Did a rifle pick up at Cabala's - Is it usually this bad?

S

Spur0701

New member
I think it was on Halloween, Cabela's had a sale on Savage bolt actions in various calibers and after the rebate they were something like $150 so I ordered four online with pickup at the Cabela's closest to me, Gainsville, VA.

I took off from work early yesterday to pick them up, I figured at 1400 on a Wed afternoon it couldn't be that busy. I was right, it wasn't busy, there were only 3 or 4 customers looking at handguns in the cases but there was no one at the counter and there was a sign to pick a number.....my number was 64 and they were on number 50 according to the sign.

It was horrible, it was an hour and a half before my number was called and even then that was because 12 called numbers weren't answered because people just got fed up and left I guess. It was another hour and half before they finished the paper for the pickup and I got out of there at 3 minutes before 5 PM.

What I found amazing was I counted five service reps handling people but their process is so bureaucratic and they moved at such a slow pace that each transfer seem to take forever. I asked one Cabela's guy if it was normally this bad and he said yes, it was and it usually took two hours for them to completed a transfer.

I do transfers in Virginia all the time and the FFLs I normally use usually take anywhere from 15 to maybe 30 minutes max and that max is to do a multiple transfer. I'm a patient guy, ask my wife......but this was ridiculous. The last car I bought didn't take this long, the closing on the last house I bought didn't take this long. Even my last ER visit for a broken finger and the couple of last trips to DMV didn't take this long. My colonoscopy didn't take this long.

Is this particular Cabela's atypical or are they all like this?
 
Bad. I bought a taurus pt111 g2 mill pro this summer and waited well over an hour to get it processed. Perhaps they're understaffed or something?
 
I've come to like Cabela's for there occasional deals and they've got enough stock so that it's fun to shop around the store.

That said, I don't think you're going to get a firearm in under an hour, and an hour and a half would be more typical.

Three hours seems excessive, though however buying four guns had to play into the mix at least a little bit.

Getting number 64 when they were on number 50 and the store not being crowded sounds grim. I have noticed the clerks seem very willing to talk to folk even when the store is busy and people are waiting. I don't know if this is corporate culture or just my experience at my Cabela's store.
 
I have gone to a Cabellas with money in hand and waited for an hour and no was able to help me so I left and bought the gun at another place. Sad but this has happened three times to me. I'm not going to 0ay them to ignore me.
 
I like Cabela’s - better than Bass Pro IMO; but if you can’t grab it off the shelf and walk to the register with it, don’t buy it at a Cabela’s store. Heck, you can wait a half hour just to look at a non-gun item behind the counter.
 
I bought two of those Savage 12FV rifles they had on sale.
Both were backordered and it took about a month to get them. I ordered them a week or so apart, so I got then a week or so apart: so, I was there twice and did two seperate transactions.

In neither case did I wait more than two or three minutes to be waited on. They took the information and got the rifle within about five minutes. The paperwork took maybe 15 minutes. I would say each one took about a half hour total.

So, in summary, I can't speak for any other Cabelas store, but the one I went to seemed to be efficient. I have no complaints. In fact I can honestly say it was as smooth and quick as any gun buy I ever made. Better than most.

FWIW: those were the only guns I have ever bought at Cabelas. So, it was one store and two transactions to base things on.
 
FWIW the last time I purchased a gun at Cabela's (around this past Father's Day), it took forever to process the paperwork, even though I have a TX LTC and therefore they don't actually have to make the NICS phone call.

The clerk was very friendly and apologetic and she attributed the problems to staff cutbacks. She said that the store had not hired any new gun counter clerks in months, so the staff was slowly being whittled down by attrition; she attributed this to the incipient Bass Pro merger.

FWIW it's funny that you bring this up, because I've had negative experiences at Cabela's the last several times I've visited, and I just got a letter explaining that my Cabela's store credit card account has been sold to Capital One, which I don't like. I've been planning to go to the store one last time this weekend to use up my credit card reward points on ammo, and then close the card account and give up on the store for good.
 
I’ve had a similar experience at their gun counter. I refuse to shop at Cabelas now.


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I bought 2 Savage rifles at Cabelas June 2016 at the same time/visit due to the rebates, and really had no problems with the checkout process at all. Don't remember how long but it was not unbearable by any means, I was a bit surprised it didn't take longer in all honesty.

