I got a pair of Cabela's neoprene waders for Christmas two years ago. I used them once. They hung on wader hangers in a closet. I went to use them last week and they leaked like crazy. Big holes in the boots where they were hanging. Definitely a defect in materials. So I brought them back where they cheerfully replaced them. But they did inform me that going forward all Cabela's gear will have the crappy 6 week warranty from Bass Pro Shops.

I have bought tons of Cabela's gear specifically for the warranty. Tents, sleeping bags, waders, fishing rods and reels. Tons of stuff. Most of their gear has held up super well. I have Alaskan Guide tents 25 years old that are like new. Now that they are adopting the crappy Bass Pro Shops warranty, I am going to have to re-think where I buy outdoor gear. Is there anyone left that has a warranty as good as Cabela's use to be?

No

REI

Yeah, and REI is anti-gun...

RIP Cabelas.

They will go out of business with that policy. Why would anyone shop there?

REI is dead to me. Anti-2nd amendment fuggers.

They don't advertise their crappy warranty, so nobody knows about it.

6-weeks is crap.

^ This. A friend of mine, who i used to rock climb with, asks me on occasion to go their periodic "Garage Sale".... He is on the left-ish side of things, but is from TX...?

Yeah, Sportsman's Warehouse is my preferred shopping destination (good array of handloading supplies and ammo in general)... Unfortunately their optics "department" is a bit thin, but optics are pretty spendy...

Pizzzz on BPS/Cabelas. Nice to visit to check on sizing, etc then buy at Sportsman's or other online venue.

REI changed their lifetime warranty a few years back to one year on items. It was too widely known as Returned Equipment Inc. I watched a guy bring back a bike that had bald tires, filthy, well used and ridden hard mt. bike that was 4 years old and his claim was it no longer met his needs.
Cabelas has gone downhill where I live as well, lots of turnover and decrease in goods that look good.

Last year I bought a Cabela's brand snowplow for my UTV, lifetime warranty. So far, in 2 winters I've used it once and that was just to try it out. If we don't get some snow soon, I'll die of old age before it wears out.

I can get cheap Chinese-made stuff with little to no warranty at lots of places. Most are cheaper than Cabelas. Just really not much point, anymore...

I hate to see Cabelas go away and be bought by bass pro.

I bought all my clothes there before. Not anymore.

It's pretty clear that none of the morons who allowed the BPS/Cabela's merger as not anti-competitive were hunters.

Wouldn't be this way if Cabelas was the one taking Bass Pro over...... I told my family no cabelas gift cards for christmas this year. Didn't get one, and I'm glad.

I quit buying Cabelas years ago. My friend was making and selling the back packs for hunting,they sold them for two years. They had his packs copied by some offshore outfit and sell them under their brand! When confronted they told him, his pockets weren't deep enough to fight them! Haven't bought anything from them for ten years.

Cabela's just gave a big chunk of change to a political proposition here in November that was very anti-conservative... Screw them. Not going back...

Prop 1?

Sadly, I too have joined the growing group of ex-customers of the Cabela's chain. I even canceled the two credit cards I had with them last month.....

Cabelas and Bass Pro are in business to make a profit not provide lifetime warranties on boots, flashlights, ball caps and other stuff. Any business that wants to last will be in it for profit as well.

Cabelas return policy was a large part of what broke them and allowed BPS to buy them out.

Liberal return policies are the death of retailers. Not differentiating WARRANTY from GUARANTEE and allowing loud customers to push them around adds more nails to the coffin.

Remember a company called Sears?

Very sad. Fortunately, my Made in America Cabelas Real Tree AP Gore-Tex Thinsulate parka soldiers on. I can't even remember how old it is, but more than 25 for certain. I repaired the inside pocket myself a while back, but the rest is good as new.

I haven't tried any of the clothing yet, but a couple of gun items, a canvas case and a shooting mat from Midway, are very nicely made. Maybe ol' Larry will take up some of the slack.

Anyone try any Guide Gear stuff lately? I bought some crappy boots years ago and only buy surplus or name-brand stuff from SG since then.

Thanks for the detailed business analysis Captain Obvious. Nobody has begrudged them for wanting to make a profit. There was a time when people would buy Cabelas gear instead of Magellan gear because of the lifetime warranty. If those people now buy Magellan, how does that factor into the BPS profit picture?

