Bass Pro Shops Return Policy: 60 Days With Proof of Purchase — and a Long Final-Sale List

Bass Pro Shops’ return policy, published in its help centre, starts generously and ends in a safety lecture. In most cases, an item bought through the catalog or online can be returned for an exchange or refund, by mail or at a store, within 60 days of purchase with valid proof of purchase — and it can go back to either company, Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s, no matter which of the two sold it.

After 60 days, returns are accepted on an inspection basis only. Without a receipt, the refund becomes store credit at the item’s lowest sale price plus tax. And a whole shelf of the store never comes back at all: firearms, ammunition, black powder and primers, treestands, blowguns and mouth calls are final sale for safety reasons, used or fuelled gas-powered items and drones are ineligible, and some bikes carry a restocking fee flagged on the product page.

Return Windows at a Glance

Category	Return window	Good to know
Catalog and online purchases	60 days from purchase, with valid proof of purchase	Exchange or refund, by mail or at any Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s store
Returns after 60 days	No set window	Accepted on an inspection basis only — acceptance is not guaranteed
Returns without a receipt	Within 60 days	Lowest sale price plus tax, as an exchange for the same product or store credit; photo ID may be requested
Gift returns	60 days from purchase	Exchange or a gift card
Gas-powered items and drones	60 days, unused only	Ineligible if used, showing signs of use, or once oil or fuel has been added
Sunglass Hut kiosk purchases	30 days from purchase	Must be returned to the Sunglass Hut location where they were bought
Firearms, ammunition, treestands, mouth calls and similar	No window	Final sale for safety reasons — see the exclusions below

How to Return an Item to Bass Pro Shops

1. Count 60 days from the purchase date. With valid proof of purchase, most catalog and online items can be returned for an exchange or refund inside those 60 days. After day 60, a return is accepted on an inspection basis only.
2. Pick mail or store — either brand works. Online and catalog purchases can be mailed back or taken to a store, and returns are accepted at Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s, regardless of which company you bought from.
3. By mail, start with a label or a form. For an online order, request a return label using your order number and the email address on the order — the link in your shipping confirmation email, or Order History → Start a Return in your account — and either print the prepaid label or take the QR code to a FedEx or Walgreens location to have it printed. For a store purchase returned by mail, print and complete the return form and send the parcel to Customer Returns, 501 Cliffhaven Rd, Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821.
4. In store, bring the receipt or order number and a photo ID. Have the merchandise checked at the greeter’s desk, then take it to Customer Service for the refund or exchange.
5. No receipt? Bring ID and expect credit. A valid picture ID will be required, and the return is processed at the lowest sale price plus tax as an even exchange or a merchandise (gift) card — Bass Pro Shops may limit the number of returns made without a receipt.
6. Know your refund route before you go. In store, cash and check purchases are refunded in cash, credit cards are credited back to the card used, and an online order paid with PayPal comes back as a gift card, because stores cannot refund to PayPal.

How Long Do You Have to Return Items to Bass Pro Shops?

60 days from the date of purchase, with valid proof of purchase, for an exchange or a refund. The window is stated for catalog and online purchases and the same 60-day limit governs the return routes in the help centre’s instructions, gifts included: a gift bought through Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s can be returned for an exchange or a gift card within 60 days of purchase. The policy’s soft edge sits just past the deadline — Bass Pro Shops will accept items returned after 60 days on an inspection basis only, which means the item is looked at and a decision is made case by case, with no promise of a refund. Two categories run shorter or stranger clocks: sunglasses bought at a Sunglass Hut location inside a store must go back to that location within 30 days, and a gas-powered item or drone is only returnable while it is still new and unused inside the same 60 days — once oil or fuel has been added, or after 60 days, the manufacturer’s warranty takes over and the item goes to the manufacturer for service.

Returning by Mail: Labels, Forms and the Prairie Du Chien Address

Mail is a first-class route here, not a last resort. For online and catalog orders, Bass Pro Shops issues a prepaid return label for merchandise bought within the last 60 days: enter your order number and the email address used on the order, then print the label yourself or use the QR code option and have a FedEx or Walgreens location print it for you. The label link also travels in your shipping confirmation email, and signed-in customers can restart the process from Order History with the Start a Return button. Labels have limits, published on the help page: they cannot be issued for retail (store) purchases, or for returns shipped from US territories or internationally — if a label cannot be issued for your item, the instruction is to contact Customer Service.

