Have you ever noticed.....

Same thing with a truck. I'll run around for a couple of days looking for the best deal on what I want. As soon as I buy , I immediately find two or three guys who swear that they "could have gotten me a lot better deal".
Such is life.

skimbell said:

Same thing with a truck. I'll run around for a couple of days looking for the best deal on what I want. As soon as I buy , I immediately find two or three guys who swear that they "could have gotten me a lot better deal".
Such is life.

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Sounds like the majority of my former coworkers every place I have ever worked. The shooters/hunters also shot sub moa from horseback at full gallop in 30 mph wind.

tarosean said:

you mean you didnt get it for free??

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Heck, no - they paid me to haul it away!

redneck2 said:

Remember, one of four people you meet every day is under the influence of drugs.

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And about half are below average....

I'm not much of a price shopper when it comes to guns. Oh, I try not to OVER pay, of course. However, deals can be found. Probably my best deal ever (proportionately) was getting a very good condition Ruger SP101 for $350 at Gander Mountain of all places. They couldn't get the dirty carbon ring off the front of the cylinder I a very light buffing with some Barkeeper's Friend and it was satin again. I cringe at what they paid the guy who had it before me.

Anyway, I buy most all of my guns from a local gun shop. The gentleman does business with me as well. I don't get these screaming internet deals, but I get a fair shake. He'll order something in without requiring me to pre-pay, he'll give me the scoop on what resells the best (I'm a chronic gun trader), and he gives me VERY fair pricing on my trade-ins.

I don't really care if I could have saved $50 or $75 jumping through the hoops to get a "better" deal. To me, the relationship of having someone I can trust and do multiple business dealings with.

But yeah, there is always that one guy that can get a gun cheaper than you can and has to make sure you know it

IMO, patience is the key to great deals - on anything. Luck doesn't hurt, either.

If you're looking for a specific thing, you'll compare prices on that one thing; and since you want that one thing, you'll convince yourself that you're getting the best price available - even if it isn't a fantastic deal.

If you're always on the lookout for a great deal and only a great deal, however, no matter what you buy, it's a great deal.

The problem is when you find too many great deals at once and your wife yells at you because there isn't room for another +*^%#! gun safe in the spare bedroom even though there's a treadmill in there that hasn't been used for years.

People are constantly trying to pay me to take guns off there hands. My house is full of antiques. I've got so many guns there's no room for more. Please stop giving me guns and money.



How's that for the biggest lie ever?

If you're always on the lookout for a great deal and only a great deal, however, no matter what you buy, it's a great deal.

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I've run into a couple of those. Kinda like the deal a few posts before this about the SP 101. Know a guy that was selling off some stuff. One was a Ruger Security Six, .357 mag. Cylinder wouldn't turn. Ended up the ejection rod had backed out from recoil and locked it up. I bought it for $200 not knowing what was wrong. Turned out ten minutes of work got it going.

Also got a Browning .22 auto rifle for $250. Some surface rust, and needed quite a bit of trigger work, but OK now.

Best deal was a dealer that wanted to dump some Thompson Contenders. Oddball calibers. Bought three, and sold two for $50 more than I paid originally. Pocketed the $50 and kept the free one.

But, there's been ones that offset the good deals. You tend to focus on the winners and forget the losers.

I find people who turn everything into a competition annoying and exhausting. I don't talk to those people unless I have to, and when I do I keep it short.

If I want a gun, and it is priced fairly, I buy it. As long as it isn't over priced, I consider it to have been a good deal.

I couldn't care less what others pay unless they have a way and are willing to get me the same price. Otherwise, telling me about it is just passive aggressive jack-assery, and competitive drive over things that don't matter.

We called those guys STANs.
Shite, That Ain't Nothin.

I'm always annoyed by the deal experts myself. Ive been around them enough to notice their guns are never quite right either. Everybody else payed to much even though their guns work.

