Sometimes It's The Little Things

[ness]

I've been a Cabela's customer for a loooong time. From back when they sent one crummy, skinny catalog a year. And the only way to shop there was by thumbing through the catalog or driving to Sidney. Their products were good quality, customer service was great, and their return policy was as good as they come.

I gave Bass Pro several tries too. Since they're right in the Ozarks I stopped by their Springfield store many times, and even bought a few things there. Try as I might though, they would just never send me a catalog. I remember feeling like maybe I'd fallen through the cracks; like my old-style postage-paid catalog request card must have been lost in the mail. Over time, I bet I asked for a catalog a half dozen times, and I'd bet I've gotten two in the last 15 years. I figured they didn't like me for some unknown demographic reason. On the other hand, I'd bet Cabela's has sent me 15 in the last two years.

Recently, I was in the market for a new bass rig, and headed to cabelas.com to see what they had. I clicked on the fishing/spinning link and was brought to a page with four "specials" prominently displayed at the top. Well, they were 0 fer 4 on that stuff, either being butt-ugly or far too expensive, so I scrolled down to see what else they had. To my dismay the dozens of options were sorted alphabetically by company with no way to narrow the field. The little thumbnail pictures were darn near useless since all spinning rods look pretty much the same from 100 feet away. I was reduced to hunting and pecking based on company and price, and quickly gave up. This is, after all, the world-wide web and you've only got me for 30 seconds.

So, I surfed over to Bass Pro's website, and I'll be darned if they didn't have a nice little setup just tailored for me. Filter by brand, price, species, customer rating and a couple others. I narrowed it down quickly and made my purchases. Now, that's the way a web site ought to be!

Today I was back in the market for a cooler, to replace one I had lost in a freak accident on the Current River. Habit took me to cabelas.com, but I was again put off by their clunky web site. They may have had what I was looking for, but there were gonna be too many clicks to find it. So the sale went to Bass Pro again.

I like Cabela's. They've still got great products, and their service and return policies are tops. They've even got a store 15 minutes from my house, which is a little more convenient than the local Bass Pro. But, I'm changing my allegiances. I'm a Bass Pro man now. (OK, I do Walmart too, but you get the point). If they'd just send me a catalog, I'd be totally content.

Cabela's: overhaul that website and maybe send me a few LESS catalogs a year, and I'll give you another shot.

[flytyer57]

There is a link to order catalogs at the BassPro.com website. I never had a problem getting catalogs this way. Unless your mailman likes keeping them for himself.

[Quillback]

I think I get a bass pro catalog about every other week, funny they won't send you any.

If you're online shopping, especially for bass stuff, check out tacklewarehouse.com. They don't have any house brand stuff like BP, but they have free shipping on orders over $50 including rods. They also have periodic 15% discount sales. It's hard to beat them when you get free shipping and a discount, no state sales tax either unless you live in CA. And they don't send out catalogs, but you can get email alerts from them when there are sales.

My main gripe with BP and Cabelas is they charge you shipping based on the dollar amount of your order and it's expensive. So for example, you could buy a hundred dollars worth of feathers and they charge you $10 for shipping. And if you want a rod they charge extra for that on top of the already expensive shipping charge. Cablelas and BP do carry a lot of stuff that TW does not, such as clothes, hunting stuff etc. TW is good if you're just looking at bass gear.

[stlfisher]

It is funny how those little things can influence your purchase. I used to drive the extra few miles to the Cabela's store simply because I like the layout of Cabela's better. I don't know why, but the Bass Pro shop in St. Charles reminds me of a school cafeteria or something. That being said I spread my money around to all of them at one time or another.

[tjulianc]

I second TackleWarehouse. If you order a fishing rod over $50, shipping is free and they all cost over $50. Bass Pro charges around $10 and their packaging isn't as good as Tacklewarehouse. A lot of Tacklewarehouse prices are a good 2 dollars cheaper, and they will beat anyones prices. There are some things I will still get at bass pro, like jigs, weights and stuff like that, but I get all my expensive stuff from Tacklewarehouse now.

[ness]

It is funny how those little things can influence your purchase. I used to drive the extra few miles to the Cabela's store simply because I like the layout of Cabela's better. I don't know why, but the Bass Pro shop in St. Charles reminds me of a school cafeteria or something. That being said I spread my money around to all of them at one time or another.

Yeah, it really does matter. Some sites just get it right, and others don't. I think some of the mail order companies really had it right back in the day, but they have struggled with the web. Funny thing is, it's not all that difficult, at least according to people I've spoken with. Could be they just don't notice the sales they don't get.

I'll give a couple of the other sites mentioned a look too. Thanks for the ideas.

[eric1978]

I have the same problem with BPS catalogs...rarely get them. They seem to forget about me for years and then I'll get a couple all of a sudden. Of course they're probably expensive to make after Al gets his cut. I get a Cabela's catalog every other day. I wish they'd stop wasting so much paper.

But I think Cabela's is a better store in general. They have more of a fly fishing selection (materials anyway...still a lot to be desired), and they're ALWAYS running some kind of promotion. I can't remember the last time I didn't have a valid coupon for $20 off $100.

[vanven]

I won't shop at either given a choice. I constantly feel like I am being force fed their craptacular off brand junk. I am more than capable of making bag gear choices on my own I dont need to dig my way through their 8 kinds of wader liners when I want a pair of Simms.

That being said, my family continuously buys me gift cards to both. I hold them until I have enough to buy a particular item.

-Jerod

[Al Agnew]

Besides the fact that I do the art for the covers, there is one reason I like BPS better...they give the line retrieval rate in inches per handle revolution on all the reels they sell, Cabelas does not. I want to know how many inches of line I'm bringing in with each turn of the reel handle, not the gear ratio, which means very little.

However, I buy stuff from both. Cabelas has a few lures that BPS doesn't carry, and has a pretty good selection of lure making and rod building supplies. I go to both stores when I'm in St. Louis to shop for fishing tackle.

[ness]

I do like the tackle craft catalog from Cabela's.

But I'm like you Eric -- I wish they'd save the paper. Last year (I think) they sent this hard-bound 'master' catalog. Man, what a waste! Too big to lug into the loo. I pitched it in the recycle bin largely on principal.

I mostly flyfish, and prefer Cabela's gear over BPS in that category. But now that I think of it, next time I've got a need I'm gonna check in with Tim's Fly Shop at Roaring River first. I've ordered a couple things from him over the phone or via e-mail in the past. It worked out great -- no sales tax and drop-shipped to my house. Good guy to deal with, and I'm a sucker for the underdog.