Gun stores aren't what they used to be

[JVaughn]

Do you all remember when you could go to a gun store and look at more than 300 guns, all different makes and calibers? The store I used to haunt in the mid to late 90's usually had about 100 used guns available and well over three times that in new ones. They had wide selections of anything you wanted. Why is it now that all the stores (at least where I'm from) have about 20 guns in the store, all new popular stuff (like LCP and Glocks) and practically no used of any kind? I know they have to have the popular stuff to keep cash flow; but man I sure miss the days of being able to go to the store and look at old revolvers. We have two stores around here that have a good selection of new weapons, and zero stores with a good selection of used ones. In fact I asked about previously owned weapons at one about a week ago and he said he had a used LCP was all. Wow.

 

[bluetopper]

Then again......the major pawn/gun shop I have here in town has much, much more used guns than new ones on the shelf. Some I know has been there for years because the prices are so high.

 

[JVaughn]

That's true, there is plenty of that overpriced stuff collecting dust at the gun shows too. Same old people, same old guns, same high prices. You may as well throw out the value book anyomre, nothing sells below "new" price, even in 80% or 90% condition.

 

[GCMkc]

That's true, there is plenty of that overpriced stuff collecting dust at the gun shows too. Same old people, same old guns, same high prices. You may as well throw out the value book anyomre, nothing sells below "new" price, even in 80% or 90% condition.

Seriously, I have been to almost every gun show in Kansas City, MO for the past 3 years and some guys are literally trying to sell the same guns from 3 years ago. Plus, I always see WASR-10s ranging from $489-$800. Some people just don't get it.

 

[JoeMal]

There is an 8-page discussion going on about this already...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=636729

 

[Telekinesis]

I bet it has something to do with the internet and the ability to order guns so easily. Back in the '90s, a customer couldn't just get online to read reviews, compare prices and purchase nearly any gun they wanted, they had to go into a shop and buy it there, with much less ability to compare prices (unless you wanted to call a bunch of different places). That also works in the gun store's favor as they have to waste less money on inventory and can very easily order in nearly any gun they want.

Used guns are affected to an even greater extent because we all know that you NEVER get a fair market value for your gun when you sell it to a gun shop (and I'm not knocking dealers, I know they can't survive if they can't make a profit). With the internet, it is incredibly easy to post up ads for your guns and get pretty close to the market price. Just look at the FS ads here. Granted, most buyers here (including myself) want to get a better than market price, so I'm sure the prices are a tad bit lower here, but you get the idea.

 

[medalguy]

Bingo. That's it. The internet has changed how we buy EVERYTHING today. You can go online and compare prices on everything from gun parts to ammo, holsters, you name it. Twenty years ago if you saw something you needed at the LGS, you just bought it. There simply wasn't a good way to price compare, unless you subscribed to Shotgun News. Maybe look at the next gun show, but that was about it. Today we can go online and compare prices from 100 different sellers.

 

[MenaceMan47]

I've been buying online for YEARS. I go to the local gun stores to window-shop, get my hands on something, then go home and buy it on Gunbroker.com or some other site. The local shops charge too much nowadays. Online is where it's at.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

My shop took in just over 600 guns for 2011. We usually average 800 to 1000 most of which were used. In 2011 we ordered FAR more new guns to keep the shelves stocked. Seems to me that people are holding on to their goods.

 

[AlexanderA]

I've been buying online for YEARS. I go to the local gun stores to window-shop, get my hands on something, then go home and buy it on Gunbroker.com or some other site. The local shops charge too much nowadays. Online is where it's at.

From the point of view of the local gun shop, that is exactly the problem. How is the local shop going to stay in business if people expect it to provide a free show-and-tell service, and then buy for a few dollars cheaper someplace else? This sort of "business plan" doesn't work, and that's why you see so many local shops going out of business. If it wasn't for the quasi-monopoly provided by the FFL, there would be no local shops any more.

 

[showmebob]

My feelings exactly! Window shopping comes at a cost. Either the customers pay for it by purchasing at the store or the store closes its doors and your window shopping becomes your computer.

 

[Ole Coot]

No used guns in my area simply because folks in this political climate may buy but will keep firearms they have because they might not be able to replace them or they will be banned for some stupid reason.

