Sportsman's Den

The Sportsman’ Den is closing after what seems like forever years.

Owned by Billy Ingraham for the past 17 years and for a couple of decades before that by the late John Pippicelli and Mike Noyes, done in, Ingraham says, by Amazon’s low prices, but in fact, I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did, because they could never compete on price with the mass retailers; once, buying a Plano tackle box there way back in the 1980s, long before the Internet was a thing, I commented to Jon Pipicelli that Cabela’s mail order price for the identical item was 30% lower than his.

Pipicelli dragged out his wholesale book, and showed me that his distributor for the brand charged more than Cabella’s was offering it at retail. I suggested that he buy from Cabela’s then, and keep the same profit margin while being more competitive. He didn’t take that advice.

But where Sportsman’s Den could compete, and in fact could offer something no mail order or, later, Internet vendor could, was local knowledge and expert advice. And that worked, for much longer than I’d expected. Fishermen would come in not only to buy tackle (and yes, I did buy that Plano from Pipicelli), but also to learn which fish were biting where, on what tides, and what baits and lures customers were reporting success with.

But wait, there was still more! Jon ran saltwater fly fishing classes: in-store lessons, culminating in evening trips to Tod’s Point (Tod’s is, or was then, open to fishmen after hours) where casting techniques could be demonstrated and practiced. That opened up a whole new type of fishing for me and others, so of course we bought new, heavier 9 weight rods and reels to accommodate the larger line.

And there were fly fishing classes, general fishing seminars, fresh and saltwater, and so on, all of which attracted and maintained a loyal customer base.

I eventually moved out of town; nearby at first, then further away, and could stop at the store on an irregular basis, but after Billy Ingraham, another Greenwich native, bought the operation from Noyes, he was able to keep it and even expand it in subsequent years. But no longer: he’s closing shop, apparently because customers like myself thinned out, lured away by the cheaper alternatives and unwilling to pay a premium for what Sportsman’s Den offered.

What a shame, what a loss.

From Billy Ingraham’s FaceBook page announcing the end:

After great consideration, I have decided to close the Sportsman's Den at the end of this year. It has been an incredible 17 years equipping my neighbors and sharing knowledge, advice, and watching them grow into great fishermen. ….. Small retail business is not easy these days! Rent, Inventory, Employee Salaries, Taxes, and Utilities are all RISING expenses that all small stores have to deal with. We had three additional hurdles that proved to be too much to overcome. First is what I consider the biggest one.

ONLINE SALES Amazon and other big box online stores are just too appetizing to pass up. Even the most loyal customers were guilty of buying fishing gear in a pinch from Amazon and having it the next day and most likely cheaper than I could ever sell it. ME INCLUDED!! LOL. Instead of selling $500 worth of gear to a new angler, I'm selling them $30 worth of line and setting up their online purchased equipment for free.. And most of the time it was not the right gear!!