Camping World Changing Names

[Dutch Star Don]

Many years ago, Camping World was one of the few places to get RV accessories. Now, you can pretty much get what you need anywhere. Again, many years ago they sent out a survey asking what they could do to meet the RVer's need. My suggestion.....have common RV parts in stock, like wall thermostats, common refer pats, common heater parts etc. They never improved their inventory. They only sell add on stuff and now a lot of pet supplies. A lot of bad decisions on the part of CW management over the years. Like many businesses, they ask for input as a marketing ploy, but don't ever listen.

[1st-tt2018]

Originally Posted by J_T

I was told by a Gander Outdoors employee that my local store (Mentor OH) will have RV's on the lot by July 2019. I see they already have an area ready for such a thing. I trust the guy, he's family.

There is a gander outdoors just north of syracuse ny. They were all set up with TT in the lot, sales tables, signage, the while nine. My DW and I went in When we were hunting hoping to get some info and prices....well there we're no sales people. We inquired and were told that gander did not have the proper permits pulled and the county shut the rv sales down. Apparently the ducks were not just not in a row, but not even in the area!

[cwk]

Originally Posted by redhooker

I had read a few articles earlier this year that camping world was planning on re-opening old Gander Mountain stores as “Gander RV”. They stated this was to enlarge their footprint in new markets. Well apparently that plan may be changing, as the store in Saint Augustine has taken down all the Camping World signage and replaced it with Gander RV. The people working there said they will no longer be identified as camping world.

Yesterday, on a local TV station (Jacksonville, FL TV station; close to St. Augustine), we saw an advertisement for the name change. Evidently they are spending some marketing money on this change.

[Bamaman]

Their stock was down 7.31% today, a flat day in the Dow Jones Average. The Street doesn't like them. Retail customers seldom have anything nice to say about them either.

Camping World has gone all over the country and purchased many, many great, established RV dealerships--changing the name. The way they purchased such great stores was by offering the long time owners more money than they could afford to turn down. C/W paid more than the stores were actually worth. That's bad business.

They run Camping World like so many of the big national automobile/truck dealership chains. Make a big profit on front end, in parts and service and get the retail customer for a big profit on the back end--Doc Fees, F&I, ESP, etc. They institute lofty sales and profit goals, and if they're not met the managers and salesmen are shown the door. So many of the old RV salesmen are no longer working at Camping World, as they couldn't stand the pressure.

It really gets down to where this is a numbers operation. The RV business has always been a person to person relationship business. And retail customers see through the slam and jam methods of doing business.

What gets me is the arrogance of Camping World and Mr. Lemonus. They actually think they know what they're doing in the retail RV business. They don't. If a customer complaint gets through to home office, don't expect any wholehearted assistance to solve the problem. That's not how a successful business operates.

[LDK1]

I contacted Mr Lemonis in February related to warranty service issues on my 2019 Aria motorhome on a Sunday afternoon. Within 2 hours he contacted me with a pledge to personally make sure my issues were addressed. He followed through and service improved 180 degrees and I am a happy camper.

[akeagle]

After buying our motorhome about a year and a half ago I placed several orders with Camping World to improve our new rig. I saw that they offered free shipping in the continental U.S. but in Alaska we're accustomed to paying extra for shipping and thus I didn't quibble over the shipping costs. (You'd be amazed that in this day and age there are quite a few businesses that don't know Alaska is actually a state and not an overseas foreign country and some even refuse to ship here.) I cringed at the shipping costs for those orders but I liked the convenience of the "one stop shopping", so I grudgingly accepted it.

Fast forward to last fall I ordered three of the insulating cushions for the roof vents and another shall item, all of which weighed eight pounds and the ordered items' cost was about $75.00 with shipping of around $30.00 as the online order indicated. The acknowledgement email confirmed the order but said the shipping charge required an unspecified adjustment which I accepted. When the order arrived I saw that the shipping charge was just under $60.00.

I called CW to complain but the response was that they were locked into a contract with UPS and there was nothing they could do. I reminded them that Alaska is a state and Anchorage is also served by USPS and huge sorting facilities of UPS and FED/EX, and there was no reason for such exorbitant shipping costs, and that while Alaskans understand that companies shouldn't have to lose money on shipping, there is something wrong with expecting Alaskans to pay excessive shipping costs while CW customers in the Lower-48 are paying NO shipping costs. CW's customer service said they understood what I was saying and for my next order with them I should call them for other less costly shipping options.

