Surprising news (to me ) about Gander Mountain.

We have a couple of GM's here as well as local gun store. The local store, Vance's, has been around since the 60's. When they started selling guns in one corner of the store they managed to get some pretty good contracts with all the big manufacturers, SW, Remington, etc. Now days gun stores have to buy "x" amount of guns at a "x" prices. This means they have to carry inventory and the manufacturers dictate what price and how many they can have, including calibers. That drives up the price for most locally owned gun stores and ranges. Vance's doesn't have that problem, they were the first in this area, and they're also the best price around including online sellers.
I've done business with GM in the past and they do match Vance's prices but I won't buy guns from GM. I prefer the local store before a chain of "wally world" type stores.

Age old fight between the big box store and the mom and pop....so may big box stores have gone out of GUN business that if the mom and pops don't know how to turn a profit they don't need to be in business.

I was working a "price match" deal at GM a couple years ago. Then I realized that by the time I called every other place in an hour's drive, got the price (in writing), went back to GM, waited for the "person to make the decision," then they confirmed the price, filled out their paperwork, and did this dance, I was better off just driving the extra 30 minutes for the savings I found the first time!

BTW: all Houston gunnies - both Houston TX Gander Mountains have the policy that they will NOT match Tomball Pawn b/c their prices are just too good. Both GM managers have told me that when I tried to play that card - so their "price match guarantee" has a big, fat asterisk behind it.

Does that tell you something?

Q

It also has to be the exact same item and the competitor has to have it in stock. For example: Let's say you want a particular make and model of rifle, and it has a stainless barrel. You find it an Gander Mountain. You then find the same make and model of rifle at another store for less, but it has a blued barrel. Gander Mountain won't price match it. Not unless the UPC code on the competitor's item is exactly the same.

Another example: Dick's sporting goods puts out an ad. In it you see a shotgun advertised for a ridiculously low price. The local Dick's has none in inventory. You take your ad to Gander Mountain to get the same price. Nope. Can't have it.

Perhaps, but if there is a problem with the finish on a (used) weapon will they reblue it at a very reduced rate like Shogun? Large outlets depend on volume to reduce price. Small gunsmith/gunshops depend on service. You pay your money and make your choices.

They must have started to price match again recently. They used to - but then they offered some sort of free gun cleaning and extra services in order to justify the $200-$300 markup they have on each handgun.

I tried to get them to price match a PX4 about a year ago. They would not do it. Their website stated that they price matched items in the store, but did not include/exclude info on guns. When I pointed this out, I was told that it was then corporate policy not to price match firearms.

I've seen others in the past year state the same thing.

So, either all Ganders won't do it, or they recently changed their policy again because of pour sales.

It also has to be the exact same item and the competitor has to have it in stock.

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I used the GM match twice in the last year on guns that weren't in stock at the LGS. All I needed was a price and model number written on the back of a business card from the LGS each time.
The policy may lay it out exactly, but price-matching is just a step in haggling, everything is flexible to some degree.

My Gander Mountain is located across a highway from an Academy. GM has better prices (and far more selection) than Academy. I also have Carter's Country and Gander Mountain has always been willing to price match Carter's; all I have to do is tell them the Carter's price. Haven't been up to Tomball Pawn but it sounds like I need to go. I would like to find someone in the Houston area that has a decent selection of wheelguns.

What does price matching do?

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It takes the sale away from the outfit that was offering to sell at a fair price, and gives it to the people that put a sucker price on their goods. Keep using it, and pretty soon the little guys dry up and there's no one left to offer a reasonable sale price to match.

The only thing worse than a price match pledge is a "price match when we feel like it" policy. I'll urge you to make purchasing decisions with the big picture in mind.

As I near the cynical 60's in age, I realize that $$$ are only one measure of value, and a rather poor one at that.

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I agree completely. I didn't even think about GM or Bass Pro when I was in the market for a gun. Both are so ridiculously over-priced, one would have to have been a glutton for punishment to darken their door.

I'm lucky in the regard I have one of the best local dealers anywhere just a couple miles from home.

Gander Mountain really is a sad story. Years ago an outfit of that name forged some very positive associations for me... I can still remember receiving the reproduction 1860 revolver I ordered from them... first blackpowder gun I ever fired.

Then they were bought out and killed. Oh well.

The new store is just like any other zombie.

