It would take,me,too many words to explain it, but once you learn how to tie bobber stops yourself, you will never need to buy them again! I learned by trial and error and also by taking a store bought one apart. They are very easy to tie once you get it. One spool of line will make a lifetime's worth of stoppers. I've also tried the rubberband, don't like it as much though because they do get caught in the guides and un-tie themselves too.