I live within walking distance of a Cabela's that opened last fall and have been frequenting the fine gun department since that time. The high prices they assign to what are often poor condition or heavily modified "fine" guns is mind boggling but last night I observed a new low; a re-cased philly 20 ga. non-ejector sterlingworth with a spliced comb and horrible redone grip checkering for the price of $5,500. The loose forearm was no extra cost. Cabela's doesn't seem to have much difficulty (or concern about)moving these guns. Do people not know what they are buying or simply not care?

I think you'll find each Cabela's outlet is different regarding pricing and negotiation of sale. That said, however, I've yet to witness any gun at my local Cabela's that wasn't priced at full retail plus 100% to 200%. Bottom line is they'll have difficulty getting my business on even a "good" gun. Fortunately, there are plenty of reasonably priced fine guns on the market if you look for them. I only check Cabela's for the entertainment factor.

Business rule #1:
Given enough foot traffic you can sell freeze-dried poop.

They've not committed to the fine gunroom thing.
Their racks are filled with 2nd and 3rd rate guns at top drawer prices. There is a Lefever that has a disco ball finish, and that pretty much sums up the fine gun dept.!

There is no 'Price Multiplier' just a tall magicians hat from which tags are pulled!
Buuuut,......was it Larry of IA that stated they pay top dollar for fine guns one brings to their counter?

P.T.Barnum had a saying that would best fit there gun room pricing.

I live down the road from the one locally and stop there
quite often. I have found 3 or 4 deals there, but it was things they didnt know much about or misidentified. Otherwise, it is a mystery to me why they price things as they do and who buys them.

" I have found 3 or 4 deals there, but it was things they didnt know much about or misidentified "

Stallones is dead on correct, I have found quite a few good deals, and a few steals at the FTW Cabela's, it is on my way home from work, so it isn't a big deal to look at two tons of over priced guns, for one deal.

I think you guy's are nuts !
Almost every time I compare Cabelas Gun room pricing to the
Bass Pro Shop fine gun room prices Cabelas is usually 4-6% lower.

So there !

"THERE IS A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE"

Aw and I thought no one knew!

[quote=postoak]"
I could smell the whiskey on Hank’s breath and Patsy Cline’s perfume.[/guote]

Come on Rockie, you don't have enough pure "Honkie Tonk Time", wore out enough boot soles, or wear the right kind of hat to to clam that! :p

Its easy for Cabelas to sit on a few hundred grand in "fine" guns when their retail sales make up for it, plus extra. Their fine gun room simply does exactly what you have all stated, brings you into their store. Chances are the majority of people who go in "just to look" have purchased something on the way out. It might not have been anything large, but that doesnt matter to Cabelas as long as it gets multiplied throughout every store.

If they are able to sell them, then the price is just right (from their perspective).

--shinbone

I don't mind their pricing structure so much, it's the fact that you can't trust them to describe the gun honestly (or maybe it's knowledgeably). I've driven to the KC store a couple of times (200+ miles) to look at guns that were nowhere near what they were advertised as, and no one on the phone knew or would tell me any different.

Look at it from this viewpoint. If Crapbellas sold guns for a reasonable price they would sell too many of them. The supply of guns, that they can buy, is very limited. The buyers would be forced to work harder buying more stock to sell. By pricing everything at retail plus 50-200% it allows them to decorate their gun room with guns. If they priced them to sell, you would constantly find empty shelves and open racks. If they have 150 used guns in stock maybe 3-5 are a good deal. They fun is finding the ones they miss.

Any dealer who incorrectly identifies a gun is likely to sell it too cheap. They had a Baker which was labeled as a Montgomery Wards gun with a cracked stock and those dreaded damascus barrels. The price on the gun was $300.00. They sold it to me for $200.00 after I pointed out the "cracked stock" which was really broken in two places and which had to be replaced. They said since it was a MW, not a major makers gun, they would let me have it for less. If not in the big four makers, (Parker, Smith, Fox, Ithaca ect...), the knowledge base and understanding at Crapbellas is dismal at best. I love it when one fellow told me the Nitro Special and the Lefever F grade were made by the same maker at the same time. Not 40 years apart by two slightly different makers. I am still waiting to find the Lefever A grade priced like a Nitro Special A grade. As Lowell will tell you I will buy that in a heart beat.

