Bargaining at gun shops

It all depends on the shop. Get to know the men that work there and be friendly towards them, stop in fairly often, and develo a rapport. This will go an extremely long way sometimes.

If they have had it four years, then 25% to 50% off would be a no brainier but the fact that they have had it four years might mean they won't deal on it, but it never hurts to ask.

Offer 20-25% less and say Cash. Negotiate from there.
Dean

Yea cash will play the biggest factor, they can avoid the credit transaction fee. I guess it will depend on if it's a new or used gun.

You never know unless you ask. Don't be afraid to ask! They say no and you keep going till you feel comfortable. If they have not agreed where you are comfortable paying then it's not meant to be.

A good start is to ask what their bottom dollar is on the gun. Some shops won't move an inch. I volunteered to work at a shop where the owner wouldn't budge off the sticker price. He had a small shop on his farm for years and I did all his gun cleaning and small gunsmithing work. When he bought building in town and put in a 12 lane range and expanded all other merchandize he made it a policy to not come down. I told him it was a big mistake. He wouldn't come down on the cost of range time either. I also told him that was a big mistake. He went belly up in 4 years. He had no concept of the need to volume sell in order to pay overhead and employee wages. Seldom was more than 3 or 4 lanes being used. I told him to do the math - 4 lanes at his price or perhaps 9 or 10 lanes active if he would come down in price. I had a guy wanting a new Browning rifle. I had him up to buying three Browning guns if the owner would give a discount. He wouldn't budge so the guy walked. I didn't blame him a bit. So ask what they will take. If they give you a 10% off, offer to buy if they come down 15 or 20 %. If they will not perhaps you can get it for 12% off or perhaps something thrown in with the deal. A used sling, or gun case for example.
If they won't budge off sticker, and it is a good price, then buy if you want it.

If a store doesn’t want to budge on a price I have found that if I offer the asking price in cash out the door they will often accept. It may not be much in other states but here in Tennessee that still saves me 10 percent sales tax and a $10 background check fee.

This may have already been mentioned but I try and look at what an object is worth to me and not get too concerned about how much they are profiting, I feel better that way.

j

This year? Probably no bargaining; most gun shops I walk into can't keep a functioning gun under glass.

In a normal year, sans Banic, I typically make certain I know what it's going for on GunBroker (not listing for, but selling for) and start with a 75% of sticker price cash offer. That works half the time, and sometimes we land at 90% of sticker price.

If they act scandalized that I would impugn their modesty by making an aggressive offer. . . that's typically the last time I make an offer at that business.

To paraphrase Mad Dog Mattis, "be polite, be professional, and have a plan to walk away from any deal you'll regret later."

I used to make it a point to never pay asking price in a gun shop or at a show. I'd always ask for bottom dollar, cash, OTD. If they didn't budge, I didn't buy. If they came down a little, I'd counter offer or try to bundle. Never hurts to ask.
Anymore if it's a fair price on something I want, I just buy it and go on.

ETA. If you know they've had it for 4 years, did you only recently decide you may want it or was it the thought of getting it on the cheap the attraction?

My LGS lists their guns at their best price. No hassle buying. They usually beat all their competitors and are close on internet sales when figuring in FFL fees and shipping. If they have what I want, I buy from them. They are also glad to special order. Even in all the COVID craziness their pricing has not budged.

How much would you take for that if I paid cash?

Hoyte said:

Would 25-30% off be asking too much?

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Better to make an offer , then not. You may get lucky if price is full list price.? MSRP.
But
New or used- Gun cost dealer $500.
Markup is 20% = $600 retail.
Buyer wants 30% off = $420 retail. This is why its still there.

Do ask for 2% cash discount, a free box of ammo or a cheap holster.

Note that guns increase in value every year. Inflation. I remember Pres Carter years with double digit inflation. Sell a new gun, reorder the same model, now 12% higher price, sure hurts the profit margin.

I generally just make an offer of whatever I want to make an offer for and move on. Sometimes I get laughed at, sometimes I get handed a 4473. There usually is very little in between the offer and the answer.

Perfect example, my ugly duckling model 10-6. I got it a couple years ago for a bit less than 200. They had it marked at 229 I think and it was pretty rough cosmetically, but functionally it was immaculate and the smoothest DA trigger I have ever felt. I offered 175 out the door and they did some math and checked their books to see what they had in it and said no, but they would do 175 sale price plus tax and background check which meant about $200. I fired back I would do 175 plus tax and they handed me paperwork.

You have to know what the realistic value of the gun is before you negotiate. That way you know if there is room to "haggle" and how much. The price marked may already be "to good to pass" but if you don;t know it, you may walk away because they will not fudge. IME, many of those guns that sit on the shelf "for years" are those where the owner is not in a hurry to sell and where the price is seldom negotiable. Still it don't hurt to ask.

Scheel's and Cabela's don't bargain on their used guns regardless.

At the independent gun shops I've done business with sometimes I try to find out if I'm offering on a consignment sale. On occasion I've been able to get a lower price on a consignment (because accepting the offer is up to the consigner). But if it's being offered by the dealer from his used gun inventory, then I never bargain. On the occasions I've tried, it's been a waste of time.

Over the years i've purchased numerous firearms from pawn shops. If i really want the gun my line goes like this: "Don't have that amount on me, i'll go home and return". More than half the time the shop owner quotes a price. One memorable purchase was a pristine Remington model 670 20 gauge shotgun with corncob fore end manufactured in the early 1950s. Shop wanted $300 for the gun. Replied with my line and the owner asked: "How much you got on you" . Told her $225. Her answer: "You just bought a shotgun " .

A lot will also depend if the gun is on consignment or not

243winxb said:

Do ask for 2% cash discount, a free box of ammo or a cheap holster.

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I'm old enough to remember when most local gun shops customarily threw in a box of free ammo when one bought a new gun.

One of my local shops does a lot of consignment. I'll ask a buddy that works there if he knows the owner who consigned the gun, and have then made offers that were accepted. Helps if you know your gunshop owner and how much he normally pays for used guns or how he works trades. Knowing how much the shop has into a gun sometimes gives a little room to dicker, so I always ask when they're used guns. It pays to network at your LGS, hang out, shoot the breeze, and make sure they remember that every fifth time you come in the door, you spend money ... Small shops sometimes give a loyal customer a break.

It all depends. One dealer had a shotgun and I asked her if she would deal a bit on the price. Had a giant fit. The next table, the guy dropped a little off the same gun. It works elsewhere. Ask if they can do better. A polite no as this is the best price is a good response as compared to a hissy fit.

My usual question is, "What's the best that you can do on this?"
It's more open-ended, with no pressure involved on either side.
Works more often than not.

I often lead in with, “What kind of a deal can you make me on this?” Or similar.

Sometimes, I am pleasantly surprised how low they go. If not, there is usually a little more room to bargain with.

Edited to add: At first I was a bit surprised at how many places don’t negotiate but then I remember that I seem to be in the extreme minority in that I virtually only ever buy used guns. On used guns you can make deals, not so often on new. A place I worked at marked all new guns a bit higher than they would normally to make their desired margin just so they could make a little deal and make customers happy that way. They probably made more money than the business they lost from the customers who were not savvy enough to ask.

I start with asking if they’re willing to negotiate. In my experience most places aren’t.

As an I associate I used to ask people if they negotiated with their grocery store for the price of milk. That gets the message across quick. Some people act like they’re doing you a favor buying the gun at a discount.