Gun shop blues

[Malice]

There is a gun store close to my house in Southwest Houston called the Gun Shack. Its a small place run by one guy, his daughter (I think) and maybe one other guy. Ive been in there twice. The first time was when I was looking to buy my first rifle (Ruger 10/22) and he tried to charge me $300 for a messily used one. I almost bought it (had 0 firearms knowledge at the time) but my dad suggested that we look at Wal Mart first. $150 new in box? There we go.

So I go back today for the second time, with the tons of firearms knowledge ive gathered at places like this forum as well as my practical experience shooting since then. It was like a scary movie. Everywhere I turned, I saw a price tag or hand-made sign that made me want to scream in terror. The Saiga that I bought at Fountain Firearms down the road about 20 minutes for $250 minus %5 (the tag SAID $250 and I was willing to pay them their reasonable price) was on display there with a tag that read $395. And guess what? It was USED. Obviously used. Worn finish, etc. Their basic Wolf ammo is $4 a box rather than $3 or $2.50! The worst part was when I asked him how much one of his USED off-brand 25rnd 10/22 magazines was going for, he said "Well since they're banned and all, I can let you have one for $79.95."

At that point I walked out, shaking my head. I do NOT look like the stereotypical Texan gun-savy type. I have been described as "metrosexual." You could tell the guy had one look at me and assumed he could charge me any price he wanted, tell me anything he wanted. Not to forget, his guns and ammo are ticketed at %50-%100 markups. What a jerk!

Makes me want to stand outside of his shop on a busy day and tell people how too-much they paid as they walk out. Some "stores" are not even legitimate places of busniess. Anyone else have experiences like this?

 

[Light Storm]

I think every city has at least one shop like that. The local culprit in my city has been seen trying to sell a well used m48 mauser for over 500 bucks. To make it even worse, he was trying to pass it off as a K98. When i pointed out that it was not a k98, the owner called me a liar to my face. Needless to say, i did not spend any money there. I guess there are enough idiots out there who dont know what things are worth to keep these places in buisness.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

We have one here, too. The very popular Trader's in San Leandro, Ca. Tons of people refer to it, but it is not a good place for a good or honest price.

There is the manufacturer price and there is the street price and there is the bargain price. Everyone sells for at least street price, but Trader's has price tags that play up the street prices as something special.

I bought my 686+ at Targetmaster in Fremont or Hayward for about $395 while Trader's was touting the very standard price of $450.

On top of that you need to wade through three layers of gang-bangers to get to the counter some days. Yeesh!

 

[stealthmode]

i hate stores like that. there were a couple of stores in so cal that were (are) like that i liked to go into them and use as a price guide of what not to pay.

 

[MikeJ]

I know of two places that priced their guns so high I was amazed that they actually sold any of them. The first one closed down recently but not due to lack of business. It was called Mandall's out in Scottsdale and had been in business many many years, I believe the owner was just retiring. I could give several examples but the one that comes to mind was when I bought a Glock 23, second generation, quite a number of years ago. I paid $399 NIB at a good place to buy while Mandall's was asking $599! It truly wasn't unusual to see prices that were at least 1/3 more and 50% more wasn't uncommon either when compared to other reputable dealers.

The other place which IMO is an absolute joke is the Jewel Box in downtown Phoenix. This is a very large pawn shop that has been in business since the 60's. They seem to specialize in pimped out guns and pot metal junk. They always have several Colt's in .38 Super all decked out in bright polish stainless and gold accents etc. along with lots of Brycos, Jennings and guns of that quality. An example I can give of them was when I was in the market for a Colt Combat Commander in stainless, the enhanced version. Yes, they had one for the low low price of only $875! I bought this gun for $569 from, once again, a reputable dealer that dealt with folks who know a just a little bit about guns and their values. I mentioned to the salesman about their outrageously high prices and he just brushed it off with a "we've got our own loyal clientele down here".

What I have found is that this phenomenon holds true for almost every product, there are some folks that just don't bother to shop around.

 

[DragonFire]

There's a gun shop within 5 miles of my house where the owner has a great reputation as a gun smith, and does some really nice customized rifles, but he has zero retail selling skills.

He's yelled at me for wasting his time when I asked him a question about something I was going to buy. He also told only an idiot wouldn't buy something he was trying to sell me for more than it was worth.

