All Gander Mountains officially liquidating

So the Cabelas vs Gander Mountain battle from the 80's is finally over! Too bad Cabelas won.

Gander had a strong lead back in the day, but the retail stores and terrible pricing strategy, 2yr old inventory passed off as new, etc killed them off.
 
The Bass Pro/Cabelas deal ain't a done deal yet.

There aren't any Gander Mountains anywhere near here, but I pass by a couple along some routes that I travel a few times a year. They've always made for a good place to stop and walk around a bit on longer drives.

When it comes to guns and gun related hardware I buy almost nothing from any of the big stores. But I quite often find store brand clothing at Cabela's and Gander Mountain to be very good quality and priced much better than the major brands. Especially on the clearance racks.

I can't say the same for Bass Pro. Their store brand clothing is about 2 steps below what I can get at Walmart and no better priced. The high end name brand stuff is about the same at all of them.

For the type of stuff I buy at Gander I'll hate to see them go. And if BPS does buy out Cabelas I hope they don't cheapen their stuff down to their levels.
 
I'm glad to see them go. GM was overpriced and had terrible store policies and customer service.

But, I'm not happy to see them go, either. Those of you that think Cabela's has good prices need all the local competition you can get. And if Cabela's has "good prices", the loss of GM as a competitor won't help matters.
 
The GM here in Rochester is closing too, and I stopped by the see if there were any deals.
Some of the clothing was at decent prices, as was some of the fishing gear.

Firearms were still pretty much list price, and ammo was priced too high compared to other stores in the area.:confused:
It makes me wonder how they ever managed to stay in business as long as they did.
I walked out without spending a nickel
 
The GM here in Rochester is closing too, and I stopped by the see if there were any deals.
Some of the clothing was at decent prices, as was some of the fishing gear.

Firearms were still pretty much list price, and ammo was priced too high compared to other stores in the area.
It makes me wonder how they ever managed to stay in business as long as they did.
I walked out without spending a nickel
Click to expand...
Last time I was in that store was in 2008. They were advertising a reloading gear sale that turned out to be total crap. But as I was looking at prices and learning that it was total crap, a bit of a kerfuffle broke out at the 'Gunsmithing/Repairs' window by the gun counter.

It seemed that they were trying to charge a guy $300 for mounting a scope on the Weatherby that he had bought the day before. Every manager in the store swooped in, the gun counter guys got involved, and the 'gunsmith' just pushed the guy until he was absolutely livid.

I have no idea how the situation ended up getting resolved. I was out the front door, empty-handed, while the yelling and insults were still going...

The level of service matched their level of greed. :rolleyes:
 
I just bought a Model 88 Winchester from them at an auction. It was listed as a "Parts only gun" because their gunsmith said it closed on the No Go gage. It is an early model and in beautiful condition. That model is a little funny when it comes to checking headspace. I checked it and fired it without excess brass distortion. Maybe the guy at the counter had a right to be bent out of shape. I would not take my gun to Cabela's for work either.
 
Well, after reading this, I am glad I didn't waste my time stopping by the one near me. Kinda funny but the parking lot wasn't anywhere close to being full.
 
Typically when these large company stores go out of business, a liquidator manages the disposition of the merchandise. You'll see a large 'Going Out Of Business Sale' sign posted. In my experience, they're fake sales, with no savings at all. People buy stuff assuming they're getting a deal but if you comparison shop there's no savings.
 
That's true. As I said, I saw a guy all excited about the price on a Benelli shotgun that was not good at all. But it was on sale and a BENELLI.

I don't understand male gun shoppers, some of them become Omega males in front of the sales person and believe any macho hype.

Go down the street and save a good buck at another common store in Texas.
 
One can see that everywhere -- even if a store isn't going out of business.

In this part of the country, Kroger operates under the Smith's, Smith's Marketplace, and Fred Meyer names.
In the Smith's Marketplace and Fred Meyer stores (one-stop-shopping), they always have tables of clearance merchandise.
And, long ago, in a distant galaxy, there used to be a big sports retailer in the Salt Lake City area, called Gart Bros.

Both companies use(d) the same clearance tactic: They mark the items up, before marking them down. So the clearance prices are often more expensive than the store's regular retail price had been.
But people think the red tag means a good deal, and go nuts for the garbage...


The Ashley Furniture chain is always 'fun'. They've been "going out of business" for the better part of 30 years. :rolleyes:
 
When I was a kid, I worked at a supermarket chain, I won't mention the name, but they routinely made SALE signs that sold the item for MORE than regular price.

Comp USA( I think, one of those computer stores) did a going out of business sale where the prices were raised beforehand then "SLASHED" for liquidation.

Mattress stores do it weekly it seems, going out of business sales, but really it's a store renaming event.
 
Gander Mountain routinely had the highest prices for anything I'd shop for online. I can understand a higher price if you're getting a better product or service, but from what I've read from others who've been there, it sounds like Gander Mountain may as well have been called the Dick Cheney Go F*ck Yourself Emporium.

I say good riddance. Whatever small amount of people who'd go to Gander will now go to Cabela's, Dick's, and local mom and pop shops instead and the more business those places get, the better chance of them not disappearing.
 
rickyrick,

I remember a food market chain like that too. They always had those "Special" sales on days when the retired people got their checks. They even targeted them. I had a ferret and the kitty litter was always higher during a sale. What old lady does not have a thousand cats?
 
I don't buy enough at GM, BPS, or Cabelas to even think about. They can all close up for all I care. Rogers, Natchez, Midway, Amazon, yes, even Walmart have better selections and prices than any of the above. If I'm going to buy at full market price it will be at my LGS to keep the money in my local community. Last year I bought a Timney Trigger online at Walmart.com. Best price at the time. Who would have thought that WallyWorld sold triggers. :confused:
 
Cabela's beat wally world for my ammo needs every time, no sales tax, free shipping, no going and fighting the crowds, trying to find a clerk or dealing with the folks who work and shop there.
 
Our local GM is also closing, too bad for the employees. I never had much luck there, seemed to attract a lot of gun fondlers who take up the clerks time and not purchase anything. I have been getting some good deals at Optics Planet accessories and CTD and Ammunition Depot for ammo. Doorstep delivery is mighty handy.
 
My Gander is staying open and will be renamed Gander Outdoors; hopefully they will revisit their pricing model or they won't last a year.
 
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