Just last week I bought a 10/22 from the local walmart, and it took 3 different people to complete the deal/paperwork. WM apparently only "approves" or authorizes select employees to deal with/process firearm sales. The first asst mgr was authorized to complete the paperwork, but did not know "how to" do it after I completed my portion of it. He had to call for backup, and a female hourly employee (not mangement/supervisor level) came by, offered to help but since she was no longer "authorized" he would not let her help. Another asst mgr (female) showed up and got things rolling, both females got the paperwork processed while the male asst mgr went to get the original box (they keep those locked up with limited access) since that was really the only thing he was qualified to do. The female asst mgr had to escort me out of the store and she carried the boxed up gun. As soon as I got out the door, she handed me the box and said have a nice day. Both females employees were knowledgable, the guy, nope. LOL.
 
Go to your Local Gun Store if you want prompt, personalized service. To me the extra 5%-10% mark up is worth it to me to be buying from people who not only know my name, but I shoot and hunt with them. They're friends.

They also actually know what they're talking about (most of the time) as opposed to a clerk in a big box store. Although, I'll stick the caveat in there that I've talked to a retired sheriff working at a big box who was very knowledgeable.

I don't buy many off the rack rifles, but even if I'm having something built I still order it from the builder through the LGS, because it's going to ship to their FFL anyway, and they get different pricing as a dealer/retailer often even if they aren't a vendor. Frequently it ends up being the same price as the box stores, and if there's a problem the Mfg. is dealing with someone who buys lots of guns on a repeat basis rather than a one-off consumer.

I get that $20, $50, or $100 makes a difference to people with families and on a budget, but to me it's worth a little more to not have to deal with the zoo that some of those gun counters can be.
 
I've never bought at Cabela's, but I did buy at a Walmart once. Never again. I was delayed 4 full days before they called me and had me come in. It was a 22 Cricket for my grandson to learn to shoot.

At my regular LGS, 1/2 an hour, tops. EVERY TIME

Russ P
 
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My experience is,,,

My experience is that it was very bad.

I ordered a gun from their website and had it delivered for pickup at the Oklahoma City store,,,
The filling out of the 4473 was all done on line and it took 3 different people's involvement,,,
And after all that they screwed it up.

I got a phone call at work saying I had to come back in (with the rifle),,,
They said they had noticed a discrepancy with my first name.

When I told them I really didn't want to drive 160 mile round trip again,,,
Their employee said they would call the FBI and report me.

I wasn't really worried about that but I did drive in to get whatever was the problem taken care of,,,
And I wanted an opportunity to have a conversation with the one who threatened me.

I had his name and filed a formal complaint with the manager about it,,,
It turned out that it was definitely their mistake and not mine.

I did manage to score a $50.00 gift certificate though.

I've been dealing with Cabela's since 1996,,,
This was the first time I've not received excellent service from the company.

A few weeks later on I was with a friend who bought a handgun,,,
It took well over an hour to get the paperwork finished and approved.

At The Evil Pawn Shop,,,
It's never taken more than 20 minutes.

Their computerized system and needing three different people to check it isn't working as well as they want.

Aarond

.
 
I've been a Cabelas customer for nearly 40 yr but have recently stopped doing business with them. They have changed for the worse and doing business with them now can be a real hassle.
 
Hello ATN082268,,,

Report you for doing what?
Click to expand...

That was my question as well.

I knew I hadn't done anything illegal,,,
And I for dang sure didn't like being threatened.

When I said I filed a formal complaint,,,
I meant that I didn't just whine to the Manager.

I filled out their formal paperwork that I mailed in myself,,,
Like I said, I got the little jerks name on the phone,,,
And the under-manager confirmed that it was him.

All of this happened right about the time of the Bass Pro thing,,,
I wonder if maybe the stress of not knowing the status of your job was affecting them.

Like I said,,,
All 20 years of previous dealings with them had been superb.

Still haven't spent that gift certificate though.

Aarond

.
 
I used to buy fishing stuff from Cabela's by mail order; never bought a gun.

I did buy a Henry rifle from Bass Pro a coupla years ago and it took maybe 45 minutes start to finish.
 
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