I shop at my local archery shop. The owner is personable, friendly and knowledgeable . He always shakes a customers hand . I will buy from cabelas catalog for some items he does not carry in the store. But he does stock most things everyone would need.
If I know exactly what I want, I go the online route, price matters. If it's something I need to see/touch/try on, I hit cabela's or bass pro. Sometimes I use them as a vehicle, as I'll check it out at their store, then order online if it saves me money. If it's a "need it now" item, I'll buy it at one of these places (or walmart, since it's open 24hrs). Cabelas vs Bass pro comes down to if I have cabelas points, and who has the cheapest price online, and whether or not I get extra cabelas points for a purchase. I do a majority of my shopping online because I know amazon has the best price, fast shipping (free if you're a prime member, which I am), a great return policy, and great customer service. I will support my home town bow shop if I can. If I find myself in need of something and I'm in my home town, I'll head over there.
I like going to the local shops until its 2 weeks before the season opens. in those two weeks everyone and thier mothers are in the shops getting those last minute details to thier bows. But I would trust my bow to anyone in a big box store. However, I too shop around for the best prices on gear. I've narrowed down the 2 main places to go for the best deals on hunting cloth and thats Gander MNT and ****s. these two are the only ones who keep dropping the price until it's gone at the end of the season. I only buy cloth in Feb and March as thats when they are marked down for clearence. The only thing I go to Wally world for is to people watch.
I shop local all I can. Bow stuff, lumber, auto parts, etc. If you don't support your local shops they die. Once gone you'll be committed to mail order or driving greater distances to get things. Plus it's nice to see these guys on the street and talk about your new purchase. (of course I live in a town of like 4000 people) If I add up all my hunting goodies. Even if I paid 10% more for every item I'm only out a couple hundred bucks. I'm more than willing to give a couple hundred over the years to keep em open. I'm sure that a 10% over deal would add up to MUCH MUCH more for some of you though. I might do some shopping around if I was buying piles of game cams, tree stands, etc.
I want a one stop archerie shop. I want to be able to paper tune,cronigraph,set up arrows try different stuff and have a cupple people behind the counter that now there chit. Then on top of that i want a shop that has targets and turnaments and stuff like that durring the offseason. Now to round out the bissness you cant solely depend on archery id have a bait shop or something to go along with it.
If I can buy it used from the classifieds I go there first. Online second. Sometimes I will go to Deeck's that is close to my house and buy stuff like scent killer.
I like to shop local as much as possible. I see firsthand how it is to compete against the big box stores everyday. The service and knowledge at a local shop generally exceeds that of a chain store. The owner of my archery shop actually designs and sells his own bows alongside the top brands. I would take his advice on a setup or anything archery related over anybody working at Gander or Cabelas just about any day of the week.
Local bow shop I live in the sticks and any big box store is to far for a deal to make any difference. I don't think prices are that different either. At my level(youth bow cause I'm old fat and short) the bow doesn't cost much. It's the rest of the package that hurt my wallet. I also got good info prior about the local shop. The help and coaching I got was invaluble to me. The closest big box store is ****'s Sporting Goods. Gander is an hour away and Cabela's is probably 3 hours away. That's a lot of gas to burn to not be the center of attention:-P
For all my equipment or 90% of it anyway I use my future father in law as he is a PSE dealer in this area. Runs it out of his garage. For all other things I spend a lot of money online at cabelas.
My town doesn't have a true "archery or hunting shop". One of our close family friends had one for a few years but he wanted out of the business so he closed it down. Noone has tried to re-open one. If there was one, I would support it as much as possible. (The discounts he gave me were nice). The best place in town to shop is Dunham's, they typically have great prices but they don't always carry the high end stuff. I will drive an hour away to go to a couple "mom and pop" stores if I'm wanting to see something in person or test it out, and then get good advice from an actual professional. That's for all my bow stuff (bow, arrows, rest, release, etc...) If their price is fair I will buy it from them. Clothes I typically stick with Cabela's online. The closest Cabela's store is a few hours away so I don't drive there. I always look for good deals and having the Cabela's rewards credit card is a plus. If I see something I like in a store and the price is good I will buy it though. I'm not someone who will swear off buying from a place or stick with one place exclusively. This year I've bought hunting supplies from Walmart, Dunham's, Bass Pro, Cabela's, two of the local stores about an hour away, Gander, eBay, Amazon.com, and a few more I'm sure I'm missing. Since I don't have a familiar local shop, I will pretty much buy stuff wherever has the best deals and I feel they give me good customer service.
Anything related to my bow is done at my local archery shop. It doesn't matter if you bring in a 2000$ Mathews Monster Safari or a 100$ Browning from the 70's, he treats you the same. The only things I don't buy from him are fletchings and camo because he doesn't carry them. Everything else I buy from him. Not only is service excellent but he always meets or beats the box stores on price.
