Let me start by saying this is NOT my own view....yet.

It was told to me this evening by a friend who has been a local gun dealer with a store-front stocking dealership for about 20 years. I cannot vouch for either its accuracy or truth, but I know I have trusted this guy with individual deals well over $10,000 and he has never caused me any worry or grief yet.

He has a private investor partner separate from his store-front business. Together they travel the West, buying (and sometimes selling) better quality firearms. For the past several years, they have sold about 300-400 guns per year to Cabela's. One of their usual routes is to go to the Tulsa gun show via Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. On the way from Wyoming to Tulsa they go to Sydney, Nebraska, where they sell a bunch of guns to Cabela's. Those guns end up in The Gun Library for sale. They also usually stop back in Sydney on the way home and sell a few more.

He told me tonight that recently he received a call from the Manager of the Gun Library. I can't quote the Manager's exact words, as I did not hear them. But my dealer friend said he was told to not bring Cabela's any more guns until asked to.

The caller, who usually represents Cabela's at the Tulsa show itself, also said something to the effect that "If you DO see any real steals at Tulsa, so good you just have to buy them.....don't! He said his Gun Library had just received a letter from Cabela's corporate management telling them not to buy ANY more used rifles until told to, or unless taken as a trade-in.

Apparently the only things that are still moving well in the uper midwest and west are really high dollar shotguns. It seems this is a really bumper year for pheasants, and the grain farmers are all doing well selling grains for gasahol production. (Or to replace corn, which in turn is being sold to make gasahol.)So they are still buying deluxe shotguns to mow down those birds. My dealer friend then went on to tell me that he is now finding LOTS of guns that WERE expensive, fast, sellers on the used gun market are now getting cheaper and cheaper, quickly.

The market is apparently feeling the cash crunch and as most of the high-dollar guns are not necessities, folks are backing way off on buying them.

Something to think about, maybe.

(I know the same thing is happening in the high dollar horse business, and one of our partners who is also in the yacht-selling business is feeling it very much too.

Glad I don't go in for that kind of stuff much. I have always kind of liked the look of cash or bullion instead....and right now I prefer cash. There is a "bubble" in bullion which will also break one of these days not too far away.)

I think that may be a bit of an over reaction, but not entirely..I think a lot of big corporations are a little scared of who is going to be the next president and what he will do...and that may be a legit concern..but I know that guns are up in price about 15 ot 20% and ammo is up 25 ot 50%...Used guns have been a little slow but that seems to be picking up..

I think all business are being cautious and with reason..but I think this fear is more dangerous than who is president, it can be very contagious and have serious results, it caused the last big depression to a great degree...and when the big boys get scared and start pulling in their horns, we'll all feel the results of that.

I am going stay positive until the bottom falls out if it does and I will have one hell of a gun collection to leave my kids..It may be burried someplace out in the desert however.

I can see why the Cabelas gun library doesn't move any guns....look at the price and the service you get.

If they list one on thier site and call the contact number they give there's about a 10% chance someone will help you. I've asked for info on guns that were between $2,500 and $5,000 and been told "Come by and look" and "I can't send any pictures via email"....gee like I'm going to drive 1,500 miles one way to look.

They do have some rare and hard to find guns...but many of those in the library are run of the mill guns for 1.5x what you can find on any gunsite for sale every day of the week and have in your possesion in less than a week.

I went thru one recently on an invite as I had left word if they got in a certain gun I would be interested. They bought out someones sako collection and I went to take a look. They guy was a die hard sako nut and I didn't even get to the older stuff. They had NIB 75's and 85's selling for more than you can buy them new by $300......

They had a Jaeger custom rifle for $4k...which had a break in the stock clean thru at just behind the pistol grip. Had not been repaired. Literally in 2 pieces.

