Buds 180 days to pay

[USAF_Vet]

I've never bought a gun online before. Been browsing through Buds lately, and noticed a 180 days to pay section, an online layaway?

Anyone use it? How does it work? Is it worth it for people on a stricter budget?

 

[wally]

Is it worth it for people on a stricter budget?

While "EZ-payments" are sold as a way to help folks on a tight budget, fact is unless its for a vehicle you need to get to your job, its a trap. When the budget is that tight you've little or no margin for errors, so unforeseen expenses can trigger large late payment penalties that can cause things to spiral out of control.

Better to put the payment amount in savings and then when you've paid it off with a little cushion for emergencies buy it with the cash from savings.

 

[wojownik]

It a layaway program - you put 10% down payment, and either make several payments, or just make one final payment at the end of 180 days. They ship at the end of 180 days. If you don't complete your payments by the end of 180 days, they keep the 10% (I assume the refund the balance).

They do not appear to have a service fee or cancellation charge related to their 180 day program, but you would really, really want to verify that up front.

The 180 plan is for selected Bud's items only - it does not apply to their entire inventory.

If you can pay via cash or credit card, it could be better to go that route - you get your items quickly and you don't need to worry about losing anything if you miss a payment. If your credit card is maxed out right now ... well you probably want to use your funds to pay down that high interest card first. Just my 2 cents.

 

[LockedBreech]

I've used both the 180-day and 90-day a few times.

For me it's purely psychological. I can afford it no problem, I just really dislike plunking down large chunks of cash at once. I make enough that if I pay $50 here and $100 there I don't seem to "feel" it as much and I keep more cash freed up.

If layaway works for you, Bud's is a good one. There's no interest and it works as advertised. Just go in knowing you'll lose that 10% (180 day) or 20% (90 day) deposit if you get cold feet about the gun you chose. Be sure it's one you really want. And be aware of the financial pitfalls as noted by others.

 

[Reloadron]

180 Day Layaway Plan (Independence Pay)
Select Items Only


1/2 the amount down and twice as long to pay. Just place your order online as you normally would, and select '180 Days to Pay' as your payment option during checkout. Select Items Only Upon receipt of your non refundable 10% deposit (personal check, bank check, money order or credit card), we will secure your items(s) from our inventory and activate your 180 day Layaway Plan.

During the 180 Day Layaway period, you can either make several payments, or just make one final payment at the end of 180 days, at which time we will ship your firearm(s).

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL A LAYAWAY BE HELD LONGER THAN 180 DAYS.

If, after 180 days, we have not received payment in full, your Layaway Plan will automatically be canceled and any/all payments will NOT be refunded.

Items on a layaway cannot be changed once the 10% deposit has been received. If a layaway is cancelled prior to 180 days the 10% deposit will NOT be refunded.

So the question becomes does this work for you? Heed what Wally mentions when thinking about this. If I buy a $1,000 gun with 10% down that is $100. Should I not be able to pay off my balance in the allotted time I am out my $100. They don't care that my hot water heater exploded or my furnace quit and my wife and kids were freezing.

Wally:

Better to put the payment amount in savings and then when you've paid it off with a little cushion for emergencies buy it with the cash from savings.

So as you stash the money for the holy grail gun of your dreams and the hot water explodes you can replace the water heater with your gun money and simply delay getting the gun.

In my opinion and just my opinion a gun is a nice to have. Buying a gun even on credit is not always a wise move. You buy a $1000 gun on a credit card with an 18% APR and the repay is $1,100 over 11 months. So your gun really cost $100 more than the $1,000 original price.

Ron

 

[USAF_Vet]

I've used both the 180-day and 90-day a few times.

For me it's purely psychological. I can afford it no problem, I just really dislike plunking down large chunks of cash at once. I make enough that if I pay $50 here and $100 there I don't seem to "feel" it as much and I keep more cash freed up.

If layaway works for you, Bud's is a good one. There's no interest and it works as advertised. Just go in knowing you'll lose that 10% (180 day) or 20% (90 day) deposit if you get cold feet about the gun you chose. Be sure it's one you really want. And be aware of the financial pitfalls as noted by others.

