Cabelas in Maine

[UserRemoved1]

Stopped there on Tuesday afternoon needed a new insulated hat and wanted to see what it was like never having been to a store. $20 for a frikkin $2.99 machine knit nylon hat from China.

ONE wood company (Gibbs) 3 pegs wide, and most on discount or closeout. Rest of the saltwater dept was all overpriced plastic crap from China. Few local names.

Reels and rods were the same way. The only thing neat in the whole place was the aquarium and that was it.

I wouldn't waste my time again. All overpriced junk from what I saw. I could swear some of the stuff was double what I've seen others selling it for. Even jackets etc were $200 and up.

Don't waste your time.

[Flaptail]

I was there in June. Got an Alaskan Guide series jacket for 44 clams on sale. I have always used Cabelas stuff and been very satisfied, especially thier clothing lines.

They had a lot of good stuff for sale. One must remember, like Bass Pro, if youre a striper fisherman they ain't your number one choice for tackle/plugs but for clothing, boots etc they and thier guarantees cannot be beat.

[UserRemoved1]

Flap I agree and have bought alot from them in the past but I got to say I could swear that stuff was more expensive than other places and I didn't see any decent deals there. I did not go in too far in the bargain cave as that stuff is usually marked up stuff that is normally sold anyways.

Was pretty disappointed overall. I guess it's good if you want $200 decoys and $3200 gun safes but I found their stuff pretty expensive in there. I'd like to compare some of the stuff to other stores or even their own catalog.

[striperman36]

go to Bean's in Mansfield.
Ask to be assisted by my wife, Paulette
She'll set you up with clothing.

[gone fishin]

Scott - like Bass Pro, they didn't do much market research. They opened up with a crummy knowledge of the east coast fishing. Salt wata that is. If they (both Bass Pro & Cabalas) did a decent market survey they could have captured a huge customer response right from the beginning. The sales people are not very helpful or knowledgeable either. In my opinion they both have very overpriced stores and probably do much more from their catalogs than from the retail operations. If I want to go to a aquarium I would do so.

I for one still believe in customer loyalty and support the local tackle shops for fishing supplies. Clothing is another story.

[UserRemoved1]

Don I'm so glad I walked away from these guys last year. It was disappointing to see what they had done with other's tackle in there and I know now I made the right decision to stay with the mom & pops and support them. I was approached by both these guys to add "local flavor" to their stores and I just about puked when I read the dealer contracts and their requirements.

[gone fishin]

I can just imagine - pressure production - liability protection - return policy that puts all on the vendor and maka u work fo nuttin!!

[UserRemoved1]

William your in trouble now

[striperman36]

Not me.

[Offshore24]

Living near Bean's (3 miles) and Cabela's (16 miles), I have to admit it's tempting to go into either place to "see" what you can get from the ctalog before you buy it. But that's about it. Bean's was great when I was a little needle but now they're just another clothing store for New Yorkers. Cabela's is the biggest dissapointment since the gov't decided to permit commercial taking of stipers again. But they've got an awesome catalog for hunting, camping and freshwater fishing gear. You can pickup your orders there and try them on. If you don't like em you can return em without paying for shipping returns. So there's some good points. But it's just a medium size box with stuff in it. some of the other catalog stores did it right, but Cabela's blew it in ME in my opinion. Shoul dhave gone bigtime if they wanted to compete for the allmighty Bean's dollar in Freeport.

[The Dad Fisherman]

I still like KTP when I head north

[Bigcat]

I got to agree with Salty, yeah they had a lot of nice stuff but the clothes were way over priced.
I like the BPS much better.

[jimmy z]

There is one by me in E. Hartford, Ct. I purchased a couple of things there. Only on sale stuff. I got a 79.00 pair of wader boots, for 29.00 bucks on clearance.
I think their cust. service is nill. I think they do well on presentation, though.

[piemma]

You guys saved me a lot of gas money. I was going to head up to Cabelas for Xmas shopping for the family. My wife really likes their clothing for women. Figured I'd save the shipping charges over ordering from the catalog.

Thanks for the advice.

[Raven]

when you walk around and browse these places and look for a purchase that gives you value for your dollar....

after awhile your scratching your head thinkin

how the hell do they stay in business with prices like these....? pffffff very few bargains these days

[UserRemoved1]

That's pretty much what I said. BTW this thread wasn't put here to discourage people from going. Maybe the place appeals to others but after walking around the place for an hour neither of us felt that there was any decent pricing to be had. This place definitely isn't about $29 wader boots it's more about $3k gun safes, doggy beds, Chinese doodad gifts, and $250 machine made duck decoys. It just didn't appeal to me or John. Neither of us thought the $20 price for a simple knit hat filled with tissue paper was warranted either. Kids would probably have fun seeing all the stuffed animals/thousand gallon aquarium for sure while the parents walk around but that would be the only draw if you can call it that.

Originally Posted by Raven

when you walk around and browse these places and look for a purchase that gives you value for your dollar....

after awhile your scratching your head thinkin

how the hell do they stay in business with prices like these....? pffffff very few bargains these days

[Offshore24]

The mall is all about eye-candy.

If you're going to go to Cabela's in Scarborough, you ought not miss the opportunity to visit Saco Bay Tackle on Route 1. Right across the street from the water park. We only have two tackle shops in the area. SBT and The Tackle Shop on India St in Portland.

[Rockport24]

I'm kinda surprised you guys say the clothes are expensive, I think they are pretty resonable. For example, my wader boots are awesome and they were like $60, normal price. right now I am looking for hiking/sneaker-like shoes and they have gore-tex ones for like $90. REI and other stores don't have anything waterproof for under like $120.

[Slingah]

I just scored a bunch of decent casual clothes CHEAP from the Cabelas Bargain Cave online....free shipping to boot....
Im with you Sandman...no need to go to the store...

[RIfoosball]

my novice two cents.....

It seems to me that like any sport or hobby, the newbie, novice or just a little less experienced needs to obtain the advice of an expert or more experienced. This can only happen through an ongoing relationship; one that allows for the lesser experienced, or even the experts to either gain knowledge or keep up on a flow of information.

The only way to do this is by going to a local store.

I personally would much prefer to spend a few extra dollars, if that's even the case all the time, and be able to query the shop owner or sales staff and get much needed knowledge that will not only make me a better hobbyist/sportsman, but also feed my own desire to improve or get better.

I started fishing salt water about 5 years ago. Originally from CA, I did quite a bit of fresh water fishing for steelhead and salmon...no expert, but know enough that not only is saltwater fishing different, but there are differences in fishing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

I struck up a relationship with a local shop owner who, in the beginning, was plentiful in his advice which i appreciated. I was a loyal customer. He has since opened a few stores and his help knows less about fishing than I do. He has become largely unavailable to his clientele and has geared himself, business wise, towards multiple store, increased volume, mentality. This is all well and good, but service has suffered. Why would I go there now when I can save money elsewhere?

Since coming on here a few months ago, I have not only learned an immense amount, but I have also had a personal invite for a "lesson" from someone on this board who identified my never ending questions and need for information. I sincerely believe that it was a genuine desire to help another that led to this invitation.

This is the exact type of person that I would prefer to spend my hard earned dollars with.

So, hats off to the local business men and women (maybe I'm biased because I'm self-employed as well), and keep up the motto that sharing your knowledge through customer service is the most valuable thing to us consumers of your goods.

Bruce.