we need more small gun stores!

Unfortunately its not just the big box stores hurting the independent gun stores, but online retailing is hurting them just as much, if not more. I've recently had to transition my own 10 year old website to a more mobile devise friendly website, because as much as 70% of online shoppers shop using mobile devices such as tablets or smart phones. Just about all brick and mortar retailers in just about every category are hurting because their sales have steadily declined over the last few years because of this. Unfortunately gun shops are not immune to this trend and here in the bay area they are struggling.

CoalTrain49 said:

I have a dealer here that does mostly internet sales. He's about an hour's drive from me. I go to his website and order a gun with my Visa card. I have the option of shipping it to an FFL or shipping it to him. I just ship it to him and pick it up. No transfer fee (I'm in WA) or shipping costs. He doesn't stock much of anything, just has lots of distributors and a website that shows availability. This is the same model Buds Gun Shop uses. They maintain a website but don't stock anything.

Another LGS closer to me stocks guns but several big names are missing like Remington and Howa. It's a good place to buy used but not much selection new.

I've only purchased one gun from Cabela's on a closeout dirt cheap. I'm pretty sure I got it a few bucks over the distributors price. Most of the time there isn't anyone behind the counter to help me so I don't buy anything there that requires assistance. Cabelas has always been a bad experience for me in the gun department. I could relate a few stories but what's the point. It just isn't a good place to buy a firearm or much of anything else for that matter. I don't know why anyone would shop there. I think their days are numbered to be honest.

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that sounds like the place in Anacortes, is that it by any chance? I like that place a lot, good closeouts, and a CZ outlet.

I'm not a huge fan of big box stores, but I'm even less of a fan of most of the local gun shops that I've been into. I'd much rather order anything I need online. I don't have to waste time and gas driving to the store, I don't have to deal with rude employees or spend an hour looking around the store, etc. I usually can save a significant amount in addition to this convenience. 90% of the the time local shops don't have what I need either. Maybe you guys have much better experiences than I do at local shops. I've probably been in 100 shops and I have 2 that I'd recommend. Both are quite a ways from me so I don't shop their as often as I'd like.

We had 3 local shops up until a few months ago. One had been here almost 30 years and it was the worst. They did have a ton of guns, but that was the only thing going for them. The prices were extremely high and the service was some of the worst service that I've ever received. If you complained about the service you received you could expect the owner to go off on you with a slew of cuss words. It was just horrible. When they finally closed they had 40% off of everything and while they had some good deals on odd stuff and shotgun shells, some of their prices were still higher than online prices. It was crazy. A buddy bought a gun from them and got a discount for being a government employee. He paid $499 + tax for it. You could buy the exact same gun for $349 online. It wasn't like you paid an extra 10% to buy from them. you paid an extra 40-50% on average to have the privilege of buying from them. You might could justify this if you got great service, but you got horrible service in addition to horrible prices.

The next local shop that closed was probably the nicest of the 3, but it didn't have anything. It literally had probably 30 boxes of ammo and 4-5 guns on average. The guns they sold were often off brand or military surplus that looked like they had bought them off of the internet and added $50-100 to the price. While the owner was very nice, they again had horrible prices and they had a horrible selection. The only thing anyone really went there for was transfers.

The 3rd shop which is still open is again horrible. The prices are probably the best out of the 3, but they are still probably 25% higher than online, the selection is poor, the employees are rude, and their transfer prices are high. I just don't need to deal with that. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra, but I'm not going to pay extra to be talked down to. They also have a reputation for trying to take advantage of unsuspecting customers. It's just ridiculous.

I can order guns online and go to a home based FFL that is great to deal with. Doing this I get great service, don't have to drive all around town looking for something, can save huge amounts of money, etc. IMO it's just the way to go. If you're not buying a gun it's the way to go even more so. You don't even have to leave your house. Local shops seem to be closing at an alarming rate and honestly I don't miss them. I know it sounds bad, but I'm glad to see most of the ones around here close.