This pretty much my philosophy. I have guns, and there are some I'm mildly interested in, and I can easily drop a few dollars a day toward a new gun because I don't have to have it in my hands right now.

I'm not in a financial pinch. But it's easier for me to justify a high dollar purchase over a long period of time (especially interest free) than it is to justify dropping a large lump sum all at once. I don't buy guns in lump sum if I can avoid it, generally, which is why I'd rather build / assemble an AR rather than buy one. This has limited me to brick and mortar stores in the past, and pressed me to avoid online shopping. The downside has been missing out on stellar deals. So online layaway is, to me, the best of both worlds.

I try at all costs to avoid using credit cards for anything but budgeted expenses, and emergencies. So, denying myself instant gratification to maintain my financial principles is easy. Its not so much a strict budget in the sense that every dollar is budgeted every week, but rather in the sense that we limit our discretionary spending in order to save and budget for higher priorities. My gun fund is a lower priority in the family budget, so I may only get one or two new guns or high dollar accessories a year.

 

[wow6599]

I've never bought a gun online before. Been browsing through Buds lately, and noticed a 180 days to pay section, an online layaway?

Anyone use it? How does it work? Is it worth it for people on a stricter budget?

I have a Ruger 22/45 Lite (Cobalt) that I put in their 180 day pay program.

I did if for a couple of reasons. I have always liked that particular firearm, but always had something else I felt I wanted when I had the extra money. This way I will end-up with the Ruger, but not have to drop the money all at once.

Secondly, I have a very understanding wife, but this is a way to make her understand a little more! (she has no idea)

 

[warnerwh]

Why not just save the money within the 6 months and then buy the gun? You will get your gun at the same time it is paid for either way. This way there is no risk of losing anything.
I'm a firm believer that if I can't put away the money to buy a gun then I can't afford it. If you can't save the money then you can't afford it.

 

[Bobson]

I'm with wally and warnerwh. Lay-away programs were never designed to help anyone.

Whether you're on a tight budget or not, I personally see no reason to ever use lay-away. If you can afford to make the payments, you can afford to put the same amount of money aside each month in a shoe box or savings account until you've got the sum saved up on your own accord.

Not only does this prevent the risk of losing your payments should something happen (change your mind, can't make a payment, etc), but you also benefit from the discipline it took to save, and you're better off in the future for the personal victory.

 

[Walkalong]

In general, from a budget/money standpoint, these kids of things are a bad idea, but if you have the discipline, go for it. I bought my Yamaha stereo one piece at a time 90 days same as cash for each piece.

 

[HRnightmare]

I tend to agree that if you need to put a gun on "layaway" for 6 months you don't need that gun. Unless it is one of your absolute essentials (concealed carry, HD, hunting as a necessity for survival) But you certainly don't need to use it to purchase that $1500 Kimber custom or Knights SR25, Etc....but sadly that has become the new American way.

I preferred the Sportsmans Guide plan. You had to get approved for it but when approved you could take 90? 120? days to pay off your purchase. The best part of that one was that they shipped the item immediately. There was 0% so I was all about not laying out $400-500 for a bunch of ammo and seperating it into 3 or 4 payments for free. MY $ makes more interest in my account then it does theirs....although barely, haha.

 

[HRnightmare]

I'm with wally and warnerwh. Lay-away programs were never designed to help anyone.

Layaway is an opportunity for people to buy stuff they shouldn't buy because they can't afford. BASICALLY like leasing cars. It always lower income people to drive higher income cars.

 

[Bezoar]

theres a difference with the lay away plan in general.

as well as credit cards.

it was originally designed so that a broke person could purchase expensive items they did not have the money for, plus allow a company to charge that person MORE for the item simply by letting them have it on credit.

the one reply almost had it right. you can put it on your credit card, but if you make the minimum payment of 25 dollars on it, assuming you only use the card for that 1,000 dollar gun and nothing else, buy the time youve payed the bill down to 0, youll have most likely paid 1500 for it.

 

[BSA1]

We have found lay-away to be useful.

