gander guide series expectations????

2 years ago i bought a set of gander guide series canvas chest waders. i have used them a total of 10 times at the most, dock in twice, dock out twice and a few other times working on the sprinkler pump and alike. when finished they were cleaned off and hung up to dry and were ready for the next use. this spring i noticed that there was a dozen or so spots that the canvas was seperating from the rubber, anywhere from the size of a dime to 1 inch X 3 inches. there is 1 spot that has torn, there isn’t a leak yet but there is going to be more rips in the canvas down the road. i took them in to the forest lake store this afternoon (tuesday the 25th) at around 1500. now i understand that i didn’t have a receipt and they were 2 years old. store policy is to have a receipt and no refunds after 90 days. i think i payed around $50 or $60 for them. the girl at the customer service counter was very nice and accommadating, she asked the manager for some help and he didn’t even come over and see what the problem was, he just said we can only give you credit for the cheapst selling chest waders in the store today. i was quoted $29.99. my question is am i expecting to much to have them replaced, as i said this looks to me as a defective product, they should last longer than 2 years. as a side note i was also there to pick up 3006 shells, portable deer stand and a few other items needed for the up comming deer hunt. with all the sporting goods stores around today, reeds in brainerd, the new cabelas which i drive past on my way home from work, there is big compition for my $3000 to $5000 that i spend on hunting, fishing and camping gear every year. am i off base here expecting a replacement set of there “signiture series” waders or should i have taken the $29.99 and applied that towards a new set????…. thanks tom f

I’d take the credit and buy a better pair. Your only out $20 after 2 years of use…not bad. I rarely frequent Gander anymore…bite tounge…I could go on and on!! Like you said, there are other stores out there and I personally prefer “the others”.

BIRDDOG

I don’t think your expectations are out of line Tom. I saw hunting boots returned that looked to have a lots of miles on them. Yet, when the sole lost a chunk or some eyelets busted we always returned them. Sadly you are “fighting” against the jerks that take advantage of good old fashion customer service. I would try a different store to see what the result would be. Worst case, you go back to Gander, get your credit and spend it on something else. Run to Cabelas and buy a new pair there. It’s Gander’s loss.

Personally, I think the offer from Gander was generous. They have a policy that they are willing break in order to satisfy you. Those waders probably have been on sale or clearance over the past few years and you don’t remember how much you paid for them. They are willing to provide you with a brand new set of waders. Granted the $30 pair of waders is far from top of the line but so is the $50 pair of waders you originally purchased. They are willing to accept that you didn’t buy these waders up at a garage sale this summer for $5 and provide you with a more than fair resolution.

To me, if that resolution that Gander provided you is not adaquate to you then they don’t need your business. At least that is how I would look at it if I was a store owner.

Without a recipt and 2 years old I think you got a good deal, I guess I would’ve thrown them and counted my loss personally speaking, there is definate levels of quality to stuff they have, some of which is very good, some is only fair, win some lose some. I highly doubt any other big store would do anything, if even match what gander did.

It also says a lot that politeness can go a long way

when I duck hunted…..I would buy a new pair every other year. Thats about how long they last no matter what I did. I would buy the low end brand and get what I could out of them.

Brave the cold puddlepounder, and just wear shorts and jump in! it’s only 50 deg’s now………

I hope you wont take this personally, but this is what went wrong with Gander Mountain in the first place as to why they are no longer what I would consider a shopable sporting goods facility. Gander Mountain in the good days would take any return for any reason at basically any time frame with or without a receipt and way too many people took advantage of that. The end result was the loss of this once fine company. Aside from the fact I wouldnt buy anything from them anymore, especially a private label item, I think they were more than generous to you. Again, this is only my opinion.

Carpking, It has been my experience that when it comes to wadders, you typicly get 1 year for every $20 you spend on them. ( example: a $100 dollar pair=5 years, and so on….) Now I understand this is far from the Pythagorean Theorem, however, it has held true for me and everyone I’ve hunted with. Therefore, if you get 1/2 more year out of your current set of wadders, then you have met the standard, ($50 wadders = 2.5 years). I don’t think your in that bad of shape. – just my two cents.

i don’t take anything personal carpking. iam just looking for some opinions from those that know best. so far i like kooty’s responce the best. i understand the garage sale thing, but what gets me is, i did buy them, i did store them the proper way, and in my opinion, the 8 or 10 times that i used them were just the break-in period……..tom f

I bought a pair of Cabela’s Gold Series breathable waders. I payed $139.00 plus shipping costs and got two months out of them on the trout waters. I traded them back for a pair of Hodgeman’s that were much cheaper and a pair of hip waders that I use at launch sites. Anyway I could have bought the Hodgemans for about $15.00 cheaper at Gander in Rochester. I like the Guide Series summer rain suit, the Guide Series cold weather rain suit, and my winter Guide Series 4 in 1 coat and bibs. Nothing wrong with Gander in my experiences!

