Bass Pro buying Cabelas - Effect in Ottawa???

[smitty55]

Sean,

I bring up Paddletales, first and foremost, because Ed has given back to the community in more ways than imaginable.

Mav it's all fine and good that you promote Ed, but it has nothing to do with this post, which is about BPS buying Cabelas and the possible effect in Ottawa.

So I agree with bl8ant, it's getting old. Perhaps you should start your own thread on the benefits of buying local instead of hijacking someones else's thread. Just sayin'.

Cheers

[TheMaverick]

Sean,

I bring up Paddletales, first and foremost, because Ed has given back to the community in more ways than imaginable.

Mav it's all fine and good that you promote Ed, but it has nothing to do with this post, which is about BPS buying Cabelas and the possible effect in Ottawa.

So I agree with bl8ant, it's getting old. Perhaps you should start your own thread on the benefits of buying local instead of hijacking someones else's thread. Just sayin'.

Cheers

My bad, thought we were talking economical impacts.

[bl8ant]

Constantly bringing up Ed and Paddletales in every thread about BPS/Cabelas is getting older than the threads themselves. If you like to support local business instead of big box stores, I get that. Let's not just create some illusion that a store like Bass Pro could never hope to match the prices of an independently owned specialty store. There are reasons people will prefer to frequent Paddletales over BPS just like I prefer going to Starbucks over Tim Hortons. I have my doubts that Ed is planning to venture in to the clothing business and have Gore Tex rain gear manufactured under the Paddletales brand to compete with BPS 100 mph rain suits.

Would just be nice to look at the facts

Sean,

I bring up Paddletales, first and foremost, because Ed has given back to the community in more ways than imaginable.
I’m sure this also applies to other local mom&pop stores, but I’m expressing my views based on personal experience.

Big box stores don’t necessarily equate to negatives, hence clothing lines and apparel.
As for selection, I find box stores, like Sail, to lack immensely once a product runs out.

Facts are, smaller business might get overshadowed in all the excitement and hoorahs of these so called big box stores, so when I see these threads show up, I tend to nurture and highlight Paddletales for the above mentioned reasons.

That being said, I’d be lying if I said I strictly bought from Paddletales, but over a decade, I can honestly say 80% of my tackle was purchased from Ed.

If it gets old, then so be it.

P.S. Ed can you order in undies? No worries if you can’t, I’ll just hit my local Wal-Mart.

I actually agree with everything you wrote here, you make good points and express the clearly. It just seems that whenever the Cabelas/Bass Pro Progress threads come up they somehow turn in to a "reasons why not to shop at big box store" threads. I guess my frustration lies in how quickly the threads become off topic not in your loyalty to small business.

[ShawnD]

1if you want the cheapest deal possible for a low cost item maybe a massive box store is more to your liking

2Let's not just create some illusion that a store like Bass Pro could never hope to match the prices of an independently owned specialty store.

3 I have my doubts that Ed is planning to venture in to the clothing business and have Gore Tex rain gear manufactured under the Paddletales brand to compete with BPS 100 mph rain suits.

Would just be nice to look at the facts

Morning everyone

1- IMO Most big box stores don't have "the cheapest deal possible for a low cost item" *Sail comes to mind, over priced and they run out of product half way through the season.. Just look at hooks or something as simple as bobber stoppers But that's how they operate. Sell more store less.

2- Going to use Sail as example here once again, because I frequent it a lot, "Never hope to match the prices" is a big stretch yes, but in my experience, you'll find better deals in a independently owned store.. Paddletales, Pronature, Ozile's .... These days though with the awful dollar everything is expensive..

I remember when the dollar first fell, The Pronature I frequent had already bought their stock ( Rods, Reels etc.. ) while the dollar was at PAR, which was awesome for me !
If they would have purchased their order while the loonie took a dive the same reel would have cost me far more! Mark up, exchange rate..
I Saved 135$ for two reels VS buying them from a big box store like Tacklewarehouse.

I was at Sail last week, saw a bunch of lures being repriced" because of the falling dollar.."
How long have those been on the shelf?

3- I'm not sure if Paddletales still does this, but he was a dealer for BPS so you could pick out anything out of the BPS magazine and have it shipped to the store. Like the 100 MPH suit

And to answer the OP's question, I don't think they'll change anything, Cabelas and Bassproshop are similar yet different.. It'll be nice to have around, especially where it's located for you guys in the west end of the city. It'll give Sail a run for its money I'm sure.

Shawn.D's

[scarkner]

And to answer the OP's question, I don't think they'll change anything, Cabelas and Bassproshop are similar yet different.. It'll be nice to have around, especially where it's located for you guys in the west end of the city. It'll give Sail a run for its money I'm sure.

Shawn.D's

Thanks for answering the original question.

I sure seemed to open a can of worms on this one.

Would I buy 80% of my gear at Paddletales - Yeah I probably would if they were in Ottawa, but I can't justify the 2 hour round trip. Certainly, this isn't a thread against small business, those who know me on the board know that I was a small business owner all my life. Been there and done that!

Even going to Sail is a pretty long excursion (will the construction out there ever be done?) and I find few of the staff have any passion for fishing. When I am lucky enough to get into a bass-pro shop, I am always blown away by the staff. These people know their stuff, they have passion and they actually use the stuff they sell. You'll never find that at a Canadian Tire or Walmart.

