Closest Gander to me is about 40 mins to an hour, so I don't visit very often. When I did, the store was just a big cluster making it impossible to find anything. Im strictly an online shopper these days with a couple of visits to cabelas every now and then. Actually, I might be going this weekend. Also been talk of a Cabelas getting built around Hagerstown, Maryland which is a 40 minute drive for me. A plumbing company around here got the contract to work on it. Now let's see if it actually happens and when. If that happens, Gander will be out business within a matter of hours.
In a perfect world I would go to the Mom and Pop local sporting goods store in my neighborhood but my dad and I moved from the country years ago and now I am all settled and soon to be married in Chicago. What have I done to myself!?
I have a couple somewhat close to me, and they're both about the same. The one in Terre Haute used to have an awesome live bait section, but now it is a shoe department and their live bait is in a cooler. I went to the one in Greenwood looking for jig heads for tubes, and the pickings were quite slim for the jig heads. I suppose that in a pinch it is an okay place to stop, but with the prices and the declining variety of merchandise I will spend my money elsewhere.
As a former employee of Gander (both corporate and in store) I can say they have fallen from what they once were. I don't believe I have stepped into one of their stores in over a year because their overall selection, prices, customer service and inventory levels suck. I can recall visiting their stores and not having enough money for everything I wanted - far cry from that now. On the other hand you can't beat the quality and selection Cabela's offers. Its obvious they take pride in offering quality gear and realize sportsman want quality gear, selection and customer service. Fleet Farm also serves my needs when I'm not looking for something overly specific and want fair pricing.
I have a Gander and BAss Pro a half hour away and a Cabeleas 45 minutes the other direction. I will take Bass Pro over the other 2. I've just had better luck there. Gander has turned into an over priced clothing store with a gun counter. Cabelas has never had the items in stock that I went for. I used to work at Gander for the catalog order dept back in the 80's. Had to quit because I never made any money, my checks were spent right there in the store. The store had a line of people waiting to get in back then.
I'm an Amazon, Cabelas, or Bass Pro kind of guy - and "Richard's" Sporting Goods for a quick purchase. I don't even know of any Gander Mountains near me.
I never really considered Gander uphill. There is one across the street from my parents house where I grew up and I've spent money there maybe 3 times out of necessity. 100% of my purchases anymore are online. Cheaper pricing, no sales tax, and its sent to your door waiting for you when you get home.
This is so funny this thread showed up. I was just complaining about Gander the other day. The prices are high, the staff is awful. They changed the gun area from being able to hold the used guns to now you have to ask to see each one. They never have prices marked on anything, and every time you ask someone what the price is you get the standard response "Is it not marked on there?" No I just like to see if you know the prices from memory. Idiot.
Yeah the Gander Mountain down here is Peoria, IL got rid of most all hunting, fishing, and camping merchandise. They are primarily selling guns and ammo now. Claiming to be the largest gun store in central IL. I was never a big fan of them, I prefer to go to local shops to help out my community, but if they don't have what I need, then online or Bass Pro.
I live and work close to 3 Gander Mnts. They have all expanded their handgun sections to the point of being absurd, and decreased their archery equipment offerings to the point where I don't even bother with them anymore. They have also expanded the shoe departments? What the heck is that about?
Last time I went in the one on the east side of Cbus they told me they were only going to carry archery items during archery season. That was late September and I found one target in the store so I'm not sure what archery season they were talking about. That was and always will be my last visit to Gander Mtn.
Years ago, Gander was my go-to source for catalog ordering for my hunting needs. (That was before the internet as we know it today.) They had the stuff, and it was good quality at a fair price. I was in the Gander store in Springfield, IL this summer, and they had decent stock of all things hunting, but they can't hold a candle to Cabela's and Bass Pro. Fortunately, I live within a half hour drive of the St. Louis Cabela's, & Bass Pro, and we have a good Rural King store, and Menards, on the Illinois side of the river all within a 20 minute drive of the house.
There is a gander mtn about 45 minutes from here and it sucks. It constantly looks like its being remodeled........but it's not. The store just has no merchandise and what they do have is way overpriced. I'd rather make the 2 hour drive to cabelas any day.
Hmm...the one by me just did a remodel and I was impressed with what they did. Lots more stuff in there now than there was. I don't like that they put the guns behind the counter.
The Gander close to me is kind of high priced and never have knowledgeable people working. I research and know what I want and only go in if I don't have to time to order it or need something spur of the moment and they are close (like when my release broke at a friend's on a Sunday, so I ran over and bought one). I have helped more people in the archery section there than the employees I think over the years haha. No small "mom and pop" stores left around here really. The ones that are around are guns only. I don't hunt with guns so it's online or drive down to Cabela's if I don't want to over pay at Gander for archery stuff .
They are opening a Cabelas 10 minutes outside of Madison, WI in 2015 so that will be nice. It is gonna be close to the new Super Gander they put in a few years ago off the interstate. Hopefully they put them out of business and I can scavenge some good stuff when they have their closing sale! I will have three Cabelas within 2 hours of me which is cool but after visiting the Iowa city Scheels I want one of those! I mostly just shop local stores now though, id rather keep the money local.
