Buying Online or at the Store

[usmarine0352_2005]

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Do you find it cheaper to buy online or to buy from a store such as Cabelas or a mom and pop place?



I'm looking for an HK45 with the LEM.

I've noticed that there are a few for sale online but it doesn't specify if they have the LEM trigger. Do they normally write this or is it assumed that it automatically comes with it?

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[thriftyjoe]

I think it's important to support your local gun shop.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

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I need to support my local wallet.




I am looking to change Duty Weapons and have to go for whatever is the lowest, as much as I'd like to help out a local store.

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[mcdonl]

USmarine. Thanks for your service. I would look at all places, but it is hard to beat the prices of Cabelas and stores like it.

 

[hub]

I need to support my local wallet.

I agree, the worst thing that ever happened to the price gouging local gun shops was the Internet. I understand they have overhead but come on, a couple around here are ridiculously overpriced and would not budge. They have really come around in the last five to ten years since they have got more competition locally and with the Internet if they didn't change they would go under. The one thing I do like about them is they have a really good inventory and usually some pretty knowledgeable folks working there.

I am willing to support them but I refuse to grossly overpay just to buy from them. What I usually do is research online and know exactly what I should be paying for an item I want. Sometime I will even print and bring it with me. Then I go to the local shops and start to barter. Usually there prices starts way higher then I just lay it down. I want this. I'm going to buy it today from somebody. I can buy it online for this, shipping is this much, and ffl will cost this. Counting the cost of sales tax can you match it? If not how close can you get. Then I make the decision if the online discount is worth it over local depending on how much money difference there is vs the convenience of buying it locally.

Sometimes that works really well and other times not so much. When the Obama scare hit you couldn't touch an assault rifle or tacticool shotgun around here for under sticker, there was simply to many people willing to pay an inflated price so why would they sell it to me today if they know they can make another $100 on it tomorrow.

 

[Deus Machina]

A couple oif my local places gouge, and charge astronomically for transfers. Last time I asked their fee for that, I just pointed out the $300 extra on a few pistols ($720 for a CZ 75 Compact!?) and laughed all the way out the door. Haven't been back.

My new favorite guy seems to base most of his sale business off ordering and transfers, and can get me new stuff for about the same as I would online for gun+shipping+transfer.

Same price, better to give him the markup costs than some online super-seller.

I'd do it if it was more expensive, too, within reason.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

I need to support my local wallet.

i agree, far more important than worrying about someone else's business.

 

[youngda9]

I am willing to support them but I refuse to grossly overpay just to buy from them. What I usually do is research online and know exactly what I should be paying for an item I want. Sometime I will even print and bring it with me. Then I go to the local shops and start to barter. Usually there prices starts way higher then I just lay it down. I want this. I'm going to buy it today form somebody. I can buy it online for this, shipping is this much, and ffl will cost this. Counting the cost of sales tax can you match it? If not how close can you get. Then I make the decision if the online discount is worth it over local depending on how much money difference there is vs the convenience of buying it locally.

I agree. I went to my local gun shop the other day and saved $85 on an M&P40c by bringing in the internet price. We added $25 FFL fee onto what it would cost to have it shipped and they matched the price. I told them I am going to buy it and would rather give them my $ than someone else. They said they wouldn't make anything on the sale, which I doubt(the internet place did and shipped for the fee as well). But they matched it saying that they wanted to get my buisness.

I really appreciated it. Next time I will spend a little more to buy from them because they did me right.

 

[Legionnaire]

I try to support my local shop; I've known the guy for six years, and he doesn't gouge. But I won't hesitate to buy on-line if I find a good deal. Dealer gets the transfer fee. I'm mostly buying used guns at this point, so that factors in. I drop in to his shop every couple of weeks just to see what he has under glass, just like I scan the forum classifieds and on-line auction sites.

 

[CoRoMo]

Do you find it cheaper to buy online... Most times, yes. Not always, but five of the last seven guns I've purchased were from online sources because the price was untouchable to any local dealer. Certain, specific types of guns are not going to be found any cheaper online.

...or to buy from a store such as Cabelas or a mom and pop place? Sometimes, but not often. The whole notion of supporting a high priced local store, just for the sake of it, is absolutely ridiculous IMO.

I've noticed that there are a few for sale online but it doesn't specify if they have the LEM trigger. Do they normally write this or is it assumed that it automatically comes with it? They would only benefit from a complete description of all improved options. When in doubt, many of these online dealers do have a phone number listed so you can call them and ask. NEVER assume that the gun is going to have what the description lacks mentioning. You should assume that it doesn't have the LEM trigger if anything.

hth.

 

[billsnogo]

Online seems to be the cheapest, USUALLY, not always.

Sometimes stores will have a sale, and it can be hard to beat, even more so when they have deals like $70 off $300 or more

 

[MMCSRET]

I have never bought a firearm any way but face to face. I've looked at and talked about a couple of Colt revolvers online, older ones, generally not seen in shops around here. I just keep looking and eventually I find something that strikes me. I've bought guns in gun shops, feed stores, grocery stores, parking lots. Out of gun racks in pick ups, from a guy on a tractor and from a long haul truck driver having his Cat engine serviced at the Cat House. I got a Ruger Service Six from a Hyster driver in a BMC West lumber yard. They are everywhere I tell you; Everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MarineOne]

Find it online, print it off and take it into your local gun shop. Tell them this is *EXACTLY* what you want and the price you're looking to pay, and that you want to do business with them. Tell them you're looking for instant gratification and ask them to match it or at least get close to it, or you'll just order it online and find an FFL to do your paperwork.

