Major Internet Retailers

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cbrgator

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Whenever I am shopping for a gun on the internet, it always seems like Bud's Gun Shop has the lowest price. However, it also seems like often times they are sold out of that particular model.

I know Impact Guns is another big retailer but their prices always seem to be 10-20% higher.

Are there other online retailers that can come close to the prices Bud's offers?
 
Yep, but maybe not to you. I have a local guy with a small well-hidden shop. He survives by doing a lot of LEO stuff and internet sales/transfers. When I am looking around, I find some pricing, including Bud's, and I give him first shot. If my total cost buying through him as opposed to using him for transfer is the same or close enough, I buy through him so he gets the profit.

So far he has beat Bud's every time, and that is including the shipping and sales tax he has to charge me - all the while he is making a profit to boot.

You might see if someone like that is operating in your area. He has a good wholesale distributor and gets good pricing, so he can beat Bud's every time
 
Grabagun.com seems to have the best prices I have found, at least on handguns. I would rather work something out with my local dealer though, where he still makes a profit, and I don't get gouged. He's treated me well so far.
 
Yes I think we should support our LGSs if at all possible. I try to anyway. I dont think we're answering the OPs question very well though. Anywho...
 
Are there other online retailers that can come close to the prices Bud's offers?

Basically ... no.

But remember, that number you see is a CASH price. If you pay by CC it will be more.

And, you have to pay a transfer fee on your end.

And, CS out of there can be, umm, spotty.
 
My LGS has prices that are comparable to Bud's. He also has a 3 percent discount for cash.
 
Yeah, it's irritating that Bud's advertises practically every gun possible while they don't carry it in stock. They need to update their website to reflect what they have and not waste our time.
Also, every time I look up any CZ rimfire rifles, Bud's is never the lowest price, oddly. Might be different with other makers but never the lowest on CZs. Best way to find the lowest price is to find the
manufacturers number/sku/part # of the gun and Google that.
 
It really depends what you are looking for. I've had good luck with centerfiresystems.com and atlanticfirearms.com. Both seem to have good prices and customer service.
 
Yeah, it's irritating that Bud's advertises practically every gun possible while they don't carry it in stock. They need to update their website to reflect what they have and not waste our time.

It has been purported on many sites and threads that Bud's has most of their inventory dropped shipped and they they do not stock merchandise. - If true, that explains the out of stock on everything
 
Are there other online retailers that can come close to the prices Bud's offers?

I've had good experiences with:
wideners.com
jgsales.com
classicfirearms.com
aimsurplus.com

I can't really say how close they come to Buds though. Everything I've bought online was a C&R, and a lot of them were a Classic Firearms Rifle of the Day or some other such special. Unfortunatley I've hit that point where I think I got all the low hanging fruit and now I have to go to places like simpsonltd.com to find what I want.
 
Drop ship companies have a lot of issues when demand gets spotty. When ther eis plenty of demand it is a great idea. When not it is tough.
 
It has been purported on many sites and threads that Bud's has most of their inventory dropped shipped and they they do not stock merchandise. - If true, that explains the out of stock on everything
That is exactly what they do. Which is why their costs are lower in that they never actually handle the guns, log them in, log them out, track the inventory, yadda yadda yadda. They push all those costs down to the local smuck FFL (ie, me) who is doing the transfer.
 
That is exactly what they do. Which is why their costs are lower in that they never actually handle the guns, log them in, log them out, track the inventory, yadda yadda yadda. They push all those costs down to the local smuck FFL (ie, me) who is doing the transfer.
It is brilliant and it is far more common than some people realize. Many major retailers also do it to some degree on the internet sights.
 
mgkdrgn
Quote:
Originally Posted by oneounceload
It has been purported on many sites and threads that Bud's has most of their inventory dropped shipped and they they do not stock merchandise. - If true, that explains the out of stock on everything

That is exactly what they do. Which is why their costs are lower in that they never actually handle the guns, log them in, log them out, track the inventory, yadda yadda yadda. They push all those costs down to the local smuck FFL (ie, me) who is doing the transfer.
Bud's stopped drop shipping over a year ago (April 2012 I believe).
 
Yeah, it's irritating that Bud's advertises practically every gun possible while they don't carry it in stock. They need to update their website to reflect what they have and not waste our time.
Also, every time I look up any CZ rimfire rifles, Bud's is never the lowest price, oddly. Might be different with other makers but never the lowest on CZs. Best way to find the lowest price is to find the
manufacturers number/sku/part # of the gun and Google that.
I am not following what you are saying by wasting our time. It is clearly marked on the site if it is in stock or not. They update it in real time so it changes immediately when an item is in stock or not.

ETA I believe Dogtown Tom is correct and buds does not drop ship anymore
 
Prices at all of the LGS in my area are pitiful. Always have been.

For instance, the Ruger SR22 Model 3600 is out of stock at Buds but sells for $310. My LGS quoted me $400+tax.

So, even if I don't pay cash, its $320 from Buds plus FFL Transfer ($25-30), for an OTD price of $350 or less. The price at my LGS would be $424 w/tax. If the LGS will at least offer a price in the same ballpark, I'd rather buy local, but often times these guys won't even absorb the tax.
 
