Like everyone else, I hate what BP is doing to Cabela's. We have the closest Cabela's to BP HQ, so they started dicking with us early on after the buy out. Closed the cave, then re-opended it, then re-closed it. They changed all the signs on the outside of the building except one to Bass Pro. Even the billboards and receipts say Bass Pro. I liked going to the original BP in Springfield MO every now and then, but much preferred the Cabela's experience.

We have the "Black" Cabela's Visa, so they got a lot of business from us. But w/o the cave, we rarely go in there now. Such a stupid decision on their part. We'd go in just to browse the cave and almost always end up buying something, either from the cave or the store. I will be switching to a different CC also.

I get that Cabela's was not doing well, and I'm glad BP bought them as opposed to them going under. But I think BP is going to drive them into the ground. But WTH do I know? Seems like everything Johnny Morris touches turns to gold, so maybe this is what most shoppers want.

I stopped at a BPS just north of Richmond, VA today for the first time in ages. Possibly the first time. The place was like I'd hoped the Cabela's in VA would have been (but with better lighting, and at least less than full MSRP on everything). Lots of help on the floors though.
I was even wearing a Cabela's cap...

No mounted jackalopes there either, but at least I found some outfits for my Elf on the Shelf, and dropped a few bucks into the Salvation Army kettle.

quote:

Originally posted by jejb:
I get that Cabela's was not doing well, and I'm glad BP bought them as opposed to them going under. But I think BP is going to drive them into the ground. But WTH do I know? Seems like everything Johnny Morris touches turns to gold, so maybe this is what most shoppers want.

Actually at the time of sale, figures for existing stores was down “1.3% in the first half of 2016” [Forbes], not great, but certainly not fatal. In closing my OP, I made a crack about “fukkin’ VCs.” That’s who I blame for the demise of Cabela’s. Again from Forbes Magazine:

quote:

Cabela's had been exploring strategic alternatives for its business after coming under pressure from activist investor Paul Singer's Elliott Management, which took a position in the company a year ago and called its stock undervalued.

Forbes article

My understanding is that Singer (Elliot Management) had 11% of Cabela’s stock and was able to leverage the sale of the company from that relatively small amount. I believe Mary Cabela (Dick Cabela’s widow) and brother Jim Cabela, didn’t have the will to fight the sale, even though they held much more of the company’s stock.

Went to the Billings store this summer. Pretty much the same thing. Gun section was still OK. I am pretty much done with Calela's. So sad.

It's bad enough that BP bought them but I wish they would have let Cabelas be a separate entity. A lot of the Cabelas branded stuff was of decent quality but I'm afraid that won't be for long. It just sucks that the better store got bought by the lesser.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
It's bad enough that BP bought them but I wish they would have let Cabelas be a separate entity. A lot of the Cabelas branded stuff was of decent quality but I'm afraid that won't be for long. It just sucks that the better store got bought by the lesser.

Seems as if Cabelas lines are being phased out. Less Cabelas stuff here more Red Head crap.

Cabelas Guide Wear was always worth the price.No question asked policy of guaranteed for life Guide Wear. Going to miss that.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
It just sucks that the better store got bought by the lesser.

Agreed.

Another change I hate is that the pistols all have trigger locks on them now. And they will not remove them so you can see how a prospective new guns trigger feels.

Our local store still has the bargin cave. It also has a mix of Cabelas and Bass Pro branded items.

I've spent a lot of money at Cabela's over the years, and have watched with sadness the decline from a family company to a Bass Pro holding. I understand the merging of two business entities and why Cabela's stores may carry Red Head branded clothing; I just can't understand why that clothing only comes in short and fat sizes.

I was undecided on changing to the new credit card. I only used the old Cabela's Visa for Cabelas purchases and payed off the balance every month. When I saw that Bass Pro/Cabela's donated money in support of Prop 1 on the Alaska ballot, I decided they can FOAD. I don't know if anyone will read my letter with my opinion on their involvement in the matter, but they've lost one long-time customer.

I went in before deer season to get a set of blaze glommits to replace my old ones that were coming apart... They had ONE rack of blaze clothing and one endcap of blaze gloves and hats (no glommits - I ended up hand sewing my old ones up). This was 10 days before deer opener in MN. Prior to BPS Cabela's would have a whole section of the store dedicated to blaze and most of it was sold by start of the season. Definitely a move in the wrong direction.

I need a new set of rain gear for fishing season and will likely have to push that purchase up while the cabela's stuff is still stocked since the BPS '100mph' stuff is not nearly as nice and still carries the $300 per piece price tag.

Shawn

quote:

They had ONE rack of blaze clothing and one endcap of blaze gloves and hats

Bingo!

I was in my local Cabela's last week for the first time since the buyout. I needed an orange hat. A fucking blaze orange ball cap, mere weeks before deer season. They had one abomination with earflaps. Made in China, with a tag of $19.99. The only other choice was a $60 hat from Sitka. What a joke. That place is a shell of its former self. They had plenty of kitschy bullshit for your hunting cabin tho...

the people are all the same in my local Cabelas, so it's still fun to go in there. I've never really bought anything consistently enough to miss a line of clothing or products, but seeing Cabela's brand stuff change does suck. We were going to buy a nice tent this year as our christmas present, and when we checked again, they're gone and changed, with different reviews online. The loss of the bargain Cave is what irks me the most. wonder what they do with all the returned and display items now, send them back to the manufacturer probably.

I live in northern Colorado, and I remember going to Sidney to visit Cabela's original store. It was downtown and was in an old hardware (or some such thing) building with old, creaky wood floors. They had a comparatively minuscule selection of goods (the catalog was a thin magazine at that time), and the Bargain Cave was just a small side room - but the bargains were REAL bargains at a fraction of the original price.

Fast forward to today - the last couple of times that I have called customer service I've gotten reps that I'm sure were inner city folk, based on speech and mannerisms, that didn't have the product knowledge and seemed only about half interested in whatever my concerns were. Gone are the days of solid Nebraska people managing the phones, who were almost always knowledgeable and happy to help. Very sad to see the latest changes and I really don't buy much from Cabelas anymore.

Hopefully things will get sorted out.

I am going to buy my first RedHead product next week.
I need some Muck style boots but don’t use them much or really work them to hard so I can’t justify spend Muck money. Though I would likely get the Duluth Alaskan Hardgear pair.

RedHeads are going to be 29.99 for Black Friday (actually starts Wednesday)
https://www.basspro.com/shop/e...ts-for-men-100143935

Seemed well worth the $30. Not up to the quality of Muck. But we’ll see how they hold up. Not much lost at $30.