I've bought a few Penn reels from Cabela's, whom use to carry all types. I went to the site and their down to one, anyone know why?

I just checked their website. They seem to have a whole bunch of Penn reels of all types. Maybe you were in one of those "bargain bin" areas on their site.

Your right, but I had to go into look for Penn spinning reels, under fishing saltwater reels nothing. Odd!

they were bought and the buyer went offshore, go figure

Penn was purchased by Pure Fishing I am pretty sure, the same group that owns Berkley and a million other companies - Fenwick, etc.

They cheapened their product line, did not stay on the front end of development very much, didn't fix SIMPLE issues, and made themselves irrelevant in the markey WE buy products in.

They also allowed other manufactures to step in and provide better products in our market segment.

john hit it right on

I hope my wife never findsd out how much a VS is !

New 2011 fishing catalogs are out with complete line of new rods & reels they are offering

I love my Penn Battle 8000 for the money, $119 and I and my son beat the heck out of it, my son abuses it and still like new.

kitty do you work for cabelas?

With only 2 posts under your belt, and offering a seemingly scripted endorsement, I would guess the answer is yes...



Kitty... take this back to monthly meeting when everyone discusses how Cabelas can be improved:

Cabelas has "A LOT of A LITTLE" which is a term i came up with to describe their inventory and gear selection. they scratch the surface of each type of fishing just to cover the bases, but have a poor range of available products.

Wood plugs? they have tsunami and gibbs. (24 bucks for a gibbs danny?)
Plug bags? 1-2 choices. (B&M and shimano)
Rods? narrow selection for the surf.
VS? havent seen one in stock in 2 years.
Replacement korkers studs? nope.
Surf tops? nope.
Quality wading belt and accessories? nope

I guess when they were first opening i expected them to be the end-all be-all one stop shop for fishing... and they are not (especially when it comes to surfcasting) As big as Cabelas is, and as much gear as they have, they simply are missing some major key components when it comes to effectively outfitting and catering to anglers and the type of fishing they do... The end result is I would rather go to my favorite local tackle shop that does cover all the bases, because the owner and employees understand the need, and fill it.

If you saw their dealer contract you'd understand why no-one wants to do business with them. :smash:

If you saw their dealer contract you'd understand why no-one wants to do business with them. :smash:

:hihi:

Don't make katie cry. :rotf2:

my 2 cents.....i think they area just freshwater/hunting store only they didnt addap to east coast saltwater fishing equipment

my 2 cents.....i think they area just freshwater/hunting store only they didnt addap to east coast saltwater fishing equipment

Cabela's in CT has a ton of sw stock.

Cabela's in CT has a ton of sw stock.

In Maine I find Kittery Trading Post has more salt water tackle then Cabelas, Saco Bay Tackle for the big boys

Penn was purchased by Pure Fishing I am pretty sure, the same group that owns Berkley and a million other companies - Fenwick, etc.

2 years ago Pure Fishing did purchase Penn from Sea Striker corp.
1 month after PureFishing aquired Penn they sold out to JARDEN CORP. and moved most of penn overseas.

If you saw their dealer contract you'd understand why no-one wants to do business with them. :smash:

Salty... What you said makes a lot of sense... They probably make it a real pain for smaller companies to deal with.

I won't hijack this thread but if you want an idea of the predatory things they do I'd be happy to fill you in. They approached me as did Bass Pro. both very much the same. You wouldn't believe it.

personally for me shimano is what happened to penn. i was into the pen slammer for a couple years, then found the spheros was cheaper and better quality. switched right away.

Kitty, no disrespect, please don't dredge up old threads for people complaining about Cabelas or Penn product without fully disclosing where you work.

As for discussion regarding sales and product from a commercial entity, like Penn, we do have a policy regarding "Commercial self promotion", there is none.

Now if you would like to particpate, in a customer oriented, non-sales driven manner, or better yet, just talk fishin', please jump right in ;)

As for Penn, they no longer have a very appealing product with the possible exception of some of the "International" class gear. Most of the love for Penn these days as for legacy products no longer made, or fostered by the current ownership.

Penn could have easily made a "Van Staal" class real at a more than competitive price, instead they turned out a bunch of crap (with a few exceptions).

Penn could easily made solid, dependable gear, but they took the cheap and easy way out. Maybe economics prevented them from making a superior product, but there is no question - they no longer make a superior product.

Salty... What you said makes a lot of sense... They probably make it a real pain for smaller companies to deal with.

I'm in sales and I cal on a major (non fishing related) chain retailer in North America. All big box stores make it a huge pain for manufacturers to deal with that's costs all suppliers and drives up consumer costs. This includes (substantial back end rebate programs, logistics requirements adding huge costs, heavy fines if those requirements are not met to a "T". Like Health Care, it's really out of control. As bad as it is for big players like the company I work for, I can't imagine how bad it is for "the little guy" when dealing with major big box retailers.

I just uncovered yet ANOTHER 704z from the parents basement made in the good olde U.S. of A. america F yea. The thing is freakin flawless with the white junk still clinging to the knob, and the original style bail. Must have never been used no grime. I gotta remove the clicker though.... wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world? I have 3 704z's now that were unearthed down there! makes me wanna just start shoveling stuff around. might find gold:fishin:

spot on. I made it easy. I told them and BP to take a hike. :rotf2:

I'm in sales and I cal on a major (non fishing related) chain retailer in North America. All big box stores make it a huge pain for manufacturers to deal with that's costs all suppliers and drives up consumer costs. This includes (substantial back end rebate programs, logistics requirements adding huge costs, heavy fines if those requirements are not met to a "T". Like Health Care, it's really out of control. As bad as it is for big players like the company I work for, I can't imagine how bad it is for "the little guy" when dealing with major big box retailers.