I hate to see people lose jobs but this has been brewing for a while. They have zero commitment to customer service and their pricing is way out of line....they made their bed.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gandermountain-bankruptcy-idUSKBN15P2N5
Yes sad to see. They were closing a store near Pittsburg last month. I picked up several great deals.
It used to be a great place to find reloading items and harder to find hunting items. Their free shipping was also hard to beat. The last 5 yrs or so they went away from that and it is not really worth walking in the store any more. It is a shame, but everything they now carry can be found everywhere else and usually for a better price.
I found some good clearance deals there few times but that is about it also hate to see people lose jobs and hate to see a store go under that can compete with others on pricing but sounds like they didn't compete to good
I did not like the store layout at all....waayyy to spaced out for the merchandise that they had. Also, the lighting was way too bright to make me want to relax and enjoy the trip....but I will say the gun selection was amazing....although I never bought the first one in there.
Our Gander Mountain, was a place for thieves and meth heads to steal and sale guns. People were finding gun stolen from them within just a few day at Gander Mt. My son-law and daughter house was broken into, and after they stole several guns and jewelry, his dad found most of the guns stolen on the gun racks in the store.
I prefer Sportsman's Warehouse but never had any problems with the Gander Mountains that I was able to visit. I never noticed their prices being any different than the other stores. In fact Dunns and Shooters in Paducah were typically more expensive. I liked the one in Paducah, KY but never felt like they had enough customers in a store that big for it to be very profitable (except Christmas). I bought at least one gun from the one in Paducah and one gun from one in Denver.
I was in the one in Paducah a couple times, it was ok. Got a spinning rod combo on sale that I still use probably 10 years later. New one in Marion is decent enough. Guy in the fishing department knows his stuff. I agree on their prices being too high for the most part.
More bad for the consumer. Eventually we will be left with one option. I see all of retail going this direction. Only a few players will be left and will cross markets.
Did you know that you can purchase a toilet and have it installed by.... Amazon?
Quote from: Rick Howard on February 15, 2017, 01:17:46 PMDid you know that you can purchase a toilet and have it installed by.... Amazon?
Did not know this, wonder if they use the same contractors Lowe's and Home Depot use?
Gander was always high on their prices, but I have purchased a lot from them over the years. Mainly due to limited options when I need something quick.
It dose not surprise me as I went in there to buy a mount for my 11-87 that was tapped to a different mount know idea what mount but the guy could not find one to fit it so instead of just saying well no go the guy just you make a sell tells me to use a 2 piece set only use one piece of the set and only use one screw as both were not lined up. And I even told the guy the Tru Glo gobble stopper I was getting was longer that the mount he says it will just hang off the end it will be fine. I said are you kidding me? With the kick of a 12 ga and only one screw and the weight of the gobble stopper. Sad thing is this guy used to work at a well known sporting goods store in my area before they closed after Gander opened up here.
I loved gander mountains soft plastic baits. For the money they were really tough to beat.
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My dad picked up some good deals on ammo when the one near him went under not long ago. He said they had zero reloading supplies though.
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There's a Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's, and Field & Stream all less than 25 miles from the Gander Mountain in our area. Their Morrisville, NC store just opened within the past 2-3 years too. Not much cause to shop Gander Mtn when better deals can be had in the same area. Too bad they were late coming to the party.
Jim
Quote from: Cut N Run on February 15, 2017, 04:52:46 PM
There's a Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's, and Field & Stream all less than 25 miles from the Gander Mountain in our area. Their Morrisville, NC store just opened within the past 2-3 years too. Not much cause to shop Gander Mtn when better deals can be had in the same area. Too bad they were late coming to the party.
Jim
Iwent to a field and stream store this weekend...I was impressed. Got my BPS and Cabelas in the mail yesterday....just not as exciting as it used to be. I guess I have reached critical mass on stuff and if I can't kill it with that, then it can't be killed.
Yes...but I hear they do crappy work :TooFunny:
Did you know that you can purchase a toilet and have it installed by.... Amazon?
