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Mel Cotton's Sporting Goods
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
60 reviews for Mel Cotton's Sporting Goods
Review Highlights
If you engage in outdoor sports, you'll enjoy a safari over to Mel Cotton's.
Here's why:
- Inventory. They usually have what you need, and then some.
- Staff. Pleasant, knowledgeable, and they go away if you don't need them.
- No hassle returns. 30-day return policy with receipt if item is in resalable condition.
When you need to "hunt" up some camping or fishing gear, Mel Cotton's is the place to go!
Sweet! Support local business!
If they remodeled and made this multilevel I'm pretty sure they wouldn't need the floor-plan to be as vast as Costco, but what can you do...clearly this place knows what they are doing since they've been around since wayyyy before I was born.
Its got fair prices even though it isn't a chain. I've rented packs for backpacking from here, bought snowboarding and hiking gear from here, and purchased other miscellaneous outdoor stuff...
If you are ever in the West San Carlos area and don't feel like making the trek out to Saratoga REI, this is a really good stop for your outdoor needs :)
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I still stand by the previous review for the Snow section and much of their clothing.
However, I am forced to move to 4 stars to give mad props to their fishing department, which is where most of the grocery money has gone to in the past few months.
Shimano sticks, G-Loomis, Abu reels, love it!
Luckily, I'm catching fish to put on the table or we'd starve.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/19/2008
I've lived in San Jose for 27 of my 28 years and had my first expereince at Mel Cotton's yesterday.… Read more »
Mel Cotton's rocks when it comes to fishing, camping, backpacking, skiing, and other nature related sports.
Unfortunately, Mel Cotton's is mediocre when it comes to other sports such as soccer, baseball, hockey, and other sports where score is kept and a uniform is worn.
In the end, it serves the community well and is a landmark on San Carlos street where older businesses continue to thrive.
Plus, this place is always good for a gift certificate on Father's day or my dad's birthday. He can use it here on fishing equipment.
Back in the day, my dad bought me all of my gear as a kid for sports, even though he knew his son was no more than a fringe "benchwarmer."
It was one of his many sacrifices for me. And well, dropping $100 bucks on a card to Mel Cotton's is my way of thanking him.
And well, thank you Mel, or Mr. Cotton if you prefer, for providing a place that always makes my dad happy.
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This place is great if you can catch items on sale or on clearance. The regular price items are a little bit too expensive for my taste. The sales associates are quite helpful in helping customers locate specific items and answering any questions that they may have.
I have to admit Ron, Glen, and Mike are aw some from the fishing department. I know when i go in there spending money on what i buy is critical at moment when your trying to catch fish. I know Ron is annoyed of me by now but he's pretty cool.. as many questions I ask him he still doesn't get mad. LOL These guys are every knowledgeable when it comes to fishing and they usually go the extra mile to find the right product for the right situation. I can say they are a pro dealer. It's hard to find guys like these who enjoy the sport.
I love Mel's they have just about everything when it comes to adventure outdoor gear. Sometimes that have some pretty sweet deals at the end of season sales, I got a used Ski set once for $100. They also send you decent coupons every now and then.
Best selection on Camping and Back Packing Essentials, like old school-cookware (cast iron things), sleeping gear, outdoor clothing stuffs.
Pretty much the only place in all of the Bay Area to get Disc Golf Equipment. Always have the latest models from Innova, Discraft, and DGA
Outdoorsy Shoes selection is awesome. Not only do they have a lot of choices, but they usually carry high quality brands that are harder to find, like Scarpa, and good selection of Patagonia footwear.
I also like the local store atmosphere, where you can rent things that you don't need to buy, like Kayaks, and Winter gear.
I also heard their Hunting Fishing section is pretty nuts.
What they don't have is sporty kind of stuff. For that you need to go to Sports Basement where you can get Triathlon related
This is a rare sporting goods store that has withstood the test of time. Many big stores have come and gone but this gem is still here and for good reason. They have the place jammed full of all kinds of sporting goods, you name it they will have it. The store rocks..
It's a great outdoor store to buy all ou might need for any outdoor trip. It's been in San Jose for over 20yrs. I love going there plus the staff is very nice and knownledgeable.I went there to buy my first snowboard I love it and they made some really good referals to what i should buy for my first time.
