[wunderkind]

I was browsing in a local gun shop the other day. This guy I'd never seen before was playing the haggling game on a S&W 629, a beautiful 4" .44.

After a little dickering, which is expected on a used gun, they finally reach a price. Then the fella wanted that price written on a business card for future reference.

He was told, no, that price is cash-on-the-barrel, today only.

Most likely, he wanted to shop around at other shops after striking a deal.

For my part, if I go shopping, it's with cash in pocket. If I agree on a price, I like to either buy it outright or put half down on layaway.

This guy took up about 45 minutes of the clerk's time.

Any gun shop owners/salepersons with amusing stories about these cheapskates that wheel & deal but don't put their 'money where their mouth is?" Is it just part of doing business?

(I like a great deal as much as the next guy, I'm not advocating paying ripoff prices to keep shops going-I'd take a new Ultra Carry for fifty bucks if they'd let me!)

[TechBrute]

wunderkind, you are a dealer's best friend. A dealer won't sell a gun for less than he wants to. he'll let you haggle him down to the lowest price he considers fair, and then he wants your money.

The bonehead that wants the lowest price and then doesn't buy ruins it for the rest of us.

[Feanaro]

I would consider that quite rude. You have gotten a dealer down to a price he can make a profit on and you can stand. If you don't buy it there is no point in haggling and you have wasted the dealer's time.

[DMK]

I never haggle unless I'm prepared to buy right there. I consider walking away after agreeing on a fair price, the ultimate insult.

If I'm comparison shopping, the most I'd ask is "would you consider going lower?" (just to see if they are flexable) and I'd leave the conversation at the owner's response.

[wunderkind]

I'm a big fan of the 4" heavy-barrel .38 service-type revolvers. When I see one that I like, one method I like to use is putting a 'low end of the spectrum' offer on the back of a business card.

Not an insulting offer, but definitely the low range. I figure I'm in the driver's seat in the 4" service revolver arena (esp. in this age of titanium revolvers and CCW autos)

Sometimes a dealer will take the offer on the spot, since I have an affinity for a slow-moving segment.

I have picked up some former cop/security guard M&P's and Taurus M82's for under 150.00 this way.

I win, I get a fully-functional firearm with YEARS of remaining life for a song. And the shop gets rid of an 'unwanted' service 4" gun. (Helps make room for the latest Kahr or S&W 1911...)

[dinosaur]

"How much for cash?" If I don`t like the price, I politely decline.

[PCRCCW]

I haggle all of the time..but if I dont intend on buying it right then...I simply let them know.

" Im getting $$$$ in a week and would like to know your best deal on **** gun? If we like the deal...Ill put it on laway for a week and poof!

But to let it happen like you described is just being a pain in the ars.

Shoot well

[clubsoda22]

I wish my dad kept his Model 10 M&P. He sold it long before he started teaching me to shoot. Since then we haven't had a revolver aside from the single six (three lug, which is a collectors item now, so isn't fired). I learned on a ruger MKII and moved on to a 1911. The taurus and bersa were my purchaces. As you can guess, due to this my accuracy and speed greatly suffers when I pick up a wheelgun. I need to buy one and get in shape. Personally, i love the look of a snubnose revolver with a giant bore. Might get a CA Bulldog.

[Pain]

That's most likely why Most of my experiences with local gunshops have been less than favorable, because of guys like this. But their additude usually changes after they see my friends Franklin, Grant, And Jackson

[Brad Johnson]

This is why my local dealer and I have such a good relationship. I don't waste his time jerking him around. He knows that I only talked about price when I'm serious, and it's always the same. "What's your bottom dollar cash out the door?". He gives me a number. If I like it I pull out the bills. If not I politely decline and we go on to more productive things. Both of us know that it's nothing personal if we can't come to an agreement.

Brad

[Wildalaska]

"Hi, can I see the ______ over there"

"Sure"

[Sound of bolt/lever being worked or cylinder flipped closed or slide droopped with lots of dry firing) "Wow thats nice! I like it!"

"would ya like to take it home?"

