Cabela's Military Discount

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dubob

dubob

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I got an email from Cabela's informing me that they are doing away with the military discount for on-line and phone orders. I assume that this is coming from BPS Corporate HQ after the merger. As a military Veteran, I am VERY displeased with this latest merger fallout. I have written them about this and gotten a reply back stating that my comments have been forwarded - didn't say to whom. I've already decided that I will look elsewhere locally and on-line for my outdoor clothing and gear purchases in the future. Cabela's will be my LAST source of choice from now on. I would encourage all Veterans to voice their displeasure with this decision by contacting Cabela's directly, and I would ask that you also consider shopping at other venues for on-line purchases in the future if you are a Veteran. Support from non-Veterans would be appreciated as well.
 
Your actions only make sense if you find another online source that provides a military discount. Switching to another store that doesn't have a discount just because you're pissed off would make no sense.
 
SuperD said:
Your actions only make sense if you find another online source that provides a military discount. I very respectfully, but strongly, disagree. Speaking strictly from an on-line basis, Cabela's blew it for me when they discontinued a military discount benefit that was started less than 1 year ago. Switching to another on-line source that also doesn't have a military discount doesn't cost me a thing - now. And the odds are way in my favor that I'll find a source other than Cabela's for outdoor clothing and gear that is being offered at a lower price for equal or better quality. In fact, I already use a few of the other sources.

Switching to another store that doesn't have a discount just because you're pissed off would make no sense. Store purchases are an entirely different animal. There are several hundred large corporation stores that offer a military discount by showing them your military ID Card, active/retired. I do this all the time. However, Cabela's will not be my first or second choice for purchases in their stores, even though they offer a 5% military discount. I can get a military discount at Sportsmans Warehouse as well and at a lower price than Cabela's most of the time. You, however, are free to shop there as you see fit and I fully respect and support your right to do so. It's not that I'm pissed off at them - I'm not. However, I am highly disappointed in their decision to discontinue the on-line discount when it was already in place and working just fine. And based on that, I will vote with my feet and shop elsewhere whenever given the chance.
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No harm; no foul. You have your opinion; I have mine. Life is good. thumbsup
 
With the military discount you get back down to normal price of a lot of other stores on line
 
is it better to shop at a store that gave you a discount for years or a store that never offered you one in the first place . just curious and i mean no offence
 
Cabela's has always been more expensive then numerous stores locally, at least around here(western WA.).Any discount only seems to bring their prices in line with everyone else. Besides, they only keep their own brands in stock, forcing you to buy them vs. name brands for terminal tackle and other gear. They lost a big time boat sale with us due to trying to sell us what they had on hand vs. what we wanted. We drove to another state to buy our Duckworth from a different dealer. I haven't heard positive things about their boat servicing dept. either. That being said, I've gotten some good deals from the Bargain Cave. Bob R
 
Their credit card is a bigger discount than anything for me. A few months of normal spending and I get enough points to get my stuff anywhere from 50% off to free with the points I've earned. I can't beat that anywhere unless I resort to shop lifting.
 
bob r said:
Cabela's has always been more expensive then numerous stores locally, at least around here(western WA.).Any discount only seems to bring their prices in line with everyone else. Besides, they only keep their own brands in stock, forcing you to buy them vs. name brands for terminal tackle and other gear. They lost a big time boat sale with us due to trying to sell us what they had on hand vs. what we wanted. We drove to another state to buy our Duckworth from a different dealer. I haven't heard positive things about their boat servicing dept. either. That being said, I've gotten some good deals from the Bargain Cave. Bob R
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so i guess what your saying is it's all about price and section for you and not about the military ,or am i misunderstanding you '?
 
SuperD said:
Their credit card is a bigger discount than anything for me. A few months of normal spending and I get enough points to get my stuff anywhere from 50% off to free with the points I've earned. I can't beat that anywhere unless I resort to shop lifting.
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And I kind of thought the same thing. But after I gave it some thorough investigating, I discovered this. I averaged about $45,000.00 a year in charges through my Cabela’s Card with over 99% of the charges to companies other than Cabela’s. That means that I was getting 1% back in points that could only be spent at Cabela’s. So, I averaged about $450 in points a year that I could only spend at Cabela’s, which ain’t really bad.

However, comma, I discovered that my credit union VISA card returns 1.5% CASH back which is about $675 back in CASH that I can spend ANYWHERE. You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to figure out which of those 2 options is a better financial choice. I’ve retired my Cabela’s card for good and will use my credit union card from this day forward. And I might even end up using it at Cabela’s on those rare occasions when I can’t find it cheaper anywhere else.

It’s all good SuperD, but I’m still backing away from Cabela’s as my ‘go to’ store for sporting equipment.
 
Credit cards, ,money rebated, and interest

Dubob's arithmetic looks good as long as you pay off your card every month. If you carry a balance, it is possible to end up paying more for interest charges than what you get back in some form of rebate. We try to pay our cards off every month, but occasionally we get hit with a big bill like truck tires that we can't manage on one month's paycheck.

