Still over priced compared to academy and Amazon

Only Africa related stuff for sale is 375 H&H ammo

Why I go to dsc and sci - few places to see and handle quality guns.

Mike

The Gander Mtn in Thornton CO went out of business last fall. There was some really great bargains to be had.

As a kid (50 years ago) I used to get their catalogs and dream about all the good outdoors stuff they offered.

BH63

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:

As a kid (50 years ago) I used to get their catalogs and dream about all the good outdoors stuff they offered.

BH63

I'm fearful I'm going to watch the same happen to Cabela's in my lifetime.

I am fearful that hunting will be outlawed in 50 years.

Yup. They filed bankruptcy and screwed my business out of about $10,000. Several other outdoor companies can add a few more zeroes to my loss. One major rifle manufacturer is down a little over a million with them.

It's understandable in two ways.

Firstly......Gander is the most expensive of all the major outdoor retailers so people spend their money elsewhere.

Secondly.....A large volume of outdoorsman are buying their products on-line.

I only buy powder and primers from brick and morter stores as I can always find a better deal via the www

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
It's understandable in two ways.

Firstly......Gander is the most expensive of all the major outdoor retailers so people spend their money elsewhere.

Secondly.....A large volume of outdoorsman are buying their products on-line.

I only buy powder and primers from brick and morter stores as I can always find a better deal via the www

Stand buy! If everyone only buys on line a lot of small brick and mortar businesses will die because they can't compete with the giants selling on the net!

The best memories I have from my 80 years of life are tied to small gun and sporting goods stores run by friends whos livelihood is dependent on the walk-in trade.

................All seemingly so-called progress is not the best thing for hunters and shooters, I fear.

.......................................................................

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
It's understandable in two ways.

Firstly......Gander is the most expensive of all the major outdoor retailers so people spend their money elsewhere.

Secondly.....A large volume of outdoorsman are buying their products on-line.

I only buy powder and primers from brick and morter stores as I can always find a better deal via the www

Stand buy! If everyone only buys on line a lot of small brick and mortar businesses will die because they can't compete with the giants selling on the net!

The best memories I have from my 80 years of life are tied to small gun and sporting goods stores run by friends whos livelihood is dependent on the walk-in trade.

................All seemingly so-called progress is not the best thing for hunters and shooters, I fear.

.......................................................................

Then when that day arrives I will pay the hazmat fees and order my powder and primers on line

This is not so much about the future of hunting or fishing.

It is much more about the future of outdoor retail.

I pay more than market in retail for my guns and fishing gear cause I want expertise of a gun shop, a gunsmith or a tackle shop.

But I am also gunned out - I own way too many guns as do a lot of other Americans.

Majority of guns are bought by just 3% of gun owners.

Gander survived because of Obama - created a gun buying boom that supported an otherwise overpriced retail business.

If you cant compete with amazon you are pretty much dead. Only Academy competes with amazon.

Small gun shops need a service edge for someone to pay more to buy there.

For safari stuff best to go to DSC or SCI or follow classified on AR - big bores wont be seen on academy gun shelf anytime soon.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
This is not so much about the future of hunting or fishing.

It is much more about the future of outdoor retail.

I pay more than market in retail for my guns and fishing gear cause I want expertise of a gun shop, a gunsmith or a tackle shop.

But I am also gunned out - I own way too many guns as do a lot of other Americans.

Majority of guns are bought by just 3% of gun owners.

Gander survived because of Obama - created a gun buying boom that supported an otherwise overpriced retail business.

If you cant compete with amazon you are pretty much dead. Only Academy competes with amazon.

Small gun shops need a service edge for someone to pay more to buy there.

For safari stuff best to go to DSC or SCI or follow classified on AR - big bores wont be seen on academy gun shelf anytime soon.

Mike

Well stated Mike - AMEN!

The gander mountain near my house didn't even put guns and ammo on sale.

Of the gear they had on sale, most of it I could find online for cheaper including the discount. They had a pair of Columbia pants for $50, on sale for $40, that I could get from Amazon or Backcountry for $30. Not shocked they're going out of business.