A store purchase sent back by mail uses paper instead: print and complete the return form and mail the return to Customer Returns, 501 Cliffhaven Rd, Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821. On cost, the rule is fault-based: if your return is happening because the merchandise arrived damaged or defective, or because Bass Pro Shops made a mistake on your order, the company will waive the fee for the prepaid return label or reimburse your return shipping for standard ground shipping through USPS, UPS or FedEx. It will not reimburse extra shipping or processing fees charged by packaging centres. For a straightforward change of mind, plan on the label terms offered in the returns flow rather than free postage.

Returning to a Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s Store

The cross-brand rule is the convenience at the heart of this policy: you may return your items to either company, regardless of whether you purchased from Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s. In the store, the choreography is fixed — enter, stop at the greeter’s desk to have the merchandise checked, then proceed to Customer Service, which processes the refund or exchange. Bring the original receipt or order number and a form of photo ID. How the money comes back depends on how it left: cash or check purchases are refunded in cash at the store; a credit card purchase is credited to the card you used; and an online order paid by PayPal cannot be refunded to PayPal in store, so a gift card is issued instead — the published exclusion says PayPal orders returned to a retail store can only be exchanged or refunded as a gift card. One in-store trap: sunglasses bought at a Sunglass Hut kiosk inside the store are not the store’s to take back — they must be returned at the location where they were purchased, within 30 days, and cannot be returned by mail.

Can You Return to Bass Pro Shops Without a Receipt?

Yes, but the refund changes shape. Items returned to a store without a receipt are processed at the lowest sale price plus applicable sales tax, and they may be exchanged for the same product or returned for merchandise credit in the form of a gift card — cash and card refunds are not available on an unreceipted return. A valid government photo ID may be requested; the return instructions add that a valid picture ID will be required, that an even exchange or merchandise-only card will be issued, and that Bass Pro Shops reserves the right to limit the number of returns without a store receipt or order number, and more broadly to limit or decline returns and exchanges without valid proof of purchase. Acceptable ID includes a US or Canadian driver’s licence, US state ID, Canadian provincial ID, US military ID, Laser Visa or passport. One related rule from the policy’s exchange section works in your favour: an exchange for the exact same product, if available, is offered on most items returned within 60 days, with or without a receipt.

What Can’t Be Returned to Bass Pro Shops?

• Final sale for safety reasons — firearms, ammunition, black powder firearms, black powder, gunpowder, primers, reloading lead, brass or bullets, binary explosives, treestands, blowguns, and mouth calls (waterfowl, turkey and big game calls). If one of these arrives damaged or defective, contact Customer Service directly — that is the only route the policy offers
• Suppressors — non-refundable due to federal government regulations
• Gasoline-powered items and drones that have been used, show signs of use, or have had oil or fuel added — returnable only unused, within 60 days, with the original sales receipt, original packaging and all manuals and accessories
• Custom order products (made for a specific make or model, such as seat covers, floor mats and furniture) — these go to the manufacturer; there are no returns on custom special orders
• Any product that has been altered — cut arrows are the policy’s example
• Bargain Cave items purchased at a retail store — nonreturnable
• Marine motor propellers that have been installed
• Reconditioned products — bows and crossbows are the named examples
• Boats, motors, trailers, ATVs/UTVs, parts and anything bought through a TRACKER MARINE or other boating centre — subject to separate return policies and warranties through the boating centres
• Merchandise bought from basspro.ca or a Cabela’s store in Canada — it must be returned to Cabela’s Canada
• Some bikes — subject to a restocking fee, flagged in the “Important Notice” information on the item’s product page

How Are Refunds Issued and How Long Do They Take?

