Anybody Else Miss Wholesale Sports?

[brewster29]

I miss WSS. I got some really good customer service and good deals on about 5 guns at the Calgary store. Competition is good for the consumer.

[bezzola]

I sure noticed a difference in cabelas after bass took them over. Especially that red head crap they sell

[fordtruckin]

The way I see it, the more options we have as sportsmen/women the better off we are. There are sporting stores I don't or rarely buy anything from but I still check them out as they each have something different.

[cody j]

I didn’t want wholesale to close and I definitely miss them.

[SamSteele]

Does this mean the forum has given me the green light to start wearing this finally?

[hawk-i]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

This is why I think it is doubly important to patronize places like Fishin Hole and P&D or any other local suppliers . And yes even Cabelas to some extent . If we don’t they will be gone too.
Yes I miss WSS

when's the last time P&D had a sale?

I really enjoy visiting their store but I can't ever remember them have a sale.

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Hoyts was great for sure. I also enjoyed S.I.R. in Winnipeg, I was often in there when I lived there. I think Wholesale actually bought them? And sometimes I miss Wholesale a bit, just not here in GP so much. Service was sometimes good. Sometimes. We have Barton's, Trapper Gord's, Primetime, Bullets and Broadheads, Big Timber Archery, the new Canadian Tire has a pile of stuff as well as a decent gun counter, and Corlanes is just a 90 minute drive as well.I'm ...lots of places to shop here.

S.I.R was bought by Cabelas.

[58thecat]

More so I miss the ma and pa little stores that did it all with regards to hunting, fishing, trapping etc....coffee pot was always on and sticky buns too.....you can sit and chat....never really closed as if your in a binde you can call'em and they would swing by to help ya out.....those are the places I miss.

[1899b]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

This is why I think it is doubly important to patronize places like Fishin Hole and P&D or any other local suppliers . And yes even Cabelas to some extent . If we don’t they will be gone too.
Yes I miss WSS

I agree. That’s why I love Western Gun Parts so much. Locally owned and very very friend..... wait a minute .......

[SamSteele]

Originally Posted by W921

Catalogs! I love Catalogs! I still have some old wholesale sports catalogs down in the basement along with UFAs old catalogs.
Why can't anybody print catalogs anymore and thats crap about it being to expensive. These big outfits know better than what us customers do and its their job to shove this progress down our throats. Everything that used to be possible is to expensive to do anymore.

I have a SIR catalogue from ‘70-‘71 that I found in a pawn shop years ago when I was a kid. Still flip through it occasionally and I see how things have changed.

I think the reason we don’t see catalogues anymore is twofold. 1) Prices are constantly changing due to exchange rates, shipping rates, supply and demand, etc. When you print a catalogue your declaring a price for the year. 2) The internet makes it far quicker to display your inventory and prices while allowing for changes by the day/week/month. As a business, why would I print something that will be outdated by the time I receive it? I’ll make a website and tweak it to maximize profits and reflect actual stock.

For the record, I also miss holding a catalogue and flipping through it but I think those days are long gone. Just like the Sears Wish Book.

SS

[KUDUHNTR]

Miss the fact that I used to be able to take my Dog in there with me, and chit chat with O’l George at the Edmonton store, but that quite a few years ago!

[buckman]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

do you remember a salesman who had no hands there?

I remember him well. He had one arm as far as I recall. Perhaps there was another one with both missing though. One of the original owners I think.

Cant remember the name of another old owner,he worked at all the stores until he passed. He worked the fishing side mostly.

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by buckman

I remember him well. He had one arm as far as I recall. Perhaps there was another one with both missing though. One of the original owners I think.

Cant remember the name of another old owner,he worked at all the stores until he passed. He worked the fishing side mostly.

been a lot of years. if he was as accident prone as I am it probably was 2 hands. or maybe just shock clouding my memory. I think I may have blacked out in embarrassment at the time Ive never felt worse!

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by hawk-i

when's the last time P&D had a sale?

I really enjoy visiting their store but I can't ever remember them have a sale.

If you watch the prices , usually P&D’s prices on firearms are better than Cabelas even when Cabelas has a sale. I find them competitive on price for most things and they have that edge, where the person behind the counters knows what they are talking about.

[32-40win]

Frenchy/Barotto's was a good place to deal in for me, up until they moved to the last store and it was run by the UFA. I used to be able to go in and find stuff you wouldn't normally see anywhere else in western Canada, and do a bit of horsetrading there on occasion. The internet has changed retailing, and they were slow on the uptake to an extent, and the shortages of product in the gun stuff in the Obama years didn't help out them any. Even with that, as long as you were patient, it would eventually show up in stock. With them being gone now, I've bought some stuff at other vendors around town, if they had what I wanted, but have also bought stuff all across N. America, even in the UK, on the net. There are some good vendors out there, just not so well acquainted with the more local area as WSS was. Nowadays I check it out locally, if they have it, and will buy it locally if the price is close to what I can get it for landed here. Other times I just choke on it and order it online, pay what I have to pay to get it, from wherever.

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

S.I.R was bought by Cabelas.

I knew it was one of the Bigs....S.I.R. Was a good store, I remember getting a great sale on a Pelican flashlight there, still have it....

[W921]

Originally Posted by SamSteele

I have a SIR catalogue from ‘70-‘71 that I found in a pawn shop years ago when I was a kid. Still flip through it occasionally and I see how things have changed.

