Online vs Local Gunshop

Where do you buy your pistols?

  • Online

    Votes: 44 36.4%
  • Local Gunshop (includes gunshows)

    Votes: 89 73.6%
  • Other (see post)

    Votes: 15 12.4%

  • Total voters
    121
  • Poll closed .
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bg226

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
503
Where do you buy your pistols? I have allowed multiple choices in this poll.
 
I would go to the store/range and feel out the gun... then buy wherever I could get the best price on said gun...

Ross
 
All of the handguns I own were purchased online, except for one, and I could have gotten a far better price had I bought it online. But I do exactly what Ross described, and that almost always means I'm buying online.
 
Buying online is a gamble and has paid off pretty well for me, and has been cheaper than those locally even after the incidental expenses. Mostly though it has to do with the jaded attitudes of the local shops that keeps me out. It's just the final straw being that they price each gun as though it'll be the last one the sell... ever.
 
I voted local gun shop. The two rifles and handgun I have bought so far have all been in person. I like to leave having the product in hand and knowing its the one that I picked out and looked at.
 
I assume by online you're including auction sites and local forums for FTF transactions.

What's a local gunshop? :rolleyes:
 
Both... there are deals to be had on both fronts. Also a smart FFL knows that transfer business is good business. It does not add to his or her overhead and brings you into the store to get ammo, accessories and other higher margin items.

That said 90% of my buying is via forums and online FFLs who transfer to my local dealer.
 
I would go to the store/range and feel out the gun... then buy wherever I could get the best price on said gun...

Ross

I personally think that you are doing your local guy a huge disservice by doing this. He has overhead to keep those guns in stock. You are abusing him by using him as touch and feel hands on store when you fully intend to buy the gun somewhere else. This is not the case if you are renting a gun at a range but taking up time at a counter with no intent to buy there but to put your hands on something you are going to buy elsewhere is wrong IMHO.

Too many people waste local retailers time with this type of approach which is why too many FFLs will not do transfers for a fair price. IMHO if you are going to check out a pistol in a shop you should at least give them a chance to match a price you can get somewhere else. I often will tell a retailer I can get X for $$$ online pay shipping and transfer and be out the door at $$$$ and see if they will meet it or at least get near it.

Kicking the tires and trying it out in a store with no intention of buying it there is IMHO not taking THR.
 
I am just now entering the market. Of the guns that interest me, I find my local shop is cheaper than paying shipping and FFL fees with the added bonus of seeing the exact item you're purchasing. I haven't ruled out online purchases, but so far the numbers have favored the local shop.
 
I've never bought online and really have no desire to do so unless sometime in the future it is the only way I can get a particular model I want. By the time I were to pay FFL transfer fees and wait for the gun to arrive I don't ever really see saving a whole heck of a lot. I'm sure I could save $20 here and there but to me, being able to see and handle and inspect the gun is worth the extra little bit of cash, assuming I would saved buying online in the first place. PLUS, I like doing my part to keep the local shops open. Now if I were looking for a used, rare, or specialty firearm, then I could see possibly looking online. Just my $.02.
 
I am just now entering the market. Of the guns that interest me, I find my local shop is cheaper than paying shipping and FFL fees with the added bonus of seeing the exact item you're purchasing. I haven't ruled out online purchases, but so far the numbers have favored the local shop.

I agree picking out your gun right out of the box is a huge benefit from buying locally.

If you have bought the gun from a reputable dealer you can always refuse the transfer at you local FFL. Get the seller on the phone tell them what your concerns are. IF you cannot come to agreement pay the local FFL to ship it back and walk away. I always inspect the gun I am transfering before I start the paperwork.

For those of you who do not think you can save money buying online you need to get a cheaper transfer dealers. :) There are often deals on the web that you will never get walking into a gun shop. For example the CZ P01s that Top Gun is selling right now are a steal at $459.00 + $20 shipping + $20 transfer and you are out the door at $499 with no tax. You will be hard pressed to find one in my area for less than $550 + $27.50 tax = $577.50 That's $75 worth of ammo.... :)
 
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I buy guns all over the place - online, local gun shops, gun shows, private parties - you name it. If it's legal and there's a good deal to be had count me in!
Heck, I just got a great deal on a Colt .38 Super from a gun shop in New Jersey because a guy posting in a forum thread works at the shop and mentioned the gun. I PM'd him about it, he emailed me pics, we worked out the payment and shipping details and I should have it Wednesday!
 
I have bought 8 out my 10 hanguns locally. My AK I bought online becasue the local guy wanted almost 800 bucks for a WASR. Unfortunately you have to know before you walk into the store or gun show. My local guy is fair because he knows me and there is no BS.
 
