Cabelas killing the name of SIR? Cabelas Sucks

[Shopteacher]

So I have a Savage 340 and I want to purchase a scope mount for it. I haven't ordered anything from SIR Mailorder in a long time so I was surprised to find they were bought out by cabelas. So I call cabelas and ask them questions like can you send me a catalog, are you continuing to carry their (SIR) items, what do you have for Scope mounts and rings. Litteraly the people on the phone said they would send me a catalog which they did not, have no idea what SIR was, the manager I talked to next did but informed me he has no idea if they are carrying anything SIR did.

So after wating like almost 2 months I never got a catalog and got no help from Cabelas. Whats the deal, anyone know why they don't seem to care? I personally think they bought SIR just to kill it to get rid of competion

[Duk Dog]

Here you are.

http://www.cabelas.ca/

[30-378-magnum]

go to cabelas.ca you can order online or find what you want and order by phone [ hasnt been sir for at least two years]

[Devilbear]

I was informed sometime ago, that Cabela's had a specifically Canadian catalogue and it was from their S.I.R. operation. I called and my experience was the same as yours; I agree with your conclusion.

I tend to try to deal at local and small stores for ALL of my gear needs and I find, here in the Lower Mainland, that Reliable Gun, Italian Sports and Mountain Magic in South Surrey can and do give me equal prices, better service and a generally superior store atmosphere to the "big guys".

Sooooo, trying to save a buck is maybe not always the best option, here.

[cainer]

I've ordered a couple of things from the canadian site and get their catalog in the mail once or twice a year. So far they've been pretty good. It did take them a while to send the catalog though.

[Gateholio]

I was on the SIR mailing list and I continue to be on the Cabelas Canadian mailing list for both US and Canadian stores.

Way better catalogue and way better selection of items now.

Just go online and pick up what you want to buy, and hit the request a cataloge button.

SIR was never one of my favorite companies to deal with, too much stuff on back order, they seem to be a bit better now as Cabelas.

[ROEBUCK]

i think its improved since the sir days,but it could not of got any worse! It annoys me that they do not sell the complete cabelas line ,and there website is like the poor relative compared to the usa.not a fan at all which is why i do not shop there!!!

[Chuck]

Well, I for one, used to like SIR simply because they WERE different from Cabelas and Bass Pro Shop. Not because of price difference, but because SIR carried some very odd and hard to find items as well as old stuff that has been out of production for a long time. Now, it seems to be much like all the rest and the only difference will only be the price. Imo.

[Slee]

The canadian cabelas has been awesome to deal with so far and will only get better with time. You cant beat the customer service you get from cabelas in the US. Most of their prices are cheaper the WSS or on par with cabelas.com......

[eastkoot]

Tried to redeem a 120 dollar US gift certificate that was issued over the net in the Canadian SIR store to put towards a scope since US won't ship scopes.. They (the Canadian Store) would not accept it, not even at par !! That sucks..

[#49]

Ive been waiting forever to get a catologue,even phoned a couple times to make sure they got adress right.Still nothing Ive lost intrest now,funny friend of mine gets all catologues and flyers and hasnt bought anything from SIR for years.Probably better places to spend my money,like some of the sponsers here.

[BCLongshot]

Bought a Ruger 10/22 and a few other goodies had nothing but great service.

[Johnnybear]

If they are truly killing the S.I.R. name that is sad. The american brothers sure built up and empire though. Started with mail order fly's in newspapers.

I remember the old S.I.R. catalogues as a kid and they were like the Princess Auto catalogues. Kind of like a paper back book instead of a big magazine. I used to pour over those for hours:grin:.

[pricedo]

I was informed sometime ago, that Cabela's had a specifically Canadian catalogue and it was from their S.I.R. operation. I called and my experience was the same as yours; I agree with your conclusion.

I tend to try to deal at local and small stores for ALL of my gear needs and I find, here in the Lower Mainland, that Reliable Gun, Italian Sports and Mountain Magic in South Surrey can and do give me equal prices, better service and a generally superior store atmosphere to the "big guys".

Sooooo, trying to save a buck is maybe not always the best option, here.

Look at all the products that are available to US customers on w ww.cabelas.com and "on back order":mad: on w ww.cabelas.ca (old SIR in Winnipeg) and it isn't hard to see who gets priority for scare firearms related commodities.