With a receipt, the refund is the original purchase price plus applicable taxes, issued in the original method of payment. In store, that is applied literally: cash back for cash or check purchases, a credit to the same card for card purchases, and a gift card where the method cannot be reversed in store — the standing case being an online PayPal order. Without a receipt, there is no refund to a payment method at all: the value comes back as an exchange or merchandise credit at the lowest sale price plus tax. Bass Pro Shops does not publish a fixed day count for processing a mail refund; what it does publish is the exchange shortcut — when you return an item by mail for an exchange using its label, a refund credit is issued as soon as the label is scanned by FedEx, and you then place a new order for the item you want. Where the return is Bass Pro Shops’ fault — damaged, defective or mistaken merchandise — the return label fee is waived or standard ground return shipping is reimbursed, and the refund is issued to the original pay type used on the order.

How Do Bass Pro Shops Exchanges Work?

The policy’s exchange promise is exact: an exchange for the exact same product, if available, on most items returned within 60 days of the date of purchase, with or without a receipt. In a store, that is handled at Customer Service after the greeter’s desk check, on the same visit as a refund would be. By mail, an exchange is really a fast return plus a new order: request the return label, send the item back, and as soon as FedEx scans the label a refund credit is issued — then place a new order for the item you want in exchange. Gifts follow the exchange route by default: a gift bought through Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s can be returned for an exchange or a gift card within 60 days of purchase. Everything excluded from returns is excluded from exchanges too — a final-sale safety item cannot be swapped any more than it can be refunded, unless it arrived damaged or defective, in which case Customer Service is the published route.

After 60 Days: Warranties Take Over

Past the return window, this policy hands you over to warranties, and Bass Pro Shops’ own-brand coverage is longer than most. All Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s brand rods carry a 1-year warranty, and four Johnny Morris rods — the Platinum Signature, Signature Series, CarbonLite 2.0 and Patriot — carry a ten (10) year warranty. Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s branded boots, shoes and waders carry a one (1) year warranty against manufacturer defects — a limited warranty that does not cover normal wear and tear — and proprietary branded merchandise generally carries a one (1) year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. The corollary: electronics and non-Bass Pro brand rods and reels covered by a manufacturer’s warranty should be returned to the manufacturer for replacement or repair after 60 days, and merchandise under a manufacturer’s warranty generally goes directly to the manufacturer. For the big toys, Bass Pro Shops will facilitate repair on boats, trailers and ATVs/UTVs within the manufacturer’s warranty period. Keep proof of purchase with this gear: the warranty clock, like the return clock, starts at the purchase date.

Bass Pro Shops Contact Options

Option	Details
In-store returns and exchanges	Any Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s store — greeter’s desk check-in, then Customer Service; bring your receipt or order number and photo ID
Return labels (online/catalog orders)	Request with your order number and order email via the shipping confirmation email link, or from Order History → Start a Return at basspro.com
Mail returns	Customer Returns, 501 Cliffhaven Rd, Prairie Du Chien, WI 53821 — complete the printed return form for store purchases
Damaged or defective safety-list items	Contact Customer Service directly (the help centre offers customer service chat)
Full policy	The complete Return Policy is published on help.basspro.com

Bass Pro Shops on Social Media

Bass Pro Shops’ official profiles, as linked from its help centre footer, include:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bassproshops/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bassproshops
• X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/bassproshops
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/basspro

Bass Pro Shops does not process returns through social media — use a store, the mail route above, or Customer Service through help.basspro.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

• Walmart Return Policy
• Target Return Policy
• Costco Return Policy
• Amazon Return Policy
• Best Buy Return Policy
• Home Depot Return Policy
• Lowe’s Return Policy
• Kohl’s Return Policy
• Nike Return Policy
• Apple Return Policy

Conclusion

Bass Pro Shops’ return policy is two policies sharing one counter: a straightforward 60 days with proof of purchase, cross-brand between Bass Pro and Cabela’s, with labels and QR codes for the mail — and a hard safety wall behind which firearms, ammunition, treestands and mouth calls never come back at all. The receipt is worth real money here, because without one your refund shrinks to the lowest sale price on a gift card. Keep the receipt, keep the fuel out of anything you might return, and remember that the own-brand rods and boots carry a year of warranty long after the 60 days have gone.

Disclaimer: Policy Return is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Bass Pro Shops. Return policies can change at any time; always confirm the current policy on Bass Pro Shops’ official website before making a return.

Checked against Bass Pro Shops’ published policy on 1 November 2026. Policies change; the retailer’s official page is the final word.