Cabelas in trouble
Equipment
Stopped at Buda Cabelas on way to pig hunt at Fair Chase. What a cluster. All the staff said they are in Trouble. FIRST GUY in archery says they just came in and fired ten assistant managers and replaced with inexperienced new ones. Said he was working with them to teach them ropes and they would work it out. Added he had no idea how to order new inventory, who was ordering it or what was coming for him to sell. It got a lot worse. Asked man about archery gloves he said they dont carry them. Lady helped and showed me one rack containing about tweny gloves. Saix thats all they had but a BIG TRUCK was coming tomorrow and she hoped something was for her department. Ar15 ob display with no price and no i dication of caliber. Lots of totally hodge podge racks of clothes most with no sales prices. Really unbelievable.
They’ve been in trouble ever since BP closed the sale.
Very sad for someone who become a customer when Cabela’s was nothing more than a square brick building in downtown Sidney. There was a bargain basement instead of a bargain cave. If they had it in the catalog, they had it in the store. On the very rare occasion it wasn’t in stock, they sent it to you when it came in...free of charge.
IMO, Cabela’s died when it went public.
wyobullshooter I'm with you. Quality declined long before the sale to BP
Sounds like the company that let me go after 22 years. It's the new way to do buisiness.
I remember ordering with the old slips that came in the catalogs. Back then I was a junior and they didn’t have any junior clothes. My dad would order women’s small, closest they had. This was in the late 1980s.
It's all about the money. There are people that made/are making a ton of money from this and they don't give a damn about the stores or customers.
Just my opinion! Buy direct from us smaller companies. It keeps the money in the hands of us hunters because we buy from other small hunting companies. When you deal with business people your money does not necessarily stay in the hunting world. If you ever saw what these big stores want to pay for our products and what they want to charge you, it would make you sick. Support your local shops as well. We do reinvest in our lifestyle. Again just my opinion.
Seen this coming months ago..... Placed orders on line, and they either weren’t delivered in a timely manner, or the wrong item came... Never had this happen prior to the announcement of the BP merger... It’s a sad state of affairs, loved Cabelas, but like a lot of people are saying, we’re shying away....
Seen this coming months ago..... Placed orders on line, and they either weren’t delivered in a timely manner, or the wrong item came... Never had this happen prior to the announcement of the BP merger... It’s a sad state of affairs, loved Cabelas, but like a lot of people are saying, we’re shying away....
They recently opened a new store here in Albuquerque. Seems to be ok at the moment.
When Cabelas was still privately owned it was a totally different (much better) business. It was all about great gear and customer satisfaction back then. I remember when you would get somewhere around $60 twice a year if you had a Cabelas credit card and showed up at the store on certain days. And if you brought someone with and they opened a card, you'd get an additional $ kicker, and so would they. You could bring multiple people! They bargain cave really had bargains, then. Deep discounts. Not 10% off like today (and no warranty on the product - I'll pass - risk reward is too great).
And when I was a kid and there were only two or so Cabelas stores: there was a real mystique about it - couldn't wait to get the catalogue! Outdoor stores now are as common as Walmart - and sometimes it seems like that is the level at which they try to operate (with all due respect to Walmart). The mystique is gone and now they're all just mega retailers. I realize that it is brutal to compete in today's retail market though. Oh, for the "good old days"!
"There are people that made/are making a ton of money from this and they don't give a damn about the stores or customers."
Now just who would those people be...?
The timing of the BP purchase is interesting in that it coincides with the emergence of several very successful hunting clothing companies. Going back a few years a lot of hunters were wearing cabelas label clothing as it was some of the best technology you could find in camo. I don’t even consider cabelas when I purchase clothes. I know cabelas is a lot more than clothes but that is a where a big chunk of hunting $s go. Additionally almost everything that can be purchased from cabelas can also be purchased off amazon. I agree with Pat that transitions are always a mess. But with this changing market it is quite possible that BP overpaid for Cabelas and the service reductions are an attempt to right the ship.
I seriously doubt the major issues will linger for long. Johnny Morris is the wealthiest man in the state of MO. He didn't get that way by being stupid or ignoring his clients. It might not be what it once was, but what ever is??
Bass Pro buying Cabelas is not a good thing, it's very bad. Competition is what is good for the consumer, period.
All large retail stores are in some trouble these days though...
20 years ago shopping at cabelas was a wonderful experience that I'd rarely pass up. Now, I rarely bother.
Been a Cabela's shopper since the early 1970's. Cabela's has been going downhill for quite some time. Customer service not as good. Used to have retired outdoorsmen running the counters. People who could actually give good advice on products they had used. Nowdays it is some low-paid kid who knows little. Boat department is now all the Bass Tracker line. Go online and read reviews from Bass Tracker owners and see how many think their boat is high quality. I will be buying most of my outdoor gear on Amazon.
