Fishing Cabela's

If you're a fisherman (fisherperson if you're touchy about words like fisherman) Cabela's is a great place to shop for all your fishing supplies. Whether you're headed out for a morning at your favorite local pond, or taking a week long trip to the Boundry Waters of Minnesota, Cabela's probably has what you need.
I don't want to get too hung up on the pricing issue, but again, beware of prices higher than what you need to pay. Here's an example:

This is the Rebel "Deep Tiny Wee Crawfish" crank bait.
Cabela's price...$5.79
Walmart price...$4.66
Difference...19.5%

Not enough of a difference to break you, but in my opinion 19% is about 95% more than you need to pay up in order to experience the Cabela's atmosphere. My recommendation; before you go to Cabela's, stop by your local Walmart sporting goods department, buy everything you need that they carry, and then go to Cabela's to buy the rest of the stuff Walmart (or Academy) doesn't carry. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

I told you to watch it....

Did I mention Cabela's is my favorite sporting goods store? Did I also mention that while shopping Cabela's I've observed their prices are consistently high based on my findings? Did I mention I've found their prices to be anywhere from a little too high to way too high, as compared to various other retailers on very similar, and many times, on the "EXACT" same item? If you question whether or not I'm accurate in my overall price assessment, here's just one example from yesterday's visit, 4-25-2013 late afternoon:

Rem Oil 10 oz. can:
Cabela's $9.99
Walmart $6.47
Difference...35.2%

Rem Oil 4 oz. can:
Cabela's $5.99
Walmart $4.57
Difference...23.7%

Everyone's different and some folks might take the position of, "Well, I'm already in here and I need some more Rem Oil and I know this is probably higher than some stores, but what the snot; I'll go ahead and get it...because I'm already in here."
To put that in perspective and from a percentage stand point, that's like looking at a new car at one dealership that's $29,895 and even though you know you could get the exact same car from another dealership just down the road for $19,421 (35% less), you go ahead and buy it at $29,895 because, "I'm already here".
I imagine Cabela's is hoping their devoted and loyal customers continue thinking like that, or better yet, don't really pay much attention to the price in the first place as long as they have enough room on their Club card for the additional purchase.
I love Cabela's and think their new store in Rogers, Arkansas is outstanding with a great bunch of good folks working there (Cabela's refers to them as outfitters). But I'm not all that naive when it comes to buying stuff. I have a hard time paying an extreme premium (35% is "extreme in my view) on any item I know I can purchase for less at a number of other places. If I don't have a choice, that's a different story. And Cabela's does have a number of products which can't be purchased just  anywhere--that's one of the things that keeps me coming back as a loyal customer. As loyal as I am, however, I won't knowingly pay $9.99 for something I can get down the street for $6.47--that would be silly!

NOTE: The top picture was taken at Cabela's, my favorite sporting goods store. The bottom picture was taken 30 minutes later at Walmart, my favorite general merchandise store.

Cabela's 4-23-13

Yesterday's trip to Cabela's ended with the purchase of an old .22 pistol I didn't need. I wasn't familiar with the brand-JP Sauer and Sohns, Made in West Germany-but I knew from experience a pistol that's valued around $150 couldn't be much of a pistol in terms of quality. With the help of google I was able to quickly discern the gun was probably made in the 60's. It was a lower grade knock off of it's American counter parts like the Colt and Ruger Single Six, made famous in western movies of that era along with TV shows like "Gun's Smoke" and "Have Gun Will Travel". As a consolation, this Sauer and Sohns is the same Sauer of Sig Sauer fame, and you can't go too wrong there.
After looking the gun over, however, I was surprised to discover it was actually fairly well made and for the money a decent value in my opinion. I actually liked the look and feel of the gun and decided it would do nicely for what I was buying it for: to occupy an old holster hanging on the door post of our little Missouri log cabin. I've seen people pay that much for odd random items to hang on the wall of their home that will eventually be sold in a garage sale and purchased by my Aunt Dee for pennies on the dollar. At least this old gun will always be worth about what I paid for it---$129.

Two other items of interest: the ham & swiss sandwich in the snack bar for $5 is worth the money. The smoked sausages I told you about a few days ago were also on sale for $7.99.
Although Cabela's is still mostly out of stock on virtually all popular calibers of ammo, they still have a pretty good selection of knives, shoes, camping equipment, fishing supplies and shooting accessories just to mention a few categories of merchandise.
NOTE: I'm amazed at the buying frenzy surrounding virtually ever popular caliber of ammunition. You'd probably have better luck locating the Lindbergh baby than finding a box of .22 shells at Cabela's, Academy, or Walmart--seriously!

Cabela's!

Cabella's is my favorite sporting goods store! They have nearly everything you might need to participate in the great outdoors, whether your passion or pass time is hunting, fishing, camping, water sports, shooting sports, hiking, running, or just barbecuing in your backyard, Cabella's probably has what you need.
A word of caution: high--high as in high prices. I'm in Cabella's at least once a week and sometimes several times a week. For all the times I've been in, however, I've purchased relatively little. I have bought 3 or 4 guns, a pair of boots, and a few assorted other items of which I found all to be good quality products. My experience, however, has been that unless it's on sale, you're going to pay anywhere from a little too much to sometimes quite a bit too much. On average I've found Cabella's prices to be from 5-10% higher than various other retailers on the same or similar product. Sometimes they're substantially more than 10% depending on the category and item and of course depending on which retailer you're comparing them to. That said, I still love Cabella's and think they're a fine retailer.

Best deals so far: A heavy weight Cabella's T-shirt for $4.50; the "Lead Sled" regularly priced at about $219.00 for $99.00 on Black Friday (an Awesome deal on a high quality item), and a 2 lb bag of little smoked sausages for about $6.00 on close out (I saw a similar new item in the store yesterday from "Suger River" for $9.99...still a good deal!

NOTE: Avoid the bratwurst in the snack bar: it's dramatically over-priced and doesn't taste very good. I'd call that a bad deal on a bratwurst. The elk sandwich however is highly recommended if you're a meat eater--and I bet your are.