Those bubbles you have are fairly common with waders. I’ve seen them in every pair of Hodgeman waders I’ve had over the years. Aside from the outward appearance, they are still functional, as you said. IMHO, Gander gave you a nice offer since you didn’t have a reciept, they are 2 years old, and they do not leak, meaning you can still use them for their intended purpose.

I think you are doing good if you can get two years out of them personally. Most waders I’ve ever had are only good for 1-2 years. I think they gave you a pretty fair offer too. I know they should last, but fact is, most don’t. You might be able to get a better outcome somewhere else, but really after 2 years and don’t take this the wrong way, if it were my store, I wouldn’t give anything more than they are willing to back and probably wouldn’t give anything. They still work and you have had them for 2 years.

I am having a lot of luck with a pair of Hodgeman neoprenes. Had a few leaks due to fences, etc. But they are nice and toasty warm and rot free!

i guess that my expections were just a little bit to high. i have built a few custom rods for some people, i expect that the guides would stay attached to the rod for longer than 2 years. my point is that i don’t think that the canvas should seperate from the rubber after only 2 years. i can tell you this, when the waders do start to leak, they will replaced with a pair from one of the other stores that is competing for my money. the new cabela’s is on my way home from work just as the fridley gander mountain store is.i can either take the freeway to 101 to 169 or hwy 10 to 169. i will be stopping in at cabela’s tommorow morning and picking up the deer hunting needs. it is out of my system now, no more bashing gander, just won’t spend anymore money there…………..tom f

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i guess that my expections were just a little bit to high. i have built a few custom rods for some people, i expect that the guides would stay attached to the rod for longer than 2 years. my point is that i don’t think that the canvas should seperate from the rubber after only 2 years. i can tell you this, when the waders do start to leak, they will replaced with a pair from one of the other stores that is competing for my money. the new cabela’s is on my way home from work just as the fridley gander mountain store is.i can either take the freeway to 101 to 169 or hwy 10 to 169. i will be stopping in at cabela’s tommorow morning and picking up the deer hunting needs. it is out of my system now, no more bashing gander, just won’t spend anymore money there…………..tom f

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You said it several times already, and I can’t believe you can’t figure it out, your expectations are too high I can’t speak for GanderMountain, nor would I try, but I wish Gander could take back the $30 they should’ve never gave you in the first place. Obviously they did that in good faith to keep you as a customer, but you’re not a customer anymore so why should they care, and to think, I thought good faith should go both ways. Not to mention you did take the $30, then you have the audacity to complain about it.

I was duck hunting last weekend and looked down at my waders and saw the canvas was coming apart from the rubber. They are GM guide series, but this didn’t suprise me. They are a couple of years old and I abuse them pretty hard. I did not purchase them from GM, I purchased them factory direct. Most of the waders are made from the same company.

Tom,
Like I stated before, your expectations are not too high. If you take care of your stuff, then it’s not unreasonable to expect them to last longer than 2 years. If they are only good for 2 years, then the product should state that.

MN,
Who in their right mind buys something, uses it 4 times a year and stores it properly then it fails. Sadly, chalk it up to experience. Life seems full of these little lessons which are typically at the consumers expense.

MN-RST-RIDER
i didn’t take the $29.99. i was very nice and said thank you very much and took the waders and went home. i am not trying to bash gander with this post, just trying to find out if other people are having the same problem and what their opinions are. i have 4 guide series muskie rods that i like, had 1 snap off at the handle while trolling when a muskie hit, they replaced the rod, no questions asked. as i stated, the waders don’t leak yet, the rubber is seperating from the canvas and there is a tare in the canvas in 1 of the bubbles. in my OPINION the waders are defective, the rubber shouldn’t seperate from the rubber after only 10 uses in 2 years. for arguments sake lets say that they were hodgeman brand waders and i had the same problem. being the waders are 2 years old i would contact hodgeman and see if the waders were defective or not and try to work something out. in this case gander is the only contact due to the fact that they are gander guide series brand, there isn’t a company to contact except for gander. after reading some of the responces, it sounds like 2 years is about what to expect. that is why i posted the question, and i can live with the answers. after talking to a few guys at work they thought that the $29.99 was a good deal and i should be happy with that. my expectations were to high, and when i replace them, if the new set lasts longer than 2 years i will have gotten my moneys worth, i think????….tom f

hay kooty, thanks for backing me up on this one, i am buying next time i see ya at hunters point. before you know it will be february and the perch bite will be on…….tom