I guess each one is different and I have only been thru 3 different ones.

all cabelas heads care about is the bottom line, my guess is that they want to turn some inventory into cash

"The high end gun market is just fine. There is no economic slow down. Factory workers can still afford many custom rifles in nearly the same calibers and hunt internationally every year."

This is not news for those that follow Gun Broker. Anybody shooting smallbore knows that vintage Unertl scopes are priced beyond what Leupold and Burris are asking for much more modern optics of equivalent magnification.

I am a small time collector of Winchester lever acton rifle.
One of my comon web sites that I use to check prices has just knocked 25% off of several of there prominent dissplay rilfes.
Of course in keeping with the times, The stock fund I have used to buy rifles has lost about 40% also making it a foolish move for me to invest in such a rifle at this time.
In fact looking at how stocks are moving today,
It might be prudent to invest in a couple cases of canned food or top rommin...tj3006

World-wide stock market crash, prospects of a severe global recession and high unemployment, likelihood of a new Democratic super-majority openly opposed to gun ownership- not a good environment not just for Cabelas.

Guns are like land, now is the time to buy, it will be a good investment in your future..I believe in this country and its ability to bounce back. I do fear Obama more than any other canidate for president, but that said, he will have to contend with the courts and the system that has kept us free for many years..I have to believe that otherwise it wouldn't make any difference one way or the other what any of us did....

quote:

he will have to contend with the courts

The large number of republican federal judges may be the only thing to slow down the democrat jugernaut for a while.

The shop where I trade the most is a Browning Full Line dealer, and he had to cut his Browning rifle order in half a few months ago because sales of new stuff is so slow. He's still selling good used stuff fairly well, but even then some of the stuff you'd expect to fly of the shelves isn't selling for weeks.

I've seen what I consider to be some very good deals around, but the slowdown has affected my business to the point where I'm conserving cash for a while.

Cabela's Fine [Overpriced] Gun Room. Bleck! Do people really pay the prices they ask for some of that stuff? I guess they do, but I sure don't. I occasionally visit the one in Fort Worth. I've found their stuff to be really cheap but not what I want or way overpriced. Have yet to buy a gun there and probably won't. Craziest thing I've seen there was a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless with a very [ab]used stock and rust working its way from the barrel to the receiver for $50 less than new.

LWD

Good one Duckear!

LWD

Everything doubled since '03....so let'er come down a bit....Cabela's their pricing is nuts.

Guns (or at least asking prices for guns) have inflated unreasonably in the last two years. As with any market that gets out of line, there is always a following correction. Just like overpriced houses, the only people getting hurt in the gun market are people who paid too much. Cabelas is in the business of overcharging on guns. As long as they could overcharge, they were willing to replenish their stock. The fact that they are no longer wanting to replenish their stock simply indicates that they can no longer overcharge (and also may indicate that they are having difficulty with obtaining the credit to float their inventory.)

All things considered, my guns are holding their value better than the mutual funds in my 401(k). They also function just as well whether their market value is up or down. Economic recessions have the effect of returning us to the basics, i.e., the relative monetary value of goods and services tends to better reflect their functional value.

I've noticed a reduction in inventory at most mass marketers. This could be due cash shortage, or the prevalence of better bargains elsewhere. The blood is running in the streets.

There is a local shop here in Austin and their sales are better than they've ever been (this year) mostly due to handgun sales..

I've also noticed at the gun shows...handguns and black rifles are selling like hot cakes..but from a high inventory dealer who sells below most folks wholesale price.
Seems like alot of folks are stocking up before the election.......

quote:

Sendero300: handguns and black rifles are selling like hot cakes....seems like alot of folks are stocking up before the election....

No doubt. Happened during Clinton's administration too. Also riot shotguns.

Your right on about the black rifles. Head to the black rifle forums and the people who make them have multi month backlogs on some of their stuff.

Some inventory reduction is inevitable when the credit crunch hits hard.

I mean we've built a world economy on selling stuff to people on credit that they can't afford. Now that credit tightens up people aren't going to buy as much.