You can have a good warranty without breaking the bank. The lifetime one on stuff that wears out isn't smart. A 1 to 3 year will keep the business while not costing a fortune.

Iv been done with them for 8 years! they treated my fathers Death almost like a Joke! when I called them to pay off his Credit card, $43.59, had to send them a $15.00 Death cert. too to end the dam card. I wrote Corp. a 4 page letter, never heard back from them I paid off my card and Canceled my card also, Screw Em!

I really, really liked my old Cabela’s.

My store in Dundee always had knowledgeable people behind the counter. The Bargain Cave always had a gem or two I needed. The shelves were well stocked. And the Gun Library provided some great buys every now and then. My best deal to date was a 1950s Savage 99R in 250-3000 with an older 12x Leupold scope with target dot for $420 out the door.

It was always worth the trip. The store now is ok, but not like it used to be. Losing the Bargain Cave was a bad business decision.

Regarding a liberal return policy bankrupting a company, note that LL Bean has changed their return policy. I guess too many people were taking advantage of them. I once called Bean about a broken zipper on a jacket. I offered to pay to have it replaced. They replaced it for free. That was the only LL Bean product I ever returned in over 40 years. I didn't need to return defective products - they weren't defective.

A couple of years ago I bought a Zeiss scope at the Bargain Cave in the Hamburg, PA Cabela's. There is nothing wrong with it. It never occurred to me that someone might have bought it for a hunt and then returned it, but that's probably what happened.

I’m not sure where you’re getting this information, but it’s not consistent with my understanding.

Cabelas’s decline is largely the result of rapid expansion between 2010 and 2014, when it doubled its number of stores. They did this while the brick and mortar retail industry contracted, giving way to internet sales.

https://www.omaha.com/money/as-cabe...1076276-f61a-5493-b84e-83db368bccc0.html

they just need to have a good warranty….people are to dishonest....buy a set of boots....use them and then return them, and on and on.

people brag about getting one over businesses…..just listen to some on this forum......bob

Source?

The quality of Bass Proshops’ gear and apparel rapidly fell off about a decade ago. BPS’s strategy seems centered around developing relationships with lower and lower cost suppliers. They put profit margins ahead of quality.

In my opinion they paid way too much for Cabelas. I don’t see BPS surviving without a major overhaul of their game plan.

BPS is rediculously high priced on everything anyway. I thought Gander Mountain was bad until I went to BPS and looked around. I couldn't care less if those pirates went out of business.

BPS sucks azz. Granted, Cabelas slid a bit over the years, but they were far better in regards to quality, pricing, and customer service. BPS is the outdoors Walmart.

We have Sportsman’s Warehouse and a local place called Sportco I’ll spend my money at.

That'll be the end of their nicer lines. There's too many other options from companies that stand behind their products. I wonder if this includes the stuff Meopta makes for them? If so, congrats. You now have the industry's worst warranty

As I recall, Weaver scopes had a "lifetime" warranty originally. Then word got around that you could buy up old, broken scopes for nothing and Weaver would replace them with new, and the company was flooded with worthless broken scopes while watching their new inventory disappear. So they changed the warranty to "return a scope, get 50% off MSRP on any new Weaver product". That wasn't really much of a discount when you compared it to online products, which typically sold for much less than MSRP, but it allowed me to buy a decent Weaver spotting scope when my Weaver K4 reticle broke.

Then the company tanked and the name was sold to a newcomer - who doesn't honor any warranty on the old scopes.

True. Forever warranties cost all consumers money in the long run. Whether it's Cabela's, Vortex or Swarovski. And warranties are often abused by consumers. Think how much more reasonably priced these scopes and binoculars would be if they didn't have to increase the cost to cover lifetime warranties. You're paying for it, we all are, it's built into the price.

How about a common sense warranty - it fails, or has a manufacturer's defect, within 3 years, they fix it. You drop it down a cliff, run over it with your truck or perform a drop test, you pay for it to be repaired.

There was a time that I considered buying one of Cabela's more inexpensive scopes for a new rifle, since I knew if anything ever went wrong they would take care of it.

Now, with a six-week warranty? Not on your life.