Mel Cotton has it all, from summer camping/ backpacking gear, sports equipment and clothing, to winter skiing and boarding equipment. The store is spread out, and not nice and sterile like an REI, but great service more than makes up for the scattered appearance...
Their winter rental dept. is awesome and the knowledgeable staff makes renting skis, poles boots boards, etc. a stress free experience...
And no charge for Monday returns for a weekend rental!! How cool is that? AND discount lift tickets for Bear Valley and all the Tahoe ski resorts...
Great old school sporting goods store!
Their employees are knowledgeable and will spend time with you to make sure you have what you need.
When I was looking for a backpack to climb Mount Shasta in, one of the employees measured my back to figure out the best pack size and then started filling packs with weight so I could try them. After about an hour of going back and forth between packs I had one I liked and he helped adjust all the straps so the weight would be balanced right.
My Dad ordered a Deuter backpack online from another retailer. After getting it in the mail he found that it wasn't big enough. Mel Cottons let him trade it in for a bigger and better one.
They really go out of there way to make you happy.
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Sign up online and you can get a coupon! Before going to live in Africa I needed heavy duty mosquito repellent, travel sheets, and a mosquito net. I was quickly helped in finding everything I needed and staff was great at offering suggestions. I bought the wrong sheets and only noticed after opening the package...I could easily return it without questions...super understanding! Highly recommended for all your outdoorsy and travel needs!
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Dearest Mel,
San Jose appreciates you. The prices, the quirky staff, the random mix of fishing, hunting, snow, and leisure gear. Really, we appreciate it all.
Additionally, we appreciate you MORE when you put your stuff on SALE.
My first visit was spent looking through all the snow gear. I am not a poser, and refused to be one of those people who spent $$$ for a one time visit. I don't need the latest stuff, I just need the basic. Picked up some snow pants, gloves, and goggles. Didn't find any crash pads, but then again, I wasn't looking. I walked out of Mel's happy with most of my gear for an upcoming trip.
My second visit had more of a purpose. Not only did I pick up a better pair of thermals, but I also replaced some broken glasses.
Thanks Mel. We appreciate your store. Looks a little funky outside, but once you step inside, it's all good in my book! Will definitely consider your store for my hiking needs as well. For me it's simple, good stuff at low prices. Keep it coming!
P.S. Please thank the older guy who was looking for my one pair of VZ sunglasses. My eyes appreciate him and his efforts.
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This one of the original sports stores in the San Jose area, along with Reed's which called it quits last year. Mel Cotton's is primarily known for their Winter sports selection & rentals, camping equipment and fishing/hunting.
They carry the top brands of skis, boots, snowboarding equipment and clothing. The back area handles the rentals and tuneups of skis and snowboards during the Winter, then converts to rentals for camping and watercraft during the Summer.
The other popular departments are the fishing and hunting departments. I am not a hunter, so have no comment on the department. The fishing department has a pretty decent selection of rods, reels, tackle, lures and boating accessories. The people in the fishing department have been helpful with questions. Mel's has a annual fishing extravaganza around the beginning of April to kick off the fishing season. They host guest speakers that give seminars on fishing for different species. They even have a bass tank on a trailer in order to demonstrate effective techniques for catching bass.
This is one of my favorite sporting good stores in the South Bay, and I enjoy coming to this store when getting ready for a ski or fishing trip.
If you sign-up online to be on their mailing list you can get a 15% coupon.
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I've been going here for a long time. Just went last week for the first time in a long time and had a great experience. The staff helped me find just the right size rain fly for my daypack. Then when I asked about vaccinations needed for Peru they found a couple employees who had gone a year or two ago and they were able to put together a list of probably vaccinations and point me in the right direction for a travel clinic. Definitely above and beyond what I expected. Only reason for not giving it five stars is historically I've run into higher prices here on some items...
I really don't know where to begin with Mel Cottons, except that I have not had any memorable service there.
I came to MCSG roughly twice in 3 years during the winter for snowboarding equipment and clothes. I must say that their clothes are well organized, however they are compacted in a small space and difficult to maneuver if there is another patron in the same aisle.
As for their winter equipment, I'm not sure if they are under staffed or if their sales people are being ignorant. I always feel neglected and frustrated here.