Related to that is you can't let stuff on the shelf as long and continue to pay interest on short term financing like you could in the past.

Even GM dealers are being told by GMAC that they have to start paying for their older vehicles on the lot before they can get new ones.

Another thing that might help us gun owners is that there are a lot of very liberel democrates who are pro gun.
Oregons peter defossio is one example.
And don't forget that reps from states like Montana and texas, won't do there future reelction chances any good by Voting to harm the 2nd amendment.
That being said, Join the NRA and tell your frends to join too !
...tj3003

Now I just have this feeling that no matter who is elected that screwing us out of our right to have guns is not going to be of top priority. Their plate will runeth over with bringing the war to a intelligent conclusion and oh yes, possibly working out a solution to a coming depression. Just a feeling mind you. roger

quote:

Cabela's Fine [Overpriced] Gun Room. Bleck! Do people really pay the prices they ask for some of that stuff? I guess they do, but I sure don't. I occasionally visit the one in Fort Worth. I've found their stuff to be really cheap but not what I want or way overpriced. Have yet to buy a gun there and probably won't. Craziest thing I've seen there was a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless with a very [ab]used stock and rust working its way from the barrel to the receiver for $50 less than new.

Must be a buyer's market. Humm - I'm having fun.

IMO, Cabela’s gun room is no indicator of what is happening in the market. I don't think anything can be inferred from their inventory, prices, or anything they do, except to hurt themselves. Over the years, I have visited the gun room in several states, and I have always been surprised at the prices, which I consider ridiculous. There is nothing they have there that I want.

About a month ago, I visited the store near Salt Lake, and it took a while before one of the guys there spoke to me, even though they were not busy. I looked at a nice used custom FN 270, which had a walnut stock that looked like a Fajen. The fit and checkering were nice, and well done, but not really nice and well done. The price was somewhere around $4,000 as I remember. I've got a custom FN 7x57 that I bought off GB a few months ago for about $1,500 that has better wood, better fit, better checkering, better safety and trigger, etc. No s--t. Craftsman unknown.

I just had to handle the Cabela's FN to see what a $4,000 Mauser felt like, and sure enough it fit and handled well. Now that I think about it, I don't have a Mauser that doesn't fit and handle well. Humm - the one that comes to mind that fits nicely has a Butler Creek stock on it.

I worked the bolt, and the safety, and discovered that after a certain sequence, which might likely be used in the field, the thing would fire when the safety was let off - without touching the trigger. That’s a very significant problem. I was very irritated that they would put such gun on the shelf, and have the gall to price it so high to boot. I asked the guy why the gun was so highly priced, and he said it is because it was made by a guy named Kennedy. He went on about it for a while, then I told him about the problem with the safety, after waiting for a crowd to gather, to maximize the embarrassment. I offered him $1,000 as is, but he just grinned.

Anyway, need I explain more for my disgust with Cabelas?

KB

In a lot of ways I think the Cabelas Gun Library is part of the attraction so that people come to the store as a bonus...and if they happen to buy one is a bonus.

Let's be honest there's not a whole lot of neighborhood gun stores you can walk into and look at a collection like Cabelas of stuff like winchesters, colt pistols etc.....

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas Jones:
Another thing that might help us gun owners is that there are a lot of very liberel democrates who are pro gun.
Oregons peter defossio is one example.

I agree that one should join the NRA, if for no other reason just to make the membership big enough to get the attention of politicos.

I have lived in Peter DeFazio's congressional district for the last 19 years though. I DO NOT consider him pro-gun at all!! When the chips are down, he votes with the Democratic Party majority, regardless what direction that wind is blowing.

