Is Cabela’s played out?

[ClearCreek]

Stopped by the Billings MT store two months ago. I haven't been to a Cabelas in over a decade, nor did I know about the BPS merger until I read this form. Yup, it was like WalMart. Huge ass people eating large chunks of fudge. I walked around noticed no more bargain cave, cheap stuff and left without a purchase. Will never return with options like Sportsman, REI, etc.

The Billings Cabelas store still does not have a Bass Pro Shop sign on the front of the building. The two other stores I have been in the last six months have had the BPS sign above the Cabelas sign on the front of the store.

BPS is in the process of eliminating the Cabelas stores. In five years, or less, you will not see the word Cabelas associated with the stores or online.

ClearCreek

 

[4ester]

Personally...I'm done with them, The Bass Pro Merger was the straw that broke the camels back.

Look up what they did to Sidney, NE. Killed that whole town.

RIP Cabelas

 

[bigdesert10]

I think we're on the brink of a main street sporting goods store resurgence. The service and quality in all the big box stores is less than ideal. If I had the capital handy, I'd be opening a store in my town. There's definitely a need there.

 

[realunlucky]

I think we're on the brink of a main street sporting goods store resurgence. The service and quality in all the big box stores is less than ideal. If I had the capital handy, I'd be opening a store in my town. There's definitely a need there.

Problem is that people want it now when they step into a store and inventory costs money. Price wise it's very hard to compete with companies that sell gear and drop ship from the manufacturer.
What ends up happening is people go to the store put hands on the actual product and price check on thier phone and order online to save $20. Brick and mortar stores are in a death spin in all markets expect grocery

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[gbflyer]

I was reading some of the outrage over capitalism in the comments regarding the Cabela’s takeover and what it’s meant to the people in Sidney, NE. Yet Cabela’s did the same thing to several mom and pop serviced communities when they put in their goofy Outpost stores in places that really can’t support one. Also, if you ever dealt with Cabela’s as a vendor pre-BPS, I can assure you the terms were all in their favor.

Sportsman’s does the same thing. We have one in Juneau AK. While it’s not my home town, that’s where we go to shop for all our bass fishing needs. It’s cool I guess, but there is always more help (friendly but incompetent for the most part) than there are customers. A few days before Christmas I was in there and the gun counter kid was explaining how the 4130 chromoly barrel on the black poodle shooter he was trying to peddle was in fact stainless steel as he could tell by looking in the chamber. Oh yes...all the “managers” are from out of town.

Back in my former life I took Johnny Morris fishing. He is not the Devil. He was on a small ship tour with a bunch of his top performing Tracker dealers and their families. They all hated the boat ride so he flew in his administrative assistant and they overhauled the itinerary mid-stream and found local lodging in our little town for everyone. Mr. Morris was a down to earth gentleman, treated staff respectfully and was very appreciative of everyone’s efforts. We took him in the 1950’s vintage bush plane and we were a little nervous about having enough insurance. He said not to worry about it, he quit worrying long ago himself because there wasn’t enough insurance anyway. Hahahahaha. Remember he also started selling lures in the back of his pickup at bass tournaments.

 

[dutch_henry]

Still appreciate some of their gear. I lived out of one of their Instinct dome tents one fall in AK and it treated me very well. But on the whole, their quality and service has diminished steadily over the years, even as prices have gone up. It's disheartening that so much of their merchandise is made in China, Pakistan, Thailand, etc. Plus their "lifetime" warranty is complete BS.

When they built their Hamburg, PA location (where some family lives), they made all sorts of promises: shuttles to the downtown, services promoting local hotels and restaurants, slick stories of how it will revitalize Hamburg, which really needed some help. All BS. All it did was start a cancerous growth of big box stores and fast food joints on what used to be productive farmland. And that in turn became a magnet that drained even more life from Hamburg's downtown.

Yeah, the may operate on American soil and provide jobs to Americans. But they sure do it in a way that crushes a lot of what is good about our country.

 

[steelhauler34]

With the online market of today there is no reason to step foot in one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[steelhauler34]

With the online market of today there is no reason to step foot in one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[commandoNate]

I was elated when a Cabelas was build in the north Denver suburbs a few years back. It was just a few miles from my house. Since the Bass Pro buyout I've been less than impressed with their selection of stuff I would shop for. I occasionally go in for ammo but that's about it. I much prefer the Scheels store that is a half hour north for gun and outdoor shopping. They have a much more knowledgable staff and WAY better selection in my opinion.

 

[ahhyut]

Cabela's and Bass Pro are becoming lifestyle stores (much the same as LL Bean in Maine). They are for the Luke Bryan concertgoers who want to look like they hunt and fish and don't actually do it. Nothing says "Salt Life" like a midwest license plate.

 

[Downeaster]

Used to go into post falls every few weeks for random bargain cave inspections and whatever gun stuff i "needed" at the moment.
Horrible service on shoddy stitching on two separate items and the removal of the cave have signed their death warrant for me.
Not to mention, clueless staff and crap pricing on crap products since the buyout...
RIP Cabelas, Im all set.

 

[spaniel]

I've been a long time Cabela's customer, I've had their credit card for close to 20 years. They were going downhill in the stores prior to the buyout. I haven't canceled the card yet, but post buyout it's really not worth it and the service is crap. The last few times I stopped at a store they never had what I was looking for. Pretty much my business with them now is buying whatever they have with whatever card points I have, because otherwise I can get it cheaper elsewhere.

 

[nick15]

Many of the comments here resonated with me; growing up in the 90's I remember being excited to see their catalogs show up and spent hours pouring over them. Had no money to buy anything of course but just dreamt about it. As I got older and was able to buy some things their name meant quality to me and had no bad experiences. Seems like there is little they have that is special anymore; much of their gear seems lower quality and is rarely less expensive than other retailers. Just so many options nowadays and I don't see Cabela's as offering anything special.

 

[Trial153]

Yea the cabelas catalog was the shit. I grew up reading it from cover to cover.
I actually remember placings orders through the mail with MO because I was to young to have Credit card and I didnt want my mother seeing how much money I was spending on gear.

 

[BFR]

Usually hit the Cabelas in Lehi Ut on my way south and BPS in Vegas when there. Last time at Lehi the Cabelas looked just like BPS and prices seemed higher than I remembered and NO Bargain Cave. Also the clerk there said the lifetime warranty was gone, bummer, guess I am too.

 

[LRHunter]

I think we can say this about a lot of large outdoor retailers. High volume and low quality is killing them IMO. I worked for Eddie Bauer back in the day when they made high quality outdoor gear. Once they were bought out by Spiegel it was all down hill. These days I try to support the small business and avoid the large retail chains.

 

[Zeus401]

Man what a kick in the shorts! Just joined this site and was planning on buying the MTO 50 rain gear for going out to Idaho hunting but now thinking the Stone glacier rain gear might be better!

 

[Jpete]

Herters, the old Gander Mountain and now Cabelas. A long time ago Bass Pro was a different store too, they sold fishing equipment at attractive prices.

 

[Shane]

RIP Cabela's. It doesn't exist anymore. Just BPS now.

 

[dutch_henry]

Another Cabela's irritation:

They rarely publish negative product reviews submitted by users. It doesn't matter how even-toned they are...they just don't make it onto the site.

So buyer beware when you're reading these glowing product reviews. Chances are they censored out anything unfavorable.