My main concern is, and remains, that if Bass Pro pulled out of Ottawa once... then they may do it again (assuming the deal goes through). I think the concensus seems to be that they would likely finish the building, hopefully Cabela's gets far enough down the track that if a takeover does happen, the store is already open and profitable by the time it gets a new name.

So I do have my fingers crossed that SOMETHING opens in the west side of town.

It Will be interesting to see what name goes on the building.

[BradGuenette]

And to answer the OP's question, I don't think they'll change anything, Cabelas and Bassproshop are similar yet different.. It'll be nice to have around, especially where it's located for you guys in the west end of the city. It'll give Sail a run for its money I'm sure.

Shawn.D's

Thanks for answering the original question.

I sure seemed to open a can of worms on this one.

Would I buy 80% of my gear at Paddletales - Yeah I probably would if they were in Ottawa, but I can't justify the 2 hour round trip. Certainly, this isn't a thread against small business, those who know me on the board know that I was a small business owner all my life. Been there and done that!

Even going to Sail is a pretty long excursion (will the construction out there ever be done?) and I find few of the staff have any passion for fishing. When I am lucky enough to get into a bass-pro shop, I am always blown away by the staff. These people know their stuff, they have passion and they actually use the stuff they sell. You'll never find that at a Canadian Tire or Walmart.

My main concern is, and remains, that if Bass Pro pulled out of Ottawa once... then they may do it again (assuming the deal goes through). I think the concensus seems to be that they would likely finish the building, hopefully Cabela's gets far enough down the track that if a takeover does happen, the store is already open and profitable by the time it gets a new name.

So I do have my fingers crossed that SOMETHING opens in the west side of town.

It Will be interesting to see what name goes on the building.

It will be a Cabelas, we got the work order in the shop today to do all the welding for the sprinkler systems.

Sail has always done loads and loads of prices changes, it's been happening every week since about August.

Your likely going to find the same type of staff at the new Cabelas/BPS as you would at Sail. Fishing is a expensive hobby and most who are really into it cannot afford to be working for minimum wage.

[RJ]

No matter what happens with the sale of Cabela's to BPS (which I still doubt) it's not like they are going to disband the Cabela's brand and change all these retail outlets to BPS. The Kanata store will open and a week later the thread will start on here about how disappointed folks are with it...

Anyone I've spoken to about Cabela's stores up here they've been less than excited about them. A fraction of what you can buy online.

The local shops do a great job servicing the public, Shaun and Wayne, Ed and Crystal etc. all have shelves full with anything you could ever need.

I remember when the dollar first fell, The Pronature I frequent had already bought their stock ( Rods, Reels etc.. ) while the dollar was at PAR, which was awesome for me !
If they would have purchased their order while the loonie took a dive the same reel would have cost me far more! Mark up, exchange rate..
I Saved 135$ for two reels VS buying them from a big box store like Tacklewarehouse.

I was at Sail last week, saw a bunch of lures being repriced" because of the falling dollar.."
How long have those been on the shelf?

No offense to those at that store but that is terrible business practice. You're pricing is and should be based on what it would cost to replace an item rather than what you paid for it. That's why Sail is changing prices in an ever changing market. It's a reality.

RJ

[biggs]

I agreed with RJ. People will complain about the new store. Cabelas Canada which is what we are getting is NOTHING like Cabelas south of the border.

[StarTzar]

I agreed with RJ. People will complain about the new store. Cabelas Canada which is what we are getting is NOTHING like Cabelas south of the border.

Totally agree with this.
I rarely hear anyone complaining about Ed and Bennett's.

[smitty55]

[quote="scarkner"] I sure seemed to open a can of worms on this one. /quote]

You did no such thing. Not your fault it got dragged off course some.

Cheers

[Bear]

A little more info here folks

http://www.thefishingwire.com/features/230439

[StarTzar]

A little more info here folks

http://www.thefishingwire.com/features/230439

Here is a thread that was started by Super .... but it's nice to get the link. Thanks.

http://www.fish-hawk.net/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=48980

[Bear]

A little more info here folks

http://www.thefishingwire.com/features/230439

Here is a thread that was started by Super .... but it's nice to get the link. Thanks.

http://www.fish-hawk.net/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=48980

LOL David has more time than me, missed that

[bl8ant]

I'm quickly learning to pick my battles online but clearly I'm a stubborn person.

Retail economics isn't complicated. Bigger companies buy more product and in turn pay less per unit. From there it goes one of two ways:
1. They sell to the consumer at the same price as their competitors and make a higher profit margin
2. They undercut their competitor's price but manage to make the same profit margin due to their lower initial cost per unit

No matter how it makes you feel, these are the facts. Like every rule—of course— there are exceptions.
An educated shopper will find items on sale at smaller shops when the same item is listed at full price at larger retailers etc.
If you expect a small retailer to price match a large box store, you are asking them in most cases to sell at razor thin margins

Companies like Walmart and other big box stores aren't wiping mom and pop shops clean off the map with their outstanding customer service, they are doing it with their pricing.
When I shop at a mom and pop shop or a boutique shop of some sort I EXPECT to pay a little more than at a box store. You just can't stare the facts in the face and pretend they don't exist.

[lape0019]

This has actually been talked about quite a few times by Ed himself as well as others. I will admit, I used to think that way but I was for the most part wrong.

For price something at Paddletales, Sail and look at the price online for the same 5 items and then come back and make that same statement. Overhead is a lot higher in a 100,000+ square foot store. So is pay to employees since there are more of them.