Any close out sales yet?  

I might go this weekend just to see if anything is posted yet.

Saw someone holding a store closing sign by the Madison gander about an hour ago.

Seen the signs for Janesville tonight. Went inside. Website says EVERTYTHING including firearms are being discounted. Go inside and they have a sign on the counter "Firearms NOT included in discount". Most things were 10% off very few 15%. Didn't see one thing with 30% (may had been somewhere but I didn't see any). Personally I think they jacked their prices then discounted. Even pmags at 10% off were more expensive than Cabelas normal price. GM wanted $19.99 for a gen 3 30 rnd Pmag. Minus 10% and its $17.99. Cabelas has the same one for $14.99 NORMAL PRICE. I could had sworn they were $15-16 2 weeks ago at GM.

Thinking of getting a couple more boxes of arrows or finding a different brand.

Big thread on GD. You won't find anything, really, at discount. Their discount prices are above everyone else's normal price.

The reason they are closing is because of their pricing policy. The only purchase I made was a Kahr cm9 that they price matched. Their price was $499, price matched  Fleet Farm at $349. Of course when I asked them to price match and showed the counter guy the online price he had to call Fleet Farm to verify. While he was calling I looked in the cabinets and saw a used cm9 for $519. I asked him if that was normal to charge more for a used gun than new, he told me yes that's normal.

Exactly... there undoing was always there pricing.... always.

Good riddance....Free Market wins

The only B&M I go to is fleet farm these days. I'll stop at Cabelas to brows but rarely buy anything.

Thought when Cabelas moved into Sun Prairie the competition would be good.

It was blatantly obvious to everyone except the GM corporate that they HAD to change if they wanted to survive.  Their stores seem to have much lower overhead so you'd think they'd have the opportunity to be a price leader.  But nope, in their infinite wisdom they chose to maintain the failing business model, maintain their high price policy and just expected customers would bend.  Brilliant decision over there at corporate.  Maybe they got too complacent after clearing the shelves of overpriced firearms during the Obama panics.    

I didn't see the Madison GM on the official closing list, but I can't see how they can stay in business.  The indoor shooting range was nice while it lasted.

They won't be missed.  

Once in a while, I would buy socks at GM, but that's about it.

Yes, they failed because of pricing. I'm not smart enough to see the end game here but I'd bet this is just some kind of a real estate tax shelter for someone. That, or their CFO is a third grader.

A massive 5% discount on guns

Gander Mountain ...... When the dregs of the gun show go brick-and-mortar.

I've been in several locations over a span of years and always walked out sour because EVERY SINGLE THING I looked at was wildly over priced. Each time I was muttering, "I don't need any of this crap THAT bad."
They were dependent on consumer ignorance for every purchase. I think a generation of folks had it in their mind that GM was the place to patronize for hunting and outdoor stuff. They just went there and paid whatever the asking price was. Apparently you can coast on that for quite a while, but how can you have a business growth strategy where you need to proliferate ignorance?

Their best deals were on clothing.  Every black friday, the only reason to go there was for shirts and jackets.

And still freaking overpriced. The LCR .38 I was looking at "on sale" is $479 after the "discount". Dam Road has it for $445 as a normal price. Wasn't packed at the Janesville store today. Overheard lots of people laughing at their prices.

Back in the 1980s & early 90s, before internet shopping, I would get 3 catalogs of hunting & fishing items. Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain. Back in those days, you ordered by telephone, and each of the "big 3" had one, maybe two, retail outlets. Gander was only in Wilmot WI, Cabelas - only in Sidney NE, Bass Pro - only in Missouri. I remember it was big news in the outdoor world when Cabelas built their 2nd store in Prarie du Chien WI. Believe it or not, in those days of mostly catalog shopping and ordering by phone, GM was always just a wee bit cheaper for the same item than the other 2. And as shipping price was based on distance, I almost always bought from GM. I loved going to their outlet store in Wilmot for some super deals...seriously, they had good deals.

That all changed when they went big time for brick & mortar stores and discontinued their catalog sales (mid 1990s). And when the internet took off for the other 2 shortly after, GM jumped back in the online game, but too late with their customers getting baraged with catalogs & sales fliers in the mail by the other 2. They had all that money tied up in all those buildings that they had to pay for.... so up goes the prices. I would go to their Wausau area store just to see stuff in person (nothing else like that available in the north), then go home and see who was cheaper...Cabelas or Bass Pro (adding on shipping was still cheaper than GM). Every once in awhile, they had the best price when a sale was on. But not often enough to keep them afloat.

My old buddy Bill used to run that Gander in Mosinee...but yeah the brick and mortar stores trying to imitate Cabela's is what killed 'em...that and they were perfectly positioned to jump from catalog kings to the internet and missed it completely...

That's business for ya...imagine all the geeks back then who saw the internet coming and the old "mustache Petes" who were in positions of power to make it happen and scoffed at the ones who knew...

Sad really

Brick and mortar stores really have to step up their game in the modern days of internet and smart phones.

Often times I see a "Blow Out" price on something.  Before I do the impulse buy I pull out the phone, scan the bar code and see all the places the sell it for a better price.

Germantown had all clothes 40% off. Got some decent prices on UA stuff. Guns were 15% off but pretty picked over

Clothes should go even lower-they have the highest mark-up of anything in any store.

I doubt you'll see "real" deep closeout pricing.  When it gets to a certain point, a wholesaler will sweep in and buy everything they have for one low price.  

But it doesn't mean I'm not watching and hoping.

A Liquidator already owns the inventory from what they were saying.

Picked up a S&W 642 snub nose Thursday for $384. Firearms at Janesville were 15% off. Heard yesterday they are now 20%, but didn't go there to see for myself.

Brookfield store was 15% off on Friday.  they were still getting more Kimbers in and other handguns......I broke down and got a Micro 9.  It was the Desert Tan with Laser Grips out the door for $680 (including taxes, state fee)....and no waiting for it to arrive.

I heard it was CDNN

V
OUT

I've been stopping by the Janesville store about once a week to see when the prices will really drop. The inventory doesn't seem to be changing much. They have added a bunch of cheap crap such as emoji pillows and dollar store quality clothing.

There are also signs on the doors indicating they are hiring. I don't know what to make of that.

Probably going today with a friend. He bought a Ruger AR556 (1st ar) there yesterday and is going today to look at ammo and a case. Wanna see if they have a holster I like for the S&W snubnose I bought Thursday.

Madison has reloading supplies 25% off.  Now the 250 count TopBrass 300 blackout brass is actually cheaper than Cabelas regular price, $45/52 and about at the better internet prices.

I got one bag.  Their prices are so high it will take about 35% off before I think I'm actually winning.

Tony