Bud's Gun Shop layaways

[Slater]

Put a firearm on layaway with Bud's in late February and paid it off last week. Was wondering why it hadn't shipped, when I got a call from them today saying that their distributors haven't updated their inventories fast enough and the item was out of stock.

I opted for a refund. I guess that, given the gun buying panic, this wasn't unexpected. For anyone who's used Bud's recently, how broken is their inventory and layaway system?

 

[Mars5l]

Well that's good to know if you put a firearm on layaway they dont pull one off the shelf to hold. Id be upset if it was something not common

 

[LoonWulf]

Put a firearm on layaway with Bud's in late February and paid it off last week. Was wondering why it hadn't shipped, when I got a call from them today saying that their distributors haven't updated their inventories fast enough and the item was out of stock.

I opted for a refund. I guess that, given the gun buying panic, this wasn't unexpected. For anyone who's used Bud's recently, how broken is their inventory and layaway system?

From their reply to you, id guess what they do is pull the gun you have on "layaway" from existing inventory AFTER you pay it off. That leaves a distinct possibilty in a panic buy situation that all inventory of a specific maybe sold faster than the systems are being updated.
In normal times, its probably pretty rare, and most likely an inventory taking issue, but id bet the occurrences of this happening lately are higher.
Now if they would set guns aside, like a true layaway, this would probably be significantly less of an issue. BUT that would mean housing, and maintaining a second inventory of guns being paid off. Which would be a whole nother hassle, and opportunity for screw ups.

 

[Ed Ames]

From their reply to you, id guess what they do is pull the gun you have on "layaway" from existing inventory AFTER you pay it off. That leaves a distinct possibilty in a panic buy situation that all inventory of a specific maybe sold faster than the systems are being updated.
In normal times, its probably pretty rare, and most likely an inventory taking issue, but id bet the occurrences of this happening lately are higher.
Now if they would set guns aside, like a true layaway, this would probably be significantly less of an issue. BUT that would mean housing, and maintaining a second inventory of guns being paid off. Which would be a whole nother hassle, and opportunity for screw ups.

Nah, the issue is that they don’t really have layaway as most consumers understand the term. They offer a sort of specialized zero-interest savings account that they call layaway.

As far as I know Buds and many of the online dealers use distributor drop shipping instead of inventory for many items. You pay buds, buds pays the distributor, and the distributor ships the gun to your FFL. The gun is never actually in the seller’s inventory. To offer true layaway in that system either the distributor must agree to hold inventory (which they won’t do unless paid), or Buds would need to front the money to buy the gun, receive it into their own inventory, and then ship it themselves once paid for. During that time they would have more money tied up in the gun than they had received from the buyer, all of which cuts into their profit.

If they only sold from their own inventory it would be easy enough to keep a count of guns on layaway. Subtract that from the number “in inventory” for point of sale/online purposes. Putting a gun on layaway wouldn’t involve a human ever touching it. It could all be done in software, and unless someone went into the warehouse and pulled a gun without going through the inventory control system it would never be a problem.

 

[Slater]

Yeah, Buds' whole "layaway" concept is pretty shaky and probably best avoided during panic situations.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I concur- what the OP is describing in not "Layaway".

 

[Ks5shooter]

Good to know. But what I do is buy the gun on credit card and pay it off end of first or second month.

 

[Dunross]

I have used Bud's layaway in the past for one rifle precisely because I was concerned it would sell out before I could save up the full price. It seems I got lucky that they could still get one when I made the last payment. I would have been pretty pissed off had it turned out they could not supply the gun I had been making payments on!

 

[Hikingman]

Guess Buds will not layaway a specific used firearm?

 

[Insignificant bill]

That's too bad

 

[.455_Hunter]

As a little kid in the 80's, it seems I remember walking by the layaway counter at K-Mart. The process seems to be that person would bring item "A" to the counter and state they wanted to put it on layaway (usually 60 or 90 days?). They would make the first payment, then item "A" would disappear into the backroom bound for a shelf with a tag having all of the transaction info attached. Every 30 days, an additional payment was made until the balance was covered. You got that actual item "A" that had been tagged. Seems like that's how many families ended up with items like their first color TV or VCR for Christmas. Saving your money on your own then trying to buy during the holiday rush could easily result in disappointment due to low stockage.

 

[Riomouse911]

I used Buds for the first time about 6 weeks ago when I bought two guns for about the same price I was max-bidding on one Smith Model 18 .22 revolver. (The Smith went for $200 over my max bid of $705.)

Shipping was pretty fast for Covid craziness, but the Ca State DOJ took almost 15 days to do my 10-day waiting period approval.

I also ordered some rimfire .22 LR and .22 Mag ammo from Buds that showed in-stock, but apparently wasn’t. Buds made an apology phone call to me and explained their error, they immediately refunded all my money for the ammo order and sent me an email with a $10.00 digital coupon for the mix up.

That was panic buying madness for retailers I’m sure, but Buds did ok by me...so I’ll be going back to them at some point.

