LGS Prices

Last time I bought a gun on Gunbroker it was a great deal, with reasonable shipping and still cost me an extra hundred in shipping, fees, tax -pre transfer. Still a good deal on an uncommon old gun, but if I’m buying something that is available through normal dealer channels, it probably can be had locally and I’m willing to bet the prices will be at least in the ballpark after the extra fees for online.
 
DustyGmt said:
That's actually pretty nice tbh. I'd ask what's the OTD cash price was. Alot of people just want to hear the cash out the door price. You get taxed on every dollar made, every dollar spent, people resent it. Having a cash out the door price would probably be a good marketing tactic, no? At least that's the way it was. They say asking "what's the cash price" is pretty much out the window now.... not exactly sure why that is but you used to get a break with paper cash.
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Imo “cash price” is or was historically advantageous for businesses because you get money right now, in real, hard, spendable money, and also because you can more easily cook your books if you’re so inclined. The former is not really applicable nowadays because credit payment systems are so instantaneous, streamlined, and sync so nicely with software and bank accounts that dealing with cash is almost a pain by comparison.

My boss hates it when someone wants to pay him a lot of cash for a gun because he’s thinking “when I deposit this it’s going to be a big red flag and increase the chances I get audited sometime by the IRS.” Customer thinks he’s doing a favor pulling out a wad of Benjamins and the guy on the other side of the counter thinks he’s doing the customer a favor by taking them. Crazy world we live in.
 
I used to buy online all of the time because it was cheaper. No tax, free shipping no cc fee and no transfer fee for CC holders at my local FFL. That has all changed. By the time I add all of the used to be free fees in I can get a production firearm at my LGS and keep them around for my other needs. My LGS gets plenty of trades and consignments so those one offs can be had easily. I have established a very good relationship with both of my LGS and that's a very good thing in my book. I can get a phone call from them when something of interest comes in or something I want comes in...
 
JDeere said:
My LGS gets plenty of trades and consignments so those one offs can be had easily. I have established a very good relationship with both of my LGS and that's a very good thing in my book. I can get a phone call from them when something of interest comes in or something I want comes in...
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This ^^^^^^
I try to keep all of my spending at locally owned businesses.
 
Bud's is my local, and when they put something on sale, it's often the best price in the country. But of course they're a huge dealer. I bought a CZ P10C for $349 there recently.

I worked there for 11 months back in 2011. Our sales goal that year was $72 million, and we beat it handily. The business has grown considerably since then. When I worked there, our average margin on new guns was 7%, and as our sales manager told me, "You can't even turn on the lights for 7%". We didn't make much on new gun sales. The profit came from sales of used guns, ammo, accessories, and services (range, training, etc).
 
Brick and mortar gun shops are relics of bygone eras that exist solely because of governmental red-tape.

If the Federal Firearms Act of 1938 and Gun Control Act of 1968 didn't exist. John Q Public and Susie Soccer-Mom would order their guns from an online vendor, straight to their home.

Businesses like Guns.com, Gunbroker.com, Buds.com, etc... would sell and ship directly to the consumer. Not play the game of "we'll ship to an FFL of your choice" and then that FFL charges a transfer fee.

Seriously, a number of FFLs exist solely because of government bureaucracy and the stagnation of thr free market. They're no different than the bad self-defense trainers that existed in Florida because tue state mandated that you get a certification from one fornyour CCW permit.

Now, due to permitless concealed-only carry passing. All those bad trainers who did the bare minimum are going out of business. The ones who have a good product are actually doing better since they didn't just drone on by quoting the CCW handbook and had people shoot a .22 Short inti a bucket of sand with a Heritage Roughrider at 2 yards.

If the FFA of '38 and GCA of '68 were repealed. The same would happen. Good dealers would stay in business because they do more. They offer gunsmithing services, firearms self-defense training, competitive pricing and variety with used firearms, etc...

To end this, a gun shop is no different than a car dealership. If the laws that don't allow car manufacturers to sell directly to the consumer were repealed, prices would go down and a lot of shops would go out of business.

The local chamber of commerce doesn't like the idea of Ford or GM selling directly to consumers just as much as they don't like S&W or Colt.
 
Axis II said:
I have connections hahahah
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You might not say that too loud, your state .gov might be interested.

Many times it is the "little" guy that is selling factory seconds out of his truck that they go after for tax issues.

Just passing that along.

