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Post by Foggy on Feb 11, 2017 10:52:21 GMT -6
From what I read they are filing bankruptcy for reorganization. They are not closing according to what I read. Yep.....you are correct TT. But the rumor has been out for a long, long time that they could not get more money to run the current ship. I don't know who will be able to put the wheels back on now. About a year or more ago......they took almost all the animal and fish mounts off the walls in the Brainerd store. Not sure if they sold 'em or used them for a different store. Lots of rumors.....and its hard to sort facts from rumors when this stuff happens.
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Post by biglakebass on Feb 11, 2017 10:58:16 GMT -6
The firearms super store in Rogers is a ghost town and has been since it opened up. I am shocked that place has stayed open.
I stopped in there a few weeks ago for some ammo and I think I was the only customer in the store.....
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Post by coop on Feb 11, 2017 11:06:38 GMT -6
I've heard from close friends that Gander recently cancelled all of the IT development projects they had cooking. I also heard that their new CIO gave an inter-company speech claiming that internet sales were not necessary to reach "their target market". My best buddy worked with Gander a lot & has been predicting this for years. According to him, they have people in decision making roles who have never hunted or fished... Guys/gals who don't know the difference between duck opener & dove opener.
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Post by Tooln on Feb 11, 2017 11:12:00 GMT -6
Every time I take the wife shopping to Wausau, I drop her and head to Gander to kill time. Haven't bought anything in years in doing this, but I did use it as comparison shopping, then bought online. I guess I'll have to kill time now at the Harley shop, and she won't like that. I will though, last time I spent a lot of time in Harley shops she thought I was looking to get a new one. She then said maybe you really do need a tractor.
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Post by sd51555 on Feb 11, 2017 11:21:04 GMT -6
One little tool that's enabled the tech and thrift savy guys to put a dent in the big box stores is the Amazon scanner. For common items like a Rapala filet knife, you can whip out your phone and scan the bar code and Amazon will show if they have it, what price, and place it no more than 2-3 clicks from there. And often times with free shipping for prime members. I think there is also a non-amazon app like that which will google all online stores.
The shitty thing is, businesses that can't escape the commodity arena are doomed to go under. I'm talking about the ones where customers will slit your throat for a nickle on a box of .22 ammo. When their model deteriorates to shitty experience, shitty people, shitty inventory levels, the only thing left is price, and those customers suck to work with.
Now more than ever, the good places have events and activities going on. Bring the kids for this, drop the wife off over here, here's some shit for dad etc. For my outdoor dollar, you can't beat the service and expertise at Scheels. At least the lone SD store that is.
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Post by Tooln on Feb 11, 2017 11:29:51 GMT -6
One little tool that's enabled the tech and thrift savy guys to put a dent in the big box stores is the Amazon scanner. For common items like a Rapala filet knife, you can whip out your phone and scan the bar code and Amazon will show if they have it, what price, and place it no more than 2-3 clicks from there. And often times with free shipping for prime members. I think there is also a non-amazon app like that which will google all online stores. SD I use QR scanner, it kind of does the same thing but searches for all stores. Since I am a prime member do you have a link or what is the one for Amazon called?
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Post by Catscratch on Feb 11, 2017 11:48:44 GMT -6
I'm curious about the Amazon scanner also.
I don't see the hate for GM. I've price compared the same products with Cabelas many times and GM is always cheaper (exact same brand and product). Service has always been great and their bowshop workers are much better at setting up/tuning a bow than Cabelas guys. I must be lucky with location.
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Post by kl9 on Feb 11, 2017 11:56:21 GMT -6
30M term debt and 525M of revolving lines... Wonder how much they have extended on their lines... Burn banks by that much and I'd bet they're going to have a hard time getting reasonable financing going forward. Edit: I should add a lot of it also depends on terms or reorganization.
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Post by sd51555 on Feb 11, 2017 12:11:09 GMT -6
Just download the Amazon shopping app, the plain main one. Next to the search text box there is a camera icon. Click on that. It will bring up a scanner. The scanner not only does bar codes, it also does images. Grab any kind of recognized product around your house, a bottle of franks red hot, a dvd case, etc. You can scan the bar code or the entire product and it'll pull it up. You can even do house branded products that Amazon won't have and it'll pull up other brands of the same product. I just did a generic Target Febreeze product.