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It is brilliant and it is far more common than some people realize. Many major retailers also do it to some degree on the internet sights.

You be amazed at what wally world does to major manufacturers as far as that goes......

Prices at all of the LGS in my area are pitiful. Always have been.

For instance, the Ruger SR22 Model 3600 is out of stock at Buds but sells for $310. My LGS quoted me $400+tax.

So, even if I don't pay cash, its $320 from Buds plus FFL Transfer ($25-30), for an OTD price of $350 or less. The price at my LGS would be $424 w/tax. If the LGS will at least offer a price in the same ballpark, I'd rather buy local, but often times these guys won't even absorb the tax.

Seriously dude? Why should they absorb the tax? It goes to the state not to them. Eating that might mean losing ANY profit they have in the gun. Seems if you want it bad enough, they at least HAVE the gun.........

Analogy: Old woman walks into a local butcher and asks how much his chickens are. "$3.79 per pound" says the butcher. "$3.79 per pound!?", she exclaims. "But Harvey across the street sells his chickens for $2.19 per pound". "So why aren't you buying your chickens from him?", asks the butcher. "Because he doesn't have any", replied the woman.

"Well", the butcher says, "when I don't have chickens, my price will be $2.19 per pound also."
 
Seriously dude? Why should they absorb the tax? It goes to the state not to them. Eating that might mean losing ANY profit they have in the gun. Seems if you want it bad enough, they at least HAVE the gun.........

Analogy: Old woman walks into a local butcher and asks how much his chickens are. "$3.79 per pound" says the butcher. "$3.79 per pound!?", she exclaims. "But Harvey across the street sells his chickens for $2.19 per pound". "So why aren't you buying your chickens from him?", asks the butcher. "Because he doesn't have any", replied the woman.

"Well", the butcher says, "when I don't have chickens, my price will be $2.19 per pound also

I know how tax works. I'll just call it a $25 discount instead. Better? There are lots of them available on gunbroker from what appear to be reputable sellers for $330 shipped or less.

If a LGS wants to knock the price down to at least be within the ballpark of an online store, I'll buy locally. But not at 65-75$ more on a $350 gun. It's not my fault if they can't be profitable without charging a 20% premium over internet prices. I much prefer to buy locally but they have to meet me in the middle somewhere.

My inventory is about 50/50 LGS and internet. I was just asking a question online retailers. I don't need to be criticized for my buying practices.
 
TennJed, I mean if you do Google search and put "Gun X" IN STOCK", it points to their site and when you get in there it's out of stock 95% of the time. Maybe it is just me and when I search for anything in there. Out of the 15 or so guns I wanted to buy in the last few years, one was in stock and overpriced of what I found elsewhere. Still trying to figure out what advertising out of stock items does to help a business. I've gotten to the point I don't even click on Bud's if I'm looking any more.
 
oneounceload: Analogy: Old woman walks into a local butcher and asks how much his chickens are. "$3.79 per pound" says the butcher. "$3.79 per pound!?", she exclaims. "But Harvey across the street sells his chickens for $2.19 per pound". "So why aren't you buying your chickens from him?", asks the butcher. "Because he doesn't have any", replied the woman.
But Harvey isn't price gouging.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
I used to buy allot from buds and still do on a rare occasion...what I found is a lgs who sells online and promises to beat the online prices. So far they have done what they said. Well worth the time to investigate your lgstores, unless of course you already have.
 
But Harvey isn't price gouging.

Hard to price gouge when:
1. You have no inventory
2. Market deems that 3.79 a pound is fair price, just like .22 ammo if the market stopped paying 65.00 a brick, guess what the price would come down :eek:


I used to be a transferring dealer for buds but after the 5th phone call from somebody demanding to know why I missed the UPS truck within 15 minutes of their system updating and saying failed delivery nobody at address, I had them take me off their list. I am not going to race to the bottom for a couple of bucks, I deal with Title II weapons (NFA, aka. class 3) The people who are worried about saving 35.00 on sales tax or 12.00 on a Chiappa .22 revolver are not the customers I cater to any how.


http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/ Joe Bobs is awesome to do business with and good people as well
J&G sales are really good to do business with
 
TennJed, I mean if you do Google search and put "Gun X" IN STOCK", it points to their site and when you get in there it's out of stock 95% of the time. Maybe it is just me and when I search for anything in there. Out of the 15 or so guns I wanted to buy in the last few years, one was in stock and overpriced of what I found elsewhere. Still trying to figure out what advertising out of stock items does to help a business. I've gotten to the point I don't even click on Bud's if I'm looking any more.

Gotcha that makes sense. I have 4 websites I browse every day or two. I just like window shopping, so I usually click on my favorite manufactures and see what they got. The 4 are:

Buds
Impact Guns
Grabagun
Davidsona galley of guns.

I check those because they offer layaway (except davidsons) That way if I see something that really strikes my fancy I can put something down and not have to pay interest. Anyway Buds almost always has more guns in stock than the others (Davidson is my favorite b/c of their extra guarantee but their inventory is usually the worst)

Now there are times when I want a particular gun (right now a NAA sidewinder and a Ruger Bearcat Shopkeeper) and buds does not have it but usually neither does the others or local FFL
 
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