Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Thoughts on BP/Sportsmen's WH merger?

We've had an REI here for almost 2 years and your comment is spot on. It's high end cycling, backpacking, ski/kayaking, fly fishing......camping. only took me one visit to realize I didnt belong.[/quote]






The usual good little commie crap.

There's not one here anywhere close, so I can't
make a personal observation, but I can say that
once they go down that road of "We need to
compete with Foot Locker . ." , you can pretty
much write them off.
JMHO- it's got to where it's that way with a goodly
percentage of American industries of all kinds.
When you try to be everything to everybody instead
of being the best and top of the heap at your one thing
you're exceptional at, you become just mediocre at
a bunch of different things. I think McSalty's was
the first to try to be everything to everybody, and
now they have over a hundred menu items of crap.
Even the employees at many companies have to
do the everybody-does-everything-all-the-time thing
and nothing gets done properly or in a timely fashion.
It's all a bunch of half done half assed mess

I guess we're all destined to do everything online
if we all live long enough

There is a Sportsman's Warehouse near me I loved going to. Went there the other day and couldn't recognize it was the same place.... overall not nearly the selection of clothing, fishing, and hunting gear.

What really turned me off was the fact they got rid of all the former employees who used to be a bunch of very helpful guys in their 40's and 50's. Now... bunch of ignorant and rude millennial types that don't know a damn thing about their products.

The Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops near me have gone to S H I T as well.

There is a Scheels planned to open near me in 2022. I hear they are the last big chain that still believes in quality of gear and customer service.

Most of you are right after a fashion. They hired some "new" CEOs to go through all of the stores and breathe fire on the managers. In Fairbanks, there is a new manager in every single department including the receiving. They pay the managers almost nothing. The head store manager is just a kid. They emptied out the central receiving warehouse so the store is completely full of a few items that they had open POs on. So there is a ton of LEM grinders and masterbuilt smokers. They have quite a bit of Vortex and Sitka on hand. The big problem is that the new management is bringing a lot of higher cost items like Mountain Hardware and Black Diamond clothing that hunters generally tread carefully in. They have just started increasing the number of guns in stock. We do have Mystery Ranch Packs in a glorified number that we have never seen. There are rumors that the employee discount will end at the beginning of the year. Already most of the longer serving employees are getting slowly nudged out with minimum work requirements and they are hiring many more floor employees with 0 experience or developmental disabilities. I do know that we are getting some great higher end products but for the most part it is swirling around the toilet. They keep us an extra half hour after our shift to do recovery and merchandising. This is driving the part timers out. I can tell you that before it is done it will be a wild ride. Many employees are sticking around to see what happens.

Our local BPS sucks. They started loading up all the guns in no cases in the carts and rolling them into the safe. All the guns are beat to heck and back, 3k over and unders, nice wood rifles, etc. All ruined. Then they tell you, we'll take 5% off. So they are willing to take 5% off but not willing to put them in a cheap redhead black gun case they probably paid some china factory to make them for 2 dollars? Its criminal the way they treat their guns.

Cabelas was going down hill way before BPS took them over.

Well this is disturbing news. I had not heard of this merger. It destroyed Cabelas and will, almost certainly, destroy Sportsman's Warehouse. Hopefully Scheels will continue in the same manner they have in the past. I too try to patronize the small shop; but, they have a tough time competing. Face it, inventory is expensive. It's like we are all going to be forced to do most of our shopping online. It's sad really.

I know what you mean about the guns being all beat up. It is really a shame to see beautiful wood furnishings on guns full of dings and scratches.

Thoughts? Thank God for scheels.

Sportsman's Warehouse seemed to carry higher quality line of products . I have bought several firearms at what I thought was a good price .

BPS's clothing is cheap Walmart stuff .

I haven’t been a SW since the merger was announced, and probably won’t go back. What BPS did to Cabelas is a crime. Plenty of local shops need the business more.

Black Sheep is higher than HLL. I stopped there to get some night crawlers. They were about $1.00/worm...not kidding. Everything I saw there was high. Their selection was adequate, however.

BP can KMA. The level of "customer service" is non-existent.

Amalgamation seems to be the trend these days. Companies are absorbing more and more of their competitors, to the detriment of the consumer. Invariably, when these mergers occur, quality suffers and most of the formerly excellent products are replaced with MIC crap. This is obviously done with the intent of increasing revenue, which is the primary point of these mergers. Grossly overinflated salaries for upper management, crap for the consumer is their M.O.

As a small example, a few years ago, I went to Bass Pro in Grapevine because I was having a hard time finding flannel shirts for the winter. Bass Pro had many. I picked out 3 or 4 and took them home. I then discovered that the overall shirt length was too short and that the chest pockets were so small and narrow, they were useless. The flannels also shrank at least a full size when washed and the colors ran. The shirts were utter and complete crap, maybe suitable for use as rags, but not much more. I should have checked before I made the purchase; but, you guessed it, MIC!

The fact is that Bass Pro/Cabela's stocks aisles and aisles of MIC crap. Sure, you can occasionally find a firearm or the ammo you're looking for, and maybe a nice Abu Garcia and a decent pair of merino wool socks, but overall, the quality absolutely sucks. I don't know about you, but when I spend my hard won cash, I'm looking for quality, made in AMERICA products, not chinese crap that won't even last a season. I won't be patronizing them again unless I'm in serious need and there is no other choice. Small local shops always get the nod from me. I avoid big box stores like the plague. The only exception might be Grainger, but that's a different deal entirely.

Bass Whorehouse.

Bottom line.

I've still got $150 in Cabela's gift cards that I've been carrying around for a few years.

Bass pro sucks

Cabelas was cool first couple times I went.. now it sucks

Never been to a sportsman's whorehouse.. looked at their stuff online.

Basspro will run it Into the ground also

BP/Cabela's and SW have just about run off all the local shops here, and with the massive influx of Kalipornicators the big market is now cheap camping, biking, and running gear.

Scheel's is still holding on to its decent hunting and fishing departments, but I'm seeing erosion in both...quality and selection.

Big Box = Fast-moving, or don't stock it

We have a Bass Pro local but I really don't shop there anymore. I buy pretty much anything shooting related, other than guns online, clothing and footwear at Sportsman's or Scheels.
I have an REI membership but shop there only when there is no other option.
REI doesn't carry hunting or shooting merch so it's not an alternative to SW.

Scheels, better than BP/Cabelas or sport whse.

Jeez, I left E WA 4-5 years ago, don't remember the closing of the Elephant. When did that happen. I was a few hours south of Spokane, so didn't get there often, maybe I missed it while I was there. Place reminded me of the old Army-Navy type stores.

There was a Black Sheep down in Lewiston too, not a bad place to find certain things.

Sportsman's Whorehouse is up the road 2 hrs from here, and I usually stop in to check for components if I have to go to the big town for something. Other than that, they don't get much business from me anyway.

My concern is that the shooting, and most "outdoor" type activities are on the decline and companies are just looking for a way to cut costs and stay i n business. Merging can mean only one corporate office needed and the reduction of competitive stores in certain locations.

Nope, REI for sleeping bags, packs, gaiters and such. And I haven't bought any of that stuff from them in years.