Personally, I rather go somewhere else with better service...
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Mel Cotton's is terrible. No one in the store knows anything except the hunting and fishing guys. The rest of the employees are lazy ass high schoolers or young college guys that who are clueless. They are the dirtiest store I've ever seen. They have a lot of products but its hard to find sizes and everything is thrown every which way.
Pricing!!!!! Mel's is the fattest rip off ever!! They have "Regular Price", "Mel's Price" and "Sale Price". What the hell? I was looking online at Burton Snowboarding Gear and saw the Custom. On Burton's website they had it priced at $499.95. At Mel's they had it for Mel's price of $599. I was confused. They also make up bogus MSRP's and then say their "Sale Price" is $####, which is typically list retail.
Bottomline: I like Mom and Pop stores but Mel's is crappy and I won't shop there.
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We stopped by tonight to pick up some last minute snow gear. The store is HUGE. They have everything you may need for the snow, woods, hiking, swimming and everything else in between.
We bought the kids snow boots, gloves, beanie and a pair of Uggs for my mini me. The gloves and beanie were 20% off and 25% for my daughter's Uggs. They're having their winter sale so we made out with good stuff. I am esp happy about the savings on my daughter's Uggs. Regular price is $89.99 but we got them for $67. You can't beat that esp with Uggs :)
The staff was very friendly and helpful. We are independent shoppers. We don't care to be acknowledged when we walk into the store but we were greeted nonetheless and were approached several times asking if we needed help with anything. Service with a smile. Always a plus.
It doesn't hurt that they rent out snow gear for reasonable prices. We like a lot!
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I swung by here earlier today to pick up some last minute stuff for a boarding trip this upcoming weekend....
I'm not sure if it's because they're having a sale but the store was truly a HOT MESS! Items of different brands/styles were lumped together on the same tables, racks were crammed packed with too many items that made it difficult to look through them, and I (who usually can maneuver and find anything in stores) couldn't find any dri-fit tees for the life of me.
In the future, I think I'll need to plan ahead of time to buy things online or make my treks to Sports Basement instead.
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This place is great to hit up for snowboarding gear. I'll have to admit that it is not as big as some other chain stores, but they have a good selection of everything to bundle/strap yourself up with for snowboarding (Burton *my fave*, Columbia, Spyder, just to name a few). From last season's items (usually discounted) to this season's items, they have sales here and there. Look on their web site for advertisements and deals. I was so glad I did one day, because I found a limited time 20% coupon and used it on a regular priced Burton snowboarding jacket (2009 season too, yay!). I remember buying my snowboard gear here too and service was great. They gave me pointers on what to look for when buying certain items. They also have a wintersports rental department and sell discounted lift tickets too. A one stop shop before you head out to the slopes, what more could you ask for?
P.S. They had a fishing expo outside in the parking lot when I cam here once, complete with huge tank filled with fish. Very cool. Parking can be hard to find in their little lot next to the store, but that's what you get for a good store.
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My husband and I have been to Mel Cotton's at least a handful of times, and every time we walk out of there feeling disappointed.
The staff doesn't care about their customers, they have very poor customer service... that's not just something I noticed in one visit. I have noticed it EVERY TIME I come here.
Last night, my husband needed to pick up pair of snow boots and he needed them last minute. We ran over to Mel's. I had to help him dig through a pile of boxes for his size, while THREE employees leaned on the wall of the shoe section talking shit about some other coworker. We got a coerced "Are you finding everything okay?" only after my husband had already tried on the boots in his size and was getting ready to leave. The cashiers are also lacking in the customer service department. They barely greet you, and they always seem to be having conversations with the other cashiers instead of focusing on the transaction.
The store itself is a mess, probably except for the fishing/hunting section. Clothes are randomly organized, stuff is cluttered everywhere. If you're willing to dig, you might find what you're looking for. Don't expect the staff to help you... if they offer, consider yourself lucky. Go to Sports Basement instead.
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I've been coming to Mel Cotton for years for snow gear long before the major chains got popular around SJ. It's a decent store to shop at if you manage to check out their major sales or discounts, otherwise most of the gear is pretty pricey. If your looking for a very clean and organized outdoor sport store you'll have to look elsewhere because one glance into the store and your reaction will probably be... how am I ever going to find anything here? Place almost looks like a shack from outside, a remodel is in need.
