I think the GL has there minds made up and I doubt that they will change in mid stream. Cost is a factor as well as ego. Greg
I have likely been in more Cabels's Gun Libraries than anyone else in my 73,000 miles in the past three years in the Road Trek R/V. I am Parker-centric and can't speak for guns of other makers, but in my area of expertise I think it is fair to say that I have never seen a Parker worthy of owning myself, and if asked by a potential buyer about any particular Parker I would have cautioned that certain marginal guns were severely overpriced.
On my way home from the Vintage Cup to the farm on the IL/WI state-line I stopped at the Cabela's in WV to get a Doyken Duck retrieving dummy for ParkerDog, and I, of course, cruised the Gun Library. They had a Parker DH ca.1910 with a Trojan fore-end for about 3-grand, which would be a waste of $$$ at any price. I couldn't find anyone to unlock the case so I could see how they had reworked the barrel attachment to accept the wrong sort of fore-end.
Meanwhile, there must have been more than a hundred Parkers at the Vintagers' Game Fair. I recall that the famous bank robber Willie Sutton when asked by the world's dumbest journalist why he robbed banks replied: "...'cause dat's where the money is." I believe that the Cabela's Gun Library, being an adjunct to the retail dry-goods store, is the exact wrong place to buy a fine shotgun. I have never met a "Gun Librarian" who knew much about guns other than perhaps what he favored. I have seen too many blued-over Damascus guns, and have read too many critiques on this very website...but there's more to the story...
Cabela's must be doing something right! Back in January 2009, we were cruising the South in the R/V, hitting the Bass Pro's and Cabela's as they appeared in out travels. Things were pretty bleak in the retail trade, or so the pundits said, for Xmas 2008, so I'd ask sales people and check-outers how the Xmas "rush" had played out. They were universal in saying: "Real good." So I checked out Cabela's stock (CAB) and it was hovering at $6.00, but paid no dividends--strictly a play on growth, so I passed...and Friday's close was $19.17 (been as high as $21.52!); the stock more than tripled in 21 months. They must be doing something right, maybe not marketing expensive used shotguns in collectible condition at a fair price, but a worthy store to stop and shop in our travels.
So I agree with gjw: "...cost is a factor as well as ego." The "ego" is the display factor: The Gun Library is no more economically viable than the massive taxidermy displays and aquariums; Background noise, not really calculated to contribute to the bottom line. Nice to browse to kill time, but I have never yet met anyone who has actually bought a Parker gun at Cabela's. As to buying a Parker shotgun, however, there are at least 20 major fine gun dealers that I know who would not consider stocking, even on consignment, 99% of the Parkers I have seen in the Cabela's Gun Library, or at Gander Mountain, or Bass Pro stores. I have long suggested that fine gun aficionados take Willie Sutton's sound advice...
You need a Doyken Duck for your Yellow Lab: Cabela's;
or camo clothing: Cabelas;
or Rem.870: Cabela's;
or a fishing rod: Cabelas...
But if you are going to fish for trout with that Cabela's rod, I think most everyone would intuit that a trip to the Mississippi River would be ill-advised. Why the intuition fails at the fine-shotgun/Big-Box-Store/Gun Library level is an amazement. EDM
