Gander Mountain files for bankruptcy

The few times I've been in one their prices were not very competitive with other brick and mortar stores.

Apparently the Bass Pro/Cabelas merger is either dead or on the ropes as well.

Wow, I hadn't heard that. Not surprising, though, considering how many outdoor lifestyle stores there are these days and how difficult it has been to compete with the Amazons of the world.

Phil

I didn't think their prices were real high, but I could definitely find things cheaper elsewhere.

It was always the high shipping charge that drove me away from buying from them.

Biggest complaints with Gander Mtn my friends and I have had is 'out of stocks' on sale items, and lack of qualified sales people.

I was in there briefly a couple of times and did not think they were in the class with Cabela's or Bass Pro. More like the K-Mart of outfitters.

Soo... I am not surprised they did not make it.

yeah, prices on sale items were ok. I bought a pair of Keen boots. Otherwise, not so much. Cary, NC store is only a few years old - I don't know if that is the Raleigh store they mention or there is an actual Raleigh store.

In my opinion all three, Cabelas, Bass, Gander, are cool to visit but their prices for most stuff is high unless you catch a decent sale. These days when you can find most stuff online cheaper and hassle free (gas, parking, traffic) places like Cabelas become a touristy thing to do on a rainy day more than a go to store to shop at.

They're closing the one at 2100 Village Market Pl. in Morrisville.

Phil

heard of this business. It's interesting to me, to see businesses driven out, based on how society has changed, technology, etc. At the same time, it's fascinating to see how the opposite has happened to some (lucky I might add), that are in old businesses. The old fashioned owner becomes wealthy as a result. One that I just saw this week relates to the USPS (one could say that is a very old core type of business). This was started in 1961 and sold at multiples (as opposed to going out of business)..

Does this surprise anyone? They're prices are not even in the ballpark of being competitive with other B&M stores and with amazon it's often cheaper to order something and have it overnighted than going to Gander Mtn

these larger stores put the smaller ones out of business years ago and then bigger business put these guys out of business I wonder who will put amazon out of business ? in a way its not to bad each one sells for less but sells so much they make a lot of money, the consumer controls that realm because they go where its cheaper ! its to bad we cant control politicians and pharmaceuticals and oil that way the whole world would be a nicer place .

Although the thread is somewhat informative, doesn't it fit better into a different forum than this one for Garmin discussions?

Means we can talk about pretty much anything.

I moved it to open talk.

~Angela

There is always talk about Amazon putting B&M out of business, I don’t think its always Amazon. Some organization are not able to compete in the real world. Consider what has been said here; “there prices were not competitive”. I think a bigger issue is when there is no stock availability for an advertised item. My favorite is Sales & WiFi.

A national chain that was almost put out of business because of a failed “Apple Type” business plan has a coupon sale. To get the coupon you need to get it off your smartphone. The WiFi in the store is so bad you can’t connect. You are checking out and told to get the coupon while they wait. Except the folks behind you want to murder you while you fumble with your phone for the coupon. Frustrated you buy without the coupon and leave the store. Only later to find the coupon outside using the Malls WiFi. You go back to get the discount.
If the store invested $2.00 in better WiFi you could have saved them the costs of redoing the purchase.
So the Amazon excuse may not be the real culprit.

...a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly, the parking lot was fairly empty. Maybe that is one reason they are going out of business.

I would guess Dick's Sporting Goods won't be too far behind. The local store has very little customer traffic.

Brick and mortar stores are having a difficult time competing with the Internet. The way of shopping has changed radically over the past 5 or 6 years with both the pricing and the convenience of having it delivered to your door. The convenience and selection of a catalog is what's driving the change, that and the free shipping from many outlets. The thing missing from Internet shopping is the instant gratification of taking your new thingy home with the swipe of the card.

When I buy something, I usually know what I want and don't like to substitute. Although I like to give my local brick and mortar stores my business, I have been frustrated more than once when after driving to or calling all the local stores I find that none of them have the exact item I want. So I end up ordering from amazon or another online retailer, usually getting it cheaper with free shipping, and often having my exact item in hand in less than a week.

With Amazon Prime some things can be delivered the same day, if you spend $35 or more and order early enough in the day, about as close as you can get that I'm aware of.

True but even that is getting to be less and less of an issue. When I had amazon prime (it was free for students) if you ordered it today, it would be on your doorstep tomorrow for a small extra fee (I think it was about $3 then) or in 2 days for free. If I wanted the instant gratification, I ordered it today at lunch, and by the time I got home from class the next day it would be there. It saved me the trip after class to go to the store through traffic, wait in line, drive back by which time I might not have time to set up and play with my shiny new toy anyways. Versues the next day when I got home it'd be waiting for me for $3 extra which often was still cheaper than B&M Stores.