[/quote]
So many years ago I worked for Gander Mountain in Wilmot, WI. This was the main store and warehouse/DC. This company was so different back then and I had seen a lot of changes during my tenure with them. At the time Gander had the largest Gun-Smiting team in the US. They did some great work on what is now my dedicated Rem. 1187 Turkey Gun. I started doing Turkey Hunting Seminars and created my own series of seminars, did Outdoor Shows and did TV, Video and radio, I was Sponsored by a call company and was the first to sell a custom call on the retail chain market. A lot of my turkey hunting origins were started there, as a Licensed Guide, started my own NWTF Chapter and more. I went through this back then when the company filed Chapter 13 in the mid/late 90's... Was a pretty rough time and seen some awful greedy things go down as the company went through this and some good people go through some rough times as well. Eventually Burger Brothers bought out the business, it was resold again later and then changed hands. Haven't kept up with what's going on with them as a company as of late, I had moved on. This used to be a great company to work for back in those days.
MK M GOBL
I'll tell you what I believe is the problem. The management/sales people. I understand needing to turn a profit n return on investment, etc etc. but they're taking the outdoorsman out of the outdoors stores n replacing em w someone who's resume stated 2 years part time at Wendy's or Burger King. No dis to these people but they don't know what you want, need, can't speak the language. Half the time when I hit the gander by me some guy will ask for something maybe not an everyday sale like a rifled choke. I think it's kinda pointless but the salesman walks all over asking everyone what the customer wants. He just told the salesman but the outdoors are so foreign to him he's stuck. The items sold are not what the customer wants. They sell what they may have before, they got all these fancy charts showing weekly sales so a computer can order better than the employees.
Give you a perfect example about this nonsense.
Years ago a buddy n myself wanted a certain buzz bait. Sports authority right near work carried em. Ok so there came in, I bought em. Next week I was late getting there n my co worker beat me. Hmmm this stinks I thought.
Went to the manager n said I wanted to order a bunch. He said he couldn't he only sold three a week. I mentioned they were selling within an hour n I'd pay for 40, just order them. He wouldn't/couldn't or didn't have enough brains to.
Another example of this stupid computer ordering thing. I worked at HD for a bit as a second job. I actually ordered n did inventory. Ok so we sold 240 of 60 w a bulb from GE n 240 a week of that same exact a bulb from Phillips. They got rid of GE. I ordered 480 Phillips. Went to every manager on duty to argue we needed em. They didn't get it. Simple math.
Gotta put someone in charge who has a pulse of what people want n are ready to buy.
They also need to get knowledgeable salesman n stop worrying about who's cheapest to hire. Need to get real bow techs or not set up/sell bows.
Place is terrible n they made their bed
Quote from: Bowguy on February 15, 2017, 05:51:47 PM
I'll tell you what I believe is the problem. The management/sales people. I understand needing to turn a profit n return on investment, etc etc. but they're taking the outdoorsman out of the outdoors stores n replacing em w someone who's resume stated 2 years part time at Wendy's or Burger King. No dis to these people but they don't know what you want, need, can't speak the language. Half the time when I hit the gander by me some guy will ask for something maybe not an everyday sale like a rifled choke. I think it's kinda pointless but the salesman walks all over asking everyone what the customer wants. He just told the salesman but the outdoors are so foreign to him he's stuck. The items sold are not what the customer wants. They sell what they may have before, they got all these fancy charts showing weekly sales so a computer can order better than the employees.
Give you a perfect example about this nonsense.
Years ago a buddy n myself wanted a certain buzz bait. Sports authority right near work carried em. Ok so there came in, I bought em. Next week I was late getting there n my co worker beat me. Hmmm this stinks I thought.
Went to the manager n said I wanted to order a bunch. He said he couldn't he only sold three a week. I mentioned they were selling within an hour n I'd pay for 40, just order them. He wouldn't/couldn't or didn't have enough brains to.
Another example of this stupid computer ordering thing. I worked at HD for a bit as a second job. I actually ordered n did inventory. Ok so we sold 240 of 60 w a bulb from GE n 240 a week of that same exact a bulb from Phillips. They got rid of GE. I ordered 480 Phillips. Went to every manager on duty to argue we needed em. They didn't get it. Simple math.