We paid off our credit card a year and half ago. Not having that monthly bill and interest is great. So great in fact we don't want another credit card. No temptation to start charging.

Contrary to the naysayers this time a year ago I found a very nice Colt P.P.S. at a good enough price that the dealer would not have it long (in fact best price I have seen for a gun in it's condition). It would have been sold before I could saved up for it. I think the deposit was 25% and 90 days to pay it off. It worked out great for us. My wife got a hard to find gun for Christmas and I paid it off with no interest .

 

[LockedBreech]

I sorta resent the idea that if I use layaway, it's because I lack fiscal discipline. I'm in my mid-twenties with a good credit score, good savings account, and stock portfolio. I realize a lot of folks might use them incorrectly, but what's wrong with getting yourself a toy over a good bit of time? Isn't the discipline in waiting those 6 months while you pay pieces of it equivalent to the discipline of putting money in a shoebox for 6 months? In either case, you wait the 6 months.

I emphasize that I agree it shouldn't be used for impulse purchase guns, but if it's something you've wanted for a good while and you have a chance to pay it off a bit at a time, I don't see the downside.

 

[wow6599]

I sorta resent the idea that if I use layaway, it's because I lack fiscal discipline. I'm in my mid-twenties with a good credit score, good savings account, and stock portfolio. I realize a lot of folks might use them incorrectly, but what's wrong with getting yourself a toy over a good bit of time? Isn't the discipline in waiting those 6 months while you pay pieces of it equivalent to the discipline of putting money in a shoebox for 6 months? In either case, you wait the 6 months.

I emphasize that I agree it shouldn't be used for impulse purchase guns, but if it's something you've wanted for a good while and you have a chance to pay it off a bit at a time, I don't see the downside.

^ Spot on

 

[cheesebigot]

Lots of holier-than-thou in this thread. If I choose to make a purchase over the course of several months piece by piece, why is it a bad choice? It is no different than boxing up the money and paying later except that I have essentially called "dibs" on that firearm at that time.

I will agree that there is a risk involved, however, the risk is somewhat small and, should something go awry that causes me some financial distress, I'm only out my base deposit which I consider a holding fee to "reserve" the item. I could understand if my purchases somehow caused other consumers harm, but the only one that is hurt by a failed layaway program is me - the business still makes out with my base deposit and retains the item to sell later (at a possibly higher market value - guns generally appreciate).

For the wager that my near future will not become drastically financially distressed, I'll gladly take a payment program any day over lump sum. What business is it of anyone else how I buy my guns?

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I've bought 8 guns with Bud's, on layaway, no issues.

 

[Bobson]

Lots of holier-than-thou in this thread

Almost as much as "I can do what I want and I don't need to ask anyone."

Except the OP did ask. "Is it worth it for people on a strict budget?"

Those of us who think it's a bad idea should just not reply at all? I think it's a bad idea, and the reason I think that is for the same reason I think credit cards are a bad idea. If that makes me holier than thou, oh well.

 

[B!ngoFuelUSN]

We have found lay-away to be useful.

We paid off our credit card a year and half ago. Not having that monthly bill and interest is great. So great in fact we don't want another credit card. No temptation to start charging.

Contrary to the naysayers this time a year ago I found a very nice Colt P.P.S. at a good enough price that the dealer would not have it long (in fact best price I have seen for a gun in it's condition). It would have been sold before I could saved up for it. I think the deposit was 25% and 90 days to pay it off. It worked out great for us. My wife got a hard to find gun for Christmas and I paid it off with no interest .

BSA's post seems like the only prudent exception I can imagine to the no-layaway rule. That is, if you don't have the funds to purchase something that is unique or rare or of fleeting availability and you are certain that you will have the funds available and the personal rigor to fulfill the payment schedule then go for it. Alternatively you could use a credit card but you'd be paying the 18% for the lay-away months. The item would have to be very rare or fleeting to be worth such a high interest rate. But I can imagine a scenario where that might be so.
Other than that, lay-away is a lock-in for the vendor. Once you put down the non-refundable up-front payment, you have no wiggle room. You can't find a different dealer with a lower price in the interim period in which you still don't have the gun. Make the payments or lose the downpayment just doesn't seem like a fair deal.
OTOH, I've seen cases (more with cars than with firearms) where the vendor has offered 0% financing. I bought a Chevy two years ago, went in there with the intent of just writing them a check (we had saved the funds for the purchase), but the sale person pleaded with us to finance it instead. For zero percent. I'm sure he had some incentive to sell financing packages. But it seemed like an IQ test to me.
B

 

[USAF_Vet]

Almost as much as "I can do what I want and I don't need to ask anyone."