When old Earl Robinson ran SIR Mail Order Canadian customers came first.

[Brew]

Tried to redeem a 120 dollar US gift certificate that was issued over the net in the Canadian SIR store to put towards a scope since US won't ship scopes.. They (the Canadian Store) would not accept it, not even at par !! That sucks..

Yeah I had the same problem. Was pretty ticked off about it because I hate paying the brokerage fees ups charges when your stuff arrives.

[Piperdown]

I find that dealing with cabelas out of the states is much better. Way more selection and knowledge and with the canuck dollar there are savings to be had. In dealing with cabelas Canada, there selection is limited and service has been lame. The only down side is out of the states some goods cannot be shipped to Canada, and when I try to get them out of the Canadian site they don't carry some of these items????

[Kody94]

I was on the SIR mailing list and I continue to be on the Cabelas Canadian mailing list for both US and Canadian stores.

Way better catalogue and way better selection of items now.

Just go online and pick up what you want to buy, and hit the request a cataloge button.

SIR was never one of my favorite companies to deal with, too much stuff on back order, they seem to be a bit better now as Cabelas.

I agree with Gatehouse. SIR was never that great, and Cabelas.ca is better, but still not great.

Cabelas didn't buy SIR to kill competition. They bought it as a way to enter into the Canadian market. It is Cabelas headquarters in Canada.

Personally, I have been disappointed with their service a few times(especially during the first year or two of the takeover), but generally speaking, they have had what I wanted and shipped it right away. They definitely have a better selection now, and right now most of the products are cheaper to buy from Cabelas.ca than from Cabelas.com.

[knighthunter]

Cabela's new store in Edmonton is supposed to be opening in late January 2011. They didn't buy out any other business, this one they've built from scratch. I sure hope this one is better stocked than the Wpg one.

[fester]

Cabelas does suck I miss SIR.

[Sitkaspruce]

Make sure you do check out the prices between the Us and Can stores.

The 1hp grinder is the same price up here as it is down there. Might be a typo on the Cat, but that what it says. Some other stuff is more expensive, but not by much.

I usually will cruise all the stores and see who has the best price, but only if I cannot find it on the multiple buy and sell sites on all the hunt/fish forums.

Cheers

SS

[Kody94]

Make sure you do check out the prices between the Us and Can stores.

The 1hp grinder is the same price up here as it is down there. Might be a typo on the Cat, but that what it says. Some other stuff is more expensive, but not by much.

I usually will cruise all the stores and see who has the best price, but only if I cannot find it on the multiple buy and sell sites on all the hunt/fish forums.

Cheers

SS

That's the case with many things in their catalogue or on-line store right now. Once you factor in exchange, possible duty and international shipping, its usually cheaper to order from Cabelas.ca (if they have it in stock).

[Ron.C]

I've bought a gun, sabots, and several other items from Cabelas Canada Mail order during the last two years. I had one issue with the wrong sabots being shipped. When I called back to complain, I was shipped a gift certificate that was more than worth the slight inconvenience I went through.

I got better service from Cabeleas Canada then a certain local store in Victoria where I went in a spoke to the staff face to face.

[landphil]

I make the occasional order and have had acceptable service, both when it was SIR and now as Cabelas.ca. The only issue I had was with a Cabela's brand rimfire scope that failed while sitting in the safe, or transporting in a case in the truck. They did give me a store credit for the full amount, but it was a little painful to get to that point. I still do business there, always online shopping/ordering.

[Wolfman]

I gotta say that I too used to buy from SIR and never had a problem - yet I have also done a fair bit of biz with Cabela's Canada and they have always delivered the goods - no problemo.

[Rob]

Cabelas has been great to us. We have ordered quite a bit of stuff from them over the years, bedding, drapes,prints plus hunting/camping gear with great service. I ordered a J107 a couple days ago and she threw in free shipping even though their promo said free shipping in the U.S only.

[pricedo]

SIR was never one of my favorite companies to deal with, too much stuff on back order.

And Cabelas Canada is different because?:rolleyes:

Check their website lately.

It's "on backorder" from start to finish.

Hope Santa dropped by last night and left them some sporting goods.

[J_T]

Cabelas Winnipeg is 1 block from my office there. I go there every Friday night and cruise the store. What you find in the store is not always what you find online or in the catalogue. Products they offer in Canada are not the same list as they offer in the states. No big deal, just manage expectation.

