Crazy looks?

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damooster

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Went to a gun store that my friend nor I have ever been to. He wanted to buy a Ruger SP101 and asked if they had any "new in the box, factory sealed." The guy looked at him with a really crazy expression on his face and said "no, we open up everything."

Being new to purchasing guns myself, I don't know if what my friend requested is unusual, so I wanted to ask you guys. Is it asking too much to get a gun that's new in the box and never opened? Why do they have to open them?
 
A dealer needs to open the box and confirm the serial number when he receives the weapon.
 
But Wait, There's More

Yes, serial number confirmation. That, alone, will ensure you won't see a "sealed box" go out the door.

I recently picked up a S&W 586-7, brand new, never been kissed. Yet it had been opened to verify the serial number. Store procedures. Gotta do log entries and stuff.

Additionally, I insisted that we check out the trigger, hammer, safety, cylinder, grips, and sights to make sure the one I'm getting handles as well as the one on display.

Most of the stores (of my acquaintance) also want to ensure that what they're selling works. They always pull the unit out of its case or box and check basic function. One of the stores I visit goes so far as to demonstrate the tear-down procedure and do the initial lube.

I dunno, I'm just more comfortable if I've had a chance to "twiddle the knobs" before I take a new pet home. Even if I were buying an exact copy of something I already have, I'd want to fondle it first.
 
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If I may ask a question on top of your question, would there be some significance in purchasing a gun "factory sealed" over an opened seal? Could this ensure a buyer the gun had no previous owner?
 
The gun isn't going to be "virgin" anyway, most makers will test fire them before they leave the factory.
As for shops, they need to be darn sure that:
A-- The correct model is in the box
B-- The serial numbers match up for their records.
The BATFE and CA state DOJ are just drooling over the prospect of finding reasons to shut a gun dealer down.
 
If your friend really has to "see" the box get opened, as some one else mentioned, get someone with an FFL to whom you can have your purchases sent. The guy that gets me my guns (I call him the crack dealer) stores arrivals in his safe. When you come in, he lets you open it up (at which time he gets the serial # for his records). Course, if your friend wanted an "in the box" new gun to store that way, I guess he is out of luck.
 
Is it asking too much to get a gun that's new in the box and never opened?
Click to expand...

All the new firearms I've bought have been from the same store, so I can't say I'm widely experienced in how most FFLs operate, but if they didn't open any boxes, where the hell did they get all that steel handing on the racks or lying under the glass? I think buying a gun is more like buying a car than anything else.
 
I don't think "factory sealed" is a big deal. As posted above,the shops need to check it out first. I''ve never bought a high dollar enough gun where it would matter anyhow. New in the box is still close enough for me.

At the shop I frequent, a lot of times with popular models the one in the case is the display,and then if you buy it you get a brand new one from the back. I still always ask to inspect the one I'm getting.
 
Now, here in Ohio, every new handgun sold (I'm told)has a fired shell in a little brown envelope in the box...
The three I've bought this past year have all had them.

I'm told that it is so mfg's can meet some states requirements for ballistic databases.
If your new Sig didn't have it, then your state agency probably does.

Thus, NIB = once fired. But the price was raised to cover the additional mfg step.:banghead:
 
"I still always ask to inspect the one I'm getting"
Amen to that brother! I want to look any gun over carefully and fondle it a bit before it leaves the store with me.
 
My friend got burned on his last purchase so he thought he would ask to get one new in the box.

I can understand why they have to bring it out of the box, but I guess you guys can see how a firearms dealers could take advantage of novice gun purchasers like my friend and myself. I like to think I do my due dilligence, but nothing beats a trained eye and neither one of us has that yet, so we're left trusting the gun dealer (as we don't really know anyone that is good at inspecting weapons).

In case you're wondering, the last gun he bought he paid brand new price for a refurbished pistol. He eventually got his money back, but it was a pain.
 
Find a reputable dealer.