Stay safe.

 

[Alte Schule]

My LGS does lay away. 25% down and 6 months to pay. Over the years I've probably bought 20-30 firearms from them, new and used, using lay away. I'm such a good customer they will take less than 25%. A few years ago I put $100 down on a FN 5.7.
Paid it off in 2 1/2 months though.

I ordered a Ruger 9mm PC Carbine from Bud's in late March. Previously I had only ordered accessories from them. Even with all the BS going on I had it in hand six days later.

 

[Insignificant bill]

I bought a Ruger LC9s from them a couple years ago.

 

[Steve S.]

The inventory update story is just that, a story. True “layaway” is a hold on an item - it is set aside for pickup after payoff. Bud’s simply takes your money, turns it at their businesses’ hurdle rate (probably at the 10 to 15% range - which means that they use your money for free) and then ship an sku out if their normal inventory access when it is paid off. In your case, the assumed inventory was exhausted for your payoff call because of excess demand and limited supply. To make you truly whole with their business game, they should pay you interest on your money because they made money with your money - but they won’t. Cashflow income calculated at their hurdle rate on layaway money is probably a line item on the income portion of their P/L.

 

[FFGColorado]

Put a firearm on layaway with Bud's in late February and paid it off last week. Was wondering why it hadn't shipped, when I got a call from them today saying that their distributors haven't updated their inventories fast enough and the item was out of stock.

I opted for a refund. I guess that, given the gun buying panic, this wasn't unexpected. For anyone who's used Bud's recently, how broken is their inventory and layaway system?

Not uncommon in that they often sell something THEN try to order it..JIT type inventory(Just In Time)...

OOOPs, asked and answered above...

 

[AlexanderA]

Given the prevalence of credit cards, "layaway" seems a relic of the past. It used to be something that poor people without credit would do. Maybe I'm out of touch and it's still a thing. Still, a gun is a discretionary purchase. If you don't have the money (or the credit), maybe you should think twice about buying.

Obviously what Bud's is doing is not "layaway." It actually borders on consumer fraud. (Selling something that you don't have, and that is not even in the pipeline.)

 

[Slater]

Sorry I don't have your wealth of resources. I'll try harder in the future.

 

[FFGColorado]

Put a firearm on layaway with Bud's in late February and paid it off last week. Was wondering why it hadn't shipped, when I got a call from them today saying that their distributors haven't updated their inventories fast enough and the item was out of stock.

I opted for a refund. I guess that, given the gun buying panic, this wasn't unexpected. For anyone who's used Bud's recently, how broken is their inventory and layaway system?

Try Midway..still free ship but a better MO company, IMHO...

 

[Steve S.]

Slater, I agree - that was an arrogant and cheap shot. The internet is like whiskey, it gives cowards their courage.

 

[AlexanderA]

Didn't mean to sound condescending. It was not aimed at any one person in particular.

 

[Thunderchicken]

I have plenty of financial resources and credit, but I have put used guns on layaway at an LGS. The difference is that a) it scratches the gun-buying itch for a time, b) it doesn't cost me any interest (other than the interest I would get if I left the money in my checking account--in other words, nothing) and c) it means I get a gun I may not see for sale often.

I assume there is no regulation of the term "layaway," which is why they used it. Calling it "make us a zero-interest loan for no advantage" is also kind of cumbersome. It makes me curious what the actual terms are. If the retail price goes up at the point of payoff, will they just be "out of stock?" If it instead goes down will they issue a refund for the difference?

 

[Ed Ames]

Given the prevalence of credit cards, "layaway" seems a relic of the past. It used to be something that poor people without credit would do. Maybe I'm out of touch and it's still a thing. Still, a gun is a discretionary purchase. If you don't have the money (or the credit), maybe you should think twice about buying.

Seems like, but isn’t. You are making a mistake thinking of it as a form of credit. It’s actually a form of earnest money. The same idea is used in real estate and many other types of transactions where a buyer wants the seller to take goods off the market prior to the completion of the sale. The buyer may want the goods off the market to verify that the goods are what the buyer wants, to verify that the goods are as described, to secure funds, to deal with legal issues, or whatever. The seller doesn’t benefit from just taking the product off the market without a completed sale, so earnest money provides an incentive. It is generally only needed, or done, when the buyer considers the product at the current price to be a good deal that they don’t want to miss while the logistics of completing the transaction are finalized.

I’ve used layaway (by whatever name) when buying cars, boats, an airplane, several houses, and a few guns. In the case of guns it was to avoid losing my opportunity to buy due to legal constraints (e.g. California has a “1 gun a month” law, and the gun might be sold before that time passes) or to make a cash purchase when I didn’t happen to have the full cash price in my pocket. The size of the transaction varies but the idea is the same.

It’s more than a bit elitist to think that a practice that benefits wealthy people should be looked down upon when used by people with less.

 

[P5 Guy]

Over bearing SWMBO will see CC purchases, not layaway taken from one's 'allowance'.