"no thanks anyway, my buddy has an FFL, he will get it for me at cost, I just wanted to see one"

Mental thought: Hope he can fix it for you when it breaks...

WilditsnicetobetheonlyrealgunsmithsaroundAlaska

[SnWnMe]

I didn't even know a little haggling is okay in a gun shop! I thought haggling was something you do with vendors who have sidewalk stalls. I look at the price on the tag and that's what I pay if I want the gun.

Now I am better "armed" for my next purchase. Is it alright to haggle even though one has not done any business with a prospective shop? Or do I wait until I become a "regular" or the local gun shop groupie?

[Bravo11]

I wouldn't say haggle but I definitely want his best price.
I shop around by going to the dealers and asking them their best price.
After about 4 or 5 calls I usually have the best price. If the price is only a small amount in difference then I go with my regular arms dealer.

[Kevlarman]

Question: when you say you're paying in cash, does that mean you have a giant wad of bills in your pocket?

How about negotiating a price, then running out to the store quickly to get a money order, or to the bank to get aforementioned wad of cash?

[Standing Wolf]

If you don't buy it there is no point in haggling and you have wasted the dealer's time.

True, but I doubt I'd feel very guilty about it: plenty of gun shop people have wasted plenty of my time—and money—over the years with lies, baloney, misinformation, disinformation, and plain old-fashioned stupidity.

When I haggle over a gun's price, I mentally set a maximum price I'm willing to pay, and won't go above it even for a gun I really like. The dealer has his minimum price. If we can meet somewhere in the middle, fine, but if not, I'm sure he doesn't have the only example of the gun ever made.

[C.R.Sam]

The bonehead that wants the lowest price and then doesn't buy ruins it for the rest of us.

Yup.

If I have examined a gun and like it. I will offer the lower of: tag price or what I want to pay. In cash, on the spot.

We have a term for those who wrangle for a price and then say, "The wife is across the street with the money, I'll be right back" Or other similar get out of the store stories. That term is " I'llbees ".

Once in a blue moon one will actually come back with the bucks. Then the expression is " Illbee darned "

Sam

[mgjohn]

Yes, I see those all the time. The ones I really like are the ones that will come in and price a special order piece, then come back 6 months later wanting the same price.

[JohnBT]

Kevlarman - Cash makes the best impression, but running out to the bank isn't unheard of. Everybody I've bought from in the past umpteen years has treated a check as cash.

Well, one guy at a gun show started to say something until I pulled out a Visa card. Using a charge card costs them money. I offered to go get the cash, but I guess a check in the hand...

...What does he have to worry about anyway, he has my life history on a form, my driver's license, my carry permit(2nd ID) and the okay from the State Police. Come to think of it, I wrote an equity line check for my Subaru and only had to show my driver's license. I used the first check they gave me when I opened the account and it didn't even have my name printed on it. "Here're your keys sir, have a nice weekend." The bank called me the following Tuesday to make sure it was really me that bought the car. :)

John

[19112XS]

I have seen dealers that won't haggle until the prospective buyer has established that he (she) has the resources to complete their end of the transaction on the spot.

A friend (Ralph) is fond of saying "Be careful of the offer you make. He might take you up on it."

If a person has haggled me to bottom dollar and walked, I will be less likely to spend time with them in the future.

Bottom line: Money talks, BS walks.

[Kahr carrier]

The old term -Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is what I use ,I wont waste my time or the clerks time haggling if Im not planning on buying it then and there.

[capt_happypants]

One reason why gunshop employees hate the idea of haggling is that there's hardly any profit left in new guns. At least in my neck of Snow Bunny Country, most shops make about 10% on their new guns.

A lot of times, I'll pull out the wholesale price sheet on Brand X and show it to the customer: "Here's our wholesale price." I then pull out the calculator, mark up the wholesale price 10%, and that curbs deal-seeking on new guns. If customer pulls out cash, I will knock off 2% off the price of a gun.

With that said, there's more profit built into ammo, accessories, and the like. That's an area to considering haggling with. Interested in a Glock? See if you get the dealer to knock $20 off a pair of Trijicon nightsights if you buy the gun*.