Find a reputable dealer, tell them that you want and that you want it new. You will find everything to be in order. There should be a cable lock with most, a safety pamphlet and owners manual with all and the box is a given.

Dealers, as stated, have to open the boxes/cases to verify S/N's. They also like very much for you to "twiddle the knobs" on a gun you're plunking down cash on. If you find something wrong, they may have another one in the safe. If you get home and discover it, you're unhappy and inconvenienced. They know this translates into bad press.

I go into a certain fun shop about once a month. Mostly I go in to snoop and drool. They are always the same. "Can I help you?" Me says "No, just lookin'". They leave me alone to look. Sometimes, though, they ask the question and I says to them "Yeah, I'm looking for X." Then they pay a lot of attention to me, answer any questions, etc. Let a good dealer know you're interested in something and they'll try their best to work with you. As for getting a refurbished gun sold as new, I'd go to another dealer.
 
I don't see where "factory sealed" is a big deal. It's a gun, it'sgona get shot, get d=irty, scrathed worn, etc. Having it been opened or God forbid, handled, prior to the purchase...Oh my! That'd be like buying a car and not having it been driven before. Somewhere someone along the lines has opened it and checked it over. In the case of firearms, not only the dealer would need to check it but also the distributor would possibly verify the contents as well in some cases. To me, asking for such purity is simply being anal/pita.
 
I don't see where "factory sealed" is a big deal. It's a gun, it'sgona get shot, get d=irty, scrathed worn, etc. Having it been opened or God forbid, handled, prior to the purchase...Oh my! That'd be like buying a car and not having it been driven before. Somewhere someone along the lines has opened it and checked it over. In the case of firearms, not only the dealer would need to check it but also the distributor would possibly verify the contents as well in some cases. To me, asking for such purity is simply being anal/pita.
Click to expand...

If you would have read my previous posts, you would see why he had asked for one new in the box. We both understand that it has been fired and handled before, but that's by the people making/testing the equipment. What's wrong with asking for a gun that hasn't been handled by a gazillion customers before taking it home?

I didn't appreciate your sarcasm.

Good day.
 
Instead of focusing on and replying to the sarcasm, why didn't you answer my question? - which was legitimate and sincere. If not to ensure there was no previous owner, then what? What other reason(s) could there be for requesting a factory seal?
 
I understand your friends motives after going through a bad process before, but you have to bear in mind that these are guns, not camcorders. You'll pretty much never see the seal broken, unless:
-you were there when they recieved the shipment
-you have a friend with an FFL that orders guns new from the manufacturer
 
Yeah --- and a couple of detectives here told me that --- with all the expense and hoopla, the number of cases solved by those COBIS shells = (you guessed it): 0.
 
QC

The quality dealer is the final QC for the customer.

For 16 years I had a full line gun store in a mall. All new guns [used too] were checked by myself or my armorer. If there was a problem, gun was returned to manufacturer or distributor and never seen by the customer.:)
 
If I may ask a question on top of your question, would there be some significance in purchasing a gun "factory sealed" over an opened seal? Could this ensure a buyer the gun had no previous owner?
Click to expand...

Not just to ensure that there was no prior owner, but to make sure that it wasn't a refurbished gun or one that a million people put their hands on.
 
By "sealed" do you mean one that is in the box instead of on display?

The reason I ask is I've never heard of an actual seal on a gun box.
 
I just bought a Bushmaster Varminter and when the guy brought the box out of the basement where everything is stored, we had to pry the metal clips that secured the end flap to get the case out. It had not been opened prior to that.

Oh, there were brass marks on the case deflector indicating that it HAD been shot, and more than once. Nice rifle, by the way!
 
damooster said:
I didn't appreciate your sarcasm.

Good day.
Click to expand...

No offense intended, but you have a very low number of posts here.

You post a question on an open Internet forum you may well get answers you don't like.

If you can't deal with that maybe a subscription to Guns and Ammo would be more appropriate.

You can't freak out every time someone gives you an answer you didn't expect or don't agree with.
 
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