Home Depot and Lowes both have these policies, and it can work, but it is a pain in the tucus to implement. And, while to me a 2X4 is a 2X4 they will tell you well we sell brand X and they sell brand Y so it's not the same item. So, I have seen it work, but it is a pain. No idea how Gander Mountain implements their policy, but there are far to many brands, models, submodels for them not to have some outs if they want them.

I have never tried to have GM match a price of another store. I am sure that make it hard to do by requiring tons of paperwork and management approval. I have done business with one local gun shop for many years. Because of my past business I always get a discount on any purchase and because of this I will continue to take my business there.

im with the guy who's about supporting the house run operation.

i hate gander mountain. if i had a decent ffl or mom and pops op near by, i would do that. my best option is a small surplus store that orders and only adds a small markup.

Interesting I didnt know they would price match at all on things.

Oddly enough out of the four stores selling handguns within 30 minutes of me (CT), Cabela's is the second highest price and the worst in service. Additionally I have never found 9mm or 45 ammo there besides SD ammo. My dad bought a gun there and waited 2 hours to talk to someone with their take a number system.

As a consumer, I personally don't find policies where they'll "match" another price all that appealing.

So you'll match your competitors price after I've shopped around and found somebody with a lower price than you? Sorry, I've already bought it from said competitor. You want my business, give me the best price the first time around, if I have to shop around I'm not going to waste my time coming back to you giving you another opportunity to win my business.

Gander Mountain is SOOOOO over priced on everything else I refuse to even walk in the store. They were the leaders of the pack when it came to price gouging on ammo. I won't forget that - ever.

Being a free market fan, all I can do is not give them my business and tell EVERYONE I can about what they have done.

For those who are interested --

I have bought a gun from Gander Mountain exactly once, and I'll never do it again. It was a Springfield Loaded 1911 model. I went to the store, looked at two of them, and picked the one I liked best -- felt smoother, with better trigger feel and pull weight (this was before I started working on 1911's myself), and had nicer wood for the grips. I told them I wanted to buy that particular gun, and they wrote it up with that serial number, etc.

When I went back to pick up the gun (after the IL 72-hour sober-up period), they brought out the case and, lo and behold, it was a different gun. The serial number didn't match. I told them to go find mine, and they told me that I wasn't guaranteed to get the same gun I looked at, just the same model. At that point, I asked for the manager and told him I was either going to leave with the gun I picked out, or I wanted out of the transaction and would be calling the IL State Police and ATF to let them know what had happened. Gander Mountain never did find the gun.

There is apparently a procedure for what happens if a gun goes missing, is stolen or destroyed, etc during the waiting period. I wasn't filled in on what it was, but I was let out of the transaction. I told the manager that whether it was all legitimate or not, I would never buy another gun there again. His attitude was, "whatever" -- and that's the last time I've looked at one of their guns.

I like the stores and have bought other things from them, but I didn't care for their approach to gun purchases. Now that I have Cabela's and OutdoorWorld just as close, I almost never get to GM anymore.

Specialized

Wow! Maybe my Gander Mountain is run by a different company. I get great service, don't have to jump through hoops to get a price matched, and the prices don't seem out of line compared to Academy or Carter's Country. When I have found a lower price elsewhere, I have never had any trouble getting a price match.

I spent some time as a manager at a leading electronics retailer where we had price matching. Just like at Gander Mountain, the policy was that the match had to be for the same item (SKU) and had to be either advertised a verifiably in stock at the competitive store. There's a good reason for the restrictions: some consumers lie like rugs. It was part of our job to check our competitors every week (i.e., visit their store and verify pricing) and I had the authority to lower the shelf price to match (not just on a single-time basis, but actually lower the selling price). If it was a hot item, I could e-mail our district manager and the price would be lowered at all the stores in our district. But we had to be careful because people would come in claiming that so-and-so had this item for this price and when we checked, it would be a marked-down return or it wasn't the same product that we were selling (sometimes it wasn't even the same brand!). If someone was honest and it was an apples-to-apples comparison, I would usually not only match the price, but if there was room in the markup, I would try to give the customer an extra couple of percent off the price. My assistant supervisors had the authority to lower a price on a case-by-case basis and all that any floor sales associate had to do was write up the match, verify it and get a management signature. That was it. The process took a few extra minutes compared to a routine transaction.

Maybe it's because I do patronize my Gander Mountain on a regular basis or maybe it's because I have a Gander Mountain with a good staff. It can't be that I am such a great customer: I haven't spent more than perhaps $2,000 at the store in all the time I have shopped there.