Since the discussion seems to have shifted to credit cards, all I'm saying is you have to consider both rebates and interest charges to determine which is actually the best card. The banks don't offer the rebates for free. The people who carry balances, especially significant balances, are actually paying for the rebates the rest of us get. Some cards charge an annual fee, another cost to consider when choosing a card.

Too much to think about. The weather might actually be good the first of next week. Time to use those cards to gas up the truck to go fishing!!!

Physion
 
mtncat1 said:
so i guess what your saying is it's all about price and section for you and not about the military ,or am i misunderstanding you '?
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That's right. I don't get a military discount as I never served. I shop with my wallet, not my political views. Should I be supporting Cabela's more expensive pricing because they give military discounts? I don't think so. Bob R
 
I started this thread to voice my displeasure for the corporate shenanigans being performed by Cabela’s since their take over by Bass Pro Shops. They instituted a working system in early 2017 that allowed a military discount for on-line purchases for eligible Veterans just like that being given at their retail stores. Then, early this year they discontinued that program. It made no sense to me then and still doesn’t. As an effected Veteran myself, I’m voting with my purchase dollars by curtailing my purchase of goods from Cabela’s as much as I can. That includes giving up my use of the Cabela’s Credit Card.

I’ve had that card since 1995 and have charged as much as $53,000.00 in a given year using it. Never once paid interest on it so I never paid any attention as to what the rate was or is, so I looked it up. Cabela’s has a formula for assigning a variable rate to each individual. MY rate as of today is 11.65% - IF I never paid the full amount each month. Not too bad actually. The interest rate on my credit union card is 13.99%. But I doubt I will ever incur the application of said rate, so again, I really don’t care what the rate is.

But Bob R is exactly correct that not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to pay the complete amount each and every month and for them, the rate should be a consideration for choosing a card.

I really didn’t intend that this thread morph into a credit card debate. It should be a discussion of Cabela’s mistreatment (IMHO) of Veterans. And based on my own feelings about this issue, I have decided to restrict doing business with Cabela’s as much as possible. I only ask that you consider what they did and act in accordance with your own conscience. I also never intended to disrespect anybody for continued shopping at Cabela's.

Tight lines to all y’all.

signfishin
 
Although I never even knew they offered the discount online(I have to thoroughly inspect everything I buy), I do know that even when using my discount they are more expensive than most other retailers. I recently paid off our Cabela's card as well as our AFCU Visa and do not intend to use either for anything but an emergency, but both were under 8% and "easy" to live with. I won't get into how much we have spent at the new store that is an easy 12 miles up the road, but their service has been very hit or miss in regards to actual product knowledge and have had a hard time retaining employees. It will be interesting to see if things improve with the merger, but we do not intend to go into the store as much as we have in the past and will be much smarter with our money.
 
i'm not a vet but here's what sticks in my craw about this whole deal.
i'm not shopping at cabelas any more because they no longer give a military discount ,now i will shop at store x that never gave any kind of military discounts to begin with. would it not be better to support a retailer that gave that type of discount to vets rather than a place that has . i'm not saying one way or another just food for thought .
 
mtncat1 said:
i'm not a vet but here's what sticks in my craw about this whole deal.
i'm not shopping at cabelas any more because they no longer give a military discount ,now i will shop at store x that never gave any kind of military discounts to begin with. would it not be better to support a retailer that gave that type of discount to vets rather than a place that has . i'm not saying one way or another just food for thought .
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I don't see much diff. between the two, one was nice enough to give vets a discount and now they don't? What is the current policy? if they no longer give a discount there is no diff. Bob R P.S. You can always pick local non-corporate type stores, mom and pop stores need all the help they can get.
 
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bob r said:
I don't see much diff. between the two, one was nice enough to give vets a discount and now they don't? What is the current policy? if they no longer give a discount there is no diff. Bob R P.S. You can always pick local non-corporate type stores, mom and pop stores need all the help they can get.
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Yup, like RMT, Christensen's tackle, and a few others who do a lot for the local fishing community.
 
mtncat1 said:
do any of those companies give military discounts ?
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If all you need in a store is that they give military folks a discount I think that you will have a hard time finding a store to fit your needs in a specialty catagory like fishing. Bob r
 
As of late, I have been experiencing some frustration with my Cabela's shopping experience. When talking to the in-store staff, they are blaming the Bass Pro take over for some of the product selection issues. So, it might get worse before it gets better, if it gets better at all.
 
bob r said:
If all you need in a store is that they give military folks a discount I think that you will have a hard time finding a store to fit your needs in a specialty catagory like fishing. Bob r
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i will answer my own question ,none of those companies give military discounts. the whole point of all this is that people are mad because cabelas took away a military discount and now are taking their business to companies that never offered and kind of discount in the first place . giving no credit to cabelas for their past good deeds .
 

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