KY Jon, I suppose from your comments that you feel Cabelas (sic) is in kahoots with all the gun control lobbies out there.

If you think to ask them or stop for a half second to consider the market in today's internet world, it makes perfect sense.

First, a goodly number of those guns that are high priced are on commission. If they don't sell, they cost Cabelas little to nothing. If the owner gets his price, so much the better for Cabelas on their percentage. If it doesn't sell, at least it was attractive to folks that like to browse large racks of firearms that interest them at whatever level.

Those that Cabelas purchase outright are marketed at the high end, because they are not really for sale locally so much as they are for sale nationally or even globally on the net, and for sure, there are folks out there willing to pay high prices by my standard because they live in a market that is much more expensive than mine. That means, I am pulled into whatever the high end market happens to be regardless of where the gun happens to be sitting at the moment. Such is life.

I have a double rifle that I am considering selling and if I do, Cabelas is a likely to get a shot at it on commission because I want every dollar I can get, and I want a national or larger market of potential customers to look at it.

Life ie tough, but welcome to capitalism.

Brent

BrentD-

What's the DR? Why not skip them and sell it here? With the internet and sites like these, I don't think you need Cabelas.


OWD

Last August I was passing through Wheeling, WVa and stopped at the store there. They had a DH Parker #2 frame with damascus barrels for $2,100. Gun was very dirty, but the wood was sound, bores were perfect, and barrels on face. Out the door for $1,800 and it cleaned up great. As I was waiting for the processing to go through the salesman said they get 75-100 guns in during the week and about that many on the weekend. That's a lot of guns. When people are practically standing in line to dispose of a gun, you can buy cheap and sell high. The margin is so great they don't have to sell many to make money. Had they applied a little elbow grease to the one I bought they could have sold it for more.

As posted before, a lot of the different Cabela's Gun Libraries list the guns incorrectly, which is mostly their fault because they do not know of the maker or someone thinks they know but doesn't
Most of the times you can get money off by asking. The ones they don't move on are the ones that they probably paid more for and so the margin for profit is narrow.
If you look at all the different libraries you will see where the same maker, grade and condition is similar but quite a bit difference in price. Some are overpriced and some are underpriced.
Besides all that where can you go and get a 30 day money back quarantee on a gun? Not many places do that.

OWD, The rifle is an 18 bore Lang double rifle - percussion. I do not think I can sell it here for what I can sell it via Cabelas. Right now, I have to make up my mind to sell it at all. If I had killed that buck with it on the last Sunday of the season, it would be on the market.

KY Jon, I suppose from your comments that you feel Cabelas (sic) is in kahoots with all the gun control lobbies out there.

Why would you think that? I do not see it as a conspiracy just as a fact of life. They can sell a few gun at high margins and have full racks or sell many guns at low margins and have half empty racks. The amount of money they make is the same just the number are different.

Most people do not know a real bargain from a over priced gun. An educated buyer is very selective and is not the major targeted customer. I like Crapbellas and stop by when ever I am able to when I drive by one. If I was going to buy a 5K or 10+K gun they would not be my first choice. No in house gunsmith or even well educated gun room staff is a major drawback to me.