I'm more than happy to knock 10 or 20% off a holster with a gun sale.


*Incidentally, there's an extra set of Trijicon nightsights for Glocks at Blast-O-Rama. PM me and I'll sell them at $100.

[10-Ring]

I really hated guys like that when I was in retail. Then if/when tey returned, I would never give them that price again. As a matter of fact, I'd usually give them a price $20 more than before for wasting everyone's time!:fire:

[JohnKSa]

If you want to comparison shop, do it with the MARKED prices.

I haggle at gunshows.

In a shop, I'll smile and ask them what my special price is. The smile is important--it lets us both pretend that I'm joking if they don't want to negotiate. I MIGHT make a counter offer if they come down without a big mood downswing, but any more than that is not going to make friends.

Face it, a lifetime of moderately good deals beats one really awesome deal. If you part friends, you'll get a good price next time around. Screw with the guy and he's going to grimace when he sees you coming in the door from here on out.

The shops I frequent now give me excellent deals and I rarely have to even negotiate at all. Because they know I'm great advertising, and because they know they're going to keep making money on me as long as I've got any money to spend.

45 minutes of haggling followed by a "let me look around" is definitely over the edge.

For the record, my OTHER favorite gun shop is Ammo Depot in Caddo Mills TX. They don't have a website though.

[WonderNine]

My favorite gunshop also happens to be the one that does transfers for $15. One time two guns of mine came in on the same day and he only charged me $15 total. "Same amount of paperwork", Bruce says. Always 5-10 minutes in and out on transfers. They let me look at anything I want and the owner is super nice and so are the clerks, except for one that was a major @$$ to some of the customers (although he was only a semi-@$$ to me) and they fired his (well you know) last month. :D

I've only bought one gun from them out of the display case and it was bought with a partial trade that I was given full book value on it.

Guess where the first place I look for a gun is? Guess where I always do all of my transfers at? Guess where the first place is that I will look for a new Kahr MK9 elite 98 and (if it's at a fair price) will buy from? MOST IMPORTANTLY, guess where I recommend all of my friends to go? My favorite shop of course.

The other local shop (not the local sporting goods store barf, barf) has a little better inventory, but charges $25 per transfer, is almost as friendly and also doesn't groan when I want to look at something. I will go to them second and am slightly hesitant to buy directly out of the display case as I don't really give a crap about them because their transfer fees are higher and their prices are usually not very good.

I HATE the local sporting goods store, MORON clerks, 1 hour of waiting to transfer a gun and mucho B.S. and they don't haggle on their gun prices it seems. Yes they have a new Browning Hi-Power Standard blued for $699 and a new Beretta Elite 1 blued for $799 :barf:, but they occasionaly have a nice price on a nice used piece.

My favorite shop has made hundreds of dollars and untold regular customers off of me because of friendliness without being phony and decent prices combined with the lowest transfer fee.

[AZ Husker]

Rule #1: Do your homework, know what you want, and what you are willing to pay before you walk in the store.
Rule #2: Even if you've done #1, do not go to the shop, play touchy-feely, and talk prices UNLESS you've got cash in hand, a good credit card, or a check if acceptable.

We call those that don't comply "sidewalk commandos, mall ninjas" etc.

As a buyer, whether at a show or in a shop, most sellers know I'm serious because I come prepared and knowledgeable. I do write a lowball price (not insulting) on my card and say something like "I'd like to leave a bid on this xxxx. If it doesn't sell and you're interested, please give me a call". This gives the seller a good feeling about you and leaves him the chance to try to sell it. You'd be surprised how often I get that call back, often the same day while I'm in the gunshow.

[WonderNine]

Damn AZHusker, do I have to do all that homework before I look at and demo VCR's from my local electronics store "Team Electronics" and "Egger's Audio" too, or are gun shops special in that way? Should they have the special priviledge of looking crosseyed at anyone who hasn't bought a couple of $1,000 guns from them before? While any other store should treat you as a customer?

Rule #1: Do your homework, know what you want, and what you are willing to pay before you walk in the store.
Rule #2: Even if you've done #1, do not go to the shop, play touchy-feely, and talk prices UNLESS you've got cash in hand, a good credit card, or a check if acceptable.