Only reason I come here now is for ski rentals since I've been too lazy to get myself a pair of new skis. At $40 for a 3-4 day weekend ski/board rental, that's a deal hard to beat and far cheaper than renting at the resort. The current skies being offered for the adult value package are K2's and have been there for the past 3 years or so since I keep receiving them. Their usage is starting to show as my most recent pair was fairly dinked out but still good, you have to pay another $10 if you want the newer Rossignol skies.
This past January experience renting from them would have been the same as in the past, besides the slightly worn skies, but this time they decided to charge me $10 for a minor scratch on the back of my skies that could of easily been fixed by waxing the skies again. I thought that was unnecessary but I guess waiving the "gotcha" $8 insurance fee finally caught up to me and I was just too tired to argue. Now on recollection, very lame.
For people really looking to get their own snow gear, it's pretty common knowledge to most winter sports people to avoid buying from retail stores and to wait for the Ski Dazzle convention to come around at the end of each year.
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We've been to Mel Cotton's on numerous occasions over the last few years, yet the most we've ever walked out with is a bar of wax (for snowboards) and the little packets of hand warmers. They've got little to no selection of snowboard gear and the adult snow clothes are all unorganized and the racks are ridiculously cramped together. They usually don't have sizes either.
This is a place to go if you're bored and have nothing else to do (as we usually do)..but it's not a place to buy your gear.
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Unexpected, and horrible looking on the outside, but this store turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Great hiking/trail running shoe selection, and I managed to get a Patagonia R4 fleece ($225 list) for $140.
Worth braving the shady exterior and checking out.
I stopped going to REI when I found this place. Great selection, decent prices, good sales and friendly, helpful staff (all except for one dude in the snowboarding department).
I have purchased the following items from here: snowboard gear, Yakima Snowboard Rack, fishing gear, and hiking gear. The salesman for the rack and fishing gear were the best I've had at a sporting goods store. The snowboard staff is only relatively helpful, one guy in particular has this pretentious attitude that is REALLY annoying. I should probably complain to a manager about his attitude. Oh well, only one bad apple and the rest of the place is amazing. If you are into the outdoors, this is where you need to shop.
I'd never been here before last week, and I was impressed. The store seems to go on and on, and is crammed with merchandise that I'm interested in for outdoor sports (most of which was on sale last week). I limited myself to new ski gloves and pants (total about $65, including tax), which I wore on a trip I took after they tuned up my skis.
I brought in the Tahoe Card, but I needed deeper work, so I paid a surcharge. I hadn't realized that turnaround time was a full day (I should have called ahead). I live in San Mateo, and I'd wanted to ski the next day. They were super nice and "pulled some strings" to do my skis immediately. It only took about half an hour, and the skis performed beautifully on the slopes. I hadn't skied in four years, but it was like I'd never stopped.
They did a great job, and seem to have a lot of cool stuff to take advantage of - they run their own trips, etc. I'm sure I'll make the 35-mile trek back next time I need P-tex and tune, which might be soon unless Tahoe gets snow to cover up all those bare spots.
The kid at the front was staring out the window. I walked right by him but apparently he didn't see me come in, nor did the two women setting up the clearance sale in front. I guess I'm wearing my invisibility cloak today?
Someone else greeted, though, and was able to lead me direclty to the section where the item I needed would be. They didn't actually carry it, but he tried and was pretty friendly about it.
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Still our favorite store to shop at for our adventures! Been finding some awesome deals here right now. Last night I found a new Sessions snow jacket for $60! Woohoooo!!