By the way, Scheels has a lifetime warranty, and they don't appear to be going out of business. From their website:

1. SCHEELS 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Customers are always our first priority at SCHEELS. We empower our associates to become experts in their shops to go above and beyond to meet the customer's needs and expectations. Our goal is to be the best retailer in the USA in the eyes and minds of our customers and associates. That’s why SCHEELS.com and each of our store locations are prepared to provide you with the SCHEELS 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, we will exchange or refund your purchase.

2. HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO RETURN OR EXCHANGE A PRODUCT?
At SCHEELS, we have a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. We do not place a time restraint on returns or exchanges. Instead, we are focused on you receiving the product that meets your expectations and needs.

well there you go......now you can buy that cheap scope....use it ..abuse it......get your money back.....while you are at it....get all new clothes...boots...jackets..etc…..and return them after hunting season......personally...I hope they change that policy....so crooked people cant take advantage of it......bob

The 100% no questions asked lifetime warranties are definitely a double edged sword. Some folks abuse the schit out of it. Costco batteries were one. Folks would run a battery for 2 1/2 years and exchange it for no reason. Pretty sure they’ve done away with that now.

Shimano fishing poles are another.

Folks would go to Cabelas, buy boots, tents, bags, etc.....Go on their once a year elk trip, and return it a few months later for a full refund.

Pretty fuggin low life IMO.

I paid over $500 for an 8 man dome tent from Cabelas. This knowing that if one of the gazillion zippers on the thing broke they would replace it. No zippers have broken. Do you think I would have paid as much for a tent with no lifetime warranty? No. They put in good zippers, not "value engineered" crap, I paid a fair price for it. I have been more than pleased with the tent for over 20 years and Cabelas made a good profit.

What BPS is trying to do has been repeated time after time with mixed results. Companies with great brands (and lots of brand equity) are bought with lots of debt financing. The buyer then harvests the brand equity by lowering costs and quality. Over time, the brand equity is transferred to investors in the purchasing company. By the time the brand is run into the ground, the original buyers have made a decent profit then they look for another arbitrage opportunity.

[quote=BobMt]

^True statement.....

I really like my Cabela's "Guide Gear" g-tex "parka" (shell). It performs as well as (or better) any of the mountaineering/hiking oriented shell gear and i've had 'em all over the last 30 yrs.

However, with this corporate transfer to BPS i am confident the "life-time guarantee" will no longer be honored. In legal parlance, "life time" can include the lifetime of the company who sold it..... Cabela's original corporate "life time" has ended with the acquisition by BPS. Depending on the purchase contract BPS can choose to honor the Cabela's brand guarantee or not. Unfortunately, BPS is not willing to honor that guarantee and honest folks who only use that guarantee when actually needed are left out in the cold.

What’s with the name calling? That’s the kind of stuff that runs good people off. Have a sensible adult conversation without name calling or just don’t.

As for a detailed business analysis after starting and running a company of my own for 38 years that deals w the public and warranties daily I have a little more insight and expierence than some. I have seen 1st hand how greedy unethical people get over on businesses for their own gain over and over. This behavior only hurts fair and reasonable minded customers in the long run. Customer service is not free. Companies have to adjust prices or cut warranties/ guarantees to account for it. There are no free rides. Further I have been a loyal and faithful cableas customer, & credit card holder since the 1980s and a shareholder since the day they went public. I have stood in the return customer service lines at various Cabelas stores all over the US and been utterly amazed at the stuff people would try to return for refunds or exchanges. Cabelas customer service policy was badly abused by way to many which is exactly why BPS will change it. As for your question about how this will factor into BPS making a profit....... Watch and learn. I was in a local Cabelas last week and it had never been busier when I was in it. Had to hunt for parking. The place was a zoo with shoppers. I think BPS understands the game clearly. The Cabelas we once knew and loved is going or already gone. I am sad to see it go, but business is a constantly changing thing, adapt and change with it or someone else will.

Don’t tell me you own a car dealership!

LL Bean.

They have a lifetime warranty on the products they sell. I’m going to buy a pair of lightweight duck hunting waders and I’ll buy them through LL Bean because if they develop any leaks over the years I’ll just send them back to LL Bean and they’ll repair or replace for life. Another good company for quality waders with an excellent warranty I’d look at Simms. They are spendy but they’re quality waders with a company that stands behind their products.

I use LL Bean Waders. They’ve been good to me.

"That's the real answer--In my opinion they paid way too much for Cabelas" Quote old Kingston.
The kids wanted the money in their pockets. Kids, founders kids.

