To exacerbate the issue, Sitka has been selling new and discontinued inventory lower than what these companies bought for, undercutting everyone with any of their inventory."
If this is true, I'd like to see actual references and/or examples of it..
I belong to their "Pro Plan" and am able to purchase Sitka directly from them at discounted rates.
When they offer "sales" to their pro plan members, it is typically for a very small variety of items.. and never for any of the super high in demand stuff (for example Ive never seen them offer waders at a "sale" price)..
I have seen them offer discontinued stuff on sale.. but generally speaking thats on stuff like logo'd t-shirts, hoodies, etc.. and not on their core hunting gear, etc.. and even then the special discounts are only offered to their pro-plan members (a very small, limited number of people that wouldnt impact retailers at all)...
Any time I have seen Sitka put things on "sale" to the general public, I have seen those same sale prices extended at big retailers like Cabelas and Scheels.. what Joe Public can buy a Sitka Optifade Jacket for has always been the same price as Joe Public could buy the same jacket at Scheels for.. whether on sale or at full retail price and time I have price checked..
If there are exceptions, I havent personally seen them..
I agree that as a rule Sitka is overpriced for what it offers at full retail..
But at the pro-plan price (still not cheap) I find its one of the best options out there..
Of course other premium providers of outdoor/hunting wear also have their own version of pro-plans, and/or use sites like guidefitter (and others) to offer their stuff at discounted rates to certain buyer groups as well..
This extends well past clothing.. Swaro and Zeiss.. Steiner.. Badlands.. Mystery Ranch.. Leupold.. etc..etc.. (hundreds upon hundreds of premium product providers that cater to the hunting industry) all have similar programs where certain buyer groups can get stuff at the equivalent of "dealer" pricing..