OT. Sears Canada is done

Frank posted for all of us...

When I was first starting my working life I had purchased a tach dwell meter. I cracked the face. Meter still worked but impossible to read due to cracks. Went to sears parts (when they had them) with my meter and showed the lady what I wanted and ordered it. She throws all the pieces on top and shoves it in the box. I say wait a minute. The meter is toast. Needle off the bearings and looking like a limp dick. I complain and eventually she gets the manager whom tells me to take a walk. That was the last time I bought anything of value from them. No more tools unless I needed it at night in an emergency. I had no respect for them and their tools. I got a bunch of tools that were in a fire from a buddy. Gradual replacement. When they asked why they were colored I said they were sitting in oil for an extended period.

They deserve their fate.

Dean Hoffman posted for all of us...

It's a long done deal. The Cabelas I go to has not improved, in fact it's gotten worse in spite of their claim of independence.

A Cabelas clerk told me a couple of weeks ago that they were going to maintain their separate identity. I became disappointed with them since they built a store here a few years ago where I had been a big fan of shopping their catalog. I have a Cabelas card and when the store opened had enough points, 20% off card and gift card to get $200 worth of freebees. I got stuff but not stuff I thought I could get.

Also PITA to buy a gun there. Long story but after at least an hour and a half I walked out and left gun I was buying on the counter. Was hoping Bass Pro might improve them.

Where did they drop the ball? I never bought a gun there but did buy a Kershaw knife. Then I found out it was $10 cheaper at Sportsmans Warehouse and $20 cheaper at Amazon. Anyway it wasn't really ambidextrous. You could move the pocket clip for point up or point down but not for left handed carry. No problem taking it back.

A Sportsmans Warehouse buying a gun takes about 10 minutes, most of which is filling out the 4473 and them calling it in.

rbowman posted for all of us...

Never buy a gun at Cabelas' on a Saturday. Their que for checks runs about an hour. I don't know during the week. I go to a source and get the LE discount.

That's right and you have to get a number to see a clerk which can take a half hour then it is back to check out to wait in line. It was not even a Saturday. Both clerk and checkout spend considerable time looking at ID. At check out you wait to be called and manually enter data into the computer for submission then wait. I made an error in putting Sr. after my name and got rejected by FBI computer. Stupid mistake as any clerk could observe that you were most likely not a Sr. when you got your social security card. Clerk when asked, pointed out error and, had me reenter data and then the FBI computer went down. I was told I could put the gun on layaway and come back later. I asked if they would call me when the computer was up and they said, no, you have to call us. Not only that, I would have to wait in line and reenter the data into the computer. I said screw it and left gun and ammo on counter.

I went to local shop and saw something I wanted and was in and out in 10 minutes. The clerk took down all the data and called the FBI. I told the clerk there about may Cabelas experience. He said if FBI computer was down, he would clear me when it came up and call me to come get the gun. Next day same gun was on sale at Cabelas for $25 cheaper. As far as I am concerned it is not worth that much putting up with their crap.

Also when I was at Cabelas which is in DE with no sale tax, a guy from PA was there buying a long gun there to save sales tax and when he bought it computer was back and he had to return to wait and find out that he could not be cleared and had to leave to have to return a third time. PA border is only 10 miles off but I don't know how far he had to drive. He could have wasted a day and a half's time just to save on sales tax.

Frank posted for all of us...

They would have to shipped it to the Hamburg, PA store as he was not a Delaware resident.

Don't think so for a long gun but it would be so for a pistol.

Back in the past, I would have thought Cabela's might have come to Delaware sooner because of sales tax. Gun shipments make this less attractive. I did not know they were that big on guns until I saw the Hamburg store. I was only there once but bought some archery stuff and had to pay PA sales tax.

Amazon was one that came early. Amazon would pay the tax that state it was shipped to but some states want Amazon to pay tax for their state too if shipped from there.

Some days it seems like half the cars in shopping center parking lots are out of state. I'm only 3 miles from the PA border. I don't like to stop at DE stores close to the border as prices seem higher. Even gas tax is 20-30 cents a gallon more in PA and I find the gas stations closer to the PA border charge 10 cents a gallon more than those further away.

PA residents also buy booze in DE and MD. If they take it home they are supposed to pay tax and PA has sent revenuers to DE and MD to watch and see if their residents buy booze and drive back to PA. Been some fights between MD liquor store owners and PA revenuers.

Frank posted for all of us...

PA has the highest gas tax in the nation, thanks to the gov. He can't get a balanced budget because he wants to spend more...

Border wars have been going on as long as taxes. I used to work in MA and the gas is about 25 cents cheaper there than CT. I also passed a couple of liquor stores on the way home too.

Years ago I lived in PA, across the bridge from NJ. Same thing, lots of PS tags in the parking lots, especially on Sunday when blue laws were in effect. NH has a state liquor store right on Rt 95 at the border.

When I lived in NH I would sometimes shop at the Kittery Trading post in Kittery ME. They had it down to a science. They had a storefront in Portsmouth NH that was nothing but a desk and phone. A clerk would drive across the bridge with the firearm, deliver it, lock up the storefront and go back. It took about 10 minutes.

Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us...

When I went North for vacation I found this particularly amusing. PA wants to hide the stores and CT has them in the open.

rbowman posted for all of us...

I have been there. I had my head up my ass so I didn't think about firearms then.

I lived in Dover, NH so it was convenient. It also didn't have that yuppie feel the L.L.Bean turned into. I remember it in the late '50s as being a decent sporting goods store, nothing fancy. By the late 70's L.L. Bean was IBM's largest installation in the state of Maine.

I don't know when Bean's started to build brick and mortar stores but when I lived there the mothership in Freeport was the only one I knew about and I didn't get up that way very often.

I was back in 2004 and the KTP seemed about the same as it ever was unlike EMS and Eddie Bauer that have turned into clothing stores.

rbowman posted for all of us...

Agree with all that. The first time we saw Beaners we were amazed. It was a culture shock. From country bumpkin to mass marketing in one fell swoop.

They had to do something after foisting Bean Boots on the world. I've got a pair of Sorel's that are the same idea that I rarely wear. They make sense since a lot of northern NY, VT, NH, and ME is a swamp where it isn't a mountain but I was never fond of them.

rbowman posted for all of us...

Ah yes, mud season. I could never get them to fit me as I have an extremely wide foot. Another fad.