Bass Fishing Jan 2017 | Page 78

TBF WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN THE BASS FEDERATION By Dan Johnson EVINRUDE G2 FEATURED IN JANUARY REVERSE AUCTION FUNDRAISER I 74 n January 2017, TBF members will have the chance to bid on one of the hottest new outboards in bass fishing – a 150-hp High Output Evinrude E- TEC G2. TBF members enjoy many benefits, and reverse auctions are among them. The online sales raise funds for TBF youth and conservation pro- grams while offering members one-time incredible deals on great bass fishing gear. They also add an entertaining twist to the traditional auction format. As the auction progresses, the price falls instead of going up. Each item’s starting bid begins at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. For exam- ple, if an item lists for $12,000, that’s where the bidding begins. After that, the selling price drops by a set amount at given intervals (which vary from sale to sale), such as $100 per day, until someone bids on the item and wins that particular sale. “It’s exciting watching the price fall every day, knowing anyone could buy the item at any time,” says TBF President Robert Cartlidge. “If you wait too long, you lose your chance at what could be a once-in-a-lifetime discount on great fishing gear.” Cartlidge notes that the process also provides TBF partners’ products greater exposure to the masses while helping increase demand. “It’s definitely a win-win process,” he says “The auctions are very limited to one item per year on most items, so it drives demand to the retailers for all those who wanted in but waited too long. Plus, everything that has a dealer network still gets run through the dealer network after auction for delivery and installation.” The 150-hp H.O. Evinrude E-TEC G2 is part of Evinrude’s revolutionary G2 series, which includes power plants from 150 to 300 hp. The two-stroke outboard is the result of five years of intense research and development, and offers seri- ous bass anglers a number of benefits, including 75 percent fewer emissions, 15 percent better fuel economy and up to 30 percent more torque than lead- ing four-stroke motors. For complete details on the Evinrude G2, visit evinrude.com. Anyone may browse the TBF auctions at any time. To participate, however, you must set up a bidding account. Registration is a quick-and-easy process, and needs only be done once to participate in as many of the annual auctions as you wish. For details, visit bassfederation.com and click on TBF Online Auctions. Evinrude’s revolutionary 150-hp High Output E-TEC G2 will be on the TBF auction block in January. FLWFISHING.COM I JANUARY 2017