Cabela's..The Last Straw

I’ve read the other posts about the drop in quality, drop in customer service, general decline at Cabela’s but today I had my turn and it’s my last. I bought a 7 foot Tournament series rod 5 years ago…loved the rod. I snapped the tip off this W.E. no big deal life warranty. Dug through my draws, found my receipt and off to Cabela’s, wait in line, present my rod and receipt. I’m sorry sir, since Bass Pro bought us we no longer honer life time warrantees. This is a broken tip not a manufacturer’s defect. Wait. I bought this rod with a life time warranty and now the rules are changed. “I’m sorry sir would you like to speak with a manager”.. No, can I borrow your scissors, cut my Cabela’s card and left. It will not make any difference but I’m done. Where is the closest Scheels ?

You are right, it won’t make a difference until, it does. Companies rely on repeat sales. When the sales stop you must acquire more buyers.

Much like the NFL boycott where because of Kapernick you had 100’s or 100’s of people claim they won’t watch another NFL game. Those folks are back. Most who complain about Cabela’s / Bass Pro will also be back. Hopefully you find what you need at Scheels or you can try Joe’s which will be much closer for you.

Joes has always done right by me. Good sales, knowledgeable staff, and they stock some of the best gear from multiple brands.

“Most who complain about Cabela’s / Bass Pro will also be back. ”

True, but it’s a matter of preference. There was a time when Cabela’s would be the FIRST place I’d look for something. Now they’re way down the list, and I’m no longer surprised when they come up short. Other places, like Joe’s, are getting first crack at my money.

S.R.

Had almost an identical experience when I went to exchange my Cabela’s rod a couple weeks ago. They had me talk to a manager who, in the end, let me exchange the rod for a new one. You could tell the customer service workers were almost embarrassed to have to explain that the lifetime warranty was now done with and they weren’t even supposed to honor old product from before the buyout. That’s fine. The only reason I bought Cabela’s brand gear was for the lifetime warranty. Luckily we have plenty of choices. Like others have said, Joe’s has always treated me great.

If I get five years out of a rod and break it, it was my fault…..

I’ve never broken a rod that I could blame on manufacturing. Each one was from my own negligence.

Not to change the subject but scheels doesn’t offer lifetime warranties on their rods anymore. I think it is 3-5 years depending on the model. They replaced one of mine that was a year old this spring but warned me of the change and seems like they are honoring past sales. In general I am very happy with the few scheels rods I do have.

B-man wrote:

If I get five years out of a rod and break it, it was my fault…..

I’ve never broken a rod that I could blame on manufacturing. Each one was from my own negligence.

Finally. Someone who speaks my language. I’ve never used a fishing rod warranty and have broken one rod in the last 20 years. Take care of your stuff.

Please post the warranty language here. Rarely do you see a warranty that covers user negligence.

I’m with Biggill. If I had a warranty like that I’d just break the tip every year and get a replacement.

mplspug wrote:

I’m with Biggill. If I had a warranty like that I’d just break the tip every year and get a replacement.

Count me as member of that club also. If I mess up and break something due my negligence, it’s all on me. Just the way I was brought up.

If something such as a fishing rod worked fine for 5 years, and then just snapped, the rod obviously was not defective.

I have had several rods with “custom actions”, strange guide placement, and odd ball lengths. It was all my fault, I broke the tip so I ended up gluing on a replacement and kept using the rod anyway. It works.

S.R.

In my opinion, Some rod manufacturers have been overly generous with their warranty programs in the past. Replacing a rod due to negligence, not defective materials or workmanship, is one reason rod prices have risen to current levels.

A few years ago a buddy and I were loading our boats up to head to a rental cabin on an island (Vermillion).

He was stepping into the boat with a case of water and tripped. He and the case of water landed on a stack of rods (no rod locker) and he broke a brand new, never used, nice Fenwick.

Sucked, and I felt his pain. With my tongue in cheek, I asked if he was going to use the warranty

He smiled back and said “F-no, that ones on me.”

It kills me, but there are people that would expect a free replacement for that. Fishing rods are fragile, be careful with them.

Why do you guys act like the money is coming out of your own pocket?

Company offers a program, people use it and you consider it foolish?

Don’t give the “well it’s built into the pricing so we all pay for it BS”, if they quit the warranty anyone who thinks the prices of their rods would lower is kidding themselves.

To the OP that’s unfortunate they wouldn’t back up the promise that was given to you by the store. Maybe one more notch on the prior owners crap belt on not taking care of their customers even after they’re gone. That could’ve been in the deal.

As far as cabelas is concerned, I never liked shopping there, ever. Their selection has always been subpar and prices have never been worth the trip. The negative experiences shared here for many years confirms mine.

I’ve never shopped at scheels but I would if it was convenient. I’d honestly drive the extra hour and a half to go to Marine General than cabelas.

Deuces wrote:

Why do you guys act like the money is coming out of your own pocket?

Company offers a program, people use it and you consider it foolish?

It’s just the way I think I guess.

I don’t think it’s foolish, but I know the return system in general is abused like hell. Whether it’s something broken by abuse/negligence or something that is no longer needed.

A couple years ago we took a few boats out to Lake Michigan. Went through the checklist with everyone before we went.

One of them didn’t have flares. He said he’d get them right before we left so he could return them right after the trip……I couldn’t believe what I heard.

