Any good?

[The Deer Hunter]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3170202

I heard that walmart gets lower quality firearms, kinda like seconds. Is this true?

 

[R.W.Dale]

I forget the name of wall-marts supplier, But it's come to light that wally world gets it's guns from the same supplier that just about every gun store in the south uses.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

what about the north?

 

[Jackal]

My Wal-Mart here in WA state gets gun from Lipsey's. They appear to be the same quality that the mom and pop gunshops get.

 

[Sunray]

Wal-mart buys in bulk. Usually directly from the manufacturer. Buy 1,000 or more of any product, at one time, and you'll get a better price too. They tend to tell their suppliers how much they will pay too.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Wal-mart buys in bulk. Usually directly from the manufacturer. Buy 1,000 or more of any product, at one time, and you'll get a better price too. They tend to tell their suppliers how much they will pay too.

NOT with guns.. Wal-Mart isn't about to accept the liability that could come from having a warehouse full of firearms. They have enough trouble with electronics finding thier way out of the distrubition centers.

 

[GRIZ22]

Wal-Mart any others have contracted with manufacturers to make less expensive versions of some of their models. I have a 30-30 Marlin 36 that's marked "Model 30TK" which was made for K-Mart. Wood used is less expensive and it only has a 4 rd magazine but shoots like any other Marlin.

Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the US (if not the world). They wouldn't want to sell "seconds". They get good prices from major manufacturers (of anything) by buying large quantities. You can get a much better price because Wal-Mart buys maybe 5000 Remington 700s vs the 100 or so even a large gun shop may buy. Wal-Mart can't offer you the advice and afterpurchase service your local gun shop can give you.

If the gun your buying from Wal-Mart is listed in the manufacturer's catalog then it's the same as anywhere. If not listed then it's one made for Wal-Mart that is just as good as any other except the cosmetics may not be equal (cheaper wood for example).

 

[Husker1911]

True story, it's been ten years, though. Worked for a small, independent gun store. Out of frustration that Walmart sold 870 Express shotguns cheaper than we could purchase from distributors, we went to an Omaha Walmart and purchased five Expresses. When we got back to our shop, we discovered two of the guns had Remington repair shop tickets in their boxes.

Proof positive, to myself at least, that Walmart does indeed, sell seconds, or repaired firearms.

 

[rockstar.esq]

"...we discovered two of the guns had Remington repair shop tickets in their boxes. "

Not sure on the legalities of this but pretty much everything I've ever seen that was refurbished / repaired by the manufacturer was either labeled and sold as such or was a private sale with "as is" being the condition statement. I guess I read the above quote with suspicion however I'm not sure that it makes a difference for the following reasons.

The manufacturers warranty is the same.

If the flaw/defect was discovered in the factory, on the dock, at the distributor, or even at the point of sale, the effect of the quality control is the same.

If the purchased firearms had no defects or qualititative differences from like make and models, there is no reason to assume that they are "seconds"

Having worked as a guitar salesman I learned the differences between seconds and first quality retail models. Frequently deep gloss finishes are prohibitively difficult to remove/ reapply on electric guitars. For this reason the manufacturer elects to stamp or otherwise permanently mark that guitar as a "second" because it is equal to a first model in all ways aside from the finish. This practice allows the collector market to continue it's fastidious nature without throwing away the work on a serviceable instrument. Now when it comes to something out of spec on a first model, that instrument is routed to the repair department. I've yet to see an example where they just stamped a returned guitar and mailed a new model to the customer. This is not to say that guitars aren't exchanged at the store and the store elects to send the damaged/out of spec guitar back. Its just not the same process as taking broken stuff, reworking it and selling through discount stores as new merchandise.

As for buying guns at Wal Mart, I guess if you don't mind that you bought a gun at the same place you bought your cabbage, dental floss, and shoes, neither do I. The local gun shops complain an awful lot about Wally world yet the hostility to special orders I encounter locally has left me cold. Too many gun shops seem to think that being a "gun counter guy" entitles them to dispense upon me their wisdoms pertaining to why my special order isn't worthwhile. Wal Mart and the internet have allowed me to pursue my interest in shooting without arguing with counter folk or going bankrupt. Capitolism sometimes isn't pretty, but gun shops that don't see their opportunity to render customer service deserve what they get.

 

[kir_kenix]

True story, it's been ten years, though. Worked for a small, independent gun store. Out of frustration that Walmart sold 870 Express shotguns cheaper than we could purchase from distributors, we went to an Omaha Walmart and purchased five Expresses. When we got back to our shop, we discovered two of the guns had Remington repair shop tickets in their boxes.

Proof positive, to myself at least, that Walmart does indeed, sell seconds, or repaired firearms.

i dont know about ten years ago, but im pretty sure that wal-mart does not sell seconds. my father currently sells gun out of the york walmart (about 80 miles down the road from omaha for those of you who dont live in nebraska) and he says they come from the same international distributer (cant remember the name) that they did when he bought and sold w/ his ffl. selling guns as new that are stamped repaired or refurbished is illegal, if i am not mistaken, and wal-mart is too big of company to take such a risk. i actually bought a mini-14 from walmart a few months after buying one from a columbus, ne gunshop, and ruger contacted me and had me send them both in for some work (some sort of weak spring). they were both from the same production line/series or w/e it is called. they carry the same warranty, same finish (except some specials that are only available to chain-stores that are mechanically the same w/ a cheaper finished stock), out of apparently the same production line/series. i think most ppl have a problem w/ walmart because they can sell cheaper then ma & pa stores, but have complete idiots (sometimes) behind the counter.

 

[Critter183]

This is an interesting article about a guy who refused to sell to Walmart and why. I don't know if gun makers would fall into the same kind of trap that other mfgs have been lured into, but it is food for thought when considering buying a firearm there.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html

 

[danurve]

I heard that walmart gets lower quality firearms, kinda like seconds. Is this true?

No.

 

[Critter183]

From the article linked in my post above:

The Wal-Mart vice president responded with strategy and argument. Snapper is the sort of high-quality nameplate, like Levi Strauss, that Wal-Mart hopes can ultimately make it more Target-like. He suggested that Snapper find a lower-cost contract manufacturer. He suggested producing a separate, lesser-quality line with the Snapper nameplate just for Wal-Mart. Just like Levi did.