He voted FOR the Clinton assault rifle ban when it first passed. When Congress changed its view overall, he would not commit either way until the votes were all pretty well known. Then, when it was clear that the assault weapons ban would NOT be voted out while Bill Clinton was still president, he voted against the ban as a sop to rural locals who were banding together to oppose him. By doing so, he managed to stay in office, without incurring the ire of the Democratic leadership. Hey, that committee chairmanship means a lot of power and extra bucks to him...he doesn't wanna get chucked out of it.

If you really look at his record, he has never accomplished ANYTHING he claims to be for...like voting FOR gun owners and the second amendment when it counts, like getting rid of NAFTA, working to assure affordable energy prices and sources, fending off enviro-whackos who prevent renewable resource harvesting (like logging), etc., etc., etc.

He did, however, manage to stab the NRA in the back in the early 90's, when he asked for and got money from the NRA for his election campaign, then promptly voted for every anti-gun bill that came along for the next half-dozen years.

Peter DeFazio is just like the rest of the Dems...will promise you anything to get your vote, but then considers himself above YOUR needs. And when the chips are down, votes in what he considers HIS best political interests.

That, to me, describes an unethical political opportunist, not a to-be-counted-on gun ally.

Cabela's built some big stores, with the "big box" comes large cost. I forsee in time a major down sizing . Too much cost (ie nice buildings, fish tanks,and cheap China clothing).

Cabelas should have stuck with their mail order business, they would have remained a profitable venture.

This market downturn will weed out some of the big box stores, and I can't say I'll miss them!

Ed

Just to keep the record straight, at this point I am not certain exactly who the caller from Cabela's was who spoke to my friend. It COULD have been anyone, even a competitor trying to do Cabela's or my friend some harm. As I said before, in the original post, I am also not certain how accurate the information is/was. You know how conversations go...sometimes things are lost in the translations.

It was posted to get feedback from those of you who also deal in the gun market and can comment on how it is doing in your areas. Also, it was to give you something to think about if you have guns you are about to buy or sell.

Personally, I wish Cabela's well. All major & minor players in the hunting & gun game need to hang together these days to preserve ourselves and our sports. I hope to see them proove this just a ripple in the due course of daily business.

Guys, the advertised price at Cabela's is indeed high but it's like anything else. You have to DEAL WITH THEM. I was talking to a guy at Cablela's about two months ago about about a used double that they had priced really high. I told him what I could buy a new one for and had him down several thousand dollars within five minutes. I didn't buy the gun but it is still there and in two or three months, I'll be able to buy it for less. I think the market is REALLY coming down on doubles.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Guys, the advertised price at Cabela's is indeed high but it's like anything else. You have to DEAL WITH THEM. I was talking to a guy at Cablela's about two months ago about about a used double that they had priced really high. I told him what I could buy a new one for and had him down several thousand dollars within five minutes. I didn't buy the gun but it is still there and in two or three months, I'll be able to buy it for less. I think the market is REALLY coming down on doubles.

Dave

Each library must operate under the direction of whoever is in charge.

I tried to buy about 1/2 dozen sako's out of a recent bought sako collection at one time and pay cash and they wouldn't come down $0.50.

allot of this slow down is perpetuated by those who have enough in the market and enough liquidity to buy more when they slow the market down.
guns are like cars... if you're deal, you have to have the guts to walk away....

I don1t agree that often with Atkinson but I DO HERE!! !,000% KI don`t know who said it but it goes--"there is nothing to fear but fear itself". America WILL overcome this present hard time and the ones that hang in there will ultimately prosper! Congrats on a well written message Ray.
Akola, Mark

I would like to remind you that Bill Clinton did a whole lot more than get the Assault Weapons Bill passed. He accomplished a significant amount of damage to our gun culture by rewriting the ATF "rules." The number of gun dealers was reduced by more than half in just a couple of years. The anti-gun politicians have figured out that there is more than one way to skin a cat (or to incumber our Second Amendment rights). If there are no primers, if the price of bullets and brass and powder goes out of sight, and it costs $50 or $60 to sight in your deer rifle, they are still accomplishing their goals. If you can own a gun but you can't carry it or freely use it, then we lose the enjoyment of whatever our gun interest may be. Although I live in a very freedom oriented state, it is easy to find a lot of states where permission must be granted by some level of government to buy guns, or ammo, or to have a retail gun shop.