For the two I do like, they are great. One often has great prices that are competitive with online, the service is exceptional, and they have a great selection. The other is usual slightly more expensive that online prices, but you get exceptional service, they make you feel welcomed, and they will help you if you ever need work on the gun. If more local shops were like these, more people would buy from local shops and there would be more of them.

We have a shop that opened a year ago nearby. They have a nice website with great prices. They also have a nice small store tucked away in an industrial area. The store while small has a nice inventory and selection. Unfortunately they have higher prices than online. And not just a little.
They have signs all over the store saying online prices are for online orders only.
Worse if you order online, and select them as the FFL they hit you with the transfer fee which is $30 or $35 not the state $2 background check fee.

What's said is I'd really like to do business with them as they seem like ok folks but their policies are annoying and aren't helpful. Worse finding other online vendors with similar prices I pay less as ordering from these folks I have to pay shipping and tax. If they'd honor the online price I'd buy from them as it's nice to get items right away so paying the tax isn't bad.

Anyway, I'm not sure if they'll survive. I guess time will tell.

Jeff H said:

You apparently haven't been to Bud's Gun Shop. They have a huge stock inventory of both new and used guns. Not near as large as their online store, but very sizable.

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The Lexington store and the internet operation are two different entities. The only place they really cross is that you can order a gun online and use their store as a pickup spot. Whittaker's in West Louisville puts Bud's to shame as a brick and mortar gun store.

What we really need is the small shop customer service mentality in a shop with a large selection. Most of the smaller stores near me are OK on prices, but it's usually hit and miss on whether they have anything I want to buy. I also wish more of them sold reloading supplies. There's only one shop in a 50 miles radius of me that sells powder in 8lb jugs, and it's a Sportsman's Warehouse.

Cabela's clerks are part timers and get paid minimum wage with virtually no training(despite them having "trainers" who are not teaching the FNG about firearms.). That new guy very likely had never seen a real firearm before his first shift. Or a primer.
"...he's more a tactical gun guy..." Most likely from a computer game too.
"...Would you work there for 8.50 an hour..." Any smithy working in Cabela's is very likely a recent graduate. That doesn't mean he's not good, just that he's new because entry level jobs are few and far between.
The biggest issue with big vs small is the different retail prices. A small shop cannot compete with the big boys.
No small shop will have 50 of anything in the back. They have to pay for everything they buy and some are doing that COD. Cabela's likely is their own distributor. A small shop has to buy from a distributor who may or may not have whatever it is in stock and may not give credit terms.

ohihunter2014 said:

I made a trip to cabelas tonight for some primers and again had to look over a couple monte carlo stocks and classic style stocks before I order my boyds stock to make sure I get the right one. I took their stupid number and noticed I was #70 and the board said #60 but no customers at the counter. I waited for about 10minutes as one guy walked away without asking if I needed anything and 3 more came out of the back room and seen me standing there just wanting a box or 2 of primers and they all 3 headed back into the back room. Getting ticked I told the one guy I needed help. He explained he was new and wasn't supposed to help anyone alone. I took it easy on him and asked for the primers but they weren't priced so I asked him to look it up. His "trainer" blew the poor guy off and he finally got me a price. I then asked to see several scopes in which the guy said he wasn't allowed to have keys he would go get his "trainer" He comes back and says the "trainer" is getting the keys. 10min later he leaves and comes back with keys and shows me a few scopes. I asked about 2 rifles that had monte carlo stocks and he said he was sorry but didn't know what that meant. The trainer came back out the guy asked him a question and he again left this poor guy hanging. The new guy says he doesn't know much about hunting guns as he's more a tactical gun guy.

I spent literally 25-30min between waiting on someone to help me and looking at 3 scopes. I was very happy with the service the new guy gave but the other 3 guys blew everyone off. Another customer was #60 and asked the "trainer" about something and he said hang on a second and went to the back room and never came back out and the customer left. I seen a guy in the gun library so asked him about the rifles and what he thought about monte carlo vs classic for my rifle and he was more than happy to help and took the time to answer my questions and let me know based on my scope, rifle and rings what he would recommend. I later found out the "trainer" and other guys were more worried about helping a customer who just purchased a $400 scope and $700 rifle.

