Cycling Actions

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ieszu

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Trying to figure that out....
Saw this topic in another thread, but it looked like it was going to get locked, so I figured I would start a new thread that might hopefully stay on topic.

When I owned a gun store, as well as the place I was a manager, the store policy was to keep all new guns zip-tied or trigger locked so that they could not be cycled, unless the customer ordered it. All used guns were allowed to be fondled to an extent, actions cycled, etc. as they were used guns. If a customer insisted on cycling a new gun, we charged $25 that would be credited to their purchase of that gun. This seemed to stop people from cycling weapons that weren't really interested in buying.

I did think once that buying store copies of guns that people could fondle, and then get another copy from the storage area if the customer decided to purchase would be the best solution to the problem, but that would be a huge outlay in inventory that would not be sold for a while....

What have you all seen as a solution, and what did you think of it? Any ideas on how to solve this age old problem?
 
Have I got a used car for you! OH no you can't look under the hood, no you can't sit on the seats. NO no don't kick the tires you may scuff them. Hand over $400 non refundable deposit, credited toward the purchase and you can sit behind the wheel.

Sorry but I always cycle the slide to ensure its not loaded, I have no idea who or what was done with it. I also have to "feel" the trigger pull. Last gun i bought that made the difference between buying the Spring field or the Kimber.
 
Cycle the actions!

Car dealerships have models that people drive around, then sell at a discount.

More than that, is it supposed that cycling a gun damages the gun? If it's that sensitive, who would buy it?

Scratch & Dent sales could be useful. How many "friends" might you have, who will gladly take a good firearm with a scratch?

Can a dealer make up for such losses with the sale of other goods, or classes or___________?

One gun shop refused to allow my wife to cycle a 12 guage pump. After that, it was GANDER MOUNTAIN, HERE WE COME. We bought that very morning.

So don't let me cycle the guns. I wouldn't want to break a gun in the store.

/
 
If you can't cycle the action or even touch a gun you are interested in buying, than it's like being blindfolded. You only have what you see to go on.
 
I can understand it to a certain degree on high end weapons. And there are some cars that don't allow a test drive. Sometimes they will have a similar vechicle that you can drive, and sometimes not. If you walk into an Aston Martin or a porshe dealership they will not usually let you drive a hundred thousand plus vechicle for obvious reasons. mainly no one keeps ferrari type demo vechicles. Most of the time they were ordered a year or more ahead of time. Now with guns, you really need to size up a guy who wants to test a 2 thousand plus gun, only because if he or she drops it, you are screwed. Normally a person who can spend thousands on a gun, isn't going to want a scratched or dinged gun that price. I think that you need to pre qualify the buyer. Sales people who deal in expensive retail products, should know how to do that without being rude. If you require a scenario of how to do that, I can provide that for you. But I agree with the initial poster who owns the store, you don't want to give an unexperianced person, the oppertunity to damage a saleable high demand item. I would sell a gun like that with the reassurance that if there was anything wrong with the gun after it was purchased, I would refund the amount paid with no problem, as long as it was something that was really wrong, not that he didn't like the way it felt . The person would be invited to try their new pistol out , "on the house", I might even go as far as offering the client a free 1/2 hour instruction in whatever went along with that weapon, such as a combat, or target class with a proffessional instructor. Just a couple ideas, I haven't given much thought to what extra services one might offer. There are ways of selling things that add value to the purchase, but handing an expensive pistol, to someone you don't know, and allowing them to cycle the weapon and dry fire it, in my humble opinion, is not a great idea, unless you work for someone else, in which case if they don't care, why should you. Let me just add that I disagree on the subject of charging anyone anything to shop ,"which is what you would be doing", the $25 dollar deal will other than cause instant dislike of the store, cost you much more than you realize as word spreads. i missed that part somehow.
 
Ieszu - No offense, but if I walked into a gun store and wanted to check out a gun, and the clerk told me that it would be $25 (which I'd only get back if I bought the gun after I was done looking at it) I'd laugh in his face and tell him good luck with that.

I can understand a business owner wanting to protect his stock from damage, but your solution seems more than a little extreme. If the customer wants to check out a gun that has the potential to be damaged by certain manipluations, tell the customer that, and ask that they not do certain things (or let you show them) while checking out the gun. Provide snap-caps for guns that are susceptible to damage from dry-firing, etc. That's a reasonable, mutually beneficial solution. The customer gets to examine the function of the gun, and the seller gets to ensure that certain protocols are observed that will protect his product as much as possible. Charging people money to examine a firearm, and then not returning that money unless they buy it (whether they damaged it or not in the process of inspection and function checking) to me, borders on robbery.
 
I mainly sell used guns. you can cycle the action inspect ,& if you want to try the trigger we'll step out front & shoot it.
If I'm selling a new gun,it's because you had me order it for you so same rules apply but you can dry fire your gun if you wish.
If it gets to where I've got new guns in stock I may rethink this or maybe not. Jim
 
The policy is annoying and idiotic. Personally I have always refused to deal with the sellers who have this attitude. If a firearm is so fragile that it cannot be cycled, you should never have sold it to begin with. Around here the only shops that do this are nasty little pawn outfits and certain people at gun shows who really aren't there to sell anything.
 
When I bought my CZ75 I got a $50 discount because it was the display-case one and had gotten a bit scratched up.
 
I agree Cosmo. I go to the gun shop to handle firearms. Otherwise, why not just order everything online for $30 cheaper than in the store and not pay Tax.