It's a great store, if I have to spend time in a large store I'll take a flawed Cabelas over any Zellers, Walmart, Can Tire, any day.

[kgs]

never had a problem found staff to be helpful get catalog fall summer spring. relatively low shipping charges. keep trying

[Gateholio]

And Cabelas Canada is different because?:rolleyes:

Check their website lately.

It's "on backorder" from start to finish.

Hope Santa dropped by last night and left them some sporting goods.

I only bother looking at a US company if I can't get somethign from a Canadian company first.

Virtually all my needs are met by shopping with OSFS so I probably haven't looked at the Cabelas Canada website since this thread was started, over a year ago.

But SIR was likely the very worst mail order sporting goods company I ever dealt with, so I doubt it's gotten worse. Thier catalogue was horrible, too.

[One Shot]

Look at all the products that are available to US customers on w ww.cabelas.com and "on back order":mad: on w ww.cabelas.ca (old SIR in Winnipeg) and it isn't hard to see who gets priority for scare firearms related commodities.

When old Earl Robinson ran SIR Mail Order Canadian customers came first.

It is not really Cabela's, it is the import/export rules that the two goverments have put into place making it difficult for retailers both sides of the border particularly for shooting related items. They just cannot ship single items back and forth like they can between stores, the economics are not there so there are forced to ship in bulk meaning a wait for some items to come in. I have noticed less inventory on the shelves in the US as well. An employee in the Mitchell SD this year told me they started to reduced inventory levels three years ago to reduce costs.

[Johnnybear]

It is not really Cabela's, it is the import/export rules that the two goverments have put into place making it difficult for retailers both sides of the border particularly for shooting related items. They just cannot ship single items back and forth like they can between stores, the economics are not there so there are forced to ship in bulk meaning a wait for some items to come in. I have noticed less inventory on the shelves in the US as well. An employee in the Mitchell SD this year told me they started to reduced inventory levels three years ago to reduce costs.

Good post One Shot. I think alot of companies have limited their inventory due to the economic situation of late.

[pricedo]

I only bother looking at a US company if I can't get somethign from a Canadian company first.

Virtually all my needs are met by shopping with OSFS so I probably haven't looked at the Cabelas Canada website since this thread was started, over a year ago.

But SIR was likely the very worst mail order sporting goods company I ever dealt with, so I doubt it's gotten worse. Thier catalogue was horrible, too.

I'm not as patriotic as you. All else being equal I shop wherever the goods are cheapest.

I sometimes found stuff in the SIR catalog I couldn't find elsewhere.

Cabelas delivery and service are satisfactory if they have the stuff.

The problem is that anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of their ammo & reloading stuff is "on backorder" at any given time.

[Gateholio]

I'm not as patriotic as you. All else being equal I shop wherever the goods are cheapest.

I sometimes found stuff in the SIR catalog I couldn't find elsewhere.

Cabelas delivery and service are satisfactory if they have the stuff.

The problem is that anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of their ammo & reloading stuff is "on backorder" at any given time.

That is why it's so great dealing with OSFS. Great prices, they have stuff in stock or actually tell you when it will arrive.

Don't get that level of service form the big box stores most of th time. Never ever got it with SIR,that is for sure...:wink:

[pricedo]

That is why it's so great dealing with OSFS. Great prices, they have stuff in stock or actually tell you when it will arrive.

Don't get that level of service form the big box stores most of th time. Never ever got it with SIR,that is for sure...:wink:

It's also too bad that the Liberals persecuted all our homegrown Canadian shooting goods manufacturers out of business like Dominion & C-I-L.

Still have a brand new unopened box of the old Sabre Tip cartridges (.308 Win.) with the Crappy Tire price sticker still on it.

SIR had its faults but I still hated to see another Canadian shooting suppliers business go.

[aliagha]

order the catalog online, i got mine in two weeks

[Piperdown]

Was looking for Irish Setter Elk Tracker Boots, Cabelas Canada, $335, Redwing shoes $336, both taxes in no shipping, Cabelas USA $208 shipped taxes included. I find there is a major price differance between the Canad and US prices, way cheaper in the US. Oh by the way the Elk Trackers are still on sale :biggrin: