Disappointed with my local gun shop

[JWC]

Having been in retail before I know that treating your customer right is a big deal and word of mouth is very important. I do not like that the guns were being shown, but were not for sale to the public. That is just very wrong for a retailer to do that. He should have had them in the back and no customers would have known of his intentions. However, when gun prices jump to the level that they have, and people are BUYING them at these high prices, why would he not sell for that higher price? It would not be good business for him to overlook an opportunity to sell his product at a higher price. Again, this is not price gouging. You DO NOT have to buy and it is NOT a normal necessity. Here is an example of how gun prices have jumped, and not just on the Evil Black Rifles and mags. This SELLING price, is at least $600 to $800 high, but it SOLD at that price. That is why retailers are looking at the internet for additional buyers. Here is the link.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=323553341

 

[Zastava]

Some of you believe in the fabricated concept of thinking & speaking into existence... lol

 

[brzelt]

At the end of the day, the small shops tout or want us to get the feeling of superior service and friendliness. They better or else the bucks head to a place of consistent
quantity and pricing. I hope they do not forget that in the end. These shops have the right to sell their wares wherever they want, but they have to have a high level of prudence and awareness on how they go about it. Whenever you lose the customers feeling of being on the up an up the business loses.... Always.



Bruce

 

[Kag3musha]

At the end of the day, the small shops tout or want us to get the feeling of superior service and friendliness. They better or else the bucks head to a place of consistent
quantity and pricing. I hope they do not forget that in the end. These shops have the right to sell their wares wherever they want, but they have to have a high level of prudence and awareness on how they go about it. Whenever you lose the customers feeling of being on the up an up the business loses.... Always.



Bruce

I am new to ODT but not new to life or business. I am not grumpy with any store/business that follows the market and works to capitalize on its inventory. HOWEVER the LGS need to drop the "we are the friendly local store" schtick and simply be up and up on the reasons they exist, to make money. You buy local so you can get it NOW, really there should be no other reason.

Thus no one should lambast ANY consumer that, in the future, chooses to buy solely based on price, not loyalty, not "saving the local guy" or anything other drivel like that. Buying/selling is just a business transaction and BOTH sides need to accept that.

 

[19 Kilo]

I talked to my local shop about this same thing. The decision was to NOT put anything out on the floor if it were going on GB. It's not a smart thing to put an item on the floor with a price tag and tell folks that they have to buy at GB prices. You don't know what GB prices are until the auction ends. This is a prefect example of how not to do business.

That being said, would sell everything that's included in the craze on GB. No one starts a business to only help the community, the start it to help themselves and have a better life. Selling at the highest prices possible is part of it and anyone that says they wouldn't do it, don't have their own business or is a fool. Most gun shops feel that their way of life is on the down side and had better make all they can while they can all while planning a way out. I know I would, and so would everyone else here if they owned a gun shop. The profit on new guns are only now decent. Before the craze the only way to bank money in a gun store was to sell a ton of guns and ammo, or a lot of the items that go along with them. There is only $30-$40 on a new gun with several hundred invested, the items that go with a gun are where the profit is. The accessories have a mark up of 60-100%, where guns top out at 10-20%.

I was talking to a business major last week that was complaining about the increase in prices. It was a pretty crude conversation with this guy's language and attitude. He spoke of how he wouldn't be such a "Richard" and how crazy the POS gun owner was. I asked him how he would do it and I got the whole keep prices down make my customers happy spill. After the conversation settled down a bit I told him to talk to his liberal professor (guessing here) about the whole situation and see what he said the best business practices would be and get back with me on how he felt then. I think he still has a lot to learn, if he doesn't learn it in school life will teach him........and good.

 

[BamaFan]

If you leave your inventory out and have to tell customer after customer it's not for sale, you're too stupid to be a retailer.

 

[trckdrvr]

"Its is going to be funny when these gougers sell off all their inflated stock and can't get anything from from distributors...........Maybe they've made enough off their inflated prices so that they can retire early."

Maybe retirement is not what they are looking for. Maybe as a business man he is looking at keeping the doors open in the near future. I hope the folks on here that believe this will pass are right. But just for a moment lets think that it won't. Just suppose that we have seen the last of the Hi cap firearms. I have been around guns and gun shows for many years. I saw the market change from shotguns, hunting rifles and wheel guns to Glocks and ARs. Go to any gun show in Atlanta and 75% of what you see is black plastic. Not bashing black plastic. I have some myself.
Back to the shop owner. He has a family to feed a house to pay for. He is looking at the possibility of 75% of his business being band. Even if it does not get banded, all the distributors are out of stock. The manufacturers will be weeks trying to get product out to the shops. Until then 75% of the shops business is gone. What do you do for income until then? How do you keep the lights on? How do you pay the employees? How do you put food on the table? I doubt seriously any one will close the doors and head to the Carribean for a long vacation. And if his shop goes under how many of his loyal customers will drop by his house and buy his family dinner?

