Bass Pro/Cabelas warning.

[arakboss]

I bought a $100 gift card from Freddies because they said I could spend it anywhere, even not associated with Fred's! 1st time I tried to use it online I found out different. Ended up giving it to the wife and she bought groceries with it. Neither one of us like doing any kind of business with them. I only bought the card from them because it was convenient. Learned my lesson!

I bought a bunch of $25 Cabela's gift cards from Freddy's last week and they worked just fine. I used two today in store and then used two more at Cabela's online when I got home.

Raise.com is another place were you can frequently get Cabela's gift from 13 to 20% off. I am a Cabela's club card holder and they occasionally send out emails for a day where you get 10% off your entire purchase and you can use gift cards for partial payment. On those days I usually save at least 30% on my purchases.

 

[Flymph]

I bought a $100 gift card from Freddies because they said I could spend it anywhere, even not associated with Fred's! 1st time I tried to use it online I found out different. Ended up giving it to the wife and she bought groceries with it. Neither one of us like doing any kind of business with them. I only bought the card from them because it was convenient. Learned my lesson!

Gift cards are good only for the place you buy it for, otherwise it's a prepaid credit card and will say visa, mastercard... et cetera.
They don't hire the brightest people from my experience.

 

[Rkangel]

For me Cabelas isn't worth it anymore. When Bass Pro bought Cabelas it reminded me of the K-Mart/Sears merger. Sears didn't raise the class of K-mart. K-mart dumbed-down (then bankrupted) Sears. IMO Bass Pro did the same to Cabelas...

Optics Planet is dead to me, too. They do the same thing.

 

[Flymph]

I no longer consider Cabela's a destination. Don't think their sale pricing is much anymore.

I once needed a re-loading part for 223/556 and it was out of stock on the shelf hanger. Guy came by and said"let me check our warehouse". Nada. He explains that some guy back east looks at a computer print out sees the store only sold 2 last week so thats all he sends out. You'd think if the sold 2 and that was their par that he should send 4, but noooo! Happened again the next week. Stupid method of inventory!

Can't remember the last time I bought anything from them,.....except fudge!

That's more and more how these things are done. It's lazy and inefficient. They claim it saves money on overstock productivity, but the loss in sales from reputation for out of stocks is worse than paying somebody to order enough to restock regularly. Literally retail is relegating itself to a quick stop market instead of a destination. Retail should be doing better to ensure instocks and market itself as a destination, not rely on those of us who desire to buy things in person. I've started shopping online significantly more the past two years, and that's partially because of retails failures to market themselves better and ensure availability of a product (and it was a problem without the pandemic panic).

 

[arakboss]

For me Cabelas isn't worth it anymore. When Bass Pro bought Cabelas it reminded me of the K-Mart/Sears merger. Sears didn't raise the class of K-mart. K-mart dumbed-down (then bankrupted) Sears. IMO Bass Pro did the same to Cabelas...

Optics Planet is dead to me, too. They do the same thing.

Bass Pro didn't do Cabela's any favors that for sure. The one positive thing that has changed is that you can order powder and primers via the ship to store method and they evidently don't charge the hazmat fees that way.

 

[Rkangel]

That's more and more how these things are done. It's lazy and inefficient. They claim it saves money on overstock productivity, but the loss in sales from reputation for out of stocks is worse than paying somebody to order enough to restock regularly. Literally retail is relegating itself to a quick stop market instead of a destination. Retail should be doing better to ensure instocks and market itself as a destination, not rely on those of us who desire to buy things in person. I've started shopping online significantly more the past two years, and that's partially because of retails failures to market themselves better and ensure availability of a product (and it was a problem without the pandemic panic).

"Just-in-time inventory" is a lot like "One size fits all"
One size fits all...equally badly.
Just-in-time inventory... is neither in time or in inventory.

 

[HaveGun]

"Just-in-time inventory" is a lot like "One size fits all"
One size fits all...equally badly.
Just-in-time inventory... is neither in time or in inventory.

It's been all the rage with companies for years. It has bitten a lot of them in the arse this year with Covid-related issues.

My own company relies on hundreds of vendors for components to build their products. They have been slowly trying to adjust and just announced plans to start making one of their own major components.

 

[arakboss]

Cabela's rant incoming:

I ordered a $25 Christmas Gift Card from Cabela's online that was suppose to be 10% off. The drawback of this gift card is that you couldn't start using it until Christmas Day. They charged me full price because I made partial payment with another gift card but they sent me a card that I can't use until Christmas Day. So I fired up the CS Chat line today and had no luck getting my $2.50 discount or getting a replacement gift card that I could use immediately. So I paid full freight price for a gift card that I can't use until Christmas. I have not given up, it will require a phone call next.

 

[oremike]

"Just-in-time inventory" is a lot like "One size fits all"
One size fits all...equally badly.
Just-in-time inventory... is neither in time or in inventory.

For me I'm not supposed to have more than 50 lbs of gunpowder or more than 50,000 primers on hand. Generally about 6 weeks worth. So I'd get down to a couple weeks worth and place my orders and I'd get them in a week. Just in time if you will. Now with this china flu everything is on back order and I get what I get when I get it. I don't have a powder bunker to store a ton of powder and 10 million primers. I also don't have crystal ball to predict needing that much powder and primers or the financial wherewithal to buy 2 weeks before the crises hit.