Selling big ticket items is funny on the net. If you ask car dealers they will tell you that the used car net sales are at lower margins because they have to complete against every other dealer on the net. I know several dealers which post internet prices which are much lower than the prices you get quoted in person. But gun prices either are at the regular or extra high prices. Good luck with your Dr sale.

i have yet to buy a gun out of the "library" in the FW store because they're uniformly higher than the same gun can be had in any number of other places.

however, their used racks and pistol cases for "ordinary" stuff i've now managed to get two that are basically completely free. i had to be careful, go in there a lot, use the bonus buck coupons they've sent out and watch what i was doing. i've divested of half the ones i've bought there but if i assign any remotely reasonable value to the remainder i've got a 6" m27 s&w and a ruger 5.5" SBH that didn't cost me anything.

that being said, they've got an arrieta sle 12, 578 i believe, that's tagged up in the $5k's (and is on their website) and last time in there that gun had a sale tag on it for i think $3950. may have been a little more but was somewhere in that range. that one had to be an actual bargain.

roger

Every time I go into the gun room at the Cabelas in Glendale the staff uses the opportunity to pick my brain about guns they have for sale but "Would like more information about". Nuff said!
Oh: And I meant to add that their prices are truly off the wall.
Jim

BassPro, in Vegas, had Nitro Sprecials not too long ago in the 2-3K range. I love their 16 gauge, 3" chamber, restocked gun, for the low price of $3499.00. Mint condition. Not that is a deal. Fajen stock by the looks fitted by Omar the tent maker. He as sure not great gunsmith. So Cabellas is not the only one who can over price a gun by mistake or design.

BrentD-

If you decide you want to sell it, please let me know. I may be interested.

Thanks

OWD

Just about everything I've read on this thread is close to my experiences. However, to be fair, the people who staff most of the gun libraries have been hired locally and are not experts in any of these fields. They're salaried people trying to do their job. Think about how long many of us have poured over double guns and all their nuances. Years. And that's just for one tiny segment of the gun business. I'm sure there are as many details to learn for rifles, pistols, and other shotguns. Wow! I can tell you almost every fine detail about a Parker or a Birmingham boxlock but hand me a Luger and it's just a Luger to me. How am I to know.

I do get frustrated sometimes visiting with a Cabelas store on the phone with their inability to answer some questions. But on the whole I've found they try their best. And as someone mentioned above, you can't beat their 30 day return with no questions asked. What other dealer has that sort of policy? I recently had a shotgun of theirs for over four weeks and decided to return it. Absolutely no problem from them and a full refund was promptly made. If necessary, I'm willing to pay a little more for service like this.

Man, what a bunch of whiners! What are you guys so upset about? Don't like the price? Make an offer. Still too much? Don't buy the gun. I'm sure different Cabelas enjoy different levels of expertise in their staff, but my experiences have been mostly positive, and I've made money buying and selling guns through them. I will admit that their rapid expansion has stretched their expertise and their inventories too thin (and I miss the old days), but if it weren't for the several Cabela's within a half-day's drive, I'd be stuck dealing almost exclusively with a bunch of yayhoo bottom feeders with small inventories of black guns, ancient foreign military pieces, pimp handguns, three Remington 870s (all 12s) and two rode-hard muzzleloaders. I don't know where the good stuff would be, but it wouldn't be around here. How can you bitch about Cabelas when you've got Bass Pro out there? And what about guys like Drake and others of his ilk? Talk about crazy prices! Ask yourself if you would really prefer it if Cabelas just got out of the used gun business altogether. They've exposed hundreds of thousands of Americans to guns they would have never otherwise been aware of, and have literally created a market and support that would not otherwise exist in an increasingly anti-gun, anti-hunting world. I think fine gun collectors and shooters would be much worse off without them in the game, and while I don't work there or own their stock, I say we owe them our thanks for supporting our hobby ... not the dog-pile they're regularly subjected to here. I know many of you won't agree, but that's my opinion. With fond respect for the finest group of gun cranks anywhere, TT

Certainly, I've found Cabela's prices mostly far out of line and same with Bass Pro, but they are far from the only ones. Anyone read GunDigest, or more aptly the Dick or Craig Digest? How about those dealers we see at gun shows with the same over-priced guns show after show, year after year. Yet these sellers seem to eventually move their stuff to fools. I went to a gun auction last year that had about 15 doubles. Mostly field grade Smiths, Ithacas, a Fox, Baker, and a few lesser Stevens and Sears type guns. None of them was in even 10% condition...poor re-stocks, buffed out, rusty, battered, loose, etc. I sat there with my Blue Book and watched every one go for 90-100% prices. Two idiots bought most of them and it left me wishing I had consigned all of my Rainy-Day-Loan-it-to-Your-Brother-in-Law guns. I predicted the Beesley on Gunbroker that was a hot topic here 2 wks. ago would bring $1200 or more. I was shocked to see it go for $825, I think. Then I saw the added pictures of the cracked lump. Now how do you fix that? J-B Weld? I just hope the fools are around when I sell mine.

