My problems with Cabelas

Status
Not open for further replies.
John#2 said:
Washington, and I've been bugging them pretty continuously with no effect.
Click to expand...
Calling and getting no answer is bs. Threaten to call the atf or your local law enforcement. Should they chose not to refund or sell, follow through. Let us know how this goes.
 
John#2 said:
Nobody has this gun right now. I challenge anybody to find another one for sale anywhere in the country.
Click to expand...
That's the case with most guns in most independent gun shops around where I live. The big stores and even small chain places are having less trouble getting new gun inventory than the small places. My buddy usually has about 130 guns in stock. He told me this evening he has a total of 27. No AR's, no pump or semiauto shotguns and no semiauto handguns whatsoever.

If you're able to ride it out and eventually get the gun, is WA a place where you could sell it without a major hassle? If they're as scarce as everything else you could probably move it fast and make a few bucks.
 
WA has all background checks go throught the state patrol, it changed when a host of other laws became law a few years ago, I believe it was I-1639, ever since than I get delayed every single time and the LGS that I buy from doesnt get a response in 3 days and I pick the gun up, never was like that before but now its the new norm for me.

I would look on Buds guns online and order and pay them and have it shipped to a local store, thats what works the best for me, gun shops dont usually have what I am looking for it seems.

Cabelas in Olympia flat out sucks, I have only been there 2 times and was offended by the prices, didnt buy a single item either time, the local small shops will easily beat the ridiculous prices that Cabels wants
 
My recommendation is to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You will get a response probably within a day from Cabela’s looking to resolve your issue.

Cabela’s ticked me off recently. For Father’s Day, they had a Henry .22 on sale. I decided to order online and pickup at my local Cabela’s. I placed my order and then received an email the next day that my order had been cancelled and my payment refunded because I hadn’t picked it up in time. Knowing this was inaccurate, I then called Cabela’s, waited on hold for 40 minutes and then talked with some wantwit who said that their online inventory cannot keep up. I explained that it gave me and still gives me the choice to order online. Why in this age a website cannot keep up with inventory and why there is still an option for customers to order something that is sold out is beyond me.

I researched the issue and it appears others have had similar problems with sale items. What I suspect is that Cabela’s lures people in with a few really good deals which go out of stock quickly or aren’t even in stock and then people place orders for those items and other non-sale items. Cabela’s can then cancel the out of stock sale items and leave customers to pay full price for the other items that they did not originally have a desire to buy.

Anyways, I contacted BBB and said that if Cabela’s wanted to make it right, they could provide me 10% of the amount of the gun as a sort of “restocking” fee to me. I thought that was only fair since Cabela’s charges customers a 10% restocking fee if they order a gun and fail to pick it up; since I ordered a gun and Cabela’s failed to provide, why can’t they compensate me for my wasted time and trouble.

The next day, a lady called and left me a message with her direct line. I returned the call and she apologized and emailed me a gift card for 10% of the price of the gun.

I was satisfied but not completely since it took me contacting the BBB to prompt Cabela’s to take action. If that failed to work out, I was going to contact the state attorney general’s office because I truly believe that there is shady and, quite possibly, illegal sales practices being orchestrated by Cabela’s which they excuse away as website inventory issues.

I wish Cabela’s and other large businesses would just treat customers decently and make things right without customers having to jump through hoops every time there is an issue.
 
MCFLYFYTER said:
I've never been asked to pay for an in stock gun before I was approved. Seems like they would be in a pickle if you were denied, yet they already sold you the gun.
Click to expand...
Yup, same for me in other big and small gun stores..BGC, when approved, THEN pay for gun..
 
If it makes you feel better OP My order with Classic got delayed and it’s been 10 days. I too paid money. I’m glad they’re at least staying in email contact with me and that I’ve been working in my patience for the past few months.
 
Last edited:
Texas10mm said:
Why would you pay for a gun you didn't have in hand?
Click to expand...
My friend who has a small shop has customers pay whether they're approved or delayed. His reasoning is that the gun is no longer in stock, so it's no longer sellable to anyone else until it's resolved. I don't agree with the practice but I understand the logic.
 
Howland937 said:
My friend who has a small shop has customers pay whether they're approved or delayed. His reasoning is that the gun is no longer in stock, so it's no longer sellable to anyone else until it's resolved. I don't agree with the practice but I understand the logic.
Click to expand...

It might be that way because if a customer gets approved but never comes in to pick the gun, now the owner is sitting on inventory he can’t sell because it’s already “sold” and if the customer doesn’t pre-pay he now can’t make a profit on the inventory that he also can’t sell. Pre-pay makes it so that they 1.) have incentive to come pick up their crap or 2.) if they don’t come pick it up the shop can sit on it indefinitely without worrying about losing money for it, even if they can’t place it back in inventory because it’s “sold”.

Makes sense from a “cover my ass against losses” mindset. I’ve sold guns before and some people want you to hold a gun for them and then don’t come back for months on end, if ever.
 
My first 4 guns when I was in my teens and early 20's came from Dick's or Bass Pro. A few years later I cashed in all my Bass Pro points on another gun purchase, and since then I haven't had a gun purchase from a big box store in 10 years. I'll buy defense ammo from Cabelas, and fishing gear from them or Bass Pro, but that's about it. Normally their gun prices are higher unless you catch a good sale, so when I buy a new gun I get it from my LGS when they can beat other prices, or order from small shops across the country and do the transfer at my LGS.

