How do they stay in business?

[empty_nest]

I needed to order a battery box vent cover. Mine has just gotten brittle and broken from years of sun and weather.

Found the exact replacement part on Camping World online store. I'm thinking "super". $5.50 +. Went to order and was floored with better than $15 for shipping. Are you friggin kidding me?? A piece of 4X4" plastic that you can easily stick in a shipping envelope? That is absolute robbery!!

Went to ebay and fouond the same item for $6.49 and FREE shipping.

Camping World is no longer in my "favorites" and will not renew my Good Sam membership if they are going to constantly fleece customers. There are other options!

[Bionic_Man]

I don't think it is just Camping World. I have always been a HUGE fan of Cabelas for pricing, service, and speed of shipping. Like CW, they are now losing on all 3 fronts.

I can buy something on-line, and get very quick shipping with great communication. Or I can order from a traditional brick and mortar, pay more, and take two or three times as long to receive it. I honestly think some of these stores are going to have to change their business practices to regain their competitive edge.

[Desert_Captain]

The OP had every right to express his frustration, including here, on this Forum. Many folks just blindly order from CW, and end up paying too much because they foolishly assumed the CW won't gouge them.

The OP's post has nothing whatsoever to do with the government but was in fact a bit of a public service message for the benefit of those who don't know any better. Good job there....

If I can not trust a merchant to treat me fairly {which includes making a reasonable profit so that they will still be in business down the road}, they simply will never get any more of by money. Getting back to the title of this thread the answer is that they won't. Retailers across the nation have gone under for lesser sins against the consumer than what we are seeing here.

When is the last time you were in a Boat US store? Their business model is/was identical to that of CW. When CW does go under I will miss being able to browse and put my hands on products but that is about all I will miss.... sigh.:R

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice....shame on me.

:S

[K_Charles]

Where did you find free freight on Amazon? Was it where you pay $80 something a year to get "free" freight?

I have amazon prime and it ain't free freight, I also use camping world, also not free freight.

[kalynzoo]

3oaks wrote:

1ofmany wrote:
Guess you can't complain on this site....

Oh, you can complain. Just don't expect sympathy from everyone.

Life goes on. It's much about personal choices we each make. :@

Yup

[3oaks]

1ofmany wrote:
Guess you can't complain on this site....

Oh, you can complain. Just don't expect sympathy from everyone.

Life goes on. It's much about personal choices we each make. :@

[1ofmany]

Guess you can't complain on this site....

[1968mooney]

> How do they stay in business?

Last I heard from all the complainers is "they are going out of business". They should be closing stores as we speak. All their customers are purchasing RV's from Amazon and are getting free shipping plus they build and deliver them sometimes on the same day.
Besides everything Amazon sales is inspected and flawless.

[midnightsadie]

X@ I guess your right nobody twisted my arm and makes me go there, IF I shopped at CW it would be my fault.

[3oaks]

fla-gypsy wrote:
And then I can run down to my local CW and handle the product before I buy and make a good decision which I cannot do with others. They are what they are, bashing them on their forum looks small. Like anything else the savvy buyer wins.

😉

Accept I don't have a local Camping World within hundreds of miles from me. I do visit them if it's convenient while we're on the road. The best well stocked CW I have visited in years, is just a few miles north of Rapid City, SD on I-90.

[kalynzoo]

He needed it, they had it. Shipping is another issue. It could go in an envelop for less than a dollar, but then a few less than honest customers would claim an item was never received...and it only takes a few, and they are out there. So it must be shipped Priority, FedEx, or UPS. The item must be boxed and an employee must supervise the shipping. But for the purchaser it is easy, call and have it shipped, so there is no realization of the costs involved in this process. If you can get it cheaper, Great, do so, and brag. If CW finds sales diminishing it may adjust policy to meet competition. But blaming CW for the cost of doing business just does not seem fair.

[fla-gypsy]

And then I can run down to my local CW and handle the product before I buy and make a good decision which I cannot do with others. They are what they are, bashing them on their forum looks small. Like anything else the savvy buyer wins.

[esyers]

He made is choice. He bought elsewhere. Nothing to do with government.

[4X4Dodger]

darsben wrote:

empty_nest wrote:
I needed to order a battery box vent cover. Mine has just gotten brittle and broken from years of sun and weather.

Found the exact replacement part on Camping World online store. I'm thinking "super". $5.50 +. Went to order and was floored with better than $15 for shipping. Are you friggin kidding me?? A piece of 4X4" plastic that you can easily stick in a shipping envelope? That is absolute robbery!!

Went to ebay and fouond the same item for $6.49 and FREE shipping.

Camping World is no longer in my "favorites" and will not renew my Good Sam membership if they are going to constantly fleece customers. There are other options!

So you are against the free enterprise system where every retailer is free to set their prices without government intervention?
The alternative is government controlled pricing.
MAKE YOUR CHOICE.

Boy talk about straw man arguments and overkill...

Nothing in his post is against the free market system...in fact he showed he supported it by going somewhere else. He has a right to be angry...no one like to be taken advantage of and that shipping cost can certainly be justified as price gouging.

The last time we had government controlled pricing it was during the Nixon administration... Remember wage and price controls???

His comment has nothing to do with that or any other government issue.

But in my view he is totally correct in alerting others to this price gouging especially here on this forum. Information is what makes us all better and smarter consumers and ends the practices his post is addressing.

[darsben]

empty_nest wrote:

darsben wrote:

empty_nest wrote:
I needed to order a battery box vent cover. Mine has just gotten brittle and broken from years of sun and weather.

Found the exact replacement part on Camping World online store. I'm thinking "super". $5.50 +. Went to order and was floored with better than $15 for shipping. Are you friggin kidding me?? A piece of 4X4" plastic that you can easily stick in a shipping envelope? That is absolute robbery!!

Went to ebay and fouond the same item for $6.49 and FREE shipping.

Camping World is no longer in my "favorites" and will not renew my Good Sam membership if they are going to constantly fleece customers. There are other options!

So you are against the free enterprise system where every retailer is free to set their prices without government intervention?
The alternative is government controlled pricing.
MAKE YOUR CHOICE.

What??? What does any of this have to do with the government? The free enterprise system is exactly the point. There are much better options than CW. Shop around!! Had I not paid attention, I'd have been on the hook for an item that cost 3 times to ship than the value of the item.

You are complaining about CW pricing. They are free to set the price.
You posted complaining about their price and calling them robbers.
SO I SAID;
So you are against the free enterprise system where every retailer is free to set their prices without government intervention?
The alternative is government controlled pricing.
MAKE YOUR CHOICE

[Lantley]

The responsibility is on the consumer to do their research and buy accordingly.
There is Amazon, Ebay and a host of internet options. There is CW the only national RV chain. There are local dealers.
Each seller has their own price structure,marketing strategy and business plan. They are not all created equal nor are they striving to be the same.
It's sort of silly to blame the seller if the consumer makes an unwise buying decision.