Is Cabela’s played out?

We stopped in Cabela's in Lehi over the weekend. There sure was a ton of non hunting/fishing related clothing, and the camo was in the old bargain cave. I thought it was interesting that the hunting clothes were in the very back past all the other clothing items. It also felt like they had spread out the product they did have to make it feel like there was more product than there really was.
 
I have purchased a few guns from Cabela's. Their prices are pretty good and it has only ever been guns and gear that I am already sold on.

I wouldn't have an expectation that anyone working behind the counter knows more than I do.

My kids like seeing the mounts and whatnot.
 
Cabelas is a mere shell of its former self. As the hunting community gets older and shrinks I expect less and less "hunting related gear" and more lifestyle stuff. Cabelas used to make a solid reliable fair priced products, once bass pro took over it has gone to the wayside.
 
This has nothing to do with the hunting community aging. Or really anything to do with the hunting community at all. It’s just margin dollars at work. We want top tier products, the worst margin performers in the whole category. The clothing, cheap fishing poles, coolers and smokers pay the bills. The high end house brands of the past can’t compete with the Redhead junk of today when it comes to profitability. Low overhead companies like Camofire, Black Ovis, Amazon and others have changed the game.

As much as everyone likes to say they’d pay extra for great brands and service... numbers don’t lie.

Scheels is a private company. So they can run whatever margin they want without answering to shareholders. That makes it easier to have all the good toys and good prices. While Basspro is also private, I get the feeling the equity groups controlling it are less accommodating.


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Whiskey_Fish said:
This has nothing to do with the hunting community aging. Or really anything to do with the hunting community at all. It’s just margin dollars at work. We want top tier products, the worst margin performers in the whole category. The clothing, cheap fishing poles, coolers and smokers pay the bills. The high end house brands of the past can’t compete with the Redhead junk of today when it comes to profitability. Low overhead companies like Camofire, Black Ovis, Amazon and others have changed the game.

As much as everyone likes to say they’d pay extra for great brands and service... numbers don’t lie.

Scheels is a private company. So they can run whatever margin they want without answering to shareholders. That makes it easier to have all the good toys and good prices. While Basspro is also private, I get the feeling the equity groups controlling it are less accommodating.


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Pretty much spot on here. The Cabelas/Bass Pro profitability will likely increase while the "desirability" will trend downward for serious outdoor folks. Weekend warriors far outnumber hardcore hunters.
 
Cabelas/Bass Pro in my opinion is highway robbery. As commercialized as you can make the outdoor sports community.


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I remember a couple years ago, they finally put a Cabela’s in near me, it was awesome minus my bank account took a beating. Bout a year and some change later they got bought out. Ever since. Customer service is worse then it already was (didn’t think that was possible) all this gear I bought with lifetime warranty no longer applies. I’ve bought a couple things here and there and they simply are making things cheaper and cheaper it seems to be... I currently drive 1.5 hours the other direction to go to scheels. I had never been to one til a buddy brought me there. I prefer scheels over the new Cabela’s. However the old Cabela’s would have gave em a run for there money. Sad to see a good thing go bad.
 
It's a shame what has happened to Cabela's. I'm probably dating myself here but when I first ordered anything from Cabela's you had to fill out a paper order and send it in. You'd wait for your order and they had the big return tag in case something went wrong.

I've been a Cabela's club card holder for many years using my card to build points to spend them there once a year.
I've not used the card in well over a year. They send out club offers that can only be used on in stock items. The problem is the never have what I want in stock. They will not order the item and let you use the discount. It's a bad business model and I'm done shopping there.
I can get everything I want online cheaper from several places.
 
I went to Cabelas this afternoon because I was in the area and had a specific item in mind. I used to like their store brand clothes, coats, gear... It's not super high end but it's good for the price. Unfortunately, most of the Cabelas brand gear is slowly being replaced with Redhead BP junk. I refuse to buy anything redhead.

I talked to an older gentleman that works there (probably 70yo or so). I asked how the buyout has gone for them and apparently the long tenured Cabelas employees lost a ton of benefits. BP came in and stripped a ton of what Cabelas had in place for their employees. (He's unaffected. Part time for fun in retirement)

Moral of the story is Bass Pro is cheap, hence Cabelas is now following suit. Bummer, really.
 
I purchased a $300 pair of Cabelas waterfowl waders. The boots failed after 3 uses. I returned them and was told to kick rocks.
Cabelas can't even stand behind their own products anymore. I will never purchase another Cabelas product.
 
Yep - same here. Bought some Cabelas Meindls specifically due to their warranty. Had an issue with them following my first hunt with them - tried to return them. And nope. Found out they aren’t honoring the Cabela’s warranty anymore since BPS bought them. Won’t buy their brands anymore! And no more bargain cave in Boise. Sucks ass.

*Would be interested if anyone is having any luck with Cabela’s brand warranty returns since September 2019. Someone give me some hope that I just need to call and be persistent!!


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I heard the same thing about the warranty. My buddy couldn't return his waders either. The manager told him they're only designed to be used 30 times. They figure the average duck hunter gets out 10 times a year and they expect them to last 3 years.

Sounds like a bunch of unfounded runaround just to avoid honoring any warranty. I have a pair of Cabelas waders that will eventually be replaced with a different brand.
 
Crazy, I was told to keep my wet, muddy, bloody waders in a climate controlled closet. Not hanging in the garage like every pair of waders I've ever had. I bought a pair of Banded insulated waders and they are awesome!
 
menhaden_man said:
I’ve been to many throughout the country, but spend more time stopping in Post Falls Idaho store these days. Was there with my wife and three kids yesterday.

There’s more fudge shop than bargain cave, far more apparel than tackle, and more licorice than scope rings.

They do well bringing solid products to market at competitive prices (like their base layers or space rain), but wading through the nonsense and getting deli tickets at the gun counter has put me in the no-go zone.
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I drive by cabelas coming and going from Black sheep. Not even worth stopping.
 
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