Do you like your gun shop so much that you almost "feel bad" buying elsewhere?

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flatlander937

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I'm planning on picking up something tomorrow from my local gun store(Vandalia Range and Armory www.vra-ohio.com)... I've bought my last 2 handguns from them, their service is top notch, all of the employees are pretty knowledgeable and very friendly(a couple of them know me on a first name basis despite that I have only gone 1-2 times per month for the last year)... most of all the employees are not bullheaded and interject their own opinions every chance they get.

Many of them favor 1911s, but when I (first) went in there and told them I wasn't sure of what I wanted, one of the employees went over the basic "common" choices for first guns like Glocks, XDms, revolvers, etc. It was actually recommended that I come back every few weeks and shoot some of the different things in the display case to see what fits me the best... which I planned on anyway, but it was just unexpected as the other couple stores I've been to have just interjected their opinions.. "Glock is the best and there is nothing else" and "You don't want any safeties at ALL on your carry gun or else you'll get killed when it matters most." etc etc. I understand that point of view, and it's important to discuss the possibility of that, but it's not for you to decide what *I* am capable of.

I'm in a position to buy another gun, and while the store about 5 miles from me has what I want for the same exact price... the VRA range has what I want 25 miles away and I'm taking my business there.

Anybody else feel this way? I feel very fortunate.
 
Buying merchandise is business. The LGS is in the business to make money. Don't make the mistake of thinking they think of you as their "friend." They think of you as profit.

No, I have no problem buying merchandise wherever I can get the best price.
 
LGS must listen to blowhards all day to compete with the Big Box Stores. So they do. I have lived in several states and the region does not seem to have any bearing on it. I have no particular allegiance to any merchandiser.
 
Absolutely not. I have not found one here that I like that much. The 3 or so I have been to acted mostly like they really didn't care whether I bought anything there or not. The last one never asked if they could help me even though I was one of only 2 people in the store. I have gotten better customer service from Sportsman's Warehouse & Gander Mountain than any of the LGS here. In the end, it comes down to whether they have what I want at a price I'm willing to pay and I don't care if it's a LGS or big box store.
 
My LGS is also the indoor range were i shoot. If i'm looking to buy a firearm i'll tell them what i found and how much. They will either beat the price or tell me they can't match it.No hard feelings on either part. Business is business,I'm after the best price,they are there to make money.
 
Not one bit. I have only found one FFL in my area that is worth actually going to (he's a "kitchen table" kind of FFL who knows his stuff). I have had bad experiences with EVERY other FFL within a one hour drive of my home, ranging from the dealer who let my gun sit on his shelf for over a month before sending it in for warranty work (happened twice on the same gun!) to the dealer who's employees seem to like to point pistols at my chest across the counter and then dry fire them at me (without even clearing them first!).

I have no allegiance to any FFL. The only reason I still use my current FFL is because he is the only one I've found that is a man of his word and is actually willing to send his FFL to other companies when I ask to transfer something through him. Because I can actually trust him to do what he says he will, I've bought two pistols through him and transferred three NFA weapons through him in the past 3 months alone. That's over $200 in transfer fees solely because he doesn't lie and doesn't point guns at me! It's nothing about loyalty, it's that he's the only option if I want to get anything done.
 
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No, but I don't like places enough that I DO feel bad that I buy from them.

Oh, but my FFL does get 99% of my business because he's just a cool guy, so I do feel weird going through someone else.
 
No.

Now, I can't really say I approve of behavior like spending 2 or 3 hours of a salesman's time figuring out what you want just to go somewhere else and save $10 or $15 on the purchase. To me, you kinda owe it to him, unless their pricing is way out of line. If I've received good advice or other help from a particular individual or business that didn't cost me anything, I make it a point to give them first opportunity to make a sale. Now, if they're significantly higher than a competitor, they may still lose out. But if the cost is the same or only slightly higher than what I might find online or at a big box, I'll patronize them.

But if you're not using up employee/store time & resources, no, you shouldn't feel guilty about not buying from them.

Me? I rarely buy new, so it's just a matter of who has a neat piece on the used/consignment rack at that particular moment.
 
I have two favorite shops that I buy all my guns from. In all honesty though one is 3 miles away and the other is about 5 miles in the other direction. Like doing business with both as there good people to deal with but, whoever is selling the gun I'm looking for at the best price is getting my business. I look at it this way there in the business to make money I'm into keeping as much money as I can in my pocket. Nothing personal it's just business.
 
I haven't found a shop yet that's worth that kind of loyalty. I was close, once, but generally due to either staff or policy changes I always find myself looking for greener pastures.

Jeebus, sounds like we're talking about marriage here...
 
Yes. One of the local pawns tries hard to get what I want, gives me decent deals on anything used, and is simply a nice guy. So, if I know what I want ahead of time, I always give him a chance to get it in and I have no worry about him being competively priced. It's just that he often can't get the gun I want from his "distributor's".
 
Well maybe a little. But since there are two or three of same, I guess as long as I buy from one of the three I feel pretty good. Somebody has a deal on something the others don't have, I'm going for it.
 
Maybe "feeling bad" was a bit of a strong phrase... I'm not going to send them a "sorry" card from Hallmark if I buy elsewhere... but good customer service is rare these days and I feel compelled to help those who help me out and treat me right(within reason). Like I said, they are competitively priced, usually within $30 of Buds or Impact Guns so that helps a lot. They also have a downright ridiculous selection of everything. Were it a $60+ savings, I think I'd feel a bit differently.

I figured I'd try and stir up a "good gunshops" thread as I remember many about bad gun shops a couple months ago... it seems nice places are rare.

Guess I am a gun shop whore. I'll get it wherever I can.
Click to expand...

Haha... love that!

:p
 
I`ll buy from anywhere or anybody if the firearm checks out & I think the price is right..................
 
My favorite gun shop is my favorite gun shop because their prices are the best in a 100 mile radius and probably further than that - I rarely see a price at Buds that they don't have beat. I now know a number of the guys who work there so I find the service to be excellent. So why would I buy anywhere else?

I do occasionally visit other shops but only buy from them if they have a used item that I absolutely can't get at my regular place and that happens almost never - examples were a used Benelli M2 and a German Sig P228.

If I ever wanted to buy a Baer / Brown I would probably order from someone out of state that keeps them in stock, my shop really deals in Wilson and Nighthawk - other than that I stick with my shop.
 
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