Gun Shop Loyalty

horsemen61 said:
Then please explain it to me, I’m just a dumb truck driver. Maybe if you explain it slow I’ll get it? Trying to make my limited gun money go as far as it can. Is stupid and wrong so please enlighten me! I’m all Ears or in this case I’m all eyes since I’ll read it.
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it reminds me of how your money is not good enough because you don’t got the right clothing or education
 
Mark_Mark said:
I still don’t get your point. But I know I will be shopping around and kicking tires!

anyway, I’m not getting personal or anything, Just want a discount every $15,000 I spend! like $5 would be cool!
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I like haggling, it is a blood sport. But I also am a cheap ass, and I hate wasting time. The point is overall shopping experiences. Sure, I'll go to shops that haggle and give me great deals. But if the cheapest place in town doesn't haggle, but has the cheapest OTD price overall. That's still a win.

Now, for the most part, those types of shops are selling current production items. Like a Rossi RP-63 or a GLOCK 17. Not something like a used S&W Model 27-2 or a Colt Official Police.

Buying used, that's where the art of the haggle comes in. And you're very much like me. You love buying used stuff. So, do I. But buying current production new stuff, I just look for the cheapest price in town since there isn't really any wiggle room.
 
Miami_JBT said:
I like haggling, it is a blood sport. But I also am a cheap ass, and I hate wasting time. The point is overall shopping experiences. Sure, I'll go to shops that haggle and give me great deals. But if the cheapest place in town doesn't haggle, but has the cheapest OTD price overall. That's still a win.

Now, for the most part, those types of shops are selling current production items. Like a Rossi RP-63 or a GLOCK 17. Not something like a used S&W Model 27-2 or a Colt Official Police.

Buying used, that's where the art of the haggle comes in. And you're very much like me. You love buying used stuff. So, do I. But buying current production new stuff, I just look for the cheapest price in town since there isn't really any wiggle room.
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I’ll PM you ! I got some splanning to do
 
dogtown tom said:
Again, Would it make you happier if the dealer priced the item 25% higher......then gave you 20% off?

Quite a few posts in this thread answered my first question, but conveniently ignored this one. :rofl:
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No, but it seems a common practice for some products.


I have known several people who will travel a considerable distance to “save” less than their time and gas.
 
I've never haggled on a deal, as in going back and forth, back and forth to finally settle on a price. But I will sometimes ask if they can make me a better deal. And not just on guns. You never know when the person you're talking to knows about a sale you don't or has the option to alter the price a bit at their discretion. For example, I'm paying significantly less for my monthly security monitoring bill because I asked for a better deal and the customer service rep was able to make it happen. If there's going to be a significant expenditure, I figure it never hurts to ask. A lot of times the answer is no, but sometimes you get lucky.
 
There is no gun, ammo or accessory I will ever need bad enough, so I won’t buy anything from a jerk. If my wallet saves $20 or $1000, if I’m treated like I’m a clown I will happily say sayonara, sucker… and I will let them know it.

Example; An employee at an RV dealer in Julian, Ca. blew a $8,000+ cash sale on a used 30’ bumper pull unit my wife and wanted, all because he wanted to go to lunch instead of helping the guy who just drove two hours to his lot. He treated me like I was a moron, so I left.

I took the 90 $100 bills I had in my truck and put it down on a new unit that needed no work, has four bunks and two slide outs. (I did this on the drive home at a dealer in Lake Elsinore.) Cost me triple the money for the new trailer, but it has been the best RV move I have ever made.

My Yelp review of the Julian place received a response from the owner, inviting me back and apologizing for the experience. Yeah, right.

Its the experience as much as the price for me.

Stay safe.
 
In the past 20 years, there has only been two guns that I bought used. The first was a GP-100 (.357) at a pawn shop 12 years ago. It had a price tag of $600 (+ tax) and I was reluctant to pay that much. I went home and researched it a bit, then went back several days later and offered them $500 cash and they pay the tax.
They agreed. According to the serial number, the gun was maybe 1 year old and its only fault is that the cylinder gap is barely inside Ruger's specs (0.09") and let's a fair amount of hot gas out. But, it works well with both .38 Specials and max load .357s.
The other is a Marlin 1894, also in .357, that I got through GB in 2018. I had been trying to win one of their auctions for over a year but wasn't able to sit on and "time" the bidding. The seller in Colorado even allowed me to send him a paper check instead of using plastic. The gun has a few "use marks" (nicks) in the furniture but is very clean. It is a "JM" stamped barrel and, IIRC, I paid $800 for the rifle but there was tax and transfer fee on top of that. But I still have a rifle/pistol combo with the same ammo.
 
