Sportsman's Warehouse

[paulgt2164]

it brings back memories of the same "hmmmm - this ain't good... " feeling that I got walking into Fry's Electronics about 6 months before they went under.

The whole thing with Fry's was hilariously sad. The inventory kept decreasing - yet management was adamant in telling everyone (including employees) that it was fine and they were reorganizing or something.

I really miss the one that was near me - as it was the only place in town I could get component level electronics, and it was nice having somewhere I could buy stuff like solder, 3d printer supply, proto/breadboards, etc

[338lapua]

I noticed the same stuff. The gun counter has turned over a few times in the last year. What is very noticeable is the decrease in inventory. I asked one of the clerks about it and he got a weird look on his face and then repeated what sounded like a canned answer about "supply chain issues and lack of available product..." Yeah... I'm skeptical... they are spreading out shelves (like 8 foot walkways between them in some spaces - it brings back memories of the same "hmmmm - this ain't good... " feeling that I got walking into Fry's Electronics about 6 months before they went under.

The gun industry is run on allocation these days. Everyone gets some but nobody is ever fully stocked. I went to Cabelas last month looking for powder and their gun counter had the least number of guns I had seen since Sandy Hook went down. No new production added either for many years. We go through these things and then we are fully stocked again for a while until the next tragedy or war happens.

[Old Jeff H]

Part of the problem is us. We want online pricing at a retail space that has everything in stock with the best service. It isn't going to happen, we can only get 2 out of those 4 things. We got to pick, cheap and in stock=mediocre service. Good service and cheap prices=very little in stock. Good service and lots in stock=not cheapest pricing.

I don't know. SW used to have all 4. Even in the times when stock was thin, we still got the other 3. It didn't matter if I went to the Mesa, Tucson, Phoenix, or Las Vegas store, they were all great.

They're not even remotely competitive to me anymore, especially in pricing and customer service. And by customer service I mean the entire staff used to acknowledge you, smile, treat you like you were valuable customer, etc. The gun counter guys really knew their stuff.

I'm guessing the shift from where they were to where they are now comes from the top down.

But maybe you're right. Maybe it's because we've accepted that it doesn't matter where we go, we're probably going to get crappy service. Perhaps the "Quiet Quitting" trend is what this country is all about now. And that's where we are the problem, because we allow and tolerate these non-stop baby steps toward mediocrity, and away from what used to make us great.

[brandonsmash]

I'd suggest that in addition to the shift towards shopping online, decreasing helpfulness and service contributes to the decline of places like SW.

The last 3 (maybe 4) times I've been in there I've been interested in spending several hundred dollars on firearms. Every single time I've walked out without spending a dime because, primarily, the staff hasn't even been interested in giving me the time of day. If staff is visible they're just standing around talking with each other. Most of the time they don't even acknowledge me at the counter, with or without a ticket and when the store is or is not busy.

Look, if you're going to make it that hard for me to give you my money, fine, I'll just go elsewhere.

[BigNate]

I noticed the same stuff. The gun counter has turned over a few times in the last year. What is very noticeable is the decrease in inventory. I asked one of the clerks about it and he got a weird look on his face and then repeated what sounded like a canned answer about "supply chain issues and lack of available product..." Yeah... I'm skeptical... they are spreading out shelves (like 8 foot walkways between them in some spaces - it brings back memories of the same "hmmmm - this ain't good... " feeling that I got walking into Fry's Electronics about 6 months before they went under.

The gun industry is run on allocation these days. Everyone gets some but nobody is ever fully stocked. I went to Cabelas last month looking for powder and their gun counter had the least number of guns I had seen since Sandy Hook went down. No new production added either for many years. We go through these things and then we are fully stocked again for a while until the next tragedy or war happens.

Their gun shelves look pretty well stocked... it's the rest of the store that is looking more sparse...

[BigNate]

it brings back memories of the same "hmmmm - this ain't good... " feeling that I got walking into Fry's Electronics about 6 months before they went under.

The whole thing with Fry's was hilariously sad. The inventory kept decreasing - yet management was adamant in telling everyone (including employees) that it was fine and they were reorganizing or something.

I really miss the one that was near me - as it was the only place in town I could get component level electronics, and it was nice having somewhere I could buy stuff like solder, 3d printer supply, proto/breadboards, etc

Yup - same here... I used to be at the one on Thunderbird near I-17 at least once every couple of weeks... The first couple of times I got the "everything's fine - it's just supply chain..." response I bought it. When I got the same answer at Sportsman's a week or so ago - I couldn't help but to remember Fry's...

[hackopt]

I like healy.

[SupportTheSecond]

My first and last time I went to the local one I was ready to spend about 3K on a variety of weapons I was looking at. The counter person said, "Nope we don't have any of what you're looking for and have no idea when we will". Ok, I left and ordered everything I wanted from Tombstone Tactical and had them sent to my neighborhood FFL.

My experience was definitely less than stellar at SW.

[Quake_Guy]

They were having great deals and coupons valid on firearms when they were in talks to get bought by Bass Pro. I suspect they wanted to juice revenues going into the deal. When that got shot down by the justice department, deals and coupons evaporated.

Honestly they are convenient and the clothes and camping selection is decent too, but would not be surprised if they weren't around in a few years.

[mtptwo]

I like healy.

Healy is great if you are looking for a gun. Anything else on the shelves is laughingly over priced, and if you need help for a holster or something, you're out of luck.