CABELAS' New Business Model

R

RC20

New member
Cabella's in Anchorage is going the way of Bass Pro. They are reducing the reloading end.

Power is pretty small (at one time good) and 1 lb and not 8 lb jugs (I only buy 1 pound to try, both the price and the carry through make 8 lb the way to go IMNSHO.

Bass Pro pretty well sucks for re-loading there. One 40 foot shelf, little powder, few components, all over priced. I have bought one item from them they had oddly enough (Hornday bullet puller) go figure.

Have to see if both places "adjust"

Sportsmans is the only place you can buy large jugs of powder and in a variety.

So get I get Primers at Cabellas as best price, Powder at Sportsman's and pretty much order the rest. USPS flat rate is our friend. You can't get Haz shipped to AK at any sane level.

Oddly enough, back in the day when Longs Drug Stores were expanding, (80s) they had the best sporting goods section in Anchorage.

Camping, fishing, guns, reloading you name it. A lot of my gear is from them.

The CA rep came up, tried to figure out why they were doing so good, he was shocked at the Sporting section.

That is what makes money up here. So of course they eventually decided that was not a good idea and closed down the sporting good section and shortly after all the profits went South and the closed the stores as they went from best performing to worst.

Corporations are stupid, they want to rubber stamp things and be identical. Works for things like UPS, FedEx, McDonalds etc, but Drug Stores? Dime a dozen.

Pat N Pack and Pay in Save back in the day were the same, more guns, ammo and some reloading stuff, but they had a large Camping fishing sections.

Local trumps the rubber stamps unless the Corp is dumb and we can only wait and see.

I wear Jeans and T shirts. Helly Hanson back when I had motorcycle. Cheap rain gear to bicycle with.

An REI guy insisted I had to wear spandex if I was going to pedal! Really? John Wayne did not wear spandex and I am not either.
 
R

rdgantt

New member
I have stopped going to my local Bass Pro for pretty much anything shooting related. I typically find empty shelves in the reloading section. I found a small local gun shop that carries a decent supply of reloading materials and usually at a better price than what Bass Pro has. My point is patronize your local gun shop.
 
W

WV_gunner

New member
The Cabela’s here is about an hour away, the gun section is the only thing worth looking at. And it’s usually overpriced. They carry some oddball ammo. The ultra mainstream stuff was cheap but anything else was pricey. I wasn’t into reloading the last time I was there but they had a few aisles. The Cabela’s a few hours away dwarfs the one close to home. The one an hour away is probably Walmart size but the one in Wheeling you could probably get lost in. Bass Pro Shop isn’t even in my state to my knowledge. I’ve been to 4 of them and bought a gun from the Oprymill store. Those stores tend to be in malls it seems. Gander Mountain? That place is like Dicks but with a slightly bigger gun and ammo section. I once asked to special order 10 gauge shells and they didn’t know what 10 gauge was. They said 12 gauge was the biggest shotgun. I understand employees probably aren’t trained anymore than to use the register but take an interest. You work there and sell the stuff, try learning it. Where I work there’s zero real training. If people are busy, you’re on your own. Gotta learn the product and in my case operate machines that could potentially waste expensive products. The best gun stores I’ve learned are the small ones. There’s one about an hour from here, I believe called St. Albans Gun and Archery. Best prices I’ve ever seen. I shop there as much as I can.
 
M

math teacher

New member
I have always found a better selection of reloading supplies with better prices at Sportsman's Warehouse than at either Cabelas or Bass Pro Shop.
 
K

kmw1954

New member
Math teacher that's not much of a solution for those that do not have a Sportsman's Warehouse within 300mi.. Also their prices are not any better than Cabela's every day prices from what I just seen when I went and looked at primers and powders.
 
H

hdwhit

New member
mehavy wrote:
SO CABELAS... IF this is your new business model;...
Click to expand...

To speak to Cabela's as if they were separate from Bass Pro's management is silly. Cabela's has been owned by Bass Pro for some years now so it is pointless to address Cabela's management as if they are separate from Bass Pro.

Wake up! This IS their new business model because it is the Bass Pro business model.
 
C

chupps

New member
I can understand the idea that they want to optimize their retail shelf space.

Looks like they are forcing some people to shop online. I'm assuming that you are able to find all of your reloading supplies on Cabela's website? If so order it there and they will send it to the retail store so you can pick it up.
 
K

kmw1954

New member
chupps, will repeat again, Cabela's will not ship powders or primers to store for pickup then also if I order online from Cabela's not only do I have to pay shipping and Hazmat fees but because they have a presence in our state I also get state sales tax added on.

Sorry but I also do not understand the Gander Mountain reference. Unless you are referring to they're no longer in business! Also Bass Pro Shops just purchased Cabela's and took control this spring. Not years ago.
 
R

RC20

New member
To speak to Cabela's as if they were separate from Bass Pro's management is silly. Cabela's has been owned by Bass Pro for some years now so it is pointless to address Cabela's management as if they are separate from Bass Pro.
Click to expand...

Closer to one year now
 
C

CLYA

New member
I disagree with a number of generalizations. Our two Cabela's are much the same, after the takeover. Just watch for sale prices, and compare to others, is the best advice.

Our Scheels is not a joke at all. Some of the best prices I've got for reloading equipment, ended up from Scheels. In fact, they're very competitive when it comes to the blue Dillon equipment, and usually well stocked. I also watch gun pricing there, and sometimes do quite well. Over the years, I've ended up with a good number of guns & archery equipment from Scheels. I always price compare when making decisions to pay less, or a little more.
 
B

BBarn

New member
Sales of ammo and reloading supplies are down, hence the reasonable availability of most products after years of shortages. This stuff occasionally goes through cycles over time.

If a brick and mortar store sells a large variety of product, they are going to stock what sells quickly. If it doesn't sell, it is booted off the shelf and replaced with something else.

If Cabela's can make more money, now, selling something other than reloading supplies, look for fewer primers and less powder on the store shelves. I haven't noticed big changes in my local Cabela's, but it wouldn't surprise me to see less reloading product now that sales have dropped from their record levels.
 
B

blackwidowp61

New member
As my buddy said when we went into Cabela's and looked around "this looks like a good place to open a sporting goods store". Could find better prices, selection and availability at lgs and bait shops. So sad.
 
T

TruthTellers

New member
The last two Cabela's I've been to, granted this is going back to 2017, had a decent reloading section that was well stocked. I didn't buy anything because I can buy all of it online tax free as there's no Cabela's in the state I live.

I have no doubts that Bass Pro is going to be changing a lot of what Cabela's has become and I'm hesitant to embrace that change as I don't think it will give me, the customer, what I want.

Heck, if the black powder revolver "sale" prices now higher than they were prior to the buyout, then we're looking at Cabela's not being as good a place to buy stuff.

Which is fine, Natchez and Brownnell's probably need the money more.
 
K

kmw1954

New member
new one opened in Orlando powder was 10..00. more than LGS

I find that hard to believe as even Bass Pro Shops isn't that far out of line with general pricing. And Bass Pro Shops is the most expensive place I've found to buy powder or primers.

That would be suggesting that Titegroup would be selling for around $31.00 per pound or HP-38 is selling for around $36.00 per pound.
 
O

Old 454

New member
Never shop at Bass Pro for reloading components... bass pro is way over priced and there primers are broken out of the 1000 piece box and sold individually in 100.. and did I say over priced.... there usually 2 to 5 dollars more ant bass pro for powder. .... never ever shop at bass pro....I hope there dont finagle the prices at Cabelas since they took them over
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top