I think the reason we don’t see catalogues anymore is twofold. 1) Prices are constantly changing due to exchange rates, shipping rates, supply and demand, etc. When you print a catalogue your declaring a price for the year. 2) The internet makes it far quicker to display your inventory and prices while allowing for changes by the day/week/month. As a business, why would I print something that will be outdated by the time I receive it? I’ll make a website and tweak it to maximize profits and reflect actual st

SS

So when I go into small local auto parts retailers and there are no prices on the stock on the shelves or when I order parts and they quote me a price and then when it comes in and its a higher price thats the reason?
Remember when everything in a store had its own price tag?

[catnthehat]

I used to hit WSS whenever I went to Edmonton if I could , and Zp&X and the Shootist as well , usually hit CX Shooters on the way home .
Now that Canadian Tire has an outstanding store up here (well until he flood anyway!) o can get everything I need here.
Our store should be back open in August.
Cat

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I used to hit WSS whenever I went to Edmonton if I could , and Zp&X and the Shootist as well , usually hit CX Shooters on the way home .
Now that Canadian Tire has an outstanding store up here (well until he flood anyway!) o can get everything I need here.
Our store should be back open in August.
Cat

I can't believe they haven't moved that store. It has been flooded at least 5 or 6 times, maybe more. You would think it would be far cheaper to just move up the hill. For such a well run store that really sticks out as odd to me.

[dfrobert]

Yup. Had excellent service there over the years and found some
Excellent sales. Blake in the fishing section was top shelf to deal with. Once had a 2 year old Shimano break on a fly-in trip. Brought it in and he handed me a new off the shelf reel and he looked after the warranty stuff. Had Clay in the fly fishing section hand tie me unreal Salmon flys and Pike flys. Good luck finding that service at BPS or Cabela.

Camo 50% off, ruger 10/22 Stainless laminate for $299, Citori 625 For $1800, the list goes on, they had great sales.

Miss there selection and variety. I could take my bird dog in there and the staff loved seeing that. It’s a shame they closed shop.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Dean2

I can't believe they haven't moved that store. It has been flooded at least 5 or 6 times, maybe more. You would think it would be far cheaper to just move up the hill. For such a well run store that really sticks out as odd to me.

The outdoor store is not part of the hardware store Dean, it is a little higher but is still flooded .
Wallmart incidentally, did not get water in their doors, even though the water was pretty high,and were able to open up fairly quickly!
Cat

[WinefredCommander]

Sure do and I loathe UFA for running it into the ground with their **** poor management.

[cranky]

I sure didnt want WSS to close. I always felt comfortable stopping in occasionally even just to shoot a little BS now and then. Lotsa product and price was good. Clay and/or Reid always seemed to have answers to my questions and time to chat a bit.

Lots mentioned about other stores on here so will mention speaking of Reid and Clay above. They can be found at Reids Fly Shop over by the Boot Factory. Still a good place to stop by and chat.

[Smoky buck]

Just like any chain some locations were great and others not so much. It all depended on the staff they hired for the location. This also goes for the small ma and pa shops too.

You can order anything online these days and find good prices. When it comes to a brick and mortar store the staffs level of customer service is what makes the difference

[kujoseto]

WSS had great sales (maybe that’s why they went out of business??? Haha)
Their selection on reloading components and equipment was amazing. Aisle upon aisle of it in stock.
They also had great selection of outdoor gear and covered the bases in all the hunting and fishing fairly well.

[270person]

Originally Posted by 1899b

I agree. That’s why I love Western Gun Parts so much. Locally owned and very very friend..... wait a minute .......

Ain't that the truth. Such a smiley place.

Woman gave me crap for walking in there 2 weeks ago. Didnt you see the sign saying to stay outside and wait for me to let you in,? No. There is no sign. Oh, it must have fallen off. Not my problem then right,? Well we have an 84 year old working in the back,

Why?

Probably never go in there again. Ridiculous prices anyways.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by 1899b

I agree. That’s why I love Western Gun Parts so much. Locally owned and very very friend..... wait a minute .......

Well played!

[1899b]

Originally Posted by sns2

Well played!

They have a great shop though and have some amazing gems for parts that I often need so I begrudgingly go there, be nice and polite in hopes they don’t make me feel too ashamed for being there in the first place...

[1899b]

Originally Posted by 270person

Ain't that the truth. Such a smiley place.

Woman gave me crap for walking in there 2 weeks ago. Didnt you see the sign saying to stay outside and wait for me to let you in,? No. There is no sign. Oh, it must have fallen off. Not my problem then right,? Well we have an 84 year old working in the back,

Why?

Probably never go in there again. Ridiculous prices anyways.

You got the ol WGP experience right there. That’s the way she goes...

[walleyechaser]

Having to order everything is fine when one can plan, but sometimes a guy is a little impulsive and needs it today. During these times I miss WSS immensely. Here in Lethbridge we have no good options for fishing. Canadian tire has more frogs, spiders and other lures than decent trout and walleye. Finding large sinkers and sturgeon gear is a no go. Paying $6 per sinker at the local gun store just feels wrong, when I usually pay $3 at most. I dont mind paying a little more to support local, but double is a no go. Makes no sense at all. Lethbridge needs a good fishing and hunting store that can handle more stock. Almost wondering how a fishin hole would do here. Although having a actual store front is just not feasible for small business now a days, i doubt that we will get a bass pro or cabelas sized store here.