Please be sure to vote for your pro-gun candidates. Personally, I will vote Republican, but there are some (or a few) pro-gun Dems). I always check out each candidate's publicly stated position on gun control prior to casting my vote.

Your vote counts!

Like many retailers, Cabela’s has been pinched by the economic slowdown. First it was high gas prices and more recently it’s been the credit crunch and rising unemployment. The stock (CAB) has fallen from $20 to $7 in the past year and earlier this month Cabelas announced it was laying-off 10% of its headquarters employees. Every retailer is worried about their inventory levels right now. Cabelas is probably trying to lighten up in every area – not just used guns.

Gander Mountain is in even worse shape. I’m surprised they’ve managed to hang on as long as they have. I think its unlikely Gander Mountain will survive this recession; they’ll be lucky to make it through the Christmas season. I’d be looking forward to their going-out-of-business sale in January but for the life of me can’t find much there that even interests me

I have to concur with the gentleman who said you have to deal with Cabela's. I purchased a relatively rare caliber Steyr-Mannlicher from a Cabela's library back in 2006. After a brief chat with them, the price dropped into reasonable territory and I snapped it up. Besides, no one was going to buy a rifle from Cabela's when the store did not stock ammunition for it!

LLS

I would be very much surprised if what you are describing were not the case. I noted yesterday, there are quite a few Mannlicher/Schoenauers on Gun Broker right now. And while the asking prices are still about the same as in previous years, no-one is bidding on them.

Now is not the time to buy guns. At this point it is like any other stock and will be affected further by the credit crunch and lack of available money. It is all a matter of timeing and today isn't the time. Perhaps 2 to 3 years if the housing market can't get turned around. Now and for some time to come the focus will be on family NEEDS and not toys. roger

I'm sure the original poster's account is accurate concerning Cabelas. Their stock is recently down around 75% and they announced layoffs this month. No doubt there are tight reins on their cash outflow and reduction of existing inventories. Just a business necessity at this time for them.

Regarding the posting on Obama and "no time" to pursue anti-gun legislation. That is harder to take. Momentum has a lot to do with passage of bills and if there is a liberal majority with absolutely zero consideration given to a possible presidential veto, I could easily see small liberal committees attaching an anti-gun rider quickly and silently to a bigger popularly supported bill. The minority will be forced to vote on the basis of the bigger issue again with absolutely zero threat of it being defeated by a veto based on what is contained in the rider.

Also, most of our gun laws are state and not federally mandated. Considering the momentum factor I could easily see liberally sponsored anti-gun bills passing in state legislatures where there is much less time spent on national matters. It might be a tough upcoming ride for gun owners and hunters.

Funny thing to read.
A lot of comments starts to judge the economy and the efect og the current creditcrise on Cabelas.

Hasn't anyone given it a thought that Cabelas is as in the last many years, excelent buissnessmen.
Basic rule in a downgoing market: Dont buy to early, wait until the bottom of the hill, then buy for 50% or less.

quote:

Originally posted by jørgen:
Funny thing to read.
A lot of comments starts to judge the economy and the efect og the current creditcrise on Cabelas.

Hasn't anyone given it a thought that Cabelas is as in the last many years, excelent buissnessmen.
Basic rule in a downgoing market: Dont buy to early, wait until the bottom of the hill, then buy for 50% or less.

Cabelas has changed a lot since they went public. The history of the current public corporation is short and still being formed. So far, I've not seen an increase in quality or a lowering of prices.

That Kennedy guy wouldn't be Monte Kennedy of Whitefish Montana would it? if it is then 4K is a steal, as to the safety problem, somebody adjusted the trigger to light.