Onmilo said:
Your dealer can ONLY order from a couple distributors????
Why not just have him send his FFL and get one direct from the source?
http://www.jldenter.com
The last time I checked, JLD was no longer selling directly. JLD only sells to distributors now. I know Led Horton and Atlantic distribute for them. If you visit JLD Enter, you'll see that they don't even have their rifles displayed on their site, anymore -- just parts and accessories.
My dealer is not a stocking dealer. He runs an indoor shooting range and has some used guns for sale on a consignment basis. He can and will order for you at cost plus $25-50 (depending on the price of the gun), but only from the major distributors (like Davidson's). That means he can get all the household brands like Ruger, Colt, Winchester, Savage, S&W, Glock, Beretta, Kimber, Para Ordnance, Springfield Armory, Bushmaster, etc., but typically doesn't have ready access to smaller or specialty brands like JLD. While he
could order them, he makes so little money on them that it's not worth his time trying to track them down and get them. To order from a specialty manufacturer or small distributor he doesn't usually do business with, he has to establish an account with them, perhaps pay in advance (or get a credit line established), etc. With the big four or five distributors, he already has accounts. He also has their catalogs and knows their phone numbers. All he has to do is call, give his customer number and what he wants, and it's on its way to him.
I don't begrudge his decision not to carry more obscure stuff, because he's a businessman and he has to make some hard decisions. Besides, he gives me great service and only charges $20 to do a transfer (every other dealer in town wants $50). I also save money if I order it myself thanks to the sales tax issue. On a $1000 PTR-91, sales taxes here would be $92.50 if I bought it from my local dealer. If I buy it online or over the phone from an out-of-state seller and have it transferred through my dealer, I only pay the $20 transfer fee.
There are shops in town that will supposedly order anything you want, but I won't do business with them because of their poor attitude, rotten service and high prices. The biggest is one called "Guns and Ammo" that is better known at my gun club as "Guns and A-holes" thanks to the rude staff.
