Jim Mercier seemed like a nice, but probably an over-optimistic, guy when he made a rod for me about 8 years ago. I was always skeptical that a small operation could really compete with the large manufacturers, especially here in the PNW, but I never expected it to come to this. Sorry about the guys getting screwed by him. Good luck. BYW, I peeled the XRodz decal off my boat last month and will never again recommend them.