Mark_Mark said:
alright Alright … let me rub my 2 brain cells cuz I’m a Uber Driver.

Dog is a Dealer and don’t like giving Discounts. Mark is a Buyer & like discounts (but rarely gets it)
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Anyone that owns or manages a small business certainly sees things from a different perspective than people that are general public purchasers.

I’ve been in small business all my life. Thank gawd I haven’t had to deal with the general public for work since the late ‘80s.

Part of my job is pricing service, parts, or equipment. Even though price adjustment to get the sale is part of the job, it can get tiresome to hear “sharpen your pencil”, or having the customer try to reneg after the work is done.
 
I don't have much loyalty to any gun store. The only thing that would either make me not go, is if you're a d canoe to me, or you're prices are well above what I'm willing to pay. I've only been to my local gun store twice and that was to pick up my purchased online rifle and the giveaway rifle. Haven't bought anything from them yet, but I do see that at least once, maybe twice a year they run a pretty smokin deal on Trijicon ACOGs for about $899 brand new.

Big box stores you might have some wiggle room on pricing, some will price match, just good luck trying to match online. Some local one offs may give you a deal every once in a while, but I never count on that. I base me going to these places is how do they treat me. But I also try not to act like the smartest one in the room.
 
For me to be loyal, I have to use various FFL's but I am friends with more than a few. I don't haggle on price much though.

If you went high, so you could make a haggler feel good or get someone in a panic, I just walk on by.
 
I've had it go both ways for me. One shop I frequent most of the people there just seem to see me as a guaranteed sale, but a couple of them actually just give me a bit of a deal on anything I buy. It's mostly just eating the taxes on new guns, but used is usually OTD for $50-$100 less than what's on the tag, which makes sense since they are hourly but get bonuses based on their total number of sales not just the dollar amount of those sales. As a result, I basically just leave and come back if one of them isn't there or available.

At another shop, I basically only deal with the owner or the gunsmith for the same reason. Anyone else it's always the list price plus tax, but with either of them they will usually eat the taxes or throw in an extra mag or give a discount on a new scope.

It seems that these specific employees/owners understand that sales are what keeps the lights on, that they can't compete with the some of the prices at the big box stores, and as long as the shop isn't losing money on these little deals they would rather offer a small incentive or service to keep people coming back and spending more of their hard earned money with them.
 
One of our LGS' has a 20% off sale on used guns most weekends. They had a used Nighthawk Custom Thunder Ranch Combat Special that looked like it had never been shot priced at $3800, only $200 less than a new one. They also offer an additional 2% discount if you pay with cash. I waited for the weekend and paid $2964 for it. I did ask if they could do better but wasn't offended when they said they couldn't. They list their used guns on their web site, which I scan from time to time and if there's something I'm interested in I make it a point to run over there Friday morning, when the 20% off deal starts for that weekend.
 
This thread started off on an interesting tack when the term "loyalty" was used in the title. [insert Princess Bride meme: " He keeps using that word. I do not think it means what he thinks it means."] Similar terms are devotion, dedication and faithfulness. They really are not applicable to retail transactions. The LGS has no idea where else one shops, and the patron has little information on what margin the LGS gets or must maintain to stay in business. What drives the business arrangement is attractive pricing and, to a lesser degree, good service. Some places appear to thrive in spite of neither, but generally have other departments to subsidize the operation.

I don't know many who want to pay higher prices because they are loyal to their LGS. Maybe they are willing to pay a bit more for the better service and convenience (as I will, to a degree), but at some point the price prevents the purchase. I don't know how a shop could afford to forego the necessary profit because a customer is a regular. It's tough to sell at a loss and make it up in volume. Yes, when something isn't in high demand and isn't moving, a discount can recover cash to be used for other purposes, but shops generally strive to avoid such stock in the first place.

