My LAST visit to a once-proud LGS...

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StrikeFire83

StrikeFire83

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Okay, so I'm in the market for a red-dot/holo sight for my AR-15. Thanks for those who've helped me in the process.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=606988

So I head in to a LGS in south central Texas, and I'm not naming names, I'll just say this is a store that's been here for a long time and was once much better than it is now.

Long story short, after a stroll around the store that turned up $550 USED (battered) 2nd Gen Glocks, a NIB Kahr PM9 with standard sights for a shade over $900, and a S&W AR-15 Sport for $899...I was pretty sure we wouldn't be doing business based on price alone. But I decided to give them a shot.

When the "optics guy" finally showed up, he said "we don't have anything from Aimpoint right now and they haven't been sending us anything for a long time. (they're an Aimpoint authorized dealer) He then told me that they didn't have an EOTech 512 in stock, and could get one for me, but he couldn't tell me what the price would be at the moment. He then tried to steer me to the XPS2 (after I had told him that I really liked the AA battery feature of the 512 and that I don't care about size). He quoted me a price of $559+tax. I whipped out my Iphone and went to EOTech's website and found that MSRP is $519. I asked him why I would ever pay MORE than msrp. He said that they are a small shop and can't compete with the big guys. I was going to argue the point further, but decided against it and just thanked him for his time and left.

Now this shop has been here since the late 40s or early 50s, and back in the day, according to my Dad, they were THE go-to place for guns and accessories. I bought my CZ-75b from them used several years ago and I got a great deal and still own and love the gun. However, in the past few years their prices seem not only to have gone UP, but their selection and service has fallen off a cliff. The only people I saw completing transactions there today were white haired men in their 60s, 70s, and beyond. I guess these type of customers are willing to pay OVER msrp for good conversation and a slap on the back. I'm not, and I don't know too many people my age (27) who are. When this crop of old timer customers dies off, I don't know how stores like this are gonna make it.
 
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He said that they are a small shop and can't compete with the big guys.
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Can't or won't.

Like I've said before...
Why would Mom-n-Pop put themselves in a position where WallyWorld could take all of their market away? Why, oh why, can't they just compete properly and stay in business? We all want to support the local Mom-n-Pop, but they don't seem to know what's best for themselves.

:banghead:
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He said that they are a small shop and can't compete with the big guys. I was going to argue the point further, but decided against it an just thanked him for his time and left.
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I agree the best way to handle that type of situation, is to vote with your wallet.
 
sorry your experience was bad. I'm old, look for bargains, and try to give the locals my business. try another LGS
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Yeah, sorry, I don't want to make it an ageism thing. I should have said "older fellas who have time to waste and money to burn." I mean I can understand supporting a local business that you have a history with, but paying OVER msrp, uh, not this turkey.

I know McBrides in Austin is much better, dealt with them when I was going to UT. And there's a great store up in Lubbock (where I'm going to law school), so I'll probably give him a chance. If if decide on the Eotech, however, I'll prob just buy it from Amazon.
 
^ I don't know how he can't be aware of it. Their Google rating is abysmal, mostly from 1 and 2 star reviews that were authored in the past few years.

It's a shame, because they have a long history in my hometown and I've done business with them before, and I'm willing to pay A LITTLE more to support a local business, but I'll never pay OVER msrp. That's called charity.
 
How far from Austin are you? If you ever come up this way shoot me a msg and i'll direct you where to go for the best prices.
 
Their Google rating is abysmal...

It's a shame, because they have a long history in my hometown...
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That's sort of what I'm referring to about Mom-n-Pop stores. They never had to worry about a Google rating before. Those things didn't exist in the 70's and 80's and they were able to stick it to all of us and we were happy for it. Times have changed. It is a whole lot easier nowadays, to find out that you aren't getting as good of a deal as you might have though a few decades ago.

It's just far too simple to jump online and find that there is another retailer who's all too anxious to meet your needs at a cost well below what Mom-n-Pop have been accustomed to charging.
 
Bottom line is many of us feel a strong sense of loyalty to these very same small shops. I know I try to steer my money their way. But some make it very tough. Sometimes it's not just purchase items either. I've had a shotgun in for minor repairs and it hasn't been looked at since last Thanksgiving. I get friendly "we'll get to it" baloney but no action. This is a shop my father went to. If I leave, I'll never come back for anything. I'm just hesitant to take that step.
 
That's sort of what I'm referring to about Mom-n-Pop stores. They never had to worry about a Google rating before. Those things didn't exist in the 70's and 80's and they were able to stick it to all of us and we were happy for it. Times have changed. It is a whole lot easier nowadays, to find out that you aren't getting as good of a deal as you might have though a few decades ago.

