Cabela's...is this the beginning of the end?

archeranthony · Dec 16, 2018

Unfortunately this is also the result of "online shoppers" and the Amazons of the world. Ive worked in the automotive accessories business for the past 13 years and it gets worse for us every year. The only thing that keeps us in business is the Labor/Service side. I get alot of people that will come in for our professional opinion and then go buy online because its cheaper. Im a consumer i understand it. But i tell them "One day when you need that advice we wont be here as a result of the online market. Im the type of person that likes to go in for the expert opinion and then give them my business. Sure sometimes you pay a little more but its keeping people employed and that matters too. Brick and Mortars are a thing of the past. Its sad when you live somewhere like DFW texas and can only find a few good sportsman shops. Sorry for my Rant!

dirtclod Az. · Dec 16, 2018

Sporstmans. ALL THE WAY.

Triple BB · Dec 16, 2018

A close friend who was in their corporate offices used to buy stuff for me with his employee discount. Amazing how much stuff is marked up. They had goose silhouette's that retailed for $175, his cost $110. I bought 15 dozen before it was said and done. Most of my junk came through him. Due to the Bass Pro buyout, he recently walked with a fat golden parachute. Now Ebay, Amazon and Google are my sources for hunting gear...

highplainsdrifter · Dec 17, 2018

Triple BB said:
Amazing how much stuff is marked up. They had goose silhouette's that retailed for $175, his cost $110.

Somebody has to pay for the beautiful building, the trophies on the wall and the personal service. So the prices have to be marked up and can't compete with online sellers.

Colorado Cowboy · Dec 28, 2018

Just got a new Fishing Catalog from Cabelas/BassPro. It has a large Bass Pro logo on the top half of the cover and a really small Cabelas lower on the cover. Won't be too long and the Cabelas name will disappear. Bet there is a plan on Johnnie's desk on how to rebadge all the Cabelas stores! LOL Remember when Cabelas used to send out a massive hard cover catalog early in the year.

kidoggy · Dec 28, 2018

I don't buy from either so , if they fall, no great loss to me.

if there is a need ,something will fill the void.

JimP · Dec 28, 2018

The Cabela's brand in merchandise is gone or soon will be. The last time that I was in one of their stores all the clothing was branded Redhead which is Bass Pro. They also have discontinued a lot of the better clothing that was branded Cabela's and went with the cheaper and not as good brand.

On the hard covered catalog I think that they were a unneeded marketing item. I still got all the other catalogs in the mail along with the hard covered one so it was just a unnecessary expense to print and send it out. The one nice thing about it was that a friend of mine has a son that loved them. He thought that he was important when he could put that hardcover catalog into his backpack and walk around.

Gr8bawana · Dec 29, 2018

Much of the clothing at Bass Pro is of the made in china Redhead label and seems cheaply made. It's hard to find anything there that isn't redhead label. Last time I was in Basspro there was a rack of Cabelas chamois shirts that seemed much heavier than the Redhead chamois shirts.

husker hunter · Dec 29, 2018

I've been thinking the same things! No reason for me to keep going to Cabela's.

kidoggy · Dec 29, 2018

truth is most consumers hate change but have a short attention span... bass pro knows that with cabelas wiped away , they can get away with selling inferior products. sure a few will complain and whine for awhile but a year from now they will be back.. the majority of consumers won't even notice anything changed . in fact most probably won't even notice the store changing names unless it is pointed out to them and bass pro knows it.

Bonecollector · Dec 29, 2018

kidoggy said:
truth is most consumers hate change but have a short attention span... bass pro knows that with cabelas wiped away , they can get away with selling inferior products. sure a few will complain and whine for awhile but a year from now they will be back.. the majority of consumers won't even notice anything changed . in fact most probably won't even notice the store changing names unless it is pointed out to them and bass pro knows it.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of truths in this statement...

DH56 · Dec 29, 2018

Not for me- I shopped both and never liked Bass Pro. I have been a Cabelas customer since the late 70's. I noticed the change as the year progressed to the point now that their specific hunting clothing line that they were known for is gone. Many of their Branded items which were good quality are gone. The store feels different. As I traveled the country, I stopped in their stores and ate at some of their restaurants as well.

The customer service when I call on the phone and in the stores is not nearly as good these days. I tried calling a local store gun department several times and no one answered.

This may be the last year I shop there. I have a good amount of points and gift cards to use, and once i do, I will most likely be done. It's a shame, but a good sporting goods store that I liked is gone.

nv-hunter · Dec 29, 2018

kidoggy said:
truth is most consumers hate change but have a short attention span... bass pro knows that with cabelas wiped away , they can get away with selling inferior products. sure a few will complain and whine for awhile but a year from now they will be back.. the majority of consumers won't even notice anything changed . in fact most probably won't even notice the store changing names unless it is pointed out to them and bass pro knows it.

That only works if there are no options. Allready the guys i work with and those I hunt with have allready given up on our local cabelas only once in the last year has anybodu even talked about cabelas and that was for a certian type of ammo he was looking for after he went to 3 other stores. We have sportsmans warehouse and sheels plus a couple of local shops here in reno

kidoggy · Dec 30, 2018

nv-hunter said:
That only works if there are no options. Allready the guys i work with and those I hunt with have allready given up on our local cabelas only once in the last year has anybodu even talked about cabelas and that was for a certian type of ammo he was looking for after he went to 3 other stores. We have sportsmans warehouse and sheels plus a couple of local shops here in reno

yeah, some will go elsewhere , most will not.

like I said , if there is a need , the void will be filled.

Ikeepitcold · Dec 30, 2018

I know they are not everywhere but I prefer Sprotsmans Wearhouse. Their prices are usually better and their customer service is top notch.

kidoggy · Dec 30, 2018

I have never looked at a gun at cabelas that sportsmans could not beat in price.

Colorado Cowboy · Dec 30, 2018

The only problem with SW is they don't carry as much merchandise on hand as even the smaller Cabelas. I have been to SW in Grand Junction, Co & Farmington, NM (they are the closest) and neither has close to what Cabelas has/had in my size (2x) in clothes. The also are pretty sparse in fishing stuff. BUT I will shop there when I can, closest one is 80 miles away.

gbflyer · Dec 30, 2018

I took Johnny Morris fishing once. He had a group of his top Tracker boat dealers on an all expense paid trip to Alaska. He was a good guy, treated staff respectfully and made sure all in his group were taken care of first. He might be a sharp business man but he is no villain.

Cabela's...is this the beginning of the end?

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