Fast forward again to about three weeks ago I wanted to order a replacement window with shade for the entry door. CW had the best retail price I could find, just under $80.00. I called CW, explaining the issue I had with the previous order, and asked if they had established the "less costly shipping options" mentioned previously. After being on hold for a few minutes they came back on and said the shipping would be about $80.00. I indicated that was not acceptable and asked about USPS at one of its low cost rates, since I wasn't in a particular hurry to receive the order. After a couple more minutes on hold they came back on to say the USPS charge would be about $75.00. I then said to cancel the order and I would make other arrangements to get the window.

My DW then reminded me that we were members of Amazon Prime. When I looked up the window on Amazon (the exact same window from the same manufacturer) the cost was about $94.00 with no shipping charge. I immediately placed the order with Amazon, saving around $60.00 over Camping World.

I may never order from CW again, whatever their new name might be.

[redhooker]

Whenever we shop at Camping World, or Gander as the case may now be, we have to be on the internet while in the store. Generally, one in every five items we get the price on the shelf is double or triple the price on the CW website. They will honor the internet pricing but if you don’t know or look you will pay much more than you should.

I believe this is due to the fact that internet shoppers can easily compare prices with Amazon or elsewhere, requiring CW to be more competitive online. Recenty bought a 100 foot roll of trim bead, priced on the shelf $44-online $17. Showed the girl at register and she adjusted it down. Crazy way to do business if you ask me.

[akeagle]

Originally Posted by redhooker

Whenever we shop at Camping World, or Gander as the case may now be, we have to be on the internet while in the store. Generally, one in every five items we get the price on the shelf is double or triple the price on the CW website. They will honor the internet pricing but if you don’t know or look you will pay much more than you should.

I believe this is due to the fact that internet shoppers can easily compare prices with Amazon or elsewhere, requiring CW to be more competitive online. Recenty bought a 100 foot roll of trim bead, priced on the shelf $44-online $17. Showed the girl at register and she adjusted it down. Crazy way to do business if you ask me.

We encountered that too. Before our trip from Alaska to Indiana we ordered two fan vents for the roof for $188.00 each. We liked them so much that we went to a CW store in Indianapolis to get another one for the bathroom and the in-store price was well over $300.00. I got online to show them the internet price and they matched it without question.

Apparently part of their pricing strategy is to fleece the non internet savvy buyers.

[momdoc]

It sounds like their pricing follows the BOHICA rule...
Bend Over Here It Comes Again!

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by cwk

Yesterday, on a local TV station (Jacksonville, FL TV station; close to St. Augustine), we saw an advertisement for the name change. Evidently they are spending some marketing money on this change.

Did you notice on that commercial, that prominently mentions the St Augustine location, that they are showing a massive building with several RVs parked inside the building, so you can shop in a climate controlled space.
That's not remotely like what the St Augustine store is like, there's no chance of ever getting an RV into that building.

[TurtleKent]

Originally Posted by GaryKowal1

All I ever read is people ragging on Camping World. From the reviews I would never use them for service. However I have been in a few of their stores and I'm happy that they are around. Not sure where else I could go if they were to disappear.

Amazon ships anywhere quickly

[69Stang]

I hadn't been in a CW since Marcus made his political statement. I cancelled my Good Sam because of him and they refunded my money.


3 weeks ago I received a $20 coupon for merchandise, but I had to spend over $20. What the heck, I'll take the free stuff. I spent about $21, so I was out $1. About a week ago I received another $20 coupon. Hmmm...might have to go buy another $21 item.


As long as he's in charge, I won't buy anything from CW that will benefit them financially.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by Podivin

Did you notice on that commercial, that prominently mentions the St Augustine location, that they are showing a massive building with several RVs parked inside the building, so you can shop in a climate controlled space.
That's not remotely like what the St Augustine store is like, there's no chance of ever getting an RV into that building.

So what's become of the Gander Mountain store that was right next to Camping World in St. Augustine?

It's funny on of the first renamings happens to an original CW store, not a purchased/rebranded store.

[Podivin]

Originally Posted by tfryman

So what's become of the Gander Mountain store that was right next to Camping World in St. Augustine?

It's funny on of the first renamings happens to an original CW store, not a purchased/rebranded store.

It's becoming a car dealership, something in the Ford family I think - Lincoln perhaps? Not sure of the brand, but sure that it's becoming a car dealership. Bozard Ford next door to it has been using it for overflow parking for their dealership, so I assume that Bozard is expanding.