163,

that might be true, but from what I'm hearing Bass Pro is playing a game in which they turn into the WalMart/Dollar General/Grocery Outlet of the sporting goods world. Selling lower quality, mostly serviceable "sporting goods" of a sort to those who either prefer to spend their money that way, knowing what they are purchasing, or to those somewhat clueless souls who see a camo jacket on sale for $29.99 and expect it to keep them dry and warm for the rest of their lives.

And I'll be the first to tell you I have a couple of items from the WalMart sporting goods aisle that have served their purpose well. But they are not my Pendelton Wool, Filson, LL Bean, Vasque, RedWing, or other quality items that have performed and will last for years.

I'm seriously of the opinion that BPS/Cabelas will start shuttering doors in some markets within the next 5 years. That may be good for "business", but not so much for their loyal customers. Many of whom are no longer so loyal after the takeover.

Geno

They already went tits up once.....

LL Bean also changed their warranty position last year


No longer


https://m.llbean.com/llb/shop/513705?page=null&pn=cp&skCatId=513705

Yes, while they are expensive, Simms is a great company with unbeatable customer service. I've had occasion to use their warranty, and to say they went above and beyond would be a huge understatement. I will never purchase any other brand of wader. They've already given me my money's worth many times over.

I used to be a pretty fair Cabelas fan but BPS really has killed that. but its not the warranty its the quality.

Personally I could care less about the warranty ( same way I feel about Beans warranty) what I liked was that a good portion of what they sold was reasonably good stuff. I don't mind assuming some risk with a product, but I really don't have the patience for crap most of the time. What I see is more and more of the BPS type of crap and less of the better Cabelas and name brand stuff.

I really feel like the unconditional lifetime warranties are often abused and it spreads the cost from the few that use or overuse the warranties to folks like me who almost never use them. If you could buy a product ( lets say a scope) and the lifetime warranty was an add on, we could really see and decide what the cost of that type of warranty is. I mean would you buy the $800 scope with a 1 year warranty or the same scope for $1200 with a lifetime warranty?

Geno, I agree BPS will soon start closing stores but I think it will mostly be Cabelas/BPS that are in close proximity to one another. I am sad to see Cabelas go. I loved their quality. I am not a fan of BPS.

Sad😂

Parking lot full of Subarus, inside: rock and ice climbing gear, cross country ski stuff and Patagonia. This is one place any shooter/hunter should never enter...

Hmmm. I recently received a flier from Cabela's, with a product I was interested in marked down to a good price level. This was a Herter's branded product - remember Herter's, who also got taken over by Cabela's/Bass Pro? I checked online, and was told that had been a Christmas sale only, and the price was nearly doubled now. Since it was still less than list, I ordered one of the items. Never got it. When I complained to their "Customer Service" Dept, they told me I had received it, and sent me paperwork showing it was delivered - TO MY SON'S ADDRESS - 200 miles north of my home. I did not put my son's address on the order, Cabela's maybe got it off an old order of his, but it was not on my order. The item finally did show up to his address, but I had to pay to have it "re-shipped" to me! In the meantime, Cabela's CS told me they had the item in stock at their nearest store to me - about 40 miles from my home. Again, I was told the "sale" price was expired, even though there was no such mention on the sales flier I received. I drove to the store, found the item I wanted in a glass display case, priced at the original list price! I wanted one, so asked if they had the box for it? A sales guy went into the back area to look for it, but in the meantime, I saw a whole rack of the same product, in packaging - and priced at the SALES PRICE I had originally seen! When I told the sales guy to stop his search, and took one of the lower priced items to checkout, they tried to charge me the full, list price. When I showed them the sales rack and price, they conferred a bit, then decided an employee had marked the price wrong - AFTER SEEING THE SAME SALES FLIER THAT ORIGINALLY GOT ME INTERESTED! After a considerable discussion, in which I made threats, and their personnel squirmed, I finally got the product for the marked price.

The Cabela's Customer Service folks I spoke to by phone and email were rude, not at all helpful- and didn't seem to care. VERY unprofessional attitude for such a large company. If this is their "normal" way of doing business, I can see them closing down soon - due to lawsuits files by customers!

