Any Gander Mountain Alumni Here?

[OutAtTheEdge]

I've been thinking about this awhile and finally decided to do it.

I spent over 15 years working for Gander Mountain, full time in the gun department, then again briefly when they reopened under the Gander Outdoors name. I imagine there are a few members here who spent some time there as well, and I thought it might be fun to touch base.

Personally, I spent my whole career in the Appleton, WI store #130. At the time they closed the doors, it was the oldest continuously operating store in the chain.

I'd appreciate it if we can keep this thread on the positive side. No one knows better than I do how many ups and downs the company had, just like every other large retail chain. Still, I spent a big chunk of my life there, and have many fond memories. Now I'm wondering if anybody here would like to reminisce.

 

[Bald1]

Gander Mt was a big deal when it came to Tonawanda NY (Buffalo). I particularly liked their archery department. Guys were knowledgeable and would make minor repairs at no charge. When they went out of business I bought a lot of stuff. Then they reopened for a couple yrs. And when they went out of business again, I bought a lot of stuff again. Their coolers were great. As good as any Yeti.

 

[arjay]

I visited the store in Northglenn,Co quite a few times.They had a great selection compared to most of the other stores here.
I still have the 3x9 Burris on my Ruger 17 hmr,but I sold the Ruger Mark III

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

Gander Mt was a big deal when it came to Tonawanda NY (Buffalo)....

One of the great things about working at Gander, especially as a dedicated gun guy, was the ability to search used gun inventory across the company, and arrange for transfer if the store agreed. Among my best acquisitions is a 4-screw M17 I located at the Tonawanda store. I called and was told the gun was in practically new condition, and they agreed to send it because it had been there for months with no customer interest. Well, they sent it, and I was amazed to find this all original gun in 98% condition, marked down to $199.97!

Yeah. Still got it.

 

[12Magnums]

Miss Gander Mountain also

I am betting money you and I have met. I spent many hours in the gun dept. at Gander Mountain in Appleton Wi. It was my go to place for looking at guns. I purchased new and used and always had good service. Thank you

 

[Baxter6551]

I was not an employee but a customer of the store in Middletown NY. I had (still have) the Gander Mastercard and used my Gander bucks to get ammo etc on the way to Catskills for hunting. Bought my hunting licenses there also. Always managed to find some bargains. Got my safe there on sale. Pleasant employees. Good selection of merchandise. Had no idea they were closing or I would have gone for the sales. I miss the store. There is a Bass Pro near me. I don’t bother going.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

I am betting money you and I have met. I spent many hours in the gun dept. at Gander Mountain in Appleton Wi. It was my go to place for looking at guns. I purchased new and used and always had good service. Thank you

Seems likely that we have met. For the most part, the team members I worked with offered outstanding customer service.

 

[Chuck24]

Turned the one in Mechanicsville, Va into Greentop after it closed. The area was kind of saturated with Greentop across the street and Bass Pro and Cabellas within a couple of miles

 

[GypsmJim]

Gander Mt was a big deal when it came to Tonawanda NY (Buffalo). I particularly liked their archery department. Guys were knowledgeable and would make minor repairs at no charge. When they went out of business I bought a lot of stuff. Then they reopened for a couple yrs. And when they went out of business again, I bought a lot of stuff again. Their coolers were great. As good as any Yeti.

I bought an unfired Pre-27 there for $295. I believe it was mismarked (should have been $1295). It took a while until they would release it (computer issue), but they couldn't say no.

A year later I bought a Pre-14 there for $250.

Years ago when they had a catalog, I had a friend in Wisconsin that was their catalog manager. I bought most of my archery equipment thru him at discount prices.

I cried when they went out of business.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

...Years ago when they had a catalog, I had a friend in Wisconsin that was their catalog manager. I bought most of my archery equipment thru him at discount prices.

In Wilmot, I imagine. Before working for the company, I was a sales rep and I called on the catalog buyers there.

I cried when they went out of business.

Me too...me too.

 

[GypsmJim]

In Wilmot, I imagine. Before working for the company, I was a sales rep and I called on the catalog buyers there.

Me too...me too.

I left my long standing job in 2002 after they shut down the office. When I cleaned out my desk I saved a bunch of mementos for posterity. I often called Gander on my lunch hour to order stuff. I still have old Herter's catalogs as well...