There might be someplace somewhere where they don't but I can't think of any. Too much money the states missed out on.
 
Axis II said:
Just had a conversation with a buddy on LGS and small business pricing and wondering what everyone else does. We started the conversation because everyone around me has a gun we both want but it’s $50-$125 more than online. We get it, LGS are dying but around me they are actually popping up more and more. My buddies thought is “i’m not rich, so if it’s cheaper online or say Cabelas thats where I am going”. I am kinda the other way around. I don’t want to order it online, ship to the LGS, pay $25 for them to transfer it when they have the same thing on the shelf for $25 more than what it is online. Now granted, some of these online places don’t charge tax so savings could be pretty good.

I actually felt bad when i bought the Ex a gun, shipped to a LGS and LGS said she would have price matched or at least gotten me close. I ended up buying a bunch of targets and cleaning stuff from her just so i didn’t feel like such a jerk. I figured since larger places were out of stock for said gun the LGS wouldn’t have it.
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I like to support local stores. Here living on basically the state line of MO and KS, several stores have arrangements with stores in the other state. If you buy from story A in KS, they will transfer it to store B in MO and you don't have to pay the transfer fee. They do it the other way around as well. Now they will transfer it to another store but that would be on you.

The only thing I have shipped to stores are things I win at auction. Those are generally "modern" and can't be shipped to the house. If a gun is current production and I want new, I will get it from the store even if there is a wait for it. Used, is just that used, and who knows when my stores would get that XYZ with the 18" barrel and the walnut stock. So I will have a used gun shipped to them, never anything new. It just feels wrong to me.....but I am old.
 
Always try local LGS first but since most of what I look for hasn't been made in a decade or three and almost always not very popular often they can't put their hands on one.
 
I'm a touch it, feel it kind of guy when it comes to guns. I may pay a little more at the lgs but that's ok. I may want a certain kind of gun like maybe a 38 revolver but usually any trustworthy manufacturer will make me happy.
 
I'm not friends with any of the LGS folks around here anymore. Back when a buddy had a shop, I was compelled to get everything from him if he could get it. Nowadays I need a different compelling reason to buy in a LGS and it comes down to one of 2 things. Scarcity or price.

I must say that there's a shop about half an hour from me that's as good as any I've been to in regards to inventory and pricing. I try not to go there often.
 
Like most here, the bottom line is not always just a few dollars. Comes down to trying to support the local economy, helping make sure that a local business stays in business vs Customer service and value. In most cases, my LGS can provide me with a specific firearm for about the same cost OTD as ordering it online and then having to pay shipping to them and transfer fees. If they cannot, they are generally happy to transfer the item for $30 and in the case of handguns, the required extra state background check. It is a very successful Ace Hardware store and I spend as much money there every year as I do at my local grocery stores. Everything from hunting supplies, lawn mowers, chain saws to bug spray and fertilizer. They have great customer service and I probably know at least half of the folks that work there. Putting my hands on something before I buy it and being able to walk out the door with it the same day(or have it delivered for free) is well worth another $20-$30. That said, this hasn't always been the case. Was a time when I had to drive 40 minutes to another town to be able to get the same. Sometimes, I still do. This was before the Ace opened and the only LGS was run by someone who treated customers like they owed him a favor for being there. His prices were high and he would make false excuses when he didn't have what you wanted in an attempt to make you buy what he had. No surprise he ain't there anymore.
 
I buy local when I can. Sometimes the convenience of utilizing my evening downtime to make purchases of things that I need/want supersedes my desire to support local companies.

I'm all about building a local economy in the things that I purchase and the hobbies I enjoy. There is less chance of federal government overreach getting in the way of things I need when not crossing state lines. So if I can be a part of buoying firearm infrastructure in my state and region, I'm all about that!

There are some old shops that just need to close though, they never kept up with advancing and putting money back into their shop and are in the slow erosion process of going out of business. I'm not about using my hard earned dollars supporting a company that is coasting to the end. Some of these shops do little other than exist when it comes to promoting and furthering the healthy commercial marketplace in the area.

We have what I call a "fudd" shop that in the past wouldn't sell any firearms deemed "scary" by our statist government. They can go out of business for all I care, they are a trojan horse in our firearm community. More likely to cut our throats on 2A freedoms than support 2A freedoms in the broadest sense.
 
I am by by firearms like I am by shoes and boots. If i can''t try them on I will pass as fit and feel has lot to with each item for me.. My LGS owner and I are long time friends and he has made me some very good deals over the years without me saying a word. He just offered and I accepted. When shipping and transfer fees are added I can usually find from a little less to just a little more what I want locally. One thing I like about my LGS is he has no problem with you dry firing a gun . That has resulted in me deciding to pass on some and help me decide between two identical ones. The better trigger always wins.
 
My local guy charges great prices on transfers, does them in great quantity. He also has great prices on used guns that aren’t advertised so you need to look over his stock. Ammo prices are approx what you would see online, he resells quite a bit he gets on trade, which beats the margins selling factory sourced new ammo.

All in all, a good experience. Whatever I want off the interwebz with 0 guilt, and I usually find a few extras while there.
 
Axis II said:
So i always hear i don’t want to lose them. What exactly would you be losing if they closed up? Like the grocery story…I had the conversation with my mom the other day when she was complaining of groceries cost. I said mom, stop going to the mom and pop grocery store and save some of your fixed income and shop elsewhere. Yes, i hate walmart too but $5 for milk at one or $2.50 for milk at Walmart. It adds up. Her excuse was they are nice to her. I mean i get it, but sometimes you have to look out for yourself. Yes, she needs people to talk too but also needs $.
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If I lose my local family owned store, I'm driving 20 miles to support a corporate store. How about the little old ladies who can't get to the big store. I spend a little extra to keep it available for those who really need it. Same with my ffl.
 
I’m not too old, 45, and never bought a gun online.

2 local shops I go to:

1st one is a classic 2nd generation shop with dusty everything. They specialize in Old Gun, and consignments… SAA, Colt 1911’s, Smith & Smith, 1750’s pirate guns, you know the deal! but they sell for retail.

2th shop: they will match any prices, Stacked Cheap & Sell them Deep!
 
I'm pretty lucky I suppose. There is a small local gunshop that is easy to work with. They price everything out the door including taxes. Every gun, accessory, box of ammo ect. you pay the price on the tag. And they don't do any of the typical $9.99 prices. It will be $10 out the door. And their prices are comparable or better than the big stores. But since they include tax in the marked price it works out to about 7% cheaper than anyone else.

They don't have a huge selection, but if they don't have it will order it for you. In my experience they end up charging the same price as me ordering online and shipping to them for the transfer. They normally charge $5 for transfers, but the last 2 I did they waived that charge since I'm one of the regulars. The only time I'll order online is for something unavailable any other way.

They keep costs down by concentrating on volume rather than high prices. It is also a family run business. The owner and his wife have 2 adult, married daughters and 1 adult son. Other than the owner and his wife the others have other jobs but work there on off days. They don't pay any outside help.
 
There are several locally owned gun stores plus Academy, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop and a small chain gun store near me. Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop have the new Colt Python for $1499 while the local LGS and the small chain have them for $1799. Everything else in the store like ammo and accessories are priced similarly. I'll buy on-line from the big box store and have it shipped to the local location for free or buy on line before I'll give the locals my business at the prices they want. I'd like to patronize my local shops, but they just make it too easy to go elsewhere. I've bought firearms from one of the many local pawn shops much cheaper than I could have at the gun shop.
 
Barmcd said:
There are several locally owned gun stores plus Academy, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop and a small chain gun store near me. Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop have the new Colt Python for $1499 while the local LGS and the small chain have them for $1799. Everything else in the store like ammo and accessories are priced similarly. I'll buy on-line from the big box store and have it shipped to the local location for free or buy on line before I'll give the locals my business at the prices they want. I'd like to patronize my local shops, but they just make it too easy to go elsewhere. I've bought firearms from one of the many local pawn shops much cheaper than I could have at the gun shop.
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Part of the problem here is the food chain. During the early and mid 90s my wife and I owned a brick and mortar Local Gun Store. There was no money in new gun sales. The problem here is all of the stores you mentioned, the big box stores are buying guns direct from manufacturer. They are buying thousands of guns every week for distribution to their stores. The LGS is buying through a middle man distributor. The small LGS can't buy from a manufacturer. Walmart for example was selling a Mossberg 500 for $10 over what I paid for one and that's before shipping.

The money for me was in used guns which I see now the big box stores even sell. My niche was reloading supplies and I had a connection for Vihta-Vouri powders, the stuff the big box stores didn't carry. There was no way I was going to compete with Walmart on new guns. Your LGS is not getting the guns you mentioned for the same price the big box guys are.

Ron
 
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