What gun shops do you guys visit that have uniformly under priced guns? Maybe it is just me but I have to actually shop to find good deals, heck that is more than half the fun. Sure Cabela's has plenty of overpriced guns but just look through the pages of ads in the DGJ or any other publication there are high prices and good deals. Good deals don't last.

And the car business also has a saying.

"There is an ass for every seat"

I tend to agree with the most recent comments. We have to stop and realize that there is a finite supply of "fine" guns out there, if we're talking classic, used pieces. Instead of the relatively small number of dealers that have been in the doublegun business mostly for a long time--guys like Thad Scott, for example, who may now be going out of business--we now have far more players in the field. And because of the hours places like Cabela's, Bass Pro, Scheels etc operate, can you really expect them to have someone on hand, all the time, who's an expert on shotguns, rifles, and handguns to the degree many of us here are on doubles?

Have never dealt with Bass Pro. A lot of their prices do look outlandish. Have dealt a lot with Cabela's. Some of their prices are way too high. Have done a fair amount of business with Scheels, but less than Cabela's. Both Scheels and Cabela's do have great "satisfaction guaranteed" policies. Cabela's will also give you what you paid for any gun you bought from them if you take it in to trade on a higher dollar gun. I've told the story here before, but it probably bears repeating. A few years ago, I bought a 16ga Greener from them. Had a well-hidden crack in the wrist which neither I nor the Gun Library head honcho noticed. Anyhow, the stock broke clean through the wrist on about the 2nd shot on the skeet range. So I call them, not in a terribly happy mood--but knowing very well I'll get my money back. Bill Taylor, now at Julia's but then running the Owatonna Gun Library, asks me what I'd like them to do. So I take a wild shot and say "I'd like to keep the gun. Would you restock it for me?" They did, and they paid for it.

I also think the supply of fine vintage guns are drying-up. The better ones are all safely tucked away and the rejects are making the rounds in places like Cabela's. I also think some of the older baby-boomers might be feeling the pinch a bit, and will be selling what they've been hording!

As Larry has said they (Cabela's) are there to make you happy, whatever it takes. The sales people (associates) are told to always say hello and can I help you. Even if they are not in their area and you need help they are told not to say I don't work in this area, but are told to help and/or get someone that does and not leave the customer until then.
As for their return policy, where can you buy a pair of boots (example) and wear them for months, take them back with a receipt and get your full money back. No receipt full price on store credit.
There are some good deals on guns in the gun racks, for a while Damascus barrel shotguns were a good bargain, now they are going up in price. I bought a 12 ga. Ithaca Crass Grade 2, good wood, chain Damascus barrels that were cut to 26" for $200. There has been a Fabrique National 12 ga sidelock sxs 72 cm steel barrels (28 1/2"), 2 1/2" chambers Greener crossbolt, ejectors, assisted opening, chopper lump barrels, Anson type forend release, good wood, 20 lpi,? checkering, decent blueing and blued side plates for $1,000 now reduced to $800. It has been there for quite a while. Hard to get information on it, but it is made very well.
Also as stated between all the Cabela's sites there are a lot of guns available to circulate than ever before. I like them and will continue to check out their new/used guns.
Here is one that I think I stole from them, a 20 ga Ideal 28" barrels, full/full, refinished, the cost of the re-case and blueing is about the price I paid.

This thread sparked me to visit the Cabela's site; What's up with the 20 ga. Fox A in Dundee, MI? Yea, it's been totally refinished......but isn't $1600 extremely low for a 20 ga.?