I shop at Cabelas some, I shop local quite bit, paying extra on a rod, gun, winter depth finder, live bait, ect, to help a local guy stay in business. But I have a hard time paying 9.50 for shad rap. Than its off to Fleet Farm. DK

Does anyone have a copy of the Cabelas “Lifetime Warranty” synopsis? I tried finding it online but couldn’t. I would like to read it before giving my $.02

Deuces wrote:

Don’t give the “well it’s built into the pricing so we all pay for it BS”, if they quit the warranty anyone who thinks the prices of their rods would lower is kidding themselves.

Well, it is, isn’t it? That’s ok. Again, I don’t shop there so I don’t have to worry about it.

Nobody suggested they would lower their prices. If a product fails to turn a profit, you raise the price or quit offering it. So if they continue to support a high number of warranty claims, it must be profitable. So yes, everyone is paying for it.

Deuces wrote:

Why do you guys act like the money is coming out of your own pocket?

For me it’s not about the money. I don’t thinks anyone, except you, even brought up “money”. It’s about the principle “taking responsibility for one’s own actions”. If I break an item, any item, due to my negligence, I feel a personal obligated to own it.

As for the money, nothing is free, the consumer eventually pays for all costs associated with a product.

On the flip side why would a manufacturer have a lifetime warranty on the rod blank? I could see 2-3 years. Maybe life time on the guides.

I did use a warranty recently. First use of my Penn rod I snapped it going through mangroves. I had to spend $20 on an upgrade because they said the rod was only sold as a combo.

Not sure if it was the blank or negligence. I was pulling the line straight down to keep it tight. Rods aren’t meant to handle a load straight down, but I feel like I barely put a load on it.

On the other hand, there are fly rods out there that sell for $800 or $1000. The components are slightly better than less expensive rods. But if anything they’re lighter and thinner, making them considerably more fragile. I have a very hard time believing that the extra money spent on one of these rods results in any more fish caught and landed. I can cast just as accurately and just as far with a $100 rod. So what are you paying for? That extra money is for the “free lifetime warranty”. And if you don’t break your rod, you’re subsidizing the guy that does. It strikes me as more marketing and less to do with fishing.

S.R.

I had warranty work done on a Shimano rod last fall when it snapped about a foot from the tip on a hookset of a very average sized smallmouth. Wasn’t even really a hootset, I was using a finesse swimbait and felt the hit and reeled down to it and until it hooked and then it snapped.

Sometimes perfectly good rods fail. I’ve had it happen and so have others. Not everyone abuses these warranties and I would imagine it really pisses a guy off when companies won’t fix their rods when they do fail.

And just for reference my rod was only 2 months old.

Dutchboy wrote:

Most who complain about Cabela’s / Bass Pro will also be back.

Or they’ll go to Amazon. It’s a rare item that I can only buy at Cabela’s.

When Capital One bought the Cabela’s credit card I went from Black level to not using it at all essentially overnight. And when I stopped using my Cabela’s credit card I pretty much shopping at Cabela’s because I no longer had points to pull me in. Now it’s just once or twice a year before hunting season and Christmas.

I’ll try to make this easy..I bought the rod because/with a life time warrantee. I broke the tip, it was my fault. They decided to “no longer honer the warrantee”. That is it. Find me a moron that would proposely snap a tip off my/his favorite rod for the promise of a replacement.

joemama wrote:

I’ll try to make this easy..I bought the rod because/with a life time warrantee. I broke the tip, it was my fault.

And yet you still don’t understand.

Lets say it was a vehicle instead of a fishing rod. You purchased said vehicle specifically because it has a ten year bumper to bumper warranty.
Two years into ownership, you slide into a tree and break off part of the plastic bumper.

No worries, the vehicle has a ten year bumper to bumper warranty, right?

No, most reasonable folks are going to realize this is not a warranty claim. It appears you may be confused between insurance coverage as opposed to warranty coverage.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>joemama wrote:</div>
I’ll try to make this easy..I bought the rod because/with a life time warrantee. I broke the tip, it was my fault.

And yet you still don’t understand.

What doesn’t he understand Dave? That rod manufacturers offer warranties for negligence AND defects?

I’m all for principles and taking responsibilities for ones actions but honest to God we as fisherman are judging others for using programs that are out there solely for this reason. We aren’t talking about an outboard engine, or bicycles, or chuck e cheese game passes, it’s a freaking fishing rod that goes in and out of trucks, trunks, rod storage, rod racks, thru woods and backs of bikes. They break, $hit happens, they can deny a claim as well let’s remember.

You need to also know what the warranty covers. Heck, you could drive over your Craftsman tool and it was covered no questions asked. If you dropped your Craftsman tape measure off the third story cause you were careless and it was your fault, it was still covered no question asked.

Was this their intent with these rods????

Lots of manufacturers have a accidental breakage cover. And they give you a new rod for half off or what ever there deal is. I’ve used that before. It was written in the warranty that way

I swear to Zeus, some of y’all must be looking for an excuse to argue about ANYTHING. The harder you try to make your point the sillier you look. Comparing a vehicle to a fishing rod…

paging Jules Winfield and Vincent Vega for a convo about foot rubs and… well, you know the rest.

Also: if you let a warranty be a deciding factor in any major purchase… These things are written by lawyers with the intent of denying as many claims as possible. There are some very minor exceptions with small companies that do right by their customers. Otherwise… NOPE.