Even though his shop is the closest, I rarely shop there. I keep telling myself to give him another chance, maybe he'll be different. But every time I go in, I come out swearing I'll never go back.

 

[Jim K]

I never begrudge an honest dealer a fair profit, but some either are totally ignorant of retail prices or are deliberately gouging the uninformed customer. Worse, if you try to sell a gun to them, they will offer 10% of its value. I once saw a dealer offer $25 for a NIB .45 Colt GM; I don't know what he was on at the time, but the guy was not dumb enough to sell him the gun.

Perhaps this kind of thing is a result of what we see quite often on this site, someone wanting to go into the gun business with only minimal knowledge of guns and no knowledge at all of how to run a business and no aptitude for dealing with the public.

Jim

 

[spacemanspiff]

its my firm belief that the vast majority of any retail outfit is NOT in the business of selling products. they want inventory, but don't want to move any of it. stopped at a pawn shop the other day. they have a rack of rifles, and a sign says "10% off all long guns".
hmmm, gee, isnt that the same wwi mauser with a reciever dated 1918, sporterized stock thats cracked, drilled/tapped reciever, horrible shape, that had a price tag of $250 three months ago? and now its listed at $319?

or the bolt action .223 that has a $750 sticker on it, in about $300 condition?

oh yeah, and they werent willing to budge on any of the prices.
my theory applies to just about all types of merchandise. some products we all have to have, and need to continue buying them because they are perishables, or consumables, like milk, eggs, etc.
those types of products have high turnover rates.
non-perishable and non-consumable items could also have a high turnover rate, if they are marketed properly, and fair prices expected for them. how many times have any of us THR'ers stopped at a pawn shop or a gun store with money in pocket willing to make a purchase but walk away empty handed because the shop staff is unwilling to treat the customer with an ounce of respect?

 

[Standing Wolf]

I don't do business with gun shops that treat their customers like suckers.

 

[Lonestar.45]

"The worst part was when I asked him how much one of his USED off-brand 25rnd 10/22 magazines was going for, he said "Well since they're banned and all, I can let you have one for $79.95."

And people wonder why the internet and Wal-Mart are putting some of the mom and pop places out of business.

Sure, some local shops are great, with great service. And I'll pay a little extra to go to those places. But many are like the one you described. Anytime I, as a customer, know more about the guns and accessories the guy behind the counter is selling, it's not a good sign. He's obviously not serious about his business. So unless his prices are just drop dead awesome, I walk. It's kinda like buying a vehicle. If I ask the salesperson a few basic questions about a truck, and it's obvious he's a complete moron who doesn't know the first thing about it (or he's trying to screw me over), then I'm out the door, unless there's some sort of huge financial savings involved.

 

[R.H. Lee]

I try to support the local shop, but they begin to take me for granted and weasel and chisel every chance they get. So I give my business to a shop 50 miles away.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Makes you wonder how they stay in business.

There's a place in the city I used to visit, huuuuge floor space, stocked to the rafters, but prices? Ouch! Interesting thing is, they advertise themselves as a "gun jobbery."

Guess they never looked that up in the dictionary, and I sure didn't ever tell 'em what it meant.

lpl/nc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
( http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/jobbery )

Jobbery
Definition: \Job"ber*y\, n.

1. The act or practice of jobbing.

2. Underhand management; official corruption; as, municipal
jobbery. --Mayhew.

 

[jlwatts3]

Agree with Guy B. Meredith about Traders. i don't understand how they stay that busy. I called them just last week price shopping for my XD subcompact. I asked the lady that answered the phone and she told me $1550. I said no not the SOCOM the subcompact :banghead: ... She said that is the SoCom. I said I don't want the rifle I want a pistol. Oh....i've got to transfer u to someone who knows. Jesus christ who hires these people.

I also feel the same way about Imbert& Smithers in San Carlos. Saw a winchester defender in there used for $350 Then I drove 30 minutes to my fav store Reed's In San Jose and got the same gun out the door for $220. I go to the bad stores and look sometimes and buy cleaning patches and break free and the like if i'm in a hurry but I wouldn't dream of purchasing a piece from them.

 

[Fed168]

Lee- that wouldn't be Jim's now, would it? Never met a price they didn't like.