Gotta put someone in charge who has a pulse of what people want n are ready to buy.
They also need to get knowledgeable salesman n stop worrying about who's cheapest to hire. Need to get real bow techs or not set up/sell bows.
Place is terrible n they made their bed
DO NOT even get me started about THD, been there 15 years and it's going downhill like a fast rolling stone. I can literally see the changes day by day. There used to be a system in place where inventory management associates ordered everything the store needed. As long as you knew your lead times you stayed in stock and it all flowed well. Then, some bean counter got the notion that a trained monkey could do every job in the store, that was the beginning of the end.
There used to be a pro associate in every department, a person that could tell you about every piece in their department. We have since replaced them with children.
The 'Affordable Care Act' made it even worse, we haven't hired a full time associate since Obama took office. Every FT associate that leaves is replaced by a PT goober. When you cut 80% of your staff to part-time, work ethic goes down. You bring in a kid that can hardly read or write, offer them a part-time job for minimum wage and then only schedule them for 10 hours a week, why should they care ? There is nobody going to come in and bust their butt and do a good job, while being yelled at by rude customers for $75 a week. They don't want the hassle and usually move on in short order, he is replaced by goober #37.......and so on.........
This is exactly why Gander Mountain is failing. They have filled their stores with part-time, 12 hour a week kids that know nothing about their field. Most have never hunted, you can tell. They don't care if you shop there, they are just pulling their 5-6 hours for that day and splitting.
Sad part is that when my local GM opened here in my part of NC it was a pretty cool store and was fairly competitive. The staff seemed knowledgeable and willing to help. Used to shop there quite a bit. One day the changes came and it was horribly obvious.
Someday there will be no stores left. Everything will be ordered on line and dropped on your porch. I was in Gander last week looking at a new Benelli. The sales guy handed me the gun and never said one word. I handed it back and he put on the shelf and walked away! I've been in sales for 17 years and this guy obviously has no incentive to sell a gun. Im talking a $1500 sale and could care less. I'm purchasing a Benelli and won't be there.
Quote from: JK Spurs on February 15, 2017, 07:17:51 PM
Someday there will be no stores left. Everything will be ordered on line and dropped on your porch. I was in Gander last week looking at a new Benelli. The sales guy handed me the gun and never said one word. I handed it back and he put on the shelf and walked away! I've been in sales for 17 years and this guy obviously has no incentive to sell a gun. Im talking a $1500 sale and could care less. I'm purchasing a Benelli and won't be there.
That's about customer service in general these days. I've had similar experiences in a variety of purchases. IF you don't act like my money is important to you, you won't be able to sell me anything. I'll go somewhere else where they appreciate the business.
I did not know Gander Mountain is filing for bankruptcy. But that does not necessarily mean they are closing down. There are different types of bankruptcy that allow a company to reorganize and start over.
Sportsman's warehouse closed down awhile ago and I spent over 2 K on all the discounts. Two years later they reopened the same store. Now when I go in there I always ask if they are closing down so I can get more deals. I am still using the stuff I got on the mark downs.
I just hope there's notification of when the local store will be "going under." I'd like to jump on a few deals before the deed is finalized in one fashion or another.
Well when they charge 700 dollars for a 450 dollar gun, I can see why!
Saw this yesterday. I gotta gift card I gotta use! Don't know if it means the one near me will close, could just be a reorganization like Sportsmans did a few years ago.
Quote from: BowBendr on February 15, 2017, 06:38:33 PM
Quote from: Bowguy on February 15, 2017, 05:51:47 PM
I'll tell you what I believe is the problem. The management/sales people. I understand needing to turn a profit n return on investment, etc etc. but they're taking the outdoorsman out of the outdoors stores n replacing em w someone who's resume stated 2 years part time at Wendy's or Burger King. No dis to these people but they don't know what you want, need, can't speak the language. Half the time when I hit the gander by me some guy will ask for something maybe not an everyday sale like a rifled choke. I think it's kinda pointless but the salesman walks all over asking everyone what the customer wants. He just told the salesman but the outdoors are so foreign to him he's stuck. The items sold are not what the customer wants. They sell what they may have before, they got all these fancy charts showing weekly sales so a computer can order better than the employees.
