From Marion Hammer:
DATE: April 20, 2018
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past PresidentFor years YETI Coolers have been a hot item for sportsmen at the Friends of NRA Foundation Banquet and Auction events around the country.
These Foundation events raise money to support youth programs and educational programs nationwide. The youth of America who benefit from these programs are the future hunters, hikers, fishermen/women, bikers, campers, wildlife photographers, mountain climbers, sportsmen/women and conservationists who will protect our natural resources and recreational lands.
Suddenly, without prior notice, YETI has declined to do business with The NRA Foundation saying they no longer wish to be an NRA vendor, and refused to say why. They will only say they will no longer sell products to The NRA Foundation. That certainly isn’t sportsmanlike. In fact, YETI should be ashamed. They have declined to continue helping America’s young people enjoy outdoor recreational activities. These activities enable them to appreciate America and enjoy our natural resources with wholesome and healthy
outdoor recreational and educational programs.The NRA Foundation is 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization.
In this day and age, information is power. We thought you needed this information.
https://www.yeti.com/contact-us.html
YETI
CORPORATE OFFICE7601 Southwest Parkway
Austin, TX 78735
1-512-394-9384
Seems pretty foolish of them. Not quite as foolish as a gun or accessories maker turning, but foolish for an outdoor product used by a lot of hunters. Oh well. Get woke, go broke.
RTIC is also a Texas company that sells roto molded coolers and tumblers. I’ve yet to discern a reason why I should pay double for a Yeti over its RTIC equivalent. Gives me one less reason to buy Yeti’s products.
Agreed. RTIC products are excellent quality, and a much lower price.
Yup. We’ve got tons of RTIC stuff and zero Yeti.
To be fair, their coolers are so niche and expensive I wasn’t gonna buy one anyway.
(Though if it’s a PR stunt “cave”, it seems odd that Yeti isn’t crowing about it themselves and it took this letter to let anyone know about it?
What’s the point of giving in to Twitter-mob pressure if you don’t even tell them you’ve done it?
[“Of course, the whole point of caving is lost, if you *keep* it a *secret*! Why didn’t you tell the world, EH?”
“It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the Premier loves surprises.”])
YETI are absurdly priced anyway. Even of they included a stripped lower for the money, I would not but one.
To be fair, at first they were somewhat innovative with the toughness and features but that was some years ago. I’ve got friends who run a charter boat that were using them before they were the “in thing because they would last multiple years on the boat when other coolers wouldn’t even last a single year. They’ve since swapped to cheaper options that are just as good though…
Kinda weird on their part. Yeti had no problem giving out coffee mugs at Industry Day at the Range before SHOT Show this year. I guess they are more afraid of teenagers who can’t afford their product than gun owners who can
That was pointless and achieved nothing. Neither I or anyone I know owns there product. $30 for a 20oz tumbler kiss my ass. I still remember when I got all pissed off when Walmart introduce the exact same product for 1/3 the price and sued them.
Yeti sued Walmart over the tumblers. I got some recently at sick prices (like $5-7 each). Don’t know whether they were clearing because of the lawsuit or just seasonal, but they didn’t have any on the shelves as of yesterday.
They still sell them. I can find them at the local wal mart.
Don’t have any of their stuff. Now, I never will.
Completed the process of removing my retirement account from MetLife. Waiting for the new Kroger’s credit card to show up, so I can cancel it.
Ah. I see. “Austin TX”
Nothing on line but gun blogs, no statements from yeti not that I would spend that much on a cooler. If true and I believe Mrs. hammer I found the perfect couple on line. Dicks & Yeti may they enter bankruptcy together.
https://m.dickssportinggoods.com/products/yeti-coolers.jsp
I do actually need new high end coolers this year. I know who’s off my list now, I guess.
Wow, I was going to buy a couple of large coolers this summer…..Actually looked at the $1k Yetis…
YGBSM! A thousand dollars for an ICE CHEST? I can buy a hella lot of ice for the difference between a Yeti and a Coleman or Igloo or RTIC or whatever…
And just who buys Yeti coolers but outdoors people, a very large percentage of whom are gunfolk? Do they think they will be selling them to gamers and lacrosse families?
Just sent a message to Cabelas.
Their stocking of Yeti products should go the way of the dodo soonest.
Yeti is a status item for people who like to signal affluence in their ability to pay $200 for a lunchbox, $400 for a fish box or $40 for a drink mug. Yuppies and Hipsters love the damn things.
Yeti won’t lose money doing this. Liberals will signal their woke-ness by wasting more money on the label. Meanwhile my fishing boat will continue to sport Coleman for about 1/6th the price. More fuel and more bait for the good life!
Hell, they’re made in china and cost $1K. Consumer and stupid do go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Seriously. Get down to Walmart and buy Ozark Trail tumblers for a fraction of the price.
I think the real competition is in extreme-duty coolers, not tumblers, though.
Bass Pro Shops is selling the Cabela’s model coolers and they are MADE IN USA. They are rated ABOVE the Yeti’s in most of my research. Very nice coolers, easily as good or better than the Yeti and supports American workers. Yetis come from Phillipines as stated on the bottoms of their coolers. Never was a consideration for me regardless. Cabela’s brand is the way to go at a better price point and supports true Sportsman’s stores. Take a look at the Cabela’s brand alternative. Rock solid product and you will not regret it. Love mine.
scott in NC
FWIW: I got my new credit card Saturday, revised my auto-billings to use it, will mail my NRA Visa card to First Bank Omaha tomorrow, with a short note as to why.
YETI has a pinned tweet on their timeline suggesting that this is a misunderstanding on Marion Hammer’s side: essentially, they were trying to transition the NRA Foundation off of an older, out-of-date discount program and onto a newer one, and Marion Hammer went off half-cocked.
That was my initial concern. It seemed odd the way Marion Hammer went about and described this.
Frankly, this was a major major miscalculation on the NRA’s part. It was one thing for Marion Hammer to put this notice out, its another for the National Organization to then jump into the fray. Yeti’s response seems entirely reasonable as well as plausible. More plausible than what Marion Hammer claims.
I fear this fumble will do serious harm to their credibility.
The misinformation is being spread by Ack-Mack’s social media (and includes Marion). Like a misbehaving child they crave negative attention. This was a non-story ginned up into something it’s not.
I went to the Yeti website to see first hand what they are saying.
I could not find anything. Nada, Zip, Zero, Zilch.
No Press Releases. No Announcements.
If Yeti doesn’t want to put out a message, I will believe credible people that do put out a message.
Check their twitter feed. They have a pinned tweet in their timeline.
I’m skeptical on the sincerity of Yeti’s response. We’ve heard enough “I support the second amendment, but…” to not be fooled by this. They were critical of the NRA and offered no reparations. The proper response would be to spell out the details on their new programs for the NRA Foundation, offer a 10% discount to NRA members through Memorial Day, and close down all corporate facilities for a mandatory full-day training on the constitution for all employees.