I agree Brad, Bass Pro is even higher than Cabelas.

Try J & G Sales located in Prescott,AZ. While not a large shotgun dealer there prices have been on the low side of fair. They'll be at the Crossroads show this weekend with the usual line at their tables waiting to buy guns. Century Arms,which is now mail order only to dealers has been long known for very affordable firearms. Sarcos, which is located in New Jersey, practically gave away many imported continental doubles a couple of years ago.
Jim

I used to look at Sarco's on line guns. There were anything but cheap. Maybe that has changed recently.

The sold many(thousands?)of continental doubles in the $200 to $500 range a couple of years ago. Perhaps others on this forum can provide more information as I only got one which is a J.P. Sauer which is in decent shape.
Jim

Yes, but the poop has to be in a Tiffany box!

'Come on Rockie, you don't have enough pure "Honkie Tonk Time", wore out enough boot soles, or wear the right kind of hat to clam that! :p”'

Don it actually fits me pretty well, it is a line from a Brain Burns song, about an Ol’ Boy that stops at a Haunted Roadhouse and sees and hears his Country Hero’s sing, that were just a little before his time.

Hank Williams sang a sad one as I sat back down again,
then I heard a host of other ghostly voices joining in.
There was Ernest, Keith, and Lefty in this old familiar tune
playing on the haunted jukebox at the Lost Highway Saloon.
There were people all around me where there was no one just before,
and the kicking of their boot heels rumbled through the old dance floor.
The room was filled with smoke and laughter and Bob Wills fiddle played
while a mighty cowboy choir sang and played the night away.
I listened to the songs I knew and a few I’d never heard,
and as my heroes sang for me that night, I hung on every word.
I could smell the whiskey on Hank’s breath and Patsy Cline’s perfume
all around the haunted jukebox at the Lost Highway Saloon.

Back to Cabela’s – generally over priced, but no more so than “Internet Gunsites”, and now and again you find a bargain or a fair deal.

It is called a free market. As a seller, they buy as low as they can and sell as high as they can. Their business is not based on a few one-off sales, rather on sustainability. They have to watch how low they buy, how high they sell, inventory level, where their next inventory is coming from, overhead, and profit.

As a buyer, you are completely free to buy or not buy, make an offer, or not even go there. Rarely is there such a thing as a true/real/justifiable/provable price. They put on what they think and you decide if it is acceptable or could lead to a deal. No deal = no foul & no penalty.

Depending on how much shoe leather, jet fuel, and midnight oil you burn, you may develop a higher level of expertise than they have. When you do, you will find that the cheapest prices are at auctions. But, remember that there is no return policy - when the hammer falls on your bid, you own it. Bargains are the product of blind luck, rootin' enough to turn up an acorn, or taking a risk on a gun (risk-reward issues).

Tom Bryant is first class people. He loves people, dogs, and guns - proof positive that he has his head screwed on stringht. However, he is in business to make a profit. The rules by which business operates were laid down long before Tom sold his first gun. To stay in business, he must operate within those rules.

If you are a real expert and would like to sell guns for a living, I'd suggest you give Tom a call. You might not get a job, but you will at minimum get to chat with a true gentleman.

Well said, Rocketman!

I believe that one reason Cabelas has a "Fine Gun Room" is to lagitimize their image as an outlet for real outdoors stuff. They make the best markup on clothing with sporting equipment second. The mark up on guns cannot equal the 40- 50% on clothing. When the occasional "sportsman" brings the family in for winter boots .... they know they're in a rugged outdoor place that sells quality merchandise because they have a "fine gun room". If the gun room didn't provide a great background for selling the other stuff it wouldn't be given a square foot in the store. Who would want to sell any product with such a precarious supply line ..... So far "fine guns" can't be brought in by the container load from China.

Al

Agree. "Fine guns" can't make up more than 1% of their sales. it's probably an nice side-line for them and enhances their image, but it doesn't pay the bills. Their outdoor stores are built to "wow" the customer and make the store a dstination getaway. It's just like all of the square foot they devote to trophy mounts. It doesn't generate cash directly, but draws people to the store.