Give you a perfect example about this nonsense.
Years ago a buddy n myself wanted a certain buzz bait. Sports authority right near work carried em. Ok so there came in, I bought em. Next week I was late getting there n my co worker beat me. Hmmm this stinks I thought.
Went to the manager n said I wanted to order a bunch. He said he couldn't he only sold three a week. I mentioned they were selling within an hour n I'd pay for 40, just order them. He wouldn't/couldn't or didn't have enough brains to.
Another example of this stupid computer ordering thing. I worked at HD for a bit as a second job. I actually ordered n did inventory. Ok so we sold 240 of 60 w a bulb from GE n 240 a week of that same exact a bulb from Phillips. They got rid of GE. I ordered 480 Phillips. Went to every manager on duty to argue we needed em. They didn't get it. Simple math.
Gotta put someone in charge who has a pulse of what people want n are ready to buy.
They also need to get knowledgeable salesman n stop worrying about who's cheapest to hire. Need to get real bow techs or not set up/sell bows.
Place is terrible n they made their bed
DO NOT even get me started about THD, been there 15 years and it's going downhill like a fast rolling stone. I can literally see the changes day by day. There used to be a system in place where inventory management associates ordered everything the store needed. As long as you knew your lead times you stayed in stock and it all flowed well. Then, some bean counter got the notion that a trained monkey could do every job in the store, that was the beginning of the end.
There used to be a pro associate in every department, a person that could tell you about every piece in their department. We have since replaced them with children.
The 'Affordable Care Act' made it even worse, we haven't hired a full time associate since Obama took office. Every FT associate that leaves is replaced by a PT goober. When you cut 80% of your staff to part-time, work ethic goes down. You bring in a kid that can hardly read or write, offer them a part-time job for minimum wage and then only schedule them for 10 hours a week, why should they care ? There is nobody going to come in and bust their butt and do a good job, while being yelled at by rude customers for $75 a week. They don't want the hassle and usually move on in short order, he is replaced by goober #37.......and so on.........
This is exactly why Gander Mountain is failing. They have filled their stores with part-time, 12 hour a week kids that know nothing about their field. Most have never hunted, you can tell. They don't care if you shop there, they are just pulling their 5-6 hours for that day and splitting.
Sad part is that when my local GM opened here in my part of NC it was a pretty cool store and was fairly competitive. The staff seemed knowledgeable and willing to help. Used to shop there quite a bit. One day the changes came and it was horribly obvious.
This is why I shop local as much as possible. "Local" meaning the owner/operator/shop guy lives near me - as opposed to a big box store. Its the same for all of them - fly shops, tackle shops, hunting gear, and outdoor gear stores. Most items are just as cheap as the big box store, but the service is night and day different from the big box store. Also the local shop is a good place to "hang out" and talk fishing/hunting etc.
People make fun of me when I tell them I hate Amazon. These are the same people that blame the big box store from putting Mom and Pop out of business. Nope. The consumer chooses who to give his/her money to. I choose to give my money to the guy that lives down the street from me. The one whose kids go to school with mine. Or the one that I see at Church. Or the one that doesn't charge for service work because he knows me by name and knows I bought the thing from him and I will continue giving him business.
Sorry. I'll step down off my box now. ::)
I agree with kjnenjr . I try to buy local as much as possible,but the problem is we only have 1 local sporting goods store around and they have such a bad attitude I dont see how they keep the doors open.They are usually my last stop and only when I need something right now.At one time they had a good selection but that is getting smaller by the day. We did have a smaller shop open a few years ago that was more of a waterfowl place(they looked like an Avery catalog) but they were friendly and they had what I needed. They sold some crappie fishing stuff,and also had some seasonal stuff too.( Turkey stuff out around turkey season,deer stuff out in deer season.