A good deal, like happiness, is in the mind not the pocketbook. If I paid a reasonable price, got my definition of good value, got the unit I expected and have enjoyed my purchase I have made a personal best deal and I move on. Proper research is always a good idea.

As far as internet truth, I believe what I can verify. All the rest is pure conjecture meant for entertainment purposes only.

One thing I have going for me is that I'm in sales and travel 11 counties. I do all my own scheduling and weekly drive past maybe a dozen different shops. If I have time I stop in to catch any deals. If you wanted to do it just to buy guns, it would be too time consuming and expensive.

I see what seems to be unbelievable high prices on here a lot with people talking about getting deals. I think it's all in location. Kentucky is the most heavily armed state (supposedly) per capita in the US, and I see lots of guns for sale. I guess maybe the supply has driven prices down on common items. Value on collectibles are about the same as other places but usually toward the lower end of the spectrum. Cost of living may play into it as well, certainly the cost of overhead.

Now if I can just find the place where reloading components are plentiful and cheap...

castile said:

Have you ever noticed that whenever you find a gun at a fair price and did not out and out steal it, then post your buy, you always get the one guy who says, he got a better deal and if you just wait you can find a better gun. Its like the guy who always got the better buy no matter even if you were given something. LMAO.

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Yeah, I've run across 'em, too! In my opinion, they can bugger off. Only two people need to be happy, the seller and the buyer. Everybody else is an armchair quarterback busybody with no business sticking their rude noses in.

If they can do better, then put up or shut up!

Funny how so many of those same folks, if they didn't get a better deal than you, have a friend or relative that did. Or they know someone that has a nicer bike or shot a bigger buck....as if that somehow makes them superior.

Abe Lincoln said it best. "Most everything you see on the Internet is just made up."

Also dont forget the hatred and behavior when you can find a gunstore that doesnt sell a particular gun at the "lowest" possible price you can find in a gunstore in say pheonix.

That seems a tad worse then those people who like to jump up in with "oh i bought that last week for x less then you did."

I think Max Ehrmann put it pretty well in his "Desiderata"

"Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."

Value is in the mind of the buyer. If you paid what you believe to be a fair price, then enjoy the gun and don't let the braggarts get you down.

What's a (supposedly) "better deal" on a $600 gun ? $40 less ? These "expert negotiators" most likely blow more than that on snacks and beer each week. The gun is going to stay with you for years long after the memory of $40 is gone.

These "experts" are just trying to prove they are smarter / sleeker than the person they tell their tall tales to. In my personal experience, just the opposite is the truth. The people who do know how to get the best deals / can negotiate the price usually tend to keep this info to themselves.

I have a close friend that loves to shoot with me. He often comments that he would just love to own such-and-such gun/caliber. When I ask him why he doesn't purchase one, he tells me be only buys when he finds it for a "steal".
I only purchase when it doesn't interfere with my family's needs. But, I will make the purchase if it is a gun that I want and the the price is reasonable. That means, I spend time shooting the gun, not thinking about how much fun it will be to shoot once I find the right deal.

I don't have to worry about that. I expect to pay too much and sell too low. That way I am never disappointed.

paid full asking price

My best deal ever was on a very nice Anschutz 22LR rifle, mounted with a decent scope, that I got to bring home and shoot on a trial basis at 6 separate silhouette matches. The seller was an acquaintance. I musta put 1000 rounds through it over the trial period.

Being that it was a proven setup, I was happy to pay the asking price without doing any "bargaining". The asking might have been a tad high if it weren't for the fact the rifle was a known true shooter in my hands. To me this is worth a small premium. The seller was happy his rifle had found a 'good' home in appreciative hands, and I still enjoy my purchase.

...one guy who says, he got a better deal and if you just wait you can find a better gun.

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Hey that's nothing. I can work deals where I end up getting paid to take guns from people. It's all in your people skills. You should have come to me before you bought anything. There was this one time I had to pay $35 for a brand new gun but that doesn't happen every time. True story!