 

[p2000sk]

I would like to advise that y'all trade in your old firearms...
Flood the market and give pricing averages a reality check.

I'll just sit back and wait.

 

[threefeathers]

I admit to buying several used guns this past year.

 

[willypete]

JVaughn, not sure which gun stores you've been hitting up in the Tri-Cities, but you should check out Mahoney's, Byrd's, Gun Rack, Gunslingers, or Eagle Arms. All of those stores have several hundred guns each, and I know Eagle Arms deals almost exclusively in used guns. Byrd's also usually has a lot of used inventory.

 

[Voltia]

Telekinesis, I urge you to, anytime you see a FS ad here, go to gunbroker and compare it to completed auctions of the same gun. Sale ads on here are usually 25% higher, and more restrictive in terms of payment types. I still frequent them, looking for a good deal, but, usually all I get is someone with hurt feelings if I offer what they go for on gunbroker.

 

[medalguy]

Really? I don't see that at all. I've bought several guns from the listings here, one last week as a matter of fact, and the prices I paid were all less than GB or GA. Besides, if the seller has been selling here I feel more comfortable dealing with him if he has a good reputation, and I think the guns are generally better condition and more accurately described than GB or GA.

BTW the gun I bought was $589 delivered, and the cheapest one either currently offered on GB or ended in the past week is $629.

 

[Bubba613]

People think the other guy should pay.
Large inventories are costly to maintain. Large spaces to house them cost money. Someone has to pay that, and that's the customer.
So if someone wants a place with large inventory, then he needs to be prepared to shell out the extra $10 over internet cost for guns.

 

[jsimmons]

Why should we buy used guns at anywhere near new gun prices? If I'm going to pay a premium price for a gun, I'll get a new one. I've bought guns from local shops, but the prices are much higher than what you can get the same gun for on the internet. There's no way local gun shops can compete with online sales.

 

[Apple a Day]

Add the Great Panic of 2008-2009 to Internet sales and it's a different ball game.
There is a gun trading website for Virginia which started out like an old fashioned neighborhood shop.Pretty quickly the site has been taken over by the e-version of pawnshop dealers who spend all their time there, immediately snatching up deals, then selling the same items at jacked-up prices. There are a number of other folks who were newbs during the 2008-2009 panic,paid ridiculous prices and are actually trying to make a profit on the used gun they've "only fired one box of ammo thru. Just like new!"

 

[RDCL]

I remember as a kid living down south in N.C.....

.....always went to the local GS with dad. I miss the old-time shops with wood floors that actually creaked as you walked on them.....the smell of gun oil & hoppes as you walked in the door.......glass cases with handguns made of blued steel & walnut layed out on red velvet.

 

[JohnBT]

"but, usually all I get is someone with hurt feelings if I offer what they go for on gunbroker."

Why didn't you buy what you wanted on Gunbroker? Wasn't there one for sale?

I don't know about the rest of the country, but the gun stores here have large inventories.

John

 

[parsimonious_instead]

I remember as a kid living down south in N.C.....

.....always went to the local GS with dad. I miss the old-time shops with wood floors that actually creaked as you walked on them.....the smell of gun oil & hoppes as you walked in the door.......glass cases with handguns made of blued steel & walnut layed out on red velvet.

I think they're still out there, but few and far between. Pumpkin Mountain Gun Shop in the town of Blue Mountain, NY (Adirondacks) is about as close to what you described as one can get. Neat place...

 

[knoxy]

As far as prices go, I'd expect to pay more for something in stock at a LGS. If you order online, you've got to pay shipping and FFL transfer fee which could add up to about $50. Plus you get to put your hands on the gun you're gonna buy, before you buy it.

If the LGS has their stuff at more than $50 over online costs, then it's not really a deal.

Otherwise, get a FFL or stick to FTF where legal.

Personally, I'm sticking to mostly C&R stuff and just waiting to get my license in the mail. Then I can ship my goodies right to my door.

 

[JVaughn]

I agree Mahoneys has a great selection of new; but less than four or five used last time I was in there. Also, Mahoneys has slighly worse than average price on new unless it is on sale at the time; and they refuse to price match other dealers.
Byrds is the best in the area for used equipment that I have found.
I don't get into Kingsport much; but best of my recollection, Gunslingers was way overpriced - do you not find that to be the case?