Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Heads up on Cabela"s warranty

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