Cabela's Gun Rooms are an attendance building display just like the aquariums, the African taxidermy display, and all the mounted animals around the stores. The difference is that this one actually pays for itself. Previous posters are correct, they don't make as much margin as the other product lines, but they make alot more than the other displays.

sv

P.S. When you enter a Crapbela's the first thing you have to walk throught to get to anything else is, You guessed it, "clothing". Their highest mark-up item. PURE MARKETING GENIUS. I wish I were in on it.

Here's a good example of the Cabelas "price multiplier"...This gun must've been owned by General Patton.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/conten...erarchyId=11655

I might add I've bought a couple of SxS's fron Cabelas and they haven't come close with their descriptions...if they tell you it's "tight on face" don't believe them.

Rocketman, second your comments about Tom. One of the good guys in the business. And although I have not done business with him since he joined Cabela's, Jack Dudley runs their Boise Gun Library. So they do have a few guys that know a bit about doubles.

I sometime find a bargain gun at my local Cabela's. They do overprice some items, but many of their prices seem normal. St. Louis recently had a nice Winchester 101 for a reasonable $900. Some other items were priced very high. I've bouht a few shotguns there.

Kstt was right about the Fox gun he implied was underpriced. I read his post, sent Cabela a message about the gun, it was long gone.

Reasonably comparable guns sold at Holt's March auction for prices that translate into $5,000 - $7,000 delivered in USA. Keep in mind that Cabela's would have to pay the same price as you or I for these guns. Per discussion thread with Hugh Lomas, a dealer will need 30% mark-up to stay in business. So, a gun that hammers at £2,800 in London gets into the hands of a USA buyer for $7840 (about 20% buyer's premium, about $2/£1, and air freight = a 2.8 multiplier to hammer price). $7840 with a 30% markup = $10,192.

For anyone wanting a high condition Brit 20 gauge, that is the market. Of course, lower condition guns are cheaper - a lot cheaper. My point is not that Cabela's price is "correct," rather, they are certainly within the market. High demand for these scarce items is really pushing the market price up.

I believe Cabelas is still privately owned, and must be stuffed wiht retained profits. perhaps owners also know that guns hold value over time, and unlike last years clothing, has true appreciation potential.

along with all the other good observations above, could it be that the inevitable inflationary cycle, when it returns, will lift fine and average quality gun prices while the competition to make cheap clothing will deflate fabric values?

I know I justify paying too much for EVERY GUN I BUY, because I want it, and know it will hold value more than any other consumer item I were to buy instead. Like fine jewelry for a loved wife returns values beyond measure.

Profit margins on clothing allows a retailer to make money even when they dump last years merchandise at rock bottom sale prices ..... and some stuff is made as "sale" goods. Looking at their "fine gun" prices I think the mark up is about 20 / 30 % with a fairly high overhead (sq ft of space for units sold) . . Clothing on the other hand is likely to be 40 / 50 % with lower overhead. As someone has already mentioned, the "Fine Gun Room" is part of the decoration. If they ever need the space they will nail the "fine guns" to the wall over the hunting boots ..... kind of like they do in the "Old West" restaurants .....

Al

Cabelas is a great company to do business with and every once in a while you can pick up a bargain if you are knowledgeable. I purchased a near 100% mid 20's Fox A grade for $1200. The gun room believed the stock was refinished due to the flat top checkering hence the low price (A grades came from the factory with flat top checkering). The problem is (for collectors)they are getting much more knowledgeable, so the bargains will be fewer in the future. Even if they ask more for their guns you can always be sure you will get your money back if you are not satisfied. I believe they have been great for the market.

Nope, went public about four years ago and it's been all downhill since. Stock price topped out around $22 a couple of years ago and also straight downhill since.

sv

Ticker CAB,been hit pretty hard like most of the Retail sector;
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=CAB&t=1y


much better money in USO,UNG and OIH !