IMHO if you are going to check out a pistol in a shop you should at least give them a chance to match a price you can get somewhere else. I often will tell a retailer I can get X for $$$ online pay shipping and transfer and be out the door at $$$$ and see if they will meet it or at least get near it.

I agree completely. I feel that when I'm making gun purchases I do my homework and find out what the going rates on whatever gun I'm interested in are and then usually head to the gunshop to find out what they're asking. After that I head to the range and run some rounds through it, if I don't know anyone who owns said model to make sure it's going to do what I want it for. If everything checks out I head back to the local guys and begin the bartering process and I've never had one try and shake me down. They're always understanding and when they know I'm legit and willing to deal they cut the BS and get down to business. The one time they couldn't match or beat it they agreed to order it for me and waived my FFL fee because I am a regular =) That's customer service right there and why buying locally is ALWAYS better! IMHO
 
other...... I have ordered from bud's and have it shipped in and saved $200.00 over the locals I have drove out of state to SC during the sales tax free on fire arms black fridays. I do pawn shops, browse the joke of local gun shows

take a 1000 mile road trip and hit every shop along the way. Just what ever catches my fancy..:D:D
 
Both. Usually I find the lowest price I can find online, then go to the gunstore, ask if they have a whatever in stock, if they don't whether they can get one, and if they have one or can get one, whether they can beat the online price (including shipping and transfer). The response I usually get is "There's no way we can beat that price, but we'll be happy to transfer the gun for $25."
 
Living where I do, it is mostly online or across the border in CO. I use a local pawn shop for the FFL.

An actual gun store did open up, but with no inventory. No problem, but twice I have asked for prices on handguns, and twice the owner has never called me back with a price. I suspect he won't be in business too much longer.

Therefore, I don't go there anymore, and I will continue with my local pawn shop guy, who charges $20.00 for a transfer from a Gunbroker or CO dealer.

I have never had a problem with any purchases on Gunbroker, and have found some great deals. (I should say there is one problem with Gunbroker, and that is it is too darn easy to access and to browse the guns; and yesterday I found out they have a mobile app for my blackberry.:evil:)
 
i voted online. ill note that i have made 2 purchases from local shops, but these were cheaper items where the online price difference would have been minimal (mossy 500 and a 10/22).

ALL of my other purchases have been online in one form or another. with a little work you can find amazing deals that you just cant find in person.

if you refuse to buy online you are depriving yourself of, say, 99.5% of the guns being sold right now. i still roam my local shops to check out what they have and to pick up accessories. ammo is one thing i still regularly buy from local guys. the shipping cost of ammo usually makes it cost effective to buy locally.

one thing to note is that if your state has sales tax, like mine does, you dont pay sales tax when buying from an out of state online source. ive found that the tax savings usually makes up for the $20 shipping and $20 ffl transfer fee. when this is true, you just compare the base price for said firearm.

i have made around 15 separate firearm purchases online. none of these have turned out badly. i always received what i was expecting and haven't had any real surprises. maybe i have been lucky, but i like to think i buy smart. i always take my time looking around.

a few tips for new online buyers:
-research online retailers you havent used.
-do not buy from unrated gunbroker users
-be smart, if a deal is too good to be true, feel it out.
-use your "bookmarks" feature in your web browser when you find something that looks like a good deal. continue to search for that item to make sure you cant find a better deal!
-keep track of the retailers who treated you well so you can check with them first when you want to make another purchase.

so far my favorite online retailer is buds. IMHO they do everything right.

good luck to you all
 
I am lucky enough to live in Lexington, KY where Budsgunshop.com calls home. Besides Buds there are several good shops that will deal with me, I refuse to pay listed price. I have made 2 "internet" purchases, phone deals actually, one with CDNN and the other I just made last week with STI's custom shop. I have little patience and there is no waiting period here in the Commonwealth. But I have to wait for the STI I ordered, about 20 more weeks. It will be worth it I think to have a one of a kind pistol.
I do have a question for those that live in states that have a waiting period. If you order a firearm online and have it delivered through your local dealer when the gun arrives do you have fillout the required paperwork and then wait the additional mandatory waiting period? That would drive me nuts, some would say it's too late for me. My patience in waiting for my pistol to be made and delivered has run out, I just had to trade in a useless to me revolver on a SIG P238 Saturday. I made it less than a week between pistol purchases.
 
I've purchased a number of pistols from a couple of shops in my immediate area; I'm happy to deal locally, happy to deal witih friends, and I consider the guys who run these shops to be good friends. But I've also purchased a variety of handguns online because I can't them locally: Most of them are specialty items, like a Mauser- or Spreewerk-made P.38, or a Walther P88C. In those cases, I use the local shops to do the transfers.
 
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