I go into a gun store, handle the arms, put them through all the tests besides firing, and make a decision. Once I have the decision, I go to the local gun shop that was most courteous and obliging in my handling of the firearms, and, if they are not completely out of the ball park on prices, I purchase from them.

CZ-P01. Best price online for a new one (that I could find):
Gun - $480
Shipping - $20
Transfer - $25

Total, $525 Gun-Unseen

CZ P01 I purchased:

Gun - $510
Tax - $30.60

Total -$540.60 Gun-Handled and Tested.

$15 more but since they were close I gave them the sale because they were courteous and didn't hassle me about manipulating the guns.
 
If you can't fondle it and work the controls you might as well buy online and save money because either way you're taking a gamble.
I can understand certain rules (like avoiding "idiot marks" on 1911s) but if the thing can't handle a simple function check without getting hurt I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable selling it to someone who'll actually *gasp* shoot it someday.
 
If a customer insisted on cycling a new gun, we charged $25 that would be credited to their purchase of that gun. This seemed to stop people from cycling weapons that weren't really interested in buying.
Click to expand...

Not being able to get a fell for the gun is not going to get a sale from me. If a store thinks that cycling the action is going to break the guns than they either sell junk guns or are paranoid that the guns will lose value. Either way is ridiculous. Would you buy a car from a dealer that said you could'nt sit inside or look under the hood?

New guns should be handled since the kind of money you might drop on one.Used guns should be handled so you can see the condition.
 
If a clerk told me it would be $25 to do that, I would be out the door in no time. There are plenty of dealers, online and otherwise, who are more than willing to let me try out a gun with the stipulation that I can bring it back in a few days if dissatisfied.

If a dealer is not even willing to let me cycle it, then he can forget having me buy it.
 
I don't mean to dog-pile the OP, but the more I think about the policy he had when he owned/ran his shop, the more it bothers me.

Specifically what bothers me, is just how insulting it is to the customers. Speaking for myself - I'm a full-time student, as well as living on a fixed income. Price is a big part of any purchases I make, especially luxury items like firearms. If I walk into a shop and the owners charge me a fee to handle the firearm, with no guarantee that it will be returned unless I buy the firearm, that is a guarantee that they will NEVER get my business - first because it's ridiculous and secondly because I don't have $25 dollars to throw at ANY salesperson for the "priviledge" of examining a product that I may want to purchase.

I dunno. I guess I don't have much of a point beyond that - just been thinking about the OP's description of his business practices, and the more it sinks in, the more unbelieveable it gets.
 
I think a lot people here missed the fact that you only charged $25 to cycle the brand new guns. If I were the owner, I'd probably charge $100 to handle a brand new gun. In fact, I don't know of any store around me that allows me to handle a brand new gun before I've committed to buy.

I don't know about you guys, but the brand new guns I've bought are clearly brand new. They have foam inserts, stickers that require removal and whatnot. When I purchase a brand new gun, that’s what I want to see. I don’t want to see handling and idiot marks, and I won't purchase such a gun as if it's brand new.

Local stores do allow me to handle the identical used gun on the shelf that is available for purchase at a discount. After I purchase, I can handle the brand new gun I purchased in front of the employee. If there's a clear problem with the gun I purchased right in front of the employee, well, that's where basic contract law kicks-in. The store replaces the gun with a gun that works.
 
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I would sell a gun like that with the reassurance that if there was anything wrong with the gun after it was purchased, I would refund the amount paid with no problem, as long as it was something that was really wrong, not that he didn't like the way it felt .
Click to expand...

So, you can't cycle the action and if you buy it and then find it doesn't "feel right" you're out of luck? Sorry, like many folks here I don't think I would be buying from that store either. When my girlfriend, who was new to firearms, wanted to purchase a gun, one of the major factors that influenced her decision was how easily she could cycle the action. After trying a few, she found one that she liked and could operate effectively and bought it. Of course that meant that she tried out many others that she didn't end up buying. At $25.00 a "try" she would have had to spend about $200.00 for the privlege of cycling the actions on those unbought guns.
 
I don't know of any store around me that allows me to handle a brand new gun before I've committed to buy.
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It must be a regional thing, because a gun store in AK that did that would run into real difficulties. Great Northern Guns has a back rack with the valuable ones, but they'll still let you handle them and cycle them. They're SELLING firearms, they're not a museum. The notion of buying a new firearm without feeling the action throw, balance, and trigger is absurd to me unless it's one you aready know very well. I've been willing to buy certain Mosins or a CZ sight unseen, but only because I know them extremely well.
 
I think a lot people here missed the fact that you only charged $25 to cycle the brand new guns.
Click to expand...

Why should it matter whether they were new or not?

You're telling me, that if you paid $25 to handle and inspect a product, and when you were done (and it was apparent that you had caused no damage or wear) the clerk kept your money, that you'd be OK with that?

I'm sorry, but if that's what you're saying - you're a fool.

Now, if the clerk required a deposit before handling, and returned it on completion of the customer's inspection, as long as there had been no damage done - that's a different story. Still not high on my list of ways to run a business, but at least the dealer isn't profiting for no reason.
 
Jake - so what's really being said here? It seems pretty plain, if one were to read the OP's post, that he used to charge people money to examine and function-check guns, and would keep the money whether there was damage done to the gun or not. To me, and quite a few other members, that seems more than a bit unfair.

Please see fit to enlighten us if we're collectively reading his post incorrectly. :rolleyes:
 
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