Cabelas Warranty Ethics

[Daubs]

Best friend works for Cabela's at the home office. So does his Wife. I've know them both since 1987. We have discussed this very topic several times.

My opinion on the topic: Cabela's will honor the lifetime warranty because they want you back as a customer. And they want you to tell your friends about the great customer service and wonderful products. If you feel the product you purchased from Cabela's has failed, then by all means, return it. To each his own.

 

[NDHunter]

The warranty wording is "Cabelas brand products are guaranteed for the lifetime of the product AGAINST DEFECTS IN WORKMANSHIP under normal wear and tear."

Wearing out a pair of boots over a couple of years and then wanting a new pair "just because" is plain'ol theft and anybody who does it is an asshole. Can't believe Cabela's will take returns like that but obviously they do. Compared to other stores, I'd say Cabela's is definitely a little bit higher on their prices for a lot of products and people abusing their return policy no doubt contributes towards those higher prices. Like almost everything in life, a few assholes ruin it for the rest of us.

 

[Horsenhike]

I live by the idea that it is impossible to be a little bit of a thief. Yes or no, there is no in between.

 

[JimP]

All Cabela's would have to do to eliminate people abusing the warranty is to just change the wording to say just lifetime warranty on manufacturing defects. But I doubt that they will.

I just replaced 4 shocks on my truck last week with some new ones that I got for free. The previous ones had a "lifetime" warranty on them for the original purchaser and after 150,000 miles I decided that I needed a new set. All I had to do was to pay for the shipping for the new shocks and they picked up the return shipping for the old ones.

Does anyone on here remember the old man on the Midas advertisement that drove a old Model T? He always brought his car into Midas for their lifetime brake service.

 

[JNDEER]

Happy to see you guys using the warranty. I have only had one pair of cabelas gortex boots stop working (less than a year of seasonal use) and I had to fight to get them replaced.

My biggest problem was recently I tried to get the rain fly on my 8 man guide tent replaced. I have had it for 5-6 years with no problems and again seasonal use. I always kept good care of it and after the last use during a winter pig hunt the storm caused a small hole in the fly towards the top. I am not sure how it happened, but possibly from the wind. I called them and they said there was nothing they could do. I can see the argument that I could have been the one to poke a hole in the fly and just wanted a new one, but that was not the case and they basically told me to pound sand. I had to patch the fly myself, which was not a big issue, but don't promote your 4 season tent with lifetime warranty and then not cover something that is a legit issue.

 

[eastmont]

Huh, this is all really interesting. Thanks for everyone's input. Sounds like the debate comes down to where is the line between manufacture defect and personal wear and tear.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Huh, this is all really interesting. Thanks for everyone's input. Sounds like the debate comes down to where is the line between manufacture defect and personal wear and tear.

Some people have ethics and some don't.

 

[NDHunter]

Some people have ethics and some don't.

Couldn't have said it better.

 

[Triple BB]

Cabela's averages a net profit of $150 mill - $200 mill per year after writing off more than a billion dollars a year in selling general & admin expenses plus a lot of other write offs. Its their choice to honor warranties. Their shareholders, which I was one, always had the final say. I've never had a problem returning something I felt was a defect issue vs wear & tear. Be interesting to see if Bass Pro will continue to honor the lifetime warranty...

 

[mallardsx2]

I will reference my old post to this. I had to really push the issue to get my boots replaced. Kinda disappointing.

http://forum.eastmans.com/showthread.php/12353-Cabela-s-Meindl-Men-s-quot-Perfekt™-quot-Extreme-400-Gram-Hunter-Boots/page3?highlight=boot+review

 

[JimP]

I took a good hard look at a pair of hiking boots that I bought from Cabela's last November and from the looks of them they just might be going back after only 10 months of use. For what they cost the workmanship is quite poor from where there is a problem with them.

 

[EOHunter]

I have only tried once to use the Cabela's warranty. I received a pair of Cabela's XT 12x50 binos for Christmas. About two seasons later, the eye piece broke off. I called and asked if they would return them or fix them. They said they would if I sent them back with a receipt. I received them as a gift and the original purchaser no longer had the receipt so they would not honor or take them back. I tried a couple more times and gave up. These were Cabela's branded binocs so it is pretty obvious where they were purchased.

I used to spent the majority of my money with them, but after that, I only spend a little. The only way I buy through them now is if nobody else has it or if it is a smoking deal. I use Sportsmans Warehouse now. Not honoring a warranty that was retail about $200 so probably would have cost them under $100 has cost them thousands in purchases over the last 10 years.

I am normally not one to take things back but these probably had under ten days of use over a two year period.

 

[JimP]

I have found that if you are ordering something from Cabela's and ordering it online to open a account with them. That way you have quick access to any order and invoices that you have on file for a number of years. I know that my order history goes back to 2010. So if you still have those binoculars and your friend or relative purchased them online you might look into that.

Other than that you might call a area Cabela's and ask for the optics department to see what they will do, you never know.

I do know that on any major expensive item that I purchase anymore I have a file that I keep all the receipts in even if I give the item away as a gift.

 

[Horsenhike]

I would box up those binoculars and return them with a note about the problem. Highly doubt they just mail them back.

 

[Sawfish]

In my experience, there is a tremendous difference in both the quality and the warranty treatment since BPS acquired Cabelas.

 

[grizzly]

I used to have a small company that sold some products into Cabela's in their Home Goods department. That didn't last too long before they just started producing a Chinese reproduction of our product. There are other small businesses that we associated with that have had similar experiences. I have yet to see the Cabela's brand products regularly be as quality as the products they are replacing either. I spend my money elsewhere.

For reference, we also supplied to Browning for their catalog and they were a great, loyal customer.

Lots of people have great warranties and customer service, I'll go there.