 

[walter o]

HERE IN.w.Indiana my wife and I would make a weekly visit to Gander Mttheir line of clothing far surpassed what Bass Pro now sells.and i bought a few Smiths from them.Sad to have seen them close

 

[wood714]

I've bought a couple scopes, and a good amount of ammo from the now gone Gander Mountain that was in St. Augustine right off 95.

It was also the place I'd meet people from Jax to buy, sell or trade guns...out in the parking lot.

 

[kev74]

I was not an employee but a customer of the store in Middletown NY. I had (still have) the Gander Mastercard and used my Gander bucks to get ammo etc on the way to Catskills for hunting. Bought my hunting licenses there also. Always managed to find some bargains. Got my safe there on sale. Pleasant employees. Good selection of merchandise. Had no idea they were closing or I would have gone for the sales. I miss the store. There is a Bass Pro near me. I don’t bother going.

I live about 20 minutes from where the Middletown store was. I spent a lot of time and money there. I bought several guns, lots of ammo and a bunch of clothes there. I still have the guns and most of the clothes, and maybe some ammo.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I have a question. How did they price guns? Was it throwing darts or rolling dice? There was one store in North Houston and what they were not giving away they were very proud of.

 

[beach elvis]

5 years at the Reynoldsburg, OH store.
2001-2006.
A lot of the other employees there were my second family.
A couple of us still hang out about once a month.
I still miss a lot of the others.

 

[target tech]

My first 3 “ k frame came from the Gander Mountain in Woodbury, MN back in ‘98 or so. Super helpful guy behind the counter asked what I was looking for. They had nothing in the case, but he got on the computer and found a brand new 65LS in a Wisconsin store somewhere that had been marked down because they had been sitting on it for a long while. He had it sent to the Woodbury store and when I went to pick it up, S&W was running a coupon that was supposed to be used on “accessories”. The guy behind the counter put it towards the gun anyhow and I think I got that gun for less than 300 bucks. One of the best gun buying experiences ever.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

I have a question. How did they price guns? Was it throwing darts or rolling dice? There was one store in North Houston and what they were not giving away they were very proud of.

Assuming you're asking about used guns? That's a good question that I've had occasion to put a lot of thought into.

At one point Gander had something like 150 stores, and I suppose on average each store had maybe 5 employees who were authorized to appraise and price trade-ins, with varying degrees of expertise. Some were very good at it and some were less so. We were supplied with the current Blue Books, of course, and had internet access. We'd consult with other employees, and everyone had their own opinions. Sometimes exact models would be misidentified, condition was poorly estimated, customers would argue and intimidate, managers would intervene in order to "make the sale", and so on. Then, once a deal had been made and the gun entered into inventory, it took darn near an act of congress to change the price, because we had to make margin, and the whole computer system was set up to make it almost impossible to change a price at the store level.

If you look at some of the appraisal threads posted here from time to time, it's not unusual to see a gun bring estimates with some pretty extreme differences. I just looked at a gun on an auction site that I thought was under-performing. A quick look at GB showed the recent sale of a virtual twin for just under $800, while Blue Book of Gun Values valued it at $1200-1300. And speaking of "the book", I have frequently seen it give retail values for clean used guns that were quite a bit higher than the current sale prices for the same gun brand new, particularly when there were rebates and promos involved.

About 2010 or 2011, IIRC, Gander started putting much of their used gun inventory online. To do so, they opted to gather selected guns from each store. Every week or so, they would go through the computer listing, and send out lists of the guns each store was required to ship to a warehouse in North Carolina. There, each gun was photographed for posting on the website. Sales were pretty good, but it became immediately obvious that there were some pretty glaring description errors and price discrepancies. So, in November of 2012, they looked around the company and recruited three experienced employees to fly to NC to reappraise and evaluate the entire current warehouse inventory, about 1200 guns. I was on that team. It started out as a hell of an adventure, but after several days, we were glad to have it done with.

So, yes, there were some very odd used gun prices seen at Gander Mountain over the years. I hope this puts it into perspective just a bit.

 

[TheHobbyist]

First, congrats on 15 years. That is a big accomplishment. Job, well done!

I have bought a few over the years from them or another big box outdoor store. Generally, I go to retailers if there is something new or an advancement in bow technology, which happens fairly regularly.

 

[Jonzim]

I didn't work there but fondly remember going to the store in Wilmot, WI. We would show the clerk an item from the catalog and they would have to bring it out from the warehouse in the back. Not sure if it was one of their first stores or not. There were only a few things on display.
Sad day when they closed the doors nationwide.