Cabela's

Full review


Ask any serious hunting enthusiast a simple question like, "What's your favorite store to stock up on hunting accessories and wares?" and chances are you are going to get a ton of different answers. Some have said that Cabela's takes forever to ship items or that their prices aren't as competitive as others but come on now, those two statements can be said about almost every type of store whether retail or online. Cabela's is one of the biggest names in hunting gear but they do sell more than that; when I saw that they had some Under Armour clothing on sale, I had to hop on over to the site and check it out. The only time that I recommend buying any type of clothing from an online store is if you've purchased similar clothing in the past and know how it is going to fit. Since I already have several of the Under Armour ColdGear compression shirts, when I saw that they had one in the Mossy Oak motif, I knew that this might come in extremely handy when doe and buck season arrives. Even more so if the weather is going to be freezing in the morning and warmer than usual in the afternoon.

Cabela's Selection

Thanks to the nifty sidebar section, you can make your way around the site pretty easily. The main sections give you a good idea of where you might find what you are looking for and the search function is pretty accurate with results. While most of what they sell is geared towards outdoor activities they do have a wide selection of clothing for everyone in the family including some of the coolest hunting outfits for infants through youth sizes. Who in their right mind would take their kid hunting? You would be surprised. Since Annabelle is part Eskimo [she has to be, as soon as it starts snowing, she is outside] I ordered her a pair of Frost Defender bib overalls to keep her warm. She had a pair of these last year and really liked them but thanks to a growth spurt, they are about two inches too short for her. The kid's section carries a lot of great things but if you are on a budget or love to find a bargain, before you add stuff you to your cart [you can remove items at any time] you will want to head on over to the Bargain Cave.

The selection, in my opinion, is about average when you compare it to other sites that sell the same things but if all you are looking for is hunting gear, you might be better off with places like Gander Mountain. That's not to say that you aren't going to find most of what you are looking for at Cabela's but they stock a wide variety of things and there are times when you are looking for something 'specific' that might be too 'specific' for them to carry. I really hope that makes sense because I am having a hard time trying to find a way to explain what I am getting at. So far all the things that we've purchased have arrived on time and in good condition and the clothing is super comfy to wear in the winter months. I like they way that the site is designed and that you do get a good bit of information about the things that are listed and you can sign up to get a free newsletter. While they do offer their own Visa card, I opted to not apply for one even with the gifts that they were offering at the time. Why? It's nothing against them but I can totally see me raking it up to an obscene amount in short order.

I'm Asking Santa For This!

Even though I just got a new bow set up about two years ago, this year I am going to hop up on Santa's lap and tell him all about the Bowtech's Diamond Rapture Bow Kit. I won't bore you with the details about it but I do want to use this product as an example. If you search online for this bow chances are you are going to see it for a little less than what Cabela's offers it for [now selling for $399.99 for the bow and $479.99 for the kit]. So what's the point of all this? If you aren't careful you might just end up getting ripped off. A few other sites make it sound like you are getting the kit by the way that they describe it and the price would surely make you think that you are getting a nice set up package but it isn't until you get the bottom of the product listing that you find out that you are just getting the bow. That means you are paying about $75.00 more for something that you can get at Cabela's for less. Thankfully Cabela's lists everything clearly and customer service is there to answer any questions that you may have before ordering.

[You can sneak a peek of what I've been dreaming of here:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/Pod/03/89/41/p038941vr05.jpg]

Shipping

Cabela's ships within the United States and Canada as well as overseas. To try and explain their shipping fee schedule would take me the better part of an hour but you can find a ballpark price at the website. There are some things that do get zapped with an oversize shipping fee, this is when it's best to try to find a retail location that sells it so you don’t have to pay extra. Shipping fees are calculated by the dollar amount of your order but as I said, there are things that will cost more to ship. Most of my orders have been in the $80.00 range so shipping was usually about ten dollars for ground service. You can have things expedited if you want to pay extra but if you are a smart shopper you'll know to not wait until the last minute to order things.

Return Policy

Everything that they sell is backed with a 100% guarantee that you will be satisfied and if you aren't you can return it. Shipping fees are not refundable unless it was their mistake or it was damaged. This runs in conjunction with their warranty policy; they will replace or exchange anything that becomes defective. The only exception to this is items that have a warranty from the manufacturer. I've never had any problems with things that I have ordered from the website but it is nice to know that they stand behind the things that they sell. Make sure that you hang on to all your packing slips in case you need to return or exchange something; all the necessary information is printed on it and it will help to reduce the amount of processing time. There are some things that can't be returned like sale or clearance items, but that is the standard for most online stores.

The Bottom Line

If you do anything involving the outdoors then chances are Cabela's is a familiar name; if not, you need to check out the website to see what they have to offer. Any time I've contact customer service via an email or on the phone I got great information and was never turfed off to some voice mail system to wait forever. I order from this company every few months when I absolutely positively have to have something that they carry but can't find it locally. Shipping prices aren’t obscene and they do have a good return policy. I won’t say that this is the best online store because I haven't had a chance to shop at some of their major competitors but I will say this, there are a hell of a lot of other companies out there that could learn a thing or two from Cabela's


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2006 Freak369