And have the cash in hand to prove you're ready to buy it.

Worst case that'll happen is you stopping by the bank to redeposit your cash.


Semper Fi.

-K

 

[Madcap_Magician]

I find the prices at some of my local gun shops so ridiculous and their service so poor that I can't justify supporting them in any way, shape, or form.

On the other hand, every online dealer I have chosen to deal with has had quick shipping, good customer service, and meaningfully lower prices, even after shipping and transfer fees.

 

[thebigc]

i like the stores all the stuff that's hi cap around here is still basicly frozen by the 94 ban so theres no real point in even trying to buy a new gun unless its a pc rifle and the places around here all want 50+ for a transfer so its not even worth it

 

[CoRoMo]

MarineOne:

I actually tried that a couple times. I didn't want to buy a gun online because I was afraid of some sort of regretful catastrophe happening within the process, so I just begged the locals to match the deal I had found.

They would not. They didn't even seem to have any hesitation at losing a sale because they probably had more money in their stock item than the price I brought in to show them.

I've actually brought up BudsGunShop.com to a dealer or two, and they tell me that Bud's is selling at or below wholesale on a lot of their product. Prices that these dealers can't even buy guns at. 'nuff said.

 

[wow6599]

I too buy most of my firearms from Buds; low prices and no sales tax (unless you live in KY).

 

[MarkDozier]

I buy on-line but so far it has olny been CDNN for guns. And I have an good guy by work for the FFL.
Caballe's I find tend to be more on thier gun prices. So after I look at thier stock I go over the hiway to Outdorr Warehouse (used to be Sprotsman Warehouse) and save even more.
botjh stores to my knowledge offer a 5% discount on firearms to active and retired militray personell.
5% may not be much, but when you knock 35 off a 700 dollar gun your tax price is now 650

 

[bababooey32]

I'll buy from whoever has the best combination of price, service, loyalty and selection. Local shop? Great. Big-box retailer? great. Online retailer? great.

 

[CoRoMo]

I value the level of customer service that I receive less and less it seems. Price and availability are king.

I don't really get bothered by the sour attitude of the guy at the counter if he has what I'm looking for and has it at a price nobody else can touch.

I bought a couple rifles earlier this year from local stores and the guys I dealt with were not at all offering good service, but they had what I was looking for and their price was unbeatable.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Buyer Beware

Almost all of my purchases in the last year had been online. There is a wider variety online than any store locally, even the big boxes. If you know what to look for, the prices are usually 10% to 20% less even when factoring in shipping and FFL charges.

For example, I recently picked up a S&W 5906 for ~$385 with all shipping & FFL fees. The stores around here were trying to sell them for over $500 on the average - and this was for a 2nd generation 5906.

Then again, there are some incredibly bad deals online. For example, a seller got $132 for a HS 22 revolver - NO. not a High Standard, but a West German Herbert Schmidt revolver in 22LR with almost all of the bluing gone. I'm sure the bidders thought they were getting a deal on a High Standard because it looked similar to a Sentinel on first glance. Even in excellent condition a HS 22 should go for no more than $100.

usmarine0352_2005
Buying Online or at the Store

 

[Mr.Davis]

I treat guns like any other good I purchase. I will always look for a great price locally first, and generally give them an opportunity to match any internet price I do find.

Ultimately, "value" is an equation, and includes more than just price despite what Walmart thinks. Value is unique to the individual, but for me, the equation is about 60% price, 20% availability, and 20% service/relationship.

 

[bababooey32]

Ultimately, "value" is an equation, and includes more than just price despite what Walmart thinks.

Being that Wal-Mart is the most prolific retailer in the country, it seems "what Wal-Mart thinks" is pretty accurate.

 

[CoRoMo]

As much as I think online retailers are going to change the industries future, I got "burned" on a gun's price one time. I looked around locally and found that the gun I was after could be bought online for a savings of around $300+, so I bought it. The dealer that did the transfer told me I got the gun below his wholesale cost! I was happy.

A few weeks later, I walked into Sports Authority and guess what. They had that very gun on clearance for a price that would have saved me yet another $125! :banghead: I had no way to know that though. Their regular price was back up above what I paid for it online, and I always figured Sports Authority is not a place to look for a deal. Lesson learned = look EVERYWHERE first before you buy.

 

[oneounceload]

The one thing I do like about them is they have a really good inventory and usually some pretty knowledgeable folks working there.

So, you expect them to provide these services for free? Or would you rather they just post pictures of the guns in the cabinet, let you look at them and then have some minimum wage clerk order it in for you? (Kinda like the internet). If price, and price alone, is your only qualifier, then why would do want this shop to provide these things - they add to the cost. Inventory COSTS money to have; many have to buy many different items from the distributor to get the ones that sell. Inventory that doesn't move COSTS even more. You expect small business to provide you with services, yet you don't want to pay for them. I wonder if your boss expected you to work for free - would you do it?