It's scary effective. I did my face and Chuck Norris's biography came up.
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Post by Catscratch on Feb 11, 2017 12:15:59 GMT -6
I did my face and Chuck Norris's biography came up. Lol, glad I wasn't drinking anything when I got to that part!
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Post by Tooln on Feb 11, 2017 12:58:48 GMT -6
Just download the Amazon shopping app, the plain main one. Next to the search text box there is a camera icon. Click on that. It will bring up a scanner. The scanner not only does bar codes, it also does images. Grab any kind of recognized product around your house, a bottle of franks red hot, a dvd case, etc. You can scan the bar code or the entire product and it'll pull it up. You can even do house branded products that Amazon won't have and it'll pull up other brands of the same product. I just did a generic Target Febreeze product. It's scary effective. I did my face and Chuck Norris's biography came up. Thanks I already had the shopping app, but didn't know it did that. I'm glad it brought up Chuck and not Brad's swelled nuts when you scanned your face. I actually met Chuck when I rode the bike to Texas. I went to Fort Worth to checkout Billy Bob's & the stockyards. I pulled into town about 9 AM and wanted to find and check the place out before dark. I was looking for a place to park the bike and a cop walked by. I asked if it would be safe to park here and he said he wasn't really a cop. He said he was part of the film crew and there were filming a Walker Texas Range episode. He headed down the ally/road between the building and I followed him. He was all dressed up in his cop uniform and I had just spent 3 hours driving the bike. I had the wind blown hair, chaps, finger-less glove's the whole 9 yard biker garb. He got the the entrance and showed his badge and they opened the door for him, he didn't know it but I was about 10 steps behind and just kept on walking. Once I got in I just kept moving around. They were filming in the indoor rodeo arena. It's set up kind of like a stadium, there is a walk way around the arena about 6' wide, before the seating starts. Every so often there's a tunnel the goes down to the pens and other rooms that are used as dressing rooms and offices. I was walking in this walkway and all of a sudden Chuck came up from one of those tunnel right in front of me. He asked who I was and I told him I was from WI and just got into town and was checking the place out. He asked how I got in and I told him, he laughed his ass off. We talked for about 5 minutes and then he said he had a to go to work. He was a real down to earth guy. I was in there for about an hour before a security guard asked who I was and then asked me to leave. I only wish I'd had my camera but it was still in the saddle bag. I went back later that night and that place as unreal. There had to be more than a 500 people in there and this was a week night. I can't even remember how many different bars there were in the place.
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Post by Foggy on Feb 11, 2017 14:00:43 GMT -6
Just download the Amazon shopping app, the plain main one. Next to the search text box there is a camera icon. Click on that. It will bring up a scanner. The scanner not only does bar codes, it also does images. Grab any kind of recognized product around your house, a bottle of franks red hot, a dvd case, etc. You can scan the bar code or the entire product and it'll pull it up. You can even do house branded products that Amazon won't have and it'll pull up other brands of the same product. I just did a generic Target Febreeze product. It's scary effective. I did my face and Chuck Norris's biography came up. Wow. I just loaded this ap and am super impressed so far. That scanner is pretty cool.
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Post by kansasandres on Feb 11, 2017 15:56:48 GMT -6
I'm curious about the Amazon scanner also. I don't see the hate for GM. I've price compared the same products with Cabelas many times and GM is always cheaper (exact same brand and product). Service has always been great and their bowshop workers are much better at setting up/tuning a bow than Cabelas guys. I must be lucky with location. My experience has been similar to yours. Very friendly staff and decent prices at my GM.
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Post by badbrad on Feb 11, 2017 16:12:36 GMT -6
My experience is same prices as cabalas. Which is typically over priced. Service and selection is worse than cabalas.
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Post by Foggy on Feb 11, 2017 20:50:53 GMT -6
I've never understood......why large, successful companies.....who built their biz on catalog sales went the bricks and mortar way. ......and then lost their edge....in many cases. Examples of Mail-Order start-ups are Sears, Montgomery Wards, Cabelas, Penny's, Gander Mountain, Northern Tool & Hydraulics, Midway USA, and many more.......i.e. Amazon? Some have stayed true to their beginnings and continue to prosper.....while other are going, going.....gone. Seems to me a mail order catalog has had so many advantages over bricks and mortar..........but what do I know? Maybe they never saw the inter webs comming?
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