I dont like and never have liked GM. The selection in any "department" is poor to say the least,unless your wife wants an Under Armor hoodie and they have every color. I want more of an option than the store brand in one camo pattern. Just a few weeks ago I went to the Marion GM looking to buy myself something,but I walked around the place and didnt see anything I couldnt live without.
Pricing was way to high. They wanted $650 for a used Mossberg 835, some of there internet deals with free shipping were good.
I'll share a recent experience at Gander Mountain... I was just walking by the gun counter and see this guy and his girlfriend talking to the sales guy. He asked to see the SBE2. The salesman handed it to him and the guy asked, does this one have the inertia? The salesman said, I'm not sure but I think so. Then the salesman said, I just can't see dropping $1700 on a gun.
I just shook my head and walked off. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed... Bunch of morons!
I got my turkey vest on sale from Gander Mountain. That is about the extent of my dealings with them.
I hate to see people lose their jobs, but places like GM would have to lower their prices to compete with the Bass Pros and the Cabelas...
I always buy clothes at Gander Mountain and have no complaints about quality. I buy all my boots from them and especially if they have the Gander mountain logo. They exchange them no questions asked even well after a year. Hate to see themm go. This is like the second time they are going out if they trulyy are. on sale.
I got the red with Gander after they caved to the petatards and took the mounts out of their stores. Next!
Gander Mts.. turkey displace of shells and stuff was a joke...all i ever used them for was trying cloths on and ordering it on line...later...and cheaper...
You can go in the stores around here and you don't have to wonder why they are going under! High prices and awful help. Seems they will hire anyone. I have talked to sales people in guns and bows and its a joke! Most don't know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle! Lots of better options out there!
2 weeks before turkey season I went by too see what they had. had 3 different types of 12 ga shells ant thats it. No 20?? I ask the guy and he said people don't use 20ga for turkey!! :turkey2:
Quote from: coonhunter on April 27, 2017, 08:43:14 AM
You can go in the stores around here and you don't have to wonder why they are going under! High prices and awful help. Seems they will hire anyone. I have talked to sales people in guns and bows and its a joke! Most don't know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle! Lots of better options out there!
2 weeks before turkey season I went by too see what they had. had 3 different types of 12 ga shells ant thats it. No 20?? I ask the guy and he said people don't use 20ga for turkey!! :turkey2:
We're hunting turkey not pigeons.. you can't hunt em with a 20....oh wait all I hunt with is a 20ga lol
I've heard the same thing at stores, must be those armor plated turkeys :OGturkeyhead:
Quote from: Greg Massey on April 26, 2017, 05:22:28 PM
Gander Mts.. turkey displace of shells and stuff was a joke...all i ever used them for was trying cloths on and ordering it on line...later...and cheaper...
Exactly ... this is what a lot people do, and the reason many large retail stores are...and will continue to fold. It's hard to compete with online places like Amazon, etc. Especially for Gander, their prices have always been high.
Just last month..... Needed new hunting boots so I tried on many pairs of boots in Gander for nearly 2 hours... finally found the right Danners I liked. Pull them up on Amazon.. one click on my phone I had them delivered prime next day and still saved about $25.00
I would have purchased from Gander if their places was at least in line...but it wasn't.
For small local mom and pop stores.. I have no issue paying a little more. But national stores like Gander.. no so much.
Sounds like Gander Mtn is coming back. Bought out by camping World. CEO says once the liquidation company finishes he will restock. Appears he purchased all their assets. Maybe it will be better this time.
Possibly the only corporation that I hold in lower esteem than Gander Mountain is Camping World. Bet neither of them see a penny of my money and I will even buy in Walmart if I have no choice.
Quote from: dublelung on April 26, 2017, 04:53:28 PM
I got the red with Gander after they caved to the petatards and took the mounts out of their stores. Next!
I've always had a problem with this also...when I was a kid it was a big deal to take the 45 minute ride with ma and dad to Gander Mountain...I wasn't buying anything, but to a kid it was so cool to see all the taxidermy work...the big bucks, big fish, etc.
Once they pulled the mounts it lost its feel...I think they forgot about the sportsman who were supporting them for so many years...