[hotrunner]

Saw two riflescopes in the flyer that had only that had only been out a day and a half. Against my better judgement, drove an hour (took the ad with me, intending to call and check on the way, but--guess what--no phone # on it, how clever!) Anyway, after the usual 1/2 hour wait behind the panic-stricken crowd, even early on a workday morning, I told the guy who waited on me what scopes I was interested in. Of course they were already sold out of both. But hey,"we'll be happy to sell you a 2-models cheaper Bushnell Banner instead of that Legend in the ad, and gosh, we just happened to sell at least the last two (the legal minimum for advertised items) $500 Leupolds in the same exact model/reticle you wanted in just 36 hours." Yeah, right. I shoulda known better.
It isn't just this place, almost all of the large "outdoor" stores in my region do it just to get you in the door. No sweat off the guy who writes the ads; the guys behind the counters end up getting all the heat from the irate customers when advertised items are "sold out". Am getting kind of sick of the sometimes-smart aleck help, also (although some are quite helpful and personable.) And they wonder why more potential customers are going online/mail order to shop.

[profiteer]

Same thing happened to me with a Ruger 10-22 sale for $185 at Gander Mountain. Got there very early and they had "just sold out". "So why don't I see anyone with the rifle?" Ya see? All sold out, but we have lots of these ones."

[BaserRonin]

Sports Authority does price matching. If they carry the item in question, I don't even bother driving to Bass Pro, Sportsmans, etc, etc any more. I call up Sports Authority, see if they carry the item (a 10-22 sale at Bass Pro was the last time I did this), have them hold one and tell them about the sales price. They will have everything ready to go when you get there. No hassle.

[LeftHandShooter]

I was there also for a scope in their ad but they was sold out. They did offer me another scope for the sale price, and since it was for a cheap .22 I bought two, put one on the .22 and have the other one (a 2x7) I might sell to my brother to put on his .22 or just keep for future use.

[DaTeacha]

If you plan to drive to The Fin for a sale item, call before you leave. My experience is that they will set one back for you if they know you're coming in soon from a distance. They do it with reloading stuff -- I've left a request for a powder (Gandog's 4895) and they called me when it came in several weeks later and said it was sitting there waiting for me.

The Fin isn't always the cheapest place and they're often only able to get limited quantities of the stuff they have on sale (usually quantities are posted in the ad), but they are good people who are very willing to work with you on getting the things you want. Call next time.

When they had their early opening doorbuster sales a year or so ago, I went over there on a Friday evening to scope things out before the Saturday morning rush, figuring I would need to be quick to get some items present in low numbers. While I was looking at stuff, this guy comes up and asks if he can help. I told him what I was doing, and he asked me what I wanted. I told him, and he said "just take it to the register now and tell them Mike said to give you the sale price today". It was the guy who owns the place, working the stock just like any other employee. He saved me a trip over and standing in the rain waiting in line for the door to open in the morning. Like I said, they are good people.