I have always called Cabelas "Paradise." I could leave early in the morning and not get back home until late in the day, whether I needed a lot of things or just a few. We have a Bass Pro in the neighborhood too, but have never liked it near as well as Paradise. I am very saddened by it's going down hill the past few years, and the fact that it looks like it is on the way out. Like a lot of things in life, you don't know how good it is till it is gone.
I would say they have been for at least 10 years. They used to be the only place to get real boots, but now they are every where. Outside of that Meindl connection I would say Cabelas has been straight garbage for quite awhile... JMO
2x wyobullshooter, I loved the o;d original Cabeal's Store and bargain basement in Sidney. Use to drive 2 1/2 hours to visit it on weekends just to look around. Now I have a store 3 1/2 miles from my house and rarely go there.
Second the decline comment. Used to be focused on upper end and western hunting with some unique products. ...decline started 5+yrs ago where quality declined and price was higher than any other place that carried the item. A plus for BP ...over the years they have had few select in-house products, which I found top notch (rain gear, pack etc).
I still use my Cabelas CC for most things I buy every month just to get the points and the points are about all I spend on any Cabelas stuff now and it's usually an item like a popup blind and not boots or clothing. The comment that they went downhill when they went public is spot on and this BP buyout is going to make it even worse IMHO!
I recently ordered a bunch of small items, it was a hodgepodge of fishing and hunting gear all from the bargain cave. It came from several different shipping depots which was different than in the past. I also got double what I ordered. I called customer service and after being on hold for way too long I hung up. oh well.
grubby---Were you charged for double the amount you ordered and got that amount of stuff or did you just pay for what you ordered and got twice as much? If it was the latter and you tried to get it correct by phone and they dropped the ball and had you on hold forever, I'd say screw them and keep the extra stuff!
Do not buy BP or Cabelas. When need a few hunting related items, I can find what I want online via other suppliers or at local small-time shops. Recently wanted a spare clip for my older Ruger .22. Clerk went into a side room and returned with exactly what I needed.
first thing I checked, only paid for what I ordered.
Just patronize the local options and pay the 25% premium.
We do love to be outraged, don't we?
My son in law is a manager at the distribution center here in Utah . He said when things are all figured out that things will get back to normal and Cabela's name products will still be available at competitive prices. BP has been liquidating alot of overstock cabela's name stuff at deep discounts. I personally still buy most of my gear here at the Lehi UT Store. Sportsman Warehouse has a big presence out here in the West and remains a competitor to BP keeping them honest.
I just picked up the outfitters coat and bibs at half off . Me happy happy !
A friend of mine considered Cabela's and working up through the ranks to go to corporate when he graduated college. He went through training and said it was a contest to see who was the smartest idiot. No one knew jack about the outdoors. He never worked a day after seeing it was just a mess and a glorified Walmart. When a new store opens, they have good, hardworking, knowledgeable people. One year later, those people are all gone.
It's sad when you have to call the manager to pass out compliments because someone actually did their job. I do it to help keep the folks that try employed.
Yes, when it went public, it started to suck. Cabela's is linked forever to me because of the time period I came up in...no internet, getting the catalog, looking at all the cool gear I couldn't afford, actually getting to "the store" in Sydney in 1994-95 era, always has been one of my favorite places, but I'm over it and am moving on. I think my Cabela's CC, which Ive had for over a decade is going to be retired...sad state of affairs. I never did like BP much. Now I find myself buying used stuff off the forum classifieds or dealing directly with the manufacturer, or with some of my favorite small town business folks.
ugly! but it's been happening forever. I have memories in my oldest pieces of hunting gear. I honest to pete have an Eddie Bauer REAL GOOSE DOWN vest that I bought over 30 years ago. Still almost like new! Remember LL Bean rubber bottom leather top boots? I wore out a couple pair of those in 25 years of woodcock hunting! Rest in peace Cabelas!!!!! the new BP cabelas is lipstick on a pig IMHO!
Ditto my old Bean rubber bottom leather tops!!
This is exactly what happens when you go the "big box" route. It was a great little company before it went public, downhill ever since. I know folks who remember when WalMart was a decent place to shop too.
A woman goes into the Bass Pro Shop to buy a rod and reel for her grandson's birthday.
She doesn't know which one to get so she just grabs one and goes over to the counter.
A Bass Pro Shop associate is standing there wearing dark shades.
She says, "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and reel?"
He says, "Ma'am, I'm completely blind; but if you'll drop it on the counter, I can tell you everything from the sound it makes."
She doesn't believe him but drops it on the counter anyway.
He says, "That's a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel and 10-LB. test line.
It's a good all-around combination and it's on sale this week for only $20.00."
She says, "It's amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping on the counter.
I'll take it!"
