What to say about the sporting goods superstore? Well in my opinion, when they first opened in our area it was like going to the Roman Coliseum, flash, excitement, bang for the buck, they had it all. Now, some 9 years later, sadly it's more like the fall of the Roman Empire. I don't know how many $ I spent as a customer over the first six or seven years, but I know that it's dried up to nothing the past two years. The problems I've seen develop are multi faceted and begin with their selection. As an outdoorsman, I'm speaking only on their selection of outdoor gear, fishing, hunting, guns, hunting clothing and the like. I can't speak much for their downstairs non sporting goods department. Upstairs however, Scheels has definitely jumped the shark. Where it seemed that they used to carry everything under the sun, their broad selection in most areas has shrunk to smaller selections of mid-priced goods (that can all be had cheaper elsewhere) and a selection of the most expensive gear available. In between is supplemented with their own brand of cheaply made gear, in everything from fishing, to hunting gear to hunting clothing. I'm not going to jump on a soap box and preach to always buy American made quality, however, if you're they type that chooses to, you won't find it in the Scheels brand. The second, and more upsetting to me, is that the quality of their help has taken a dramatic drop in quality. Remember those commercials "I'm a Scheels expert?" Well the reason you don't see them anymore, they don't have any experts working there these days. It seems that the place is now staffed with people that mostly don't have a clue about the merchandise they are selling, and are obviously being driven by a thirst for commissions. While it's nice to be acknowledged when you go into a place,these days walking into Scheels is more like being assaulted by school children in the penny candy store, and oh that credit card, it seems I can't go upstairs and grab some ammo or fishing gear, without a dozen people pushing their ridiculous credit card on me. With an interest rate that falls somewhere between silly and absurd, no wonder they have to push it so hard. Anyway, don't expect much help from most of the sales staff these days. Back in the earlier years I enjoyed talking to their staff, who seemed to be mostly older, and very knowledgeable, but alas those days are gone. Of course this all falls on the shoulders of their management, who also seem to have gone down in age, knowledge and experience. One of my last few trips in there, I asked one female "manager" whether it was possible to special order an upper for my AR rifle? She looked at me like I had just shot her cat, and immediately pushed me off on some clueless young kid, who in turn pushed me off on an older fellow, who curtly told me that they don't do that there. So by and by, if you're looking for sporting goods, you'll find better deals at some of the smaller box stores, like Cabela's or Sportsman's Warehouse. If you need quality, knowledgeable help from the sales staff, for the most part you won't find it here anymore, and you're better off doing the online research yourself and buying through Amazon prime. Maybe they do better downstairs, if you're just looking to buy a jacket or vest. They'll do well here on Yelp with new visitors that are impressed by flash and shine and the massive size. Tourists and out of towners will flood in there on the weekends, and not mind the dozens of employees that will tug at their pant legs pushing an over priced credit card on them. In this ex-customer's eyes though, it's overall pretty apparent that they've attempted to cut their labor costs, by replacing employees and management that have left over the past couple of years, with a less expensive, and less skilled team. Sadly, this has cost them, as the "Experts" have left the building. read more