I then was trying to find a special tick repellent cabelas is supposed to carry and couldn't find a soul to help me with everything being scattered all over the place. Gun cleaning stuffs 10 aisle away from guns combined with archery and camping's combined with fishing. 1 register open and I finally made it out of there with 1 pack of primers in 45min.

I really wish more local gun shops stayed open. I drove by one who use to be pretty prominent in my area owning 3 shops and now he's down to 1. The other one was sold and one closed. They cant compete with box stores prices and fancy stuff to draw you in. I found j frame grips at the mom and pop store on clearance and the guys even helped me install them. I get box store people are mostly there cause its a job but they need more experience people.

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You were at a big box store, not a small local store.

You answered your own question.

I have all the small guns I need, thank you

I tend to patronize small shops in my local area because they are nice people and often enough have interesting used items for sale. For new guns I will also shop there if the prices are not too far away from the competition. I like shopping local because it is fun, I get to handle before I buy, and often stop in just to see what is available.

I don't shop like some corporate entity bidding out the lowest possible price for a commodity product, but I like a good/fair deal. I passed up a locally available nickel aluminum frame S&W model 38 because the price was too high for a gun with pitting on the cylinder. Had they offered to take the pricing down I would have bought it and maybe had it refinished. But another time in this same shop I bought a nice used Makarov and a Colt 1908 vest pocket in a package deal - one I made on the spot with the owner. You can't do that online. But one time Bud's had Kahr TP45's for sale cheaper than their economical model the CT45., which I thought was a steal. I ordered it and had it sent to my local home-based FFL.

I totally get people's choices on price when they have no choice - been there, you have to do what you have to do.

One thing I will not do is use a local store to handle and look over a new gun and then buy it online to get a better price. Besides being counter-productive, I think it's kind of rude.

So yeah, small gun shops, the more the merrier for me.

Jeff H said:

You apparently haven't been to Bud's Gun Shop. They have a huge stock inventory of both new and used guns. Not near as large as their online store, but very sizable.

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They have three retail stores.

Those stores have nothing to do with their online sales.

They even say that on their website.

hdwhit said:

While I can't comment on the specifics of your experience, my experience at the Cabelas in Allen, Texas, previously reported, mirrored yours.

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I won't go there anymore. I live in Frisco also and the last firearm and ammo purchase I made was from Grabagun. Their retail location is 20 minutes from my office and I can have anything shipped their and pick it up at lunch if I want to.

1911 guy wrote:
But I soon figured out that the extra few bucks was worth it to keep local places going.

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Yes, but you are in a tiny minority. How many times have we read posts on this very site where people would bewail a gun in the strore costs $25 or $50 more than they could get it for mail-order? If people want a service, they have to pay for it and there have to be enough of them willing to pay for it for the service provider to make a living and pay the rent.

CoalTrain49 said:

Do they ship all of their guns from their store?

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No, not possible. I think the online store does way more business than that store could handle. Probably a complex web of warehouses and distributor direct shipping.

I will always rely on LGS's for accessories, last minute ammo, targets and good conversation. I have bought new and used guns from LGS's.

However if I can find a gun online for $100 or more cheaper than they are selling I'll buy it online without question. And the fellows at the LGS's will be all for it.

And that's the way it should be if you have some truly LGS's.

I envy you guys that still have a local gun shop to go to. There is no local gun shop down in "The People's Republik of Lawrence" and hasn't been one for a lot of years. Being a typical college town it's not too surprising.The couple of pawn shops there do sell guns but, well, they are pawn shops not gun shops...
A fellow wanted to open an indoor range and shop a while back but the antis blocked it so he gave up. There is a Dick's Sporting Goods now but that hardly counts.
Topeka has a couple gun shops and there is one in between in the town of Meriden but they can be hit or miss for having what you need.

all the local small stores are still selling 22LR at a 200% mark up, and that drives people to the department stores. For years I had the small shops suggest I "look online" rather than take the time to order for me.