Apparently shoppers are not welcome in gun stores. Only buyers. But you can't be a buyer unless you are a shopper first? Hahaha, the vicious cycle continues of gun store owners whining about time wasters vs. prospective buyers who are weary of gunshops. Is it any wonder alot of people feel intimidated when they walk in? Is it any wonder why 5 hole in the wall gunshops go under every day? (I found that statistic on VPC's website, so it must be true.)

[AZ Husker]

Nah, it's ok to shop. Walk around, look, point, fantasize, ask a few questions, maybe hold one (or two if you bring coffee and donuts), but don't start bickering till you're ready to buy! :neener:

[243_shooter]

Not big on dickering myself.. Fortunately they are starting to get to know me, and my cash only paid in full on the spot policy.. Usually the "cash price" is fair to both of us (hey, they gotta make money to...!!). Maybe they are giving me a volume discount.. LOL..

I may be the exception but I don't mind paying 10% extra to buy from a friendly mom + pop store where they know you bye name and are always glad to see you, even if your just in there daydreaming..

I even buy my accessories there. I fully realize they can't compete with a mega-inventory mail order place, and I don't expect them to. The ability to actually look at what I'm buying ahead of time more than makes up for the often marginal savings when all things are considered.

My last purchase I swayed from my usual shop (extenuating circumstances, found a 4" 686 that was exactly what I was looking for, with the serial number of XXX2004 the same year my baby girl is due to arrive on the scene).. The service SUCKED, the price was cheaper than my regular shop, but had it not been for the serial number, they wouldn't have gotten a penny from me. Needless to say I won't be back.

Leo

[LiquidTension]

I do my price shopping on the internet before I go to any stores. I know how much I can get it for after shipping and transfer and the guys at the store know it. "I can get this gun for $XXX, but I'm willing to pay a little more to get it from you. I'm paying with cash - what can you do?" If they quote me a price that's too high, I walk and there are no hard feelings. They understand being able to get it somewhere else cheaper and I understand them needing to make money. I still go back to the stores and buy accessories and stuff anyway, so they don't hate me.

Haggling is part of buying a gun, even a NEW gun. For me, it's just part of the process and lets me practice my superb negotiating skills :D They make most of their money on accessories anyway, just like computer sales.

[Griff]

Flip the tag over. On the back might could be a funky-looking number, like 002. Try reading it backwards. That very well could be the bottom-basement price the salesman's allowed to go to. At least, that's how we did it with guitars.
Just don't forget that if the shop don't make money, they won't be around long, and you'll have to go to Super-Mart. IMO, some things are worth paying for, regardless.

[Bacchus]

Well put, Wondernine.

I never thought of it that way.

[wunderkind]

I didn't realize dealer margins were so low on new guns. Thanks for the info.

[MyRoad]

There are a couple of gun stores in my area, two I frequent most often. One has an owner who is by nature plain rude, and so I don't like to give him my business. Recentlly, he had a really good price on a gun I was looking for, so I went to the guy I like better and told him that I'd rather give him my money, but could he match the price. He couldn't, and I felt really bad. I was being sincere, but I think he thought I was playing hard ball. Oh well.

I usually tell them outright, that like themselves, I will try to get the best deal I can, and then ask them if they are interested in competative bidding. The answer is usually "it depends on the gun", but I NEVER get this ball rolling unless I'm ready and able to buy. I expect to have a long-term relationship with these shop owners.

[tatters]

I buy a lot of my guns from a volume type dealer. He sell a bunch, and I mean a bunch of guns. He gets great prices on what he buys. He won't give prices on the phone, and he prefers that you have a general idea of what you want before you hit his door. This keeps his transaction time to a minimum. He also asks that you call before coming out to his place, so he knows how many people to expect at any given time. Also helps a bit with his security.

The good thing about him, is he's a shooter himself and has dealt with the local shops. He didn't like what he saw, so he started his own shop. I'm not a rich man, so buying from him supports a local shop, and also pretty much assures a good price compared to other shops in town.