Except the OP did ask. "Is it worth it for people on a strict budget?"

Those of us who think it's a bad idea should just not reply at all? I think it's a bad idea, and the reason I think that is for the same reason I think credit cards are a bad idea. If that makes me holier than thou, oh well.

Except the OP then went on to clarify that it wasn't so much a strict budget, but limited discretionary funds.

The risk involved is acceptable. Life is risky, so big deal.

The people who think a lay away is a bad idea seem to look down on those who can't, or won't, dump a month's pay or so on a gun, and instead put it on layaway (but seem to have no issues with putting one on credit).

Seems to me the 'don't do it' crowd are ok with interest payments, paying more for the gun. While there is no problem with squirreling away cash over the coarse of months to budget for a gun, there is still risk involved. The risk of it being sold before you save the money.

I don't follow the mentality of some of these posts.

 

[45_auto]

It always lower income people to drive higher income cars.

Sounds like someone who can't afford an expensive car trying to justify their choice of a "lower income" car.

You really should take a look at the doctor's parking lot at your local hospital, or the executive management parking lot of a major corporation. Places where people with some serious discretionary income park.

Unless your name is Bill Gates, no one with the credentials to park in those areas is "low income". You'll see some AMAZINGLY expensive toys!

 

[vamo]

I've used it before. Its basically as stated you pay a certain % initially as a down payment then have the option to pay the rest off as you go. I do believe the minimum increment is $20. Also keep in mind Bud's prices are cash prices if you use a credit card it costs more, so pay with an electronic check or money order to get the best price.

When I used it there was a special deal that was not going to be around forever. I had enough money to buy the item outright several times over, however I had just started a new job and did not feel like dropping that kind of money at that time. So I basically used it as a reservation system I did add 20-50 bucks here and there over the next few weeks, but ended up just paying off the majority all at once.

I tend not to like gimmicks like that for relatively small items (anything thats not a house or motor vehicle) my general attitude is if you don't have enough to buy it outright then you probably should not be spending your money on expensive unnecessary luxuries. However, I do see the use in snagging a really good deal when you might not want to spend that money right now.

Honestly, if there is nothing particularly great about the deal you're looking at I'd just put away money on your own, that way you can't lose it if something more important comes up.

 

[Reloadron]

What this will always come down to is what works best for the buyer. Everyone is different with their financial situations so what may be good for one is not always good for another. That is pretty much what the comments conclude, as I see it anyway. Be it financing, layaway, credit it is a matter of what works for you.

Layaway is enjoying a resurgence in recent years. I remember it as a kid, it died down and now is back.

Ron

 

[bainter1212]

I sorta resent the idea that if I use layaway, it's because I lack fiscal discipline. I'm in my mid-twenties with a good credit score, good savings account, and stock portfolio. I realize a lot of folks might use them incorrectly, but what's wrong with getting yourself a toy over a good bit of time? Isn't the discipline in waiting those 6 months while you pay pieces of it equivalent to the discipline of putting money in a shoebox for 6 months? In either case, you wait the 6 months.

I emphasize that I agree it shouldn't be used for impulse purchase guns, but if it's something you've wanted for a good while and you have a chance to pay it off a bit at a time, I don't see the downside.

This!

Putting a little down at a time actually allows for more flexibility in your finances.

Why not save up the money, some might say? Well......do you remember the "great panic"? When a gun that was common one day was gone the next? Layaway is a great way to "lock in" a purchase when availability is spotty.

How can you know that gun will even be in stock once you have saved the cash? You don't. And it might be priced even higher when it does come back in stock.