The reason for my update though is about their Sunday Mountain Bus Trips to Bear Valley! What an awesome deal and an awesome experience we had today. We arrived at the store where we loaded up in a bus at 5am and headed off to Bear Valley which is about 4 hours away. The great thing about this deal is that you don't have to drive! You can sleep on the way up there and on the way back. They stopped once in Angels Camp at Safeway for us to pick up snacks or take a bathroom break. They served juice and muffins on the ride up there. Overall the bus ride was a good experience...a little cramped of course. Probably about 60 of us on the bus ride. We arrived at about 9am and met back at the bus at 4pm. Everyone was great and arrived back on time so we were on our way quickly. They played two movies for us on the way back which was nice (Hancock and Iron Man). Staff is super friendly and cordial and they have worked hard to organize these bus events. We might go back for another one this season. They are doing others on Jan 25, Feb 8 and March 1. We might try and hit up two more bus trips with them. Highly recommended! Check out their website or store for price and details.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/19/2008
My husband and I venture here about once a month to check out outdoor gear for our trips we have… Read more »
My first time here was awesome, like heaven almost. I felt like a five year old girl at a candy shop. I found everything including the kitchen sink. The place is huge and worth the exercise. I recommend this place in a heartbeat. What can be better than this.. sex? Cool joint.
April 5, 2008:
Mel Cotton's Sporting Goods 13th Annual Fishing Expo
I had a fun time here even though it lasted fifteen minutes. There was this huge tank filled with fishes where a pro fisherman was showing us the ropes on how to fish the correct way.
Then there was this big pool filled with fishes for kids to fish out. Sort of a sad sports game, but hey, they exist and why not let the kids take a whack at it.
As for food, there were these cute boy scouts selling their wieners. Hey, that only sounds nasty if you have a dirty mind you pedophiles. Aw, how adorable and best part, they were affordable. Not like those ball park dogs that are sold from vendors intentionally knowing that they are the only food stand there so they jack up the prices.
This was a no sales tax day and clearances up the yin yan. Yahoo!
Oh, did I mention the free raffle? I didn't win anything because I only stayed so long, but it was cool. I wish I won something, a fishing rod, coupons, bait, a dog on a stick, anything damn it! =/
Thank you to Bobby, John and Al for the entertainment as you shouted I recall, "Farm-er" or Farm-er-John" down the isle. Ugh, go do your sisters some more, you damn pussies. :O)
http://www.yelp.com/ev...
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I love Mel Cotton's...when they're having a sale. I've walked out of there with great new hiking boots for $30 on clearance. I've never managed to find anything in the way of clothing on clearance though, because they usually have nothing smaller than L or XL left, or the "marked down" prices are still outrageous. I'm sorry, but $125 for ski pants is not a deal, no matter how cute my butt might look in them. They also don't have a huge selection of women's stuff, at least in the way of running shorts, socks, and sports bras. Are there any dudes out there wearing sports bras? I don't know, and I hope I never find out.
If I'm looking for something specific that I need right away, I hit the Sports Authority instead. I'm almost guaranteed to get the same stuff at half price.
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I'll have to agree with David C. Mel Cottons used to be cool....when I was like 7. $200 for a simple down jacket? Urrr....please. Go ahead--scour the racks at REI, Mel Cotton's, Sports Basement and the Army Surplus store--you'll find nothing but the same crap: North Face, Mountain Hardware, Columbia. Is this China? Go to five stores and they're all selling the same communist made gear? Only difference was that Mel Cotton's had the HIGHEST prices (must be due to their upscale location, lol). Sports Basement had the best selection and lowest prices, but the sizes were all too big (seems everyone in America is getting fat but me?). Anyhow....call me stubborn, but I wasn't about to get ripped off at any of these places. I'd rather get hypothermia.
And then after I resigned myself to even getting a sub zero jacket, I found the perfect item at Costco--yes--COSTCO--for $39. I know--sounds totally ridiculous, but the fucker is hot as hell, has a removable fleece liner, pukka zippers, a breathable/waterproof shell and enough pockets for a shortwave radio, a headlamp, GPS, supplies, keys, knives, etc. Absolutely the best (and perhaps ugliest) jacket I found and I didn't pay a cock-in-the-butt price for it.
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Here comes the disc golf geek! I went here after hearing that they have the best selection of disc golf gear in the Bay Area and I was not disappointed. While they don't carry every available disc, they have many Innova discs of multiple different plastics (start, champion, etc.) and also discs from Discraft, Rogue, and those crazy 'eraser' rubber putters. They also carry a nice selection of extras: bags, shirts, hats, portable baskets, and even dg shoes.
