cabelas is discontinuing tractor sales

[5030]

Reading the whole thread and chuckling to myself. I'm about 3 miles from their Dundee store (I believe it's the biggest one) and I too looked at them, just looked. Nothing they had / have interests me, I farm and the smallest unit I have is 90 pto. My impression was they were fugly with the contact vinyl 'camo' inserts and the bug eye lights byt then, thats the European influence there....(the lighting not the stick on camo inserts...lol)

I hold a Cabelas Black Visa with a huge credit limit but I buy very little there. I use their card for my business and when I accure enough points, I get something, usually firearm or hunting related.

I feel Cabelas is generally overpriced and I don't need to be wearing or using any product that has their name all over it. If you want to advertise thats fine but lets cut the Cabelas logo crap. I also notice that most if not all their clothing is imported. I can get that stuff at Wallyworld cheaper....

Secondly, I find their 'sales associates' aka: outfitters to be sadly lacking in knowledge about the products they offer. They impress me as minimum wage earners and lower tier in the useful knowledge department. The exception (at least at our Cabelas is the firearm department but all the 'associates' there are long timers, unlike the rest of the store where employee turnover is high.

having said that, I do like the fact that Cabelas usually has on hand, optics or firearms I am interested in, I go to the store to get a hands on look and what I want and then I go buy it online tne exception is of course, if I have the points, I'll get it in the store.

In my view, Cabelas corpoprate marketing strategy sucks and they really deserve to get bought out. They outgrew their original idea of being a outdoor store with competitive prices on quality merchandise, now it's all about maximum profit with minimal interaction and the playing field is very crowded. I don't see them surviving myself.

Just my thoughts.

The tractors are ugly and ignorant sales associates don't help either.

 

[Jim Timber]

5030, some of their clothing is the best out there, bar none. I own 2 pairs of insulated camo pants, and two of their winter coats (white and fall camo). I got the first set of pants as a gift, I bought the coats and second pair of pants on my experience with the first. Warm, comfortable, and way over priced at retail - BUT, this is Cabela's we're talking about and they have employee pricing events a few times a year and the bargain cave can be a godsend. My most expensive jacket cost me $160 instead of the $369 they originally sold it for. Can you get a cheaper camo coat at walmart? Sure. Is it as nice and comfortable? Nope.

They have their place in the industry. I think their corporate greed is getting the best of them though. I wouldn't buy much at regular price there unless I just couldn't get it somewhere else. One of my suppliers is across the freeway from a Cabela's and while I was just there Friday, I didn't bother to go across the road and see what Cabela's had. They're just not that attractive without a promo offer happening.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Reading the whole thread and chuckling to myself. I'm about 3 miles from their Dundee store (I believe it's the biggest one).

I believe the biggest Cabelas is in Pa...

AND, Although I don't like the price, Cabelas cloths are a thousand times better than what you buy at Wally World....in fact probably even more than that!

SR

 

[DFB]

Some of the best hunting boots I ever owned came from Cabela.

 

[5030]

I have some cabelas hunting gear (that I'll probably give away at some point). I don't much care for it, even when I bought it. It reeks of Cabelas with theit logo everywhere and it's heavy and the camo isn't digital either.... I wear nothing but KUKU now and while it makes even the most expensive cabelas stuff look cheap, you get what you pay for. I do extreme hunts and that demands extreme hunting gear, from clothes to optics to firearms. Cabelas don't cut it in those departrments, least in my opinion.

Not everyone can afford KUIU, in fact not too many sportsmen would pay the price of admission, but I do because it's the best you can get, bar none. The kind of hunting I do can be a life or death thing. I want all the advantages I can get.... all the time.

Sure, I can go there and look at Swarovski bino's or Nightforce scopes or even high end rifles, but I can buy them for appreciably less, elsewhere, not rifles really, all mine are custom built. I don't purchase stock long guns.. I'm right in the midst of purchasing a 460 Smith long barrel hunter (that Cabelas has) but I can get for hundreds less, elsewhere. I don't play sales. If I waited for a sale, while it's a bonus for sure, most of what I purchase is never on sale anyway.

It's a nice store but premier outfitter, no way. My wife likes their fudge however.

 

[5030]

Some of the best hunting boots I ever owned came from Cabela.

Obviously, you have never worn Kennetrecks and have probably never heard of them. Having said that, I do own a pair of Meindl's that cabelas sells (I get the foot beds for them there). I have 3 pair of hunting boots, a pair with 800 gram Thinsulate, a pair with Vibram soles for sidehilling in hardscrabble and a pair with no insulation for warm wearher hunts. I could never have one pair, because like firearms or tools, one wrench don't work, one firearm wont either and neither will a pair of boots,

 

[Jim Timber]

This stuff looks like designer clothes to me.

Hunting Jackets, Pants & Vests: Hunting Outerwear | KUIU

I'll stick with the little Cabela's logo on the left breast. You can't really make it out anyway. :laughing:

 

[DFB]

My purchases of extreme outdoor gear are far and few between these days.

Its 600 gram thinsulate lined hydro guard Herman Survivors from wally world now!

Real Tree Camo :thumbsup:

 

[Jim Timber]

My purchases of extreme outdoor gear are far and few between these days.

Its 600 gram thinsulate lined hydro guard Herman Survivors from wally world now!

Real Tree Camo :thumbsup:

You'd freeze out here. :laughing: I've spent way too much on the gear I have considering how many hours a year I actually spend wearing any of it. Thankfully I'm not getting much fatter and it'll probably last me the rest of my life at the current wear rate.

 

[AxleHub]

I'm baffled at a few of the posts relating to Cabelas. Obviously some are not very aware of what Cabelas offers. By far and away the cheapest source for name brand ammo for my firearms comes from cabelas. If you purchase off the shelf price . . then you don't value your money like I do . . or you just have alot of it and want to keep it in the economy. I've gotten clothing, boots, bags, neon lights etc. Etc. . . all with name brands.

I believe that the largest cabelas is in woodbury a suburb of Minneapolis. Its a mega store and the Training Center for new managers . . Its about 2 years old and not far from Gander Mountains big outlet center for firearms and hunting clothing.

Then there is the stores like Prairie du Chien in lower Western Wisconsin. a nice store but not a huge one . . Until you look at the buildings all attached to it . . One of cabelas huge warehouse distribution locations in all of the MidWest. Virtually anything cabelas sells on the web is immediately available.

Now back to pricing. Anything advertised by Cabelas by flyer, internet, email etc. gets matched in any Cabelas store. And of course the Bargain cave items range from "deal" to "great deal".

As to business model . . 3 years ago stock market analysts said Cabelas was failing and the stock price was in the 12 to 15 dollar range . . only to move up to the 45 dollar range. If Bass Pro does buy Cabelas its not because cabelas needs to sell . . But because Bass Pro wants to increase their impact.

If you think Cabelas is pricey or expensive . . then I suggest you are a very casual buyer and not studying the opportunities imo.