Gander Mountain prices...

[Victor N TN]

Guys / Gals,

I REALLY don't know what to think. I looked EVERYWHERE for 6 years to find this rifle I have now. Marlin 1895 Guide Gun. I had a friend at church ask me if I were still looking for one. I told him no I had bought one at Gander Mountain the week before Thanksgiving last year. He told me they had something in 45-70 at WalMart.

While I was out there tonight with my wife... Guess what is standing in the gun case...? Yep For $200 cheaper than I paid for mine is the same thing.

I feel like I have a headache coming on. Hahaha... I just had to share my grief. Take care guys. They say the wind is going to blow and a little rain tonight / in the morning.

Victor

 

[Axis II]

gander by me is a ghost town. everything even used is highly marked up. seen a couple used guns for $50-60 less than used. I don't shop there but do stop in to look because sometimes they don't know what they have and will price it cheap. I got a mint stoeger o/u for $200, smith and Wesson m&p used when they first came out new was like $500-575 I got mine for $400.

the other day they had a used beat up Remington 770 or something like that for $50 less than new. Remington ar-15 for like $1200.

I like rural king.

 

[hdbiker]

Gander Mountain is high priced in my opinion.My local Gander will price match any other area retailer that has the product in stock at a lower price .I've done it a couple times. hdbiker

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

The Cabela's by me is getting just as bad---seems they pay no attention to what the local competition is doing.

I think the only thing that saves them is the primo location off the interstate sucking in unaware travelers driving by.

 

[jolly roger]

Gander Mountain very near my favorite LGS is a ghost town. Anyone who buys a gun there is a pure idiot. Now GM might have other toys that you can place your mitts on right away however in my old age I've gained a degree of patience..

 

[toivo]

Gander Mountain is the only place where I have ever seen firearms tagged with prices that are actually higher than MSRP.

 

[Axis II]

glad they priced matched for you. I went to mine looking for a rain suit that was on sale and needed the next day. it was on sale online only the manager said. I said what does it matter online or in the store its your brand and your company. they wouldn't give it to me. I was going to order it online with free shipping but chose to buy full price from another store.

last month I went there for a light that cabelas beat them by about $60 and asked about price matching. they said something like 50miles. well cabelas was 53 miles so they said no. its 3 miles come on!

 

[Traffer]

There is a Gander Mt about 30 mi from me. I went there about 3 weeks ago. That was the first time I had been there. What a depressing place. Had already decided not go ever go back even before reading this article. Walmart is letting their gun department die. The sales people don't even know what the prices are. If you ask about a gun they have to "go in back" to see if they have one. Then the have to open the box and scan the tag to see what the computer reads the price at. But that can be a good thing. If you want to put up with the "system" or lack of one there, it is probably the lowest price you will find. I bought a Mossberg 702 22LR semi-auto there about 4 months ago. New of course. $99. Yup you read that right. $99. New semi auto 22. If you know what gun you want. Check there to see if they have one. (don't bother checking on their online system, it won't show up.) You will have to go there and ask someone to "look in back" to see if they actually have one. Then ask them to scan it to see how much it will sell for. The 22 that I bought had a Sale sticker on it for $118. It rang up for $99. Not a fluke. I sent 2 other guys there who got the same deal. Looking for 22lr ammo? Went to Dunhams Sports. (In central Wi) They had Remington (bucket O bullets) on the shelf 1400 rounds of "Golden Bullets". $79.99. The sales clerk almost let me have them for $69.99 because he said that when they came in they had a $69.99 tag on them. So I paid 5.7 cents per round. I guess that is a good deal nowadays. I always pray for a good deal before shopping for something I really want. (Just thought I would throw that in. Cuz I believe that is really why I get the deals.) Give glory where it's due I say.

 

[Nature Boy]

Gander generally runs 20%-40% more than market prices, usually above manufacturer retail. The only time I shop there is when I absolutely need something. Because they are so over priced they'll usually have inventory when others don't.

For instance, during the run on ammo a few years ago when you couldn't find any M855 5.56 for months on end, my local Gandar had stacks of the 420 round on stripper clips ammo cans from Lake City for $250/can

 

[Stony]

I have a Gander Mountain near me with an Academy just up the street a short distance from it. The Academy parking lot of always busy and Gander might have a dozen vehicles at any one time (probably employees cars). I have checked out the Gander on numerous occasions and can find no reason to go back ever again. Overpriced on virtually everything in the store.

 

[redneck]

Have a gander 15 min from here and I only go out of convenience. Usually don't buy anything unless its on a verified sale.

I was in there once and they had a bin of gerber knives marked 50% off and I pulled out a gator folder, with a red price tag that said 39.99. I asked if it was half off of that, and they said no that is half of the original price. I laughed and put it back.

Guns also run really high there. I have never bought a gun there.

I have a cabelas a 45 min away and a field and stream just opened right across the street from it. I was hoping the competition would bring prices down to reality but so far they just stay within spitting distance of each other and well above gunshows and small local dealers. Its fun to go with gift cards cause you can always find something, but I don't go to either one very often if I need something specific.

 

[eastbank]

bass pro not any better, i went along with a friend who wanted to buy a caldwell lead sled. what a joke, i was going to buy a case of federal 3-1-1/8-#8 and they were priced at 64.00 and i said walmart has them for 53.75 and the sales person told me to buy them at walmart, well i didn,t buy a case at walmart. i bought two cases. screw bass pro. eastbank.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

Gander Mountain is high priced in my opinion.My local Gander will price match any other area retailer that has the product in stock at a lower price .I've done it a couple times. hdbiker

I don't really understand this. Why not just buy it at the place who advertises the lowest price instead of the place that will give you the low price after you ask for it?