The big win for me was the staffer. Like a putz I didn't notice his name, but the he made himself my personal disc golf shopper. After telling him what I wanted, he pointed me away from the full price discs to the to the discount bin of 'X-out' or mislabeled discs; they have cosmetic defects that are often very cool and unique, but no structural defects. He and I rooted through the bin and found cheaper versions of almost everything I needed, and he even went to the stockroom *twice* to make sure we didn't miss anything. He helped me for at least 15 minutes and I had a lot of fun B.S.ing with the guy. In my experience people who work at sporting good stores (or bike or ski stores) can be arrogant, egotistical, pretentious bastards, but this guy was a down-home dude who wanted to help and talk shop.
As for prices, I agree with many people here that most items were labeled with at lest the MSRP or a bit more, but for a sport like disc golf, where goods are hard to find, I'll pay for the convenience, and many popular discs can be found in the discount bin anyway.
This is a one stop outdoors shop. The prices are decent, the staff seem to know their stuff, depending on what your looking for the selection is pretty big. Mel cottons and REI are my favorite local out door places!
Very informative workers. Made my journey of finding a snowboard super easy for my amateurness.
Got a board and bindings on sale for 300 bucks!
Definately gonna hit this place up for the Winter Expo for some Boots!
big selection, nice workers. Muy bueno. I'm happy!
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Huge selectionof discounted gear, boards, bags, and pretty much everything else you need. It's really packed and messy, so you sort of have to search. If you have a lot of time, it'll be fun like playing in a toystore, but if you're busy, it might get on your nerve.
They also rent out skiing/snowboarding gear and clothes (yeah, a bit strange, but whatever) as well as waxing your boards.
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Thirty bucks for quality snowboard bag! Sweet!! I also perused the section with day packs, snowboarding pants, sunglasses and camelpaks, and was satisfied with their discounted prices. The organization of the store reminded me of a flea market or a garage sale. Some things were in disarray, others not so. The sales staff were pretty much nonchalant, but I didn't mind since I already knew what I wanted and just had to look for it. I don't know if I'd go here if I actually needed some sort of service, but I'd definitely make a stop to pick up necessities for my outdoor adventures.
Oh yeah, I forgot...they've got guns and ammo! Yee, haw!
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Mel Cotton's is great and exactly what one would expect. A large store with tons of outdoor sports equipment and mom & pop store feel and service. Don't expect to pay under full retail price on stuff aside from their occasional sales, though.
Bought my hiking boots here and the guy who helped me was incredibly knowledgeable and walked me through choosing a boot. Walked out with a pair of North Face shoes from Mel's despite having looked at them at the actual North Face store earlier (they weren't helpful).
If I ever need to buy sporting goods I will come back here. Meanwhile I give it 3 stars for having a public restroom that I used after leaving Black & Brown (which doesn't btw).
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While Mel Cotton's provides decent discounts (usually around 10% from what I saw), I have serious issues with how they do it. On all of their tags they have a "Value Price," "Mel's Price," and the "Sale Price." What I would take from that is that the Value Price is the MSRP, Mel's Price is cheaper than that, and Sale Price cheaper still.
In actuality, Mel's Price is usually inflated about 10% over MSRP and the "Value Price" is some exorbitant arbitrarily chosen number. So they might sell a $300 MSRP snowboard for $270, but list the "Mel's Price" at $330 and the "Value Price" at $400 to make it seem like you are saving more money than you actually are. I understand that as an independently owned store they need to charge more than the chains, but that sort of shadiness makes it much less likely that I will ever support them.
The selection is decent and at least some of the staff helpful, it's moot point to me because of that and the aforementioned shady nonsense. The fact that the place is also rather cramped doesn't help matters either.
If I were unable to find a particular item after a thorough search locally and online, I might check out if Mel Cotton's has it in stock. But in general, I make it a rule not to patronize this place.
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So I've just discovered this place and it's an outdoor person's playhouse!! I'm mostly interested in the snowboarding gear they have. Although the store is pretty crowded to all the merchandise, you can't complain about the selection. They are currently having a huge sale on snow related gear up to 50% off retail price.
The only draw back is that the store's retail price is higher than the MSRP. For example. the MSRP for a Ride EX binding is 149.99. Mel's retail price is 199.99. So even though they are having a 50% off sale, it only brings the price down to 99.99
Other than that the selection is great, service is pretty good.
Only reason they don't get a 5 star rating is because of the increase in retail price and Sierra Snowboards in Sac is better.....
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