To be fair, I must mention that I finally did receive a "gift card" from Cabela's for close to the difference in price between the "sale" price and what they wanted to charge me - but this was after my purchase, and would require another trip to their rip-off establishment to redeem it. When they offered me this card while we were arguing over the price online, I asked to have it applied to the purchase I was making, but was told that wasn't possible.

Not sure It's worth the value of the gift card to deal with these crooks again? Sorry my post was NOT about Cabela's warranty, but I just wanted to mention they have other problems with their business model.

Mike Holmes

Have you ever tried the Redhead label? I have, and found it's hard to wear the stuff out.
Anyway Cabelas is gone, for whatever reason it's gone. Maybe like Sears they could no longer compete, or maybe just didn't want to anymore.
At some point they will all be gone, and maybe we can look for that happening when Johnnie quits running the place.

Sorry about that. On the opposite side of things when my dad passed away three years ago I found out he had run up a 12K balance on a USAA credit card. When I called up to ask about terms to close the account and to make arrangements to pay it off. Someone went and talked to the manager then came back and said, " Dr. Harrierwood, USAA would like to express our condolences and as a thanks to your fathers service as a navy pilot, and as a USAA member for the past forty years we will close out the account and no payment is necessary." I still shake my head to this day about this.

I also cancelled my cabelas card this week. There is just no value in their brand anymore. The only thing good about about BPS is the cheap soft fishing baits, too many items there are just marginally better than walmart.

I have tried the RedHead label. The items I bought were crap. Zippers failed, seams let go, material was not the quality I expected in canvas hunting products.

They both suck the root...
Khan got me a 100 dollar cabela,s gift card for xmas.

Great....
Pay mark up for chyt at bps in Nashville for chyt I could get at midsouth 3 miles down the road at the walk in order counter.

Strolled up to check out with 3 boxes of hornady leverevolution 160 30-30 ammo at 24.99 a pop
Midsouth little over 21

Bag of unca bucks malted milk balls for Khan 3.99 she likes those things
Bag of unca bucks chocolate raisins for me 3.99
Coke for me 1.99

3 bottles of code red doe estrous on sale 9.99


Great got this covered with my 10% unca sam used up and broken toy blue ID card discount...



Usually give the 1st kid I see on the way out the 4 or so bucks left on the card like i always do
So he or she can drive mom and dad nuts looking for something in their at that price.



Oh fugg no....
5 % discount now
And none whatsoever on ammo


Everything came out to 127 and change.

Told Khan when I got home.
Next year
Midsouth
Go up their see steve and the phat dumb guy at the counter
Tell em you wanna buy a 100 dollar gift card for Rory

They will know who I am
Duh huh.....

And there lies the problem a conservative has that enjoys climbing, cross country skiing, or paddling sports.
Who do you buy your gear from? They are all leftist tree huger companys. Last summer I wanted to buy a top of the line carbon fiber kayak paddle. I then see that the company donates 10% of every paddle they sell to tree huger groups. I'm looking at a $590.00 paddle, thats $59 of my money going to a group that I don't want anything to do with.

I went to REI recently to try on some Solomon boots Scheels didn’t have. They had the boots I wanted. I just couldn’t spend my money there. I walked around just shaking my head at at the tree huggers. None of the employees seemed to care for the Sitka beenie is I was wearing. Idiots.

Segregation ain’t gonna make us any less black. We’ve got to keep it in their faces. Next time wear camo and fur.

I have never been a big Cabelas fan.


Scheels has impressed my family this year.



.

That is low life and theft IMO.

Got a $10 off of $40 coupon from Cabelas the other day. I suspect I will have a hard time finding ANYTHING to use it on.

Last time I went to the local store to look for powder, primers or bullets the selection was pathetic and the prices were absurd.

Yepp... 30 minutes wasted on SOMETHING/ANYTHING to use the code on... failed. Cabela's SUCKS

I went back to Cabela's, used the Gift Card they gave me as partial payment on a pair of shoes for my wife. Waked by to check on the product that got me the gift card. List price was originally $97.79, that was dropped to $79.97, then the "sale" price I had to fight to get was $49.97. Now, a week later, the same item is marked at $29.97! Bet they won't give me back what I paid over and above that price!

Mike

I was a cabelas customer before theconstruction of the flagship store in Sidney ..I was in the small downtown store in the 70s...the last 10 years have been painful to witness...I cashed in my last points the other day and will be mailing them my card in pieces.