Cabela's

Full review
Waiting until mid-January to buy a pair of snow boots in New York City is not smart. Needless to say, the stylish yet utilitarian Merrell pair that I was looking for was sold out in every department store, boutique, and online retailer with which I was familiar. That was until I went to Merrell.com, and they pointed me to Cabela's. At Cabela's, I was able to find a pair of these sought-for boots, and at a pretty good price I might add. I ordered them with no problem and they shipped within a couple of days. Easy! That was until I received the shoes. The boots were exactly what I wanted, but after paying some pretty steep shipping costs, Cabela's didn't even put the shoebox into a brown cardboard shipping box. Nope. It merely wrapped some clear tape around the flimsy shoebox a couple of times, slapped a shipping sticker on it, and off it went from Illinois to New York City. What landed on my office desk was a beat-up, dirty shoebox for all of my colleagues to view. Needless to say, the suede boots became significantly de-sueded with all of the friction and shaking from the long trip. Granted, they're for recreational purposes mainly, so I didn't think it necessary for me to return them. I did, however, want Cabela's to know that this type of shipping wasn't common business practice. But when I called, the salesperson simply told me that "The warehouse makes the decision whether or not ship the shoes in separate shipping box." What the heck does that mean? "The" warehouse? Who actually runs this show? For all future Cabela's shoppers - you would definitely shop here because of the merchandise availability, but I highly suggest that you call up ahead and time and request how you want your item packed and shipped to you.