There is a GM about 2 miles from the entrance to my subdivision. I go as a matter of convenience. I have little free time. I generally don't shop around. What I buy there is usually ammo or smaller items. Before the bankruptcy, I could not tell you if their prices were good or not.

When the bankruptcy was announced, we went up one Sunday to have a look. At that point, guns and ammo were not discounted. That has since changed. There are small discounts now. Most of the big discount items (30%) were junk not worth having. This has since increased to 40%

I picked up a few small items. I spotted a product known as Code Blue which we often use in the early part of deer season. They had quite a bit of it. It was 10% off. For entertainment purposes, I looked it up on the Code Blue website. I could buy it for less on the Code Blue website than I could AFTER discount at GM. I passed. We went back last night. Either a week or two weeks later. Code Blue is now 40% off. I bought a bunch.

The hand warmers we use which are normally $.99 are now $.69. I bought an entire box.

I hear a lot of bitching and complaining about the prices at GM. The products can be bought for lower prices elsewhere. Fair enough. Remember they ended up bankrupt.

Personally, I think the bankruptcy was from too many stores and not enough people in those stores. Would lower process have helped? We will never know.

It is ironic that Gander Mountain blossomed as a mail-order discount catalog seller (just like Cabela's once was). Had they stayed with that as their primary business they would probably be a dominant force in the field.

Unwisely, they attempted to follow Cabela's into the mega retail store business (circus, carnival, amusement park, and Neiman Marcus all rolled into one). In order to support such gigantic overhead, they had to both increase their volume and their prices. However, increased volume and increased prices simply don't go together as a fundamental of retailing.

The reason you don't see "Going out of Business" prices at the stores GM is closing is that they are mostly moving merchandise to the stores they hope to keep open -- a cheaper way to stock those stores than getting fresh merchandise from suppliers who are already carrying hefty unpaid receivables from GM on their books.

Had it not been for Bass Pro Shops rescuing (temporarily) Cabela's, they would be in the same shape. How long BPS can remain afloat without drastically altering their business plan is questionable.

But don't blame "online" sellers, which have been around for a century and a half in the form of "mail order" for the demise of small gunshops (Sears, Roebuck was often blamed for the failure of small town merchandizers a hundred years ago). It was the willingness of manufacturers and wholesalers to cut favorable deals with megasellers which killed the small shops. When Walmart could sell the item at retail for less than the local store could buy the same item at wholesale the die was cast.

Went walking through Our local GM with my phone, scanning barcodes with my pic2shop app. Even at their 10-40% off prices, everything was STILL cheaper online.

No wonder they went bankrupt!

Door let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

simple rule of capitalism.
adapt, reinvent or be left behind.
and ohh yeah, don't price gouge on almost ALL of your merchandise.

Obama saved Gander and Cabelas.

Both of these were direct purchasers from firearms manufactures and had significantly higher margins on guns and ammunition than regular retailers who rely on distributors.

The gun business supported an otherwise terrible retail business.

Retail sporting good sucks - sportsman warehouse, gander, sports authority all ch11 or ch7.

I also think Bass Pro is going to regret buying CAB in the age of Trump - natural demand for firearms world.

We (gun buying americans) are gunned out - we own too many guns already.

Also nothing new in firearms is going to happen - we are at the limits of what can be technical achieved. Scopes might improve but I dont see anything new happening in guns till military goes something ground breaking.

Maybe Bass Pro is a little different because of its fishing and boats product lines. But why buy CAB ?

Mike

SA closed up here. Dicks just opened two weeks ago.
What's the word on Dick's??
I've seen it from a distance but, haven't been there and likely won't, at least for quite sometime.

Thanks,
George

They have always been over priced. Sad that an American icon has taken a dump.

There guns were full retail. Was a good place to sell a gun to.

This gets even better - gander mountain is now controlled by a anti big game/trophy hunting person.

Marcus Lenonis

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Lemonis

https://www.google.com/amp/s/w...ow-controls.amp.html

Mike