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Im in an area where there is a BPS, a Gander, a cabelas, and about 4 academies within about 30 miles of my house. I MIGHT consider buying from academy from time to time. The other 3 are alllways too expensive. By a LOT.


On the same topic. I made this rant in my local firearm trading group on facebook not too long ago. "I always see folks referencing listings for guns on Cabelas, Gander, and BPS. This is now a public service announcement. All three of those places charge WAY TOO MUCH for the guns they sell. There are some exceptions, but for the most part they take MSRP real serious. If you buy your guns from there, Stop. You will be very disappointed in the offers you get when you try to sell because you paid WAY TOO MUCH."

 

[Corn-Picker]

If you want to shop these stores (Bass Pro, Gander, Cabelas) you have to play a few games. Let's say you want to spend $500 on a rifle at Bass Pro.

The first step would be to plan to buy the rifle with gift cards. You can buy Bass Pro gift cards for about 81 cents on the dollar: http://www.giftcardgranny.com/buy-gift-cards/bass-pro-shops/

If you buy the gift cards with your 2% cash back credit card and and Bass Pro has a rewards card you might end up doing all right. Your $500 rifle would cost just under $400 with this technique, and you might end up with enough rewards points to buy something small.

 

[godale]

gander mountain niles ohio home of the 439.00 used remmy 770. who cares if its stainless.....

 

[Reloadron]

Just bought a gun from Gander Mountain. Can't recall the last new gun I bought, likely 25 years have passed, they are almost always used because I like older guns. I have been looking for a CZ American 452 LH, I knew exactly what I wanted. Gander Mountain had the gun for $461 which is only literally a few bucks below CZ MSRP is $464. Gander had the gun, I wanted the gun and I was fine with the price.

Now I could have continued looking, maybe had one sent to my local dealer but they had the gun, I wanted the gun. Worked for me. I didn't want to screw around.

I have bargained with Cabela's on items in the Gun Library asking for a best and final on a price and always gotten a 5% final cash discount they give vets.

Ron

 

[giggitygiggity]

Yeah, Gander Mountain prices are high. Cabela's does price stuff on par or high when compared to places like Walmart. However, I like Cabela's because they often have free or $5 shipping and they do place things on sale often. For instance, I got a pair of Lacrosse boots that were $150-180 everywhere else (including eBay) for $80 from Cabelas. Also, they had Leupold RX-1200i w/DNA rangefinders on sale for a month or two for $299 shipped. That was $100 cheaper than just about everywhere else.

I also like to buy Cabela's gift cards on eBay (two weeks ago, I bought $200 in Cabela's gift cards for $170). If I wait till whatever I want goes on sale and pair it with my discounted gift cards, I can have some pretty substantial savings.

 

[Liberty1776]

our Gander doesn't handle used guns anymore so there is no reason to go in...for me.

 

[CraigC]

Anyone who buys a gun there is a pure idiot.

Careful. While most of their guns are overpriced, every now and then you can find a deal. I've seen a LNIB Colt SAA for $1200, a Browning 1886 for $700, a Marlin .444 for $295 and a Remington-Rand 1911 for $500. It pays to keep your eyes peeled.

 

[redneck]

Careful. While most of their guns are overpriced, every now and then you can find a deal. I've seen a LNIB Colt SAA for $1200, a Browning 1886 for $700, a Marlin .444 for $295 and a Remington-Rand 1911 for $500. It pays to keep your eyes peeled.

I always check but last time I was in there they wanted $439 for a S&W shield and I bought mine (new) at a gunshow that week for $339...

 

[satexas]

I agree, they are overpriced. However, at my GM, they actually have reloading powder for $30/lb. Certainly not a steal, but it's my kind, and I don't have to pay hazmat and wait. Other than that, I'm not buying much.

 

[Ed Ames]

Somewhere around 1989 my mother and I were trying to decide on a birthday present for my dad. She found a Gander Mountain catalog somewhere and together we picked out a reproduction 1860 Army cap and ball revolver. The first one disappeared during shipping but the second one arrived and was a major hit as birthday presents go. It was the first C&B either of us fired, and we fired it more than the others that followed. I have since then purchased about 50lbs of black powder and can trace all of it back to that old catalog.

That's a large part of why I find the stores that use the Gander Mountain name today so utterly depressing. It isn't the same company...the old GM completely missed the implications of the internet and sold off the catalog business, then folded, right before online sales went mainstream. But they have a name that has happy associations for me, and they use it to create such a dismal retail experience. Everything is overpriced, the selection is usually bad...there is one across the street from an Academy near me and I have seen the exact same guns in both counters, but $200 more expensive at GM.

Say what you will about Cabela's, they regularly offer competitive prices and the older bigger stores can be entertaining. I don't know how GM stays in business.

 

[Reloadron]

Gander Mountain very near my favorite LGS is a ghost town. Anyone who buys a gun there is a pure idiot. Now GM might have other toys that you can place your mitts on right away however in my old age I've gained a degree of patience..

Calling people idiots is not a good way to make friends and influence people. Suggest you grow up and learn some manners. I bought a gun there for the reasons I mentioned. I was fine with the price and the rifle. I am not an idiot but have little patience for those who are.

Thank You
Ron

 

[Wishoot]

I use Gander Mountain all of the time.

I mean to say that I use their parking lot to meet people when buying or selling a gun through Armslist or a Buy, Sell, Trade forum.

Otherwise, Gander is a complete waste of time IMO. I don't even bother looking at their guns because I know they'll be overpriced. Even their clothing is getting out of hand.