My LGS is a friendly place, but they are there to make a profit, not to make me happy. In the current business climate, they could be gone next week. The alternative gun dealers, which work on a larger scale, may have guns available at less cost due to volume pricing, ageing stock, or trade-ins that appeal to me. Nobody owes me anything, and I like having options.
 
Mark_Mark said:
it reminds me of how your money is not good enough because you don’t got the right clothing or education
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What on earth does that have to do with how a gun store sells guns?
Clothing? Yeah, I can see a sale being refused if the buyer is wearing his Bloods or Crips bandanna.......but c'mon.
Education? Seriously, who brings their college diploma to a gun store? In my sixteen years no one.
 
dogtown tom said:
What on earth does that have to do with how a gun store sells guns?
Clothing? Yeah, I can see a sale being refused if the buyer is wearing his Bloods or Crips bandanna.......but c'mon.
Education? Seriously, who brings their college diploma to a gun store? In my sixteen years no one.
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I don’t know, I know if I were shirt & shoes, they treat me better
 
BobABQ said:
I believe that most stores have no loyalty to their customers. I have no loyalty to stores.
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"Loyalty" is a term thrown out when either customer or store doesn't get their way.
This entire thread was originally about a store not accepting the OP's offer to "wiggle"...."No wiggle room off the price because they know you will just buy it. but before they would wiggle."
Well........duh.

The OP has absolutely zero knowledge of how much that store paid for the gun, what margins the seller needs or anything else related to how the store arrived at the sales price or the reason why they wont wiggle. He's just upset that they won't "wiggle". That's a conclusion based on ignorance. Not ignorance as in being stupid, but as in not knowing the facts.

If the store had a paid $375 for a used Glock 17, priced it at $450.......which isn't out of line, they have one sure way to know if thats a good price. It will either sell or not. If it doesn't, they may lower the price. Eventually the price tag may be $375. Now in comes the OP who wants them to haggle. See the issue? Is the store being disloyal? Is the buyer ignorant of used Glock 17 values?
OP is upset that the store wont wiggle, the store being a business wants to remain in business. But selling guns at cost isn't good business.
If it were a consignment gun, the person consigning may have set a minimum sales price.
 
I am not haggling with a store owner/etc except for vehicles/flea market scenario. If dont like your sticker price I will literally laugh in your face and walk out the door. (clearly way overpriced)
I've used the same LGS for 20+ years. Sometimes he can get me the best deal on high end items and sometimes he cannot even get run of the mill crap for what I can. I blame the industry for that one though.
 
dogtown tom said:
"Loyalty" is a term thrown out when either customer or store doesn't get their way.
This entire thread was originally about a store not accepting the OP's offer to "wiggle"...."No wiggle room off the price because they know you will just buy it. but before they would wiggle."
Well........duh.

The OP has absolutely zero knowledge of how much that store paid for the gun, what margins the seller needs or anything else related to how the store arrived at the sales price or the reason why they wont wiggle. He's just upset that they won't "wiggle". That's a conclusion based on ignorance. Not ignorance as in being stupid, but as in not knowing the facts.

If the store had a paid $375 for a used Glock 17, priced it at $450.......which isn't out of line, they have one sure way to know if thats a good price. It will either sell or not. If it doesn't, they may lower the price. Eventually the price tag may be $375. Now in comes the OP who wants them to haggle. See the issue? Is the store being disloyal? Is the buyer ignorant of used Glock 17 values?
OP is upset that the store wont wiggle, the store being a business wants to remain in business. But selling guns at cost isn't good business.
If it were a consignment gun, the person consigning may have set a minimum sales price.
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I think they should have a VIP “line” for loyal customer. Like a tear system: More you spend, more perks and goodies and discounts you get!!!
 
tarosean said:
I am not haggling with a store owner/etc except for vehicles/flea market scenario. If dont like your sticker price I will literally laugh in your face and walk out the door. (clearly way overpriced)
I've used the same LGS for 20+ years. Sometimes he can get me the best deal on high end items and sometimes he cannot even get run of the mill crap for what I can. I blame the industry for that one though.
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I was laughed at once in a shop, I never been back since, and told people how they embarrassed me and hurt my feelings!
 
That's actually a great point.

Is this the same shop where you got that Marlin 39A or some of your other screaming deals from ?
 
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