[Bristol-Birds] Looking at binoculars thru Bass Pro Shops
- From: "BBC Net" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'Bristol Bird Club'" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 19:50:47 -0400
I managed to spend a few hours at Bass Pro Shops in Bristol Tennessee today.
It was the third day I have been at the Pinnacle retail development site
this week. I ate lunch in the restaurant and then set out thru the maze of
departments and specialty areas.
This piece is not about promoting Bass Pro Shops or retailing in Bristol.
It is about bringing birders awareness of what has moved into your
neighborhood and how it might make your birding experience a bit more
convenient.
The most often question new and inexperienced birders ask is where to get a
pair of binoculars. I have struggled to give advice and confidence about
the advantages of online or on-the-phone shopping with Eagle Optics. New
birders barely know the difference between binoculars and bingo. They are
often easily intimated. They hope there is a local Target or Walmart that
will make the first pair less expensive, less painful, less frustrating and
less uncertain.
I have enjoyed spending a great amount of time in the sales area where Bass
Pro Shops display their binoculars. For those who know the field of view,
they stock and sell Swarovski, Zeiss, Steine (German product), Leupold,
Vortex, Nikon (high end), Bushnell, Redhead and Bass Pro Shops own "high
end" brand called Occulus. They have maybe a hundred on display and a
hundred more in the house inventory.
Avoid the spotting scopes. They are all target shooting-range models for
hunters and such. They are not designed for birding. They only have a few
on display.
In a day and time when you can easily buy a pair of Bushnells for up to
$10,000, the fact that Bass Pro sells binoculars priced from as low as
$17.95 to a $3,179 pair of Swarovski and a $2,800 pair of Zeiss, it is easy
to see they have something most birders may want. However, you will find
many pairs in the $200 to $500 range which new birders are more comfortable
purchasing.
What they do have, that many of you might want, is the opportunity to hold a
variety of possibilities and look thru them. To feel the grip and weight.
A way of knowing if a certain pair and design is for you. To read the fine
print on the box. To compare one pair to the next within seconds.
Better still, their people can talk to you and give you advice and opinions.
I found them good at both.
Nothing replaces shopping around for who gives the best service and has the
best prices and delivery.
While prowling among the new "associates" who are getting the feel of things
for themselves, I did pick up a few pointers about how to shop Bass Pro
Shops. It is about pricing:
If you are looking at price tags that have prices such as:
$50.99 -- the .99 is a code that reveals it is the regular store price for
the item.
$50.97 - the .97 is a code that reveals it is a marked down price on sale.
$50.77 - the .77 is a code that reveals it is a permanently marked down
price.
So let that last number on the price tag talk to you. Memorize what 9 or 7
or 77 means on the end of those prices.
Keep in mind that binoculars are sold in the hunting department in glass
cases in front of the rifles.
This means they are mainly selling binoculars to sportsmen. If a pair of
Swarovski are labeled as
EL RF 10X42, EL means technology that stands for a unique, optical total
package: razor-sharp display up to the image periphery for capturing
important details at high speed; high-contrast, color-neutral observation,
enabling you to make out crucial details even better; 100% field of view -
even for those who wear eyeglasses; optimized coatings for the best
transmission values and impressive viewing experiences, even in poor light
conditions. The RF is a horse of a different color. RF stands for a Range
Finding feature that actually measure the distance to the object you are
viewing. That is for hunters that need to determine how far they will need
to shoot at game. You can buy the same pair (maybe in the store or
elsewhere) without the Range Finding feature and probably save many good
dollars. The take-a-way on this point is that, when pricing between items,
be mindful that you have to make sure you are comparing apples to apples and
not just dollar for dollar.
Of course, for those who know me, I enjoyed the fact that Swarovski, Zeiss
and Nikon had factory reps in Bristol for a few days and you could stand
shoulder-to-shoulder and ask all kinds of questions about binoculars and
features and what is going on with birding optics. That is what Bass Pro
Shops brought to the Pinnacles development this week.
You had to wait your turn the past few days. I talked with fishermen and
hunters and general outdoor enthusiasts from Roanoke, West Virginia and
eastern Kentucky. They had driven in to shop the new opening of a Bass Pro
Shops. They were not here for the NASCAR races but, obviously, lots of
people are shopping there who are in town for the races.
Virginia has Bass Pro Shops in Hampton and Richmond. Tennessee has stores
in Bristol, Nashville, Memphis and Sevierville. They will likely get the
first store open in Chattanooga next spring. There are no stores in
Kentucky or West Virginia and only one in North Carolina (Charlotte).
Bass Pro Shops is an enormously different animal than a fin and fur
sportsman store selling mostly to males with guns, boats and fishing lures.
They sell everything from candy, cookies, snacks, drinks, popcorn and moon
pies to shoes and boots, women's clothing, to an array of boats, camping and
hiking equipment, gas grills, smokers, fryers, gifts, furniture and provide
entertainment. I was surprised that the bowling alley had 12 lanes full of
bowlers. They have a very large sports bar area that will seat maybe 50
people at the bar. I didn't know they had applied for a liquor license. You
will see service bays where one can pull boats and other equipment into the
bays to have it serviced or repaired.
Do not be turned back by the fields and streets full of automobiles parked
everywhere. Many of the most out-lying areas of cars are their employees.
What appears to be a mass of thousands that must be in the store is not that
many and they are spread out bowing and eating and shopping and wandering
everywhere. It was open, spacious and comfortable on Friday afternoon.
Leave yourself about an hour just to get a good feel for what all they have.
You can't even see from the front to the back in 30 minutes. It is fun for
some of us J
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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