, Wa. who was scheduled to leave soon for a trip to Christmas Island with them. He just fb'd that he's out $4,500... The cost of the trip.

Obviously, Kaufman's knew the folks who had paid in full for that trip and could have done the right thing by them before closing... My friend is seeking an attorney, but lord knows that can complex and costly process. Does that blow or what???

[salembassin]

One of my co-workers was signed up for the Chrismas Island trip too and lost his money. Really bad deal for a guy that was just getting into the sport of fly fishing and was really excited about this trip.

[Grantspastor]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

That is sad news and kind of an end of a era.

When I read this, I looked up from my desk to my bookcase--

American Nymph Fly Tying Manual.....by Randall Kaufmann

Tying Dry Flies......by Randall Kaufmann

Bought those a long time ago. I wish everyone involved well.

It was always a fun store to visit.

Yes it is sad. I never visited their store, but have ordered materials from them. Randall Kaufmann's books have been a great resource for me

[Wild Chrome]

I'm sad to hear this. Kauffman's was a place you could go when you wanted a quality product. I got good advice there and some gear that I still own. They were definitely high-end. I'm not sure that works as well in this economy. This economy is bad!

[Stonedfish]

Sad deal to see Kmann's go away. I started going to their Bellevue store in the mid 80's. I met Randall there and he helped me get started tying. Very nice guy who took the time to answer all my newbie questions.
I still have his tying book he signed for me that day.
I spent a lot of $$$ there over the years, but in the past few years you could tell things weren't good. My KMann $$$ now will go to another local shop, as I don't want to see them go away.

[Ladyangler]

As for booking a trip. State law required anyone one booking or taking payments for trips prior to departure must have a bond covering such issues as going out of business. I would contact the Oregon secratary of state office to get the low down.

[cphatts]

Truly a shame that another Northwest icon had to close its doors. You'd be hard pressed to find any shop in the region that can claim the pedigree K'mans had over the years; Randall, John Hazel, Randy Stetzer, Gordon, Joel, Jerry and that's only the Portland store. A sign of the times I guess, and another reason I'll do my best to buy local.....even if it means spending a few extra bucks. While I didn't frequent the new location as much as the old shop, when it used to be a stones throw from my old office, its still sad to see all that history just vanish in the blink of an eye. Not too mention all the guys losing their jobs. Hopefully this retraction of fly shops we've been seeing the last few years is at the end of its cycle.

[ifisherman]

I am very sad to hear this news. I hope that everyone involved finds a new path as soon as possible.

I only went into that shop a couple times since it is not in my area. One time I did go in to get something small and the guy working kept asking me if I needed a rod to go with it. I joked with him for a second but he kept asking. Not sure if he just took the joke to far but I left feeling like the guy was bummed at me that I only bought something small.

Anyway, best of luck to everyone involved.

[dreamboater]

Originally Posted by mkwerx

I doubt it's even a 10 minute longer drive to River City vs. Kaufmann's, and Don always had better prices on gear. I liked Kaufmann's - but their prices were generally too high on the same gear that Don sells/sold. It sucks to see Kaufmann's go under - but we've still got it pretty good on the west side now - with Fisherman's and River City. Poor guys in other areas are still clamoring for something like a Dick's or Sports Authority, let alone a real fishing tackle shop.

I hope the guys that worked there the best - and they're not standing in the unemployment line very long.

River City is a good place for sure but they have very limited expertise in all things spey related.Kaufmann's had several guys with a lot of spey knowledge.

[steelyourhead]

This is a huge loss for sure, and caught me totally off-guard. The guys at Kaufmann's were always really cool to me, and have given me some great tips since I've been in Oregon. I think some of them have their own private guide businesses, and hopefully those operations will keep running.

[mkwerx]

Originally Posted by dreamboater

River City is a good place for sure but they have very limited expertise in all things spey related.Kaufmann's had seceral guys with a lot of spey knowledge.

This is true - and it's one area that Kmann's really excelled at - but like I said before, Kmanns really catered to the higher end crowd - and it's hard to get into Spey fishing for less than $500-600. I've not been there, but I would bet that the folks over in Welches have some pretty good Spey knowledge.

I really hope that Kaufmann's is able to reorganize and restart in the future, and recapture what made them great in the past.

[clarkman23]

It truly is unfortunate. I wish all of the employees the best.


not to hijack the thread at all, but since some folks have been lamenting the loss of their "spey gurus"...you could always go to one of the experts, John Hazel @ the Deschutes Angler. He's one of the best. Or if you don't want to drive all that way, what about Joel @ Royal Treatment?

[Slow and Low]

Originally Posted by mkwerx

I would bet that the folks over in Welches have some pretty good Spey knowledge.

.

There's a pretty good shop on Halsey as well, I think you will find anything spey you need there including solid instruction.

[Wild Chrome]

Originally Posted by mkwerx

I would bet that the folks over in Welches have some pretty good Spey knowledge.

True. I've found them to be pretty approachable too. Bachman told me the reel I had was fine when he could have tried to sell me one.