But that changed this week when I bought a Cabela's exclusive Savage 12FV on sale online. Just got the email last night it's ready for pick-up. I'll actually be in the area tomorrow for work, but if the background check gets delay for any reason (it's happened before) it's a 50 minute drive back.
 
Howland937 said:
My friend who has a small shop has customers pay whether they're approved or delayed. His reasoning is that the gun is no longer in stock, so it's no longer sellable to anyone else until it's resolved. I don't agree with the practice but I understand the logic.
Click to expand...

Does he turn it over after 3 days if there's no word on the denial?

ETA: That should be 'delay', not 'denial'.
 
Last edited:
Outlaw75 said:
Does he turn it over after 3 days if there's no word on the denial?
Click to expand...
Yes. My understanding is he's given a release date of 3 business days after submitting BGC, not including the day it's submitted, weekends or federal holidays. Once that date comes and a denial is not issued, the customer can come get their firearm.

He's had 2 come back as denied AFTER the release date, one while I was there. His reply was basically that the customer picked up the gun already and it's not his responsibility to go get it back.
 
Texas10mm said:
I've never had to pay for a firearm till the BG check comes back. That includes the ONE firearm I bought a Cabela's.
Click to expand...
Yeppers, I don't buy guns (or much of anything else) at Cabela's/Bass Pro anymore either. But that's because the last time I was looking at a gun at Cabela's/Bass Pro they wouldn't let me test the trigger. So I went right across the street to Sportsman's Warehouse (where the did let me test the trigger) and bought it there. Regardless, I've never paid for any gun anywhere before the BG check was completed.
I guess in my case it's a moot point though. In Idaho, if you have a CCW License (which my wife and I both have) it takes the place of a phone-in BG check. You just fill out the paperwork, hand the salesperson your CCW License, they write down the information (and sometimes make a copy of your CCW License and attach it to the paperwork) and then they hand your license back to you. After THAT you pay for your gun in any store I've ever bought a gun from.
Howland937 said:
I don't agree with the practice but I understand the logic.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I understand the logic. Just like Cabela's/Bass Pro can try to understand my logic of not paying for a gun (or for that matter, any other product) until I'm ready to leave the store with it.
As a matter of fact, just like I stated above, I walked out of Cabela's/Bass Pro last winter and went across the street to Sportsman's to buy a gun because Cabela's wouldn't let me test the trigger. Well, I guess Cabela's/Bass Pro "understood my logic," because when my wife and I were in there a couple of weeks ago, they had bullet traps, and they were allowing potential gun customers to test triggers.;)
 
Last edited:
Aim1 said:
Do they normally have good prices on ammo?
Click to expand...

Um....they used to before coming into ownership of Basspro. Now, its luck of the draw finding what you want at a decent price. The other day I pickup the last box of Remington FMJ 30 Carbine box of ammo. It was about $35 all together. A little spendy, but, beggars can't be choosers. They are all out of 9mm ammo, lest in the Yakima branch.
 
Why would you pay for a gun you didn't have in hand?
Click to expand...

It’s actually pretty common place. I always have funds deposited and for personal checks even wait until they clear before I ever send a firearm to the buyers FFL. Even after their FFL gets it, they cannot take possession of it until after they do the paperwork.
 
I've only bought one gun in either BPS or Cabela's. Before they became the same company, bought the last M77mkII in .280 they had...clearanced out for $289. Way back in 2004, which was still barely over half price then.
 
I don't think I've been to a Cabela's since they've been acquired by Bass Pro, maybe once. So I can't say how they've changed. They used to have decent prices on ammo (about what any other retailer would), be a few dollars high on new guns, but their used gun rack (ie, the kind of stuff I couldn't find at say Walmart or Sportsman's) was just ridiculous. $700 for a couple used 180-series Minis and $350 for a used 870 Express are two that stick out in my memory.

Occasionally you'd find a deal just by chance in their enormous inventory - I felt like a bandit after finding a few $6.50 boxes of Herter's 28 gauge. But overall, it's just easier to get what I need at Sportsman's.

Never bought a gun there, so I can't say what that experience is like, but it like they gave OP a raw deal.
 
Don’ know if Dunham’s is considered a big box or not,,,however my local one is great. I stop by every week and buy some ammo,, they have good prices. They greet me by name when I visit, and let me fondle guns all I want, with the locks off. And ,this week when I went in she actually had a few boxes of 9mm she had ‘just found.”

And I also support my local one may LGS’a, one does transfers for me, the other is able to get some oddball ammo that Dunham’s can[‘t get.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Cabela's screwed up--should I worry?
2 3 4
Replies
94
Views
7K
JoeDorn
JoeDorn
BSA1
  • Locked
Warning use of Debit Card for Cabelas on-line purchases
2
Replies
47
Views
7K
Walkalong
Walkalong
N
  • Locked
Trying To Buy New Handgun; Background Check Delayed
2
Replies
48
Views
3K
iluvG.R.I.T.S
I
Swifty Morgan
  • Locked
Problems With Cabela's Gun Library
Replies
21
Views
3K
alsaqr
alsaqr
M
  • Locked
Changed my mind on universal background checks
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
131
Views
7K
orionengnr
O
Back
Top