And for those of you who believe this to will pass...You need to start watching what is going on at the state level as well as in DC...Be afraid. It is different this time. Yes the Supreme Court upheld the 2nd. But they did not leave it open to free for all. In 1934 the NFA was passed. Since that time there has been limited availability of "class 3" weapons. Yes you can own a class 3 as long as it was manufactured before 1986 and you pay the $200 fee. That fee was set back in 1934 when the average income was about $1600 a year. How many people could afford a class 3 weapon when the fee was 8 percent of their annual income? If you make $50,000 now, how many of you would hang onto your AR if the tax stamp was $4000 EACH? Or $4000 for each 30 round mag? You ***** about the cost of a Pmag now? If this goes through you will really have something to complain about. If you will read the upcoming proposals ther is language in it that states " Dedicated funding for ATF to implement registration." And where do you think that will come from? How about taxes on all items firearm related? This administration has proven it will do anything to obtain more money from the population. If I remember the polls correctly 71% of the people were against Obamacare. And look what we have.

Enjoy what you have now. I hope I am so wrong but I believe we are about to see some major changes we will not be happy about. And don't forget Obama and the UN....

Very well said..Pres.Obama is a master politician, he is the tiger woods of politics..he is miles ahead of the competition,He had his campaign mapped out to beat McCain in '08 and he won..he beat Romney quite easily,he has gotten legislation passed that i thought would never happen.
i didnt vote for him,dont care for his socialist agenda and wish he would go back to Chicago..but...

He will get this passed..Absolutely No Doubt.

 

[Trailrider]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean for this to get so out of hand as far as what you're allowed to sell your guns for, free market, capitalism, etc. My main point was guns were on display with regularly priced tags on them, and was told they couldn't sell it to me for that price because they're worth more online. That was my main point. If I can't buy it for the sticker price, then put the price you want on it if it's going to stay out on display. The prime example were the ARs out on display that said they were "auction only items" and the Glocks that had cheaper price tags on them, but I was then shown their gunbroker price.

The only guns I couldn't buy in the store were the ARs because were only auctioning them. The other inventory I would have been able to purchase in the store, but at gunbroker prices. I was literally told that "anything that used a magazine higher than 10 rounds is going for a premium online and that's what they were told to do" That's what I took offense to.

I have definitely purchased quite a bit of guns and ammo from them, and who knows, after all this blows over I'm sure they'll have awesome deals again. They're known for usually having the best prices in town. Sadly, after yesterday, I realized that is no longer the case as they're trying to maximize their profit online and that's fine and their right.

The problem is than when you're a local shop that's been kept in business by local repeat customers, you don't sell out to the highest bidder and blow off the local buyer for a profit. Sure, they'll make more money now, but you risk losing a lot of your old faithful local customer base. I can literally get a Glock cheaper at Academy now than what they want for theirs. 3 weeks ago, that was not the case.

Again, not bashing gun prices on the current free market. I know I don't have to have a particular gun right now and that the free market dictates that I don't have to pay those prices. I just guess I thought there were still a few places out there that weren't catering to the masses. That being said my personal opinion of them has changed and I've decided to no longer give them my business.

 

[rawolfee]

What about the LGS part in telling the public that they better get their guns now or never? I have personally been told or overheard 3 different LGS (different stores) workers tell customers this. It's their own business to raise prices as it is my own business to buy where i want to. But to take advantage of uninformed people and add to the buying frenzy is not ethical in my opinion. I am all for a free market system, but this whole situation has basically turned my LGS into just another source to get guns and ammo. I won't hesitate to buy from an online or large store and I won't feel an ounce of guilt for doing it. Frankly, it's always been cheaper to buy ammo online, but I used to still buy a few boxes from the LGS to show support. Some people are upset about the percieved price gouging. I am not one of those. I am upset at myself for being fooled into thinking the LGS was my friend and cared about me business.

 

[Trailrider]

Well I'm over it and said my piece and so I'm done ranting about it. It is what it is and I'll move on. At this point since the thread is getting ready to head South and turn in to all the other price threads I am going to close it and let it die. Sorry folks!