As she opens her purse, her credit card drops on the floor.
Oh, that sounds like a Master Card," he says.
She bends down to pick it up and accidentally farts. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who tooted.
Being blind, he wouldn't know that she was the only person around.
The man rings up the sale and says, "That'll be $34.50 please."
The woman is totally confused by this and asks, "Didn't you tell me the rod and reel was on sale for $20.00? How did you get $34.50?"
He replies, "Yes, Ma'am. The rod and reel is $20.00, but the Duck Call is $11.00 and the Bear Repellent is $3.50.
She didn't say a thing.....just paid the bill
It is a societal thing, todays generation does not take the time to learn a trade or bother to be respectful. Customer service at most places is a joke, i have actually been hung-up on by a Cabelas customer service agent and all I said was I felt she did not understand my request. I understand there is a transition period but I fear Cabelas good name is going to be trashed by Bass Pro!! Shawn
In the business I worked for when a great company sold out the new ceo and his people gutted all of the assets and even tried to take our pension money until he got caught. He's now gone with a golden parachute agreement and the company is just a shell of what it once was.
I thought I read an interview with the new CEO after the buyout a few years ago that Cabelas was going to try and distance itself from the "blood sports". The new focus was on outdoor apparel and family outdoor activities such as camping, kayaking, corn hole, etc.
I use to really like their line of clothing but, lately I have been buying clothes at other stores.
I still have the 1970 Fall-Winter catalog, in New condition. Its half-size (5x9"), all black and white, no phony models wearing purple underwear and sipping cocoa with marshmallows. Instead there are drawings of manly guys in quilted down long underwear smoking pipes, likely with a flask in the pocket. And not a single compound bow, although they do have two crossbows - "embodies the age-old tradition of serious craftsmanship with modern day engineering advances that make shooting the crossbow a fascinating, exciting sport".
So we can blame Cabelas for pushing crossbows and ruining bowhunting.
My how things have changed..
Gander Mountain stores around here closed up shop. Now coming back under reorganization as Gander Outdoors. I have only been to one so far, I'd say it was improvement. The huge one in my neighborhood that closed down is supposed to open in about a week. We'll see....
The crossbows in 1970 were not the modern scoped and machine version. I still cannot figure out why you do not want crossbows for all during the general archery seasons in Colorado,...... like many states already have, and you so approve. Colorado could easily adapt, just as other states are forced to do.
Give it a break, "Jimmy James". You know exactly why we don't want crossbow hunters competing for limited tags with bowhunters here in CO and other western states. That's the biggest issue, besides the fact that bowhunter numbers have doubled in CO in the past 16 years even as we are an either-or state. Every state has different dynamics, and you know that.
This is a thread about Cabelas and BPS. Please don't hijack it with your inane sour-grapes agenda .
I do not believe crossbows should be allowed "in any state" during the general archery seasons, except by those with doctor's approved health limitations. I mean any state, not just Montana.
Funny,
I just sent in a complaint to Cabelas this week. I noticed a significant change in the last few years.
The first significant issue was about 4-5 years ago. I wanted a pair of Binos for my son for a deer hunt in AZ. His first hunt with me. I ordered the binos 3 weeks before the hunt. They were “in process” for over 12 days. When I called to complain, I was told I should have chosen expedited shipping. I explained that if they had processed them in time I would not have needed expedited shipping. They got me the binos the day before we left for the hunt but I was not happy.
I have had several issues like that. The last time was this week. I ordered a few small fishing items. They have sat in “processing order” status for 10 days. When I called again to complain...you guessed it. I should have paid for expedited shipping.
I went into Amazon and the items arrived today. Cabelas sent me an email yesterday to tell me my order shipped (in processing for 17 days).
I am done until they fix their stuff. I have no problem paying for expedited shipping when I need it but when the company takes sooooooo long to process I will take my money to other vendors.
I told them as much and they thanked me for my loyalty and explained, in a form email, that expedited shipping would help with the issue and that they strive to process orders in 1-2 days. That is what I saw a long time ago. Now...they are a shell of their former company and have lost me.
Good luck this season everybody.
Who shops at Cabelas/stores any more ? A few minutes on the i phone, a few clicks and it’s on the way to the house at the best price.
Honestly most of their brand name stuff is unappealing. The only exception is the Microtex line.
Had a good one this week, (experience that is) for the past few years our club has been able to get a $250 gift card from cabela's and spend it on their merchandise to be raffled/auctioned at our convention.
This week, the manager says the store is limited to $150 per month, no matter how many official requests they get & Pheasants forever already got $75 of it
Talk about getting cheap!
I am really hoping their wooltimate line stays. I believe it is as good or better then any hunting clothes out there. Even though it is manufactured in China it is still quality stuff. Shawn
No more Cabela's or Bass Pro for me.
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