When deciding where to buy a spey rod, please consider the guiding reputations of these guys. I, for one, will never buy a rod from a business that pays iits employees to hold public water (from other anglers) for their clients. Still PO'ed about it. One particular CO shop is notorious for this.

[clarkman23]

Originally Posted by Slow and Low

There's a pretty good shop on Halsey as well, I think you will find anything spey you need there including solid instruction.

forgot about them...dunno how I could, I was just in there a couple of days ago picking up some tying supplies.

[SailCat]

Wow ... that's quite a surprise.

I did business with Lance and Randall 'way back, trading photo-dying of feathers for 'super' necks. They were just kids then ....

Kaufmann's website is still up with the last blog entry on March 14th promoting the Christmas Island trip.

[TillamookChinook]

Truly sad. Another local fishing icon gone away. They got a fair amount of my fishing dollars, but I never spent enough to keep anybody open. Hope the downward spiral stops soon. I miss GI Joes and now will miss Kaufmans.

TC

[Raining_Kings]

Bummer. It seems like they just moved to that "new" storefront, now they're out of business. Couple of the guys were real friendly in there. Had to stop going there last year though, as just buying a few flys was costing $50 a trip. Hope their employees land on their feet soon.

[Zugbug66]

Ouch! I hope the best for the guys that worked for Kaufmann's. I stopped by there today and was hoping they were just closed for the day. I frequent most of the PDX shops, and don't like to see this thing happen. Thats why I don't do much business online. Support local shops. Good Luck to Jad and the boys.
Wayne

[Twysted]

Wow, I just kind of figured they would always be around!

My first fly tying book (purchased around the mid `80's I think) was from them.

I probably wouldn't have learned what I have over the years were it not for them getting me started.


Edited to add: What Zug said! Buy local. Saving a few cents online will never replace resources like this!

[nucci]

That's a real BUMMER!

[Muddy Water]

Here's the Oregonian Blog:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/windowsho...fly_fishi.html

Buy local if you can.

[gideeyup]

Originally Posted by Pete

Please observe the Ifish policy on rumors. We don't permit them. If you believe something has occurred, take the time to verify or else site your source. "A very reliable source" is not something others can independently verify.

How about someone give them a call during work hours tomorrow, ok?

cite

[mudman]

This is a sad bit of news...

Does anyone know what the deal was with Randall in past years, possible as long as the new store location? It didn't seem like he was involved anymore, at least I never saw him in the store, only Lance.

Just Curious.

[JRV]

Lance bought Randall out.

[shorthair]

Originally Posted by Ladyangler

As for booking a trip. State law required anyone one booking or taking payments for trips prior to departure must have a bond covering such issues as going out of business. I would contact the Oregon secretary of state office to get the low down.

But will they recover the funds in time for him to still make the trip ??? My guess would be a resounding no.

[nehalemguy]

Originally Posted by Ladyangler

As for booking a trip. State law required anyone one booking or taking payments for trips prior to departure must have a bond covering such issues as going out of business. I would contact the Oregon secratary of state office to get the low down.

True enough but I believe the State only requires a $5k bond. $5k will not even fully reinburse two clients for the Christmas Island trip. Trip insurance may cover this unfortunate situation but only if the guests opted to buy a policy.

E

[Jaydub]

Originally Posted by Ladyangler

As for booking a trip. State law required anyone one booking or taking payments for trips prior to departure must have a bond covering such issues as going out of business. I would contact the Oregon secratary of state office to get the low down.

Hearsay is that their bond hadn't been paid for several months prior to closing. That doesn't bode well for those who booked trips.

[mikelee]

There was a customer that paid with a personal check and credit card. He won't get his money back paid with a personal check but he can claim the amount paid in credit card through the credit card company. This is a bad way to go out of business and surely will damage the Kaufmann name.

[Treble Trouble]

Originally Posted by Gipper32

ya thats true but driving from Newberg definitly made it easier to just go to kaufmanns. especially for the small stuff.

it is sad. i wonder if they will liquadate their inventory. by the looks of it they are just shutting down, and thats it.

If coming up from Newberg, when you get to Sherwood take Roy Rogers over to Scholls Ferry and you can be at River City in about the same time (maybe an extra 5-10 min) as it would take you to get to Kaufmann's. Another option in the Tualatin area is the new Orvis store that just opened up at Bridgeport Village.

[Ladyangler]

Hey guy's maybe the state should require a larger bond and 1 year grace period after business is gone. How many of the guides take deposits and have the bond required? by the state.

What happened was the closing of a once very succesfull business. This is no different than a house builder or anyone else falling on hard times I do feel very sorry for all the parties involved.

[packer]

I may be wrong but I beleive there are very specific laws regarding deposits on trips , I know of some big game guides that got slammed in federal court for racketeering because they took money from out of state clients and didn't deliver . If they were acting as the booking agent they come under a different set of laws than those administered by the state marine board , if they simply closed up they are still liable ,if they filed for bankruptcy the court should intervene

[dreamboater]

Kaufmanns is going to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...to_file_f.html