Bass Pro Shops to acquire Cabela's

[quote]Bass Pro Shops said on Monday it will acquire Cabela's Inc ([URL="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=CAB.N"]CAB.N[/URL]) for $5.5 billion, combining two meccas for outdoor enthusiasts, even as the deal may face antitrust scrutiny given that the hunting and fishing retailers overlap in several U.S. states.
The deal, first reported by Reuters, will combine Cabela's 85 stores, which have a stronger U.S. Northwest presence, with Bass Pro's roughly 100 stores that are concentrated in the U.S. Southeast.[/quote]

[URL]http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cabela-s-m-a-basspro-idUSKCN12318H[/URL]

This has been in the works for over a year, seen the posts on other sites, but after hearing about it not sure how I feel about it, people have BPS and Cabelas credit cards with points on them, just wondering how it will work. I am sure prices will rise on the stuff we purchase since there is little to no competition.

I buy very little from either of these two stores due to their high costs already. There are plenty of places to buy from. I'm kind of surprised that they are still in business.
But I do stop by to look at merchandise before I buy it other places.
I bought a motor XI5 guide motor this past spring, if I had bought through them with all of the components even with their rebates I would have spent $400 than from another source.

I've been reading the Cabelas Catalog for over 30 maybe 40 years and the BPS catalogs as long as they have been around. But I never heard about Gander Mountain until I came to this forum. Some of the guys from up around Indy always talked about this Gander Mountain Store. I had no idea what they were talking about for a long time. I guessed it was a sporting goods store but had never seen one before.

That changed here in Evansville, IN when Gander Mountain built their store here. I do a lot of shopping there. I like to be able to see what I'm buying and hold it before making the purchase. So the brick and motor stores are where I like to shop. Now form time to time I'll order something online from either Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops.

I too worry about combining the two stores and it reduced the completion and may lead to higher prices. I'm not sure that Gander Mountain is big enough to help lower the prices that BPS charges. I hope it does but I'm not sure.

I wish we had either one of those two here in Evansville, IN. I have to drive all they way to Louisville, KY area to see the Bass Pro Shop. Does Cabelas have a store in IN or KY?

There is one in Louisville, and one in Bowling Green. The one in Bowling Green seems to have more fishing related stuff than the one in Louisville.

Any of you guys remember Herters? that was the first catalog I remember, black and white.Then there was netcraft. There were more catalogs, but mostly retailers got them. I knew a guy who built fishing rods, he was able to order from the manufactuer, and he let a few of us guys look at his catalog and order special blanks. That was in the goodole days, when fiber glass was king.The best rod I ever made was a 7.5 ft st croix blank. I got 2 of them. One I left whole, the other I ferruled, I had a3 ft butt section and a long front, That rod is still in existence, though i no longer own it. I also made 2 13 ft noodle rods that were for slamon and steel head fishing.