Cabela's gun libary

[jim in Anchorage]

Do any of you spend hours drooling over their inventory like I do? I wonder how realistic their prices are vs actual worth? Any experience buying/selling with them?

 

[RB98SS]

I was looking today at their FA revolvers.

 

[dakotasin]

they're going to get very close to the price tag. they do have some wiggle room but there's not much there, and to get at it you need to find a flaw that they have not already taken into consideration.

in general, the guys in the gun library are very knowledgeable folks, and their bonus/commission/whatever is directly tied to that departments profit for the year. so, while they do have the authority to change prices, they don't have a lot of incentive to do so - and their prices are close to fair value.

 

[WardenWolf]

They can be obscene. They wanted $225 for a Nagant revolver at the local Cabela's. I could get one for $75 from AIM Surplus.

 

[Carl]

The Cabela's in Dundee Michigan, I drooled over a Winchester 1886 in .45-70 for just over $1000 I believe. My girlfriend had to escort me back towards the used racks. I'm a huge sucker when it comes to 19th century guns and milsurp.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

What is a FA revolver?

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I would have traded my girl friend for the 1886.

 

[Oro]

in general, the guys in the gun library are very knowledgeable folks, and their bonus/commission/whatever is directly tied to that departments profit for the year. so, while they do have the authority to change prices, they don't have a lot of incentive to do so - and their prices are close to fair value.

That may be true at your local Cabela's but it is certainly not uniform across their stores. The few I have sampled have had rather uninformed salespeople and prices bordering on the absurd.

OTOH, I have met some people who have received decent deals from them in different parts of the country. I have stopped bothering to peruse the local store or go to their on-line store (the online one is also terribly poorly organized, making searching and browsing difficult).

I think the time is better spent perusing Gunbroker, Olde Town Station, etc.

 

[bonza]

The two I've been in were staffed by vaguely ignorant folks, & their prices weren't terribly good either. I was looking at a Belgian-made mid 19th century percussion target pistol in one store, asking price was something in the $900s. I passed on it, then about three months later found an almost identical pistol at our monthly gun show & bought it for $325.

 

[hso]

It's great just to go in and admire what's under glass.

 

[mike26038]

Every once and a great while, you will find a deal in Cabelas. But most of the time, their prices are border line theft. Mine has a used Colt 9mm carbine that they want $3599.00 for.

Plus the people that work in there are the biggest tools in the industry.


I lucked into a great deal on a NIB Winchester 63, the tag even said it had the box, and the gun room guy confirmed it. I had to put it on layaway for a few weeks. When I went to pick it up, the girl behind the counter bring the gun out, and I pay for it/doo papaerwork. I asked her about the box, and she said "It had on when you bought it, but it does'nt now". I told her to shove it up her ass, and give me my money back. Come to be that she was just too lazy to look for it, and another employee went and found it for me.

 

[Coyote3855]

"What is a FA revolver?"

Just a guess, but might be Freedom Arms. Very high quality and high dollar single actions made in Freedom, Wyoming.

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know if they are good guys, or bad guys, but I do know this.

I was at the KC KS store a couple of years ago when one of the buyers brought in a big Tupperware tub full of old handguns he could barely lift.
Plus several trips to carry in the long guns.

I saw a mint pre-war S&W Outdoorsman and other nice S&W's, several Sharps Derringers, Pepperbox derringers, a cased set of flintlock dueling pistols, and some BP Colts. The long guns included several very nice old Winchesters & Sharps.

The guy was bragging to his buddy he only paid the senile old widow woman $750 for the whole mess, and she was really happy!
They both had a knee-slapping good laugh over it!

Now, that right there just ain't right!

The thing is, they are scouring the country, and advertising they buy estates at fair prices, and buying up all the old good stuff.

Then jacking the prices 10, 20, or 50 fold over what they are paying for some of them from estates & spouses that don't know any better.

rc

 

[ArmedBear]

If you're ever in Boise, stop in and see the Elmer Keith museum.

Lots of his guns to drool over, and they're not for sale, so there's no price to bitch about.

 

[340PD]

I own two

One is a 22/45 Ruger that was slightly under the going rate. The second is a Ed Brown Kobra Carry that was about three hundred under the listed retail price, but it included four extra magazines. I am happy with both purchases. Rogers, MN store.

 

[sernv99]

their prices are total rip off. If you try to bargain with them, they will give you this song and dance about how they put too much into the gun already or overpaid for it so they can't give more than $100 off the sticker price. I had this same old sales line told to me by 3 different Cabelas dealers. Ok, well if you are overpaying for your inventory, maybe you shouldn't be in the gun retail business to begin with? So there are no bargains to be had there.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Haven't found a fair deal yet. Way overpriced imho.

 

[scrat]

i love cabellas. porblem is there isnt one around me so i have to buy on the internet. but those guys are awesome always stand behind their warranty and their prices on shipping are way better than midway. +1 for cabellas

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Thanks coyote. I was thinking DA,SA,BP. I have always wanted a freedom arms,but really don't like stainless guns all that much.

 

[commygun]

While fun to look at the prices are truly absurd. Hard to believe that anyone knowledgable enough to be interested in the guns would be ignorant enough to pay the ridiculous prices.

 

[WardenWolf]

The crazy thing I see is that they try to sell used guns for the same price I could order a new gun of the exact same model from Davidson's.

 

[Liberty1776]

I check their Library a lot, esp. online. I have only seen two real bargains and they were several years apart... IMHO, they are hideously overpriced on almost everything - at least 30% over common valuations if not more. The worst example I've seen recently was offering a Harrington & Richardson (ya know, H&R) Buffalo Target rifle - used - for sale for $850 when they had the same gun out on the main floor, new in da box, for $425...

The personnel by and large are completely ignorant of guns in general and fine guns in particular. They take advantage of unknowledgable sellers. They run the sales rooms with less flair than a tire shop. Their usual "tactic" when you ask about a particular gun is to hand it to you and say - "here".

Most of the sales staff rotates off the floor, and were just selling their hiking boots yesterday and will be working in camping gear and dog supplies tomorrow or on the next schedule posting. Now, having said all that - THEY GOTS SOME OF THE COOLEST GUNS FOR SALE, DANGIT!!!

 

[RB98SS]

"What is a FA revolver?"

Just a guess, but might be Freedom Arms. Very high quality and high dollar single actions made in Freedom, Wyoming.

Yep.

 

[chibiker]

Interesting that the "we paid too much for it" comment was made. I have run across this gimmick on three separate occasions when interested in buying something from them. Most recently was on a 1920 Commercial Colt that had been refinished. It had been been polished and buffed so much that most the marking were barely there, the prancing pony didn't even have a tail left. A 5 to 6OO dollar gun at best... I might even give you a little grief if you paid that much. They had it marked for $1500. I got handed the "we have too much into it" remark when trying to make them a deal on it.
My opinion is that they either have real rubes buying these pieces and/or their business is based on finding a person that really has more money than knowledge.

 

[The Mayor]

I bought a mint HK-PSP from Cabela's in Dundee in 05, the price was right at the going rate of the time ($800). What sealed the deal was the 30 day return policy, that gave me enough time to inspect and shoot it before being totally committed.
I don't have a problem with their buyers scouring the country side so I can view the product of their labor from the comfort of my den.