It's just far too simple to jump online and find that there is another retailer who's all too anxious to meet your needs at a cost well below what Mom-n-Pop have been accustomed to charging.
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Very true. When I hear how great this store was, I find myself wondering if my Dad isn't remembering things through rose-colored glasses. They had (and still continue to have) an excellent selection of in-stock merchandise for an independent shop, maybe he's just remembering their selection and there really wasn't any other game in town.

I prob got the incredible deal on my CZ-75b from them because it was on consignment and the owner wanted it to move quickly.

Bottom line is many of us feel a strong sense of loyalty to these very same small shops. I know I try to steer my money their way. But some make it very tough. Sometimes it's not just purchase items either. I've had a shotgun in for minor repairs and it hasn't been looked at since last Thanksgiving. I get friendly "we'll get to it" baloney but no action. This is a shop my father went to. If I leave, I'll never come back for anything. I'm just hesitant to take that step.
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Yeah, and I also think we're dealing with the 2nd or 3rd generation owners of some of these gun shops who have little connection to or memory of the people who started them.
 
Gun stores are a terrible business. Your best customers buy a gun maybe 2-3 times a year, and know the bottom dollar price offered by some discount internet website. The only real money you make is when some noob pays $900.00 for a PM9 because their house was just broken into.
 
I'd hate to be running a gun shop in a border state with Mexico right now. Between worrying about your customers and ATF hassles, it would give anyone gray hair.
Not defending bad customer service, just saying.
 
I understand how most LGS cannot compete with giant resellers on price, but why can't they offer something else? Maybe free basic gunsmithing services, or expedited warranty claims - some kind of benefit that encourages the face to face interaction.
 
Glad it was not McBride's. I used to go to them when I was at UT in the 70's. Got my first reloading gear there. (Heck. I still have about 1/2 pound of Red Dot and some 700x I got there...)
 
^ I haven't been to Mcbrides since 2007 when I moved out of Austin, but I bought my Glock 17 (and several other guns that I've since sold or traded away) and they helped a scraggly college kid in a Metallica t-shirt and treated me extremely well. My first pistol purchase. I don't know how their prices have held up, but their service with me was always top notch. They also did some good gun-smithing on my dad's Nicaragua-carried Browning HiPower after the rear sight flew off at the range.
 
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I don't mind paying a little extra at local gun shops to support local business, but most shops around here act like they are doing you a favor helping you. I went with a buddy to help him decide on a .308 bolt rifle, we walk in and they wouldn't give him the time of day, he looks young for his age....so we left and went to a big box sporting goods store where he spent $1200 on gun, ammo and accessories.

We do have one shop that is full of friendly staff, but their prices are about 20-30% too high, and that's a bit much for me.
 
Might not be the same folks from the 50's. I mean, they got old somewhere along the line, probably had to pass it on. The new folks, whether they kept in the family or sold it, aren't the original folks. It takes time to build up a good business, and there are those that know that but don't want to put the work into making a good business. So they wait until you sell yours and then they have instant prestige and a sign that says "since 1942". They slowly (or overnight if they are real greedy) ramp up the prices. Like you said, the old timers still go there. We are creatures of habit and they know that too. You've heard "If you build it, they will come". Well, if you buy it they will come too.

Case in point: Bullseye in Tacoma, WA. Used to be awesome before and even during the DC assassin (where the guy stole the rifle from which they didn't catch I guess). Somebody bought into the store or bought it althogether, I don't know which. Now all they have are Springfield plastics and few over priced other stuff. Mostly just Springfields, a huge giant previously well stocked store that just sells Springfields and a few other trinkets. They used to keep a gunsmith around, now they don't, but guess what? They will still do your gunsmith work for you! IF you don't mind marred finishes, backwards sights, etc. --for the same price as a real gunsmith.

Smith and Wesson. Probably not a Smith or a Wesson on the payroll anymore. Even as a shopkeep. Used to make fine revolvers and had a complete line of original semi auto pistols. Now they make copies of their original revolvers with baby locks on them and those original pistols? Glock copies and AR copies. Kind of like everyone else these days. And they used to be an American Tradition kind of like Chevy and Dodge.

And many, many more.

Your old fine local gun shop? Just a name. Unless you recognize that guy behind that counter that made it what it was, then it is just a name. I go into Bullseye, mostly because I am a creature of habit and yearn for those days when I could go in there and shoot the bull and get incredible deals. "Hey, come look at what we just got in..." or "Look at this, we got one for the display, don't need it anymore, want it for half price?" Now I go in there and some old fellow is trying to sell me off on junk I don't need. They don't recognize me. I don't shoot Springfield plastics, only Glock plastic. No point in going anymore.

Gun stores used to be special, kind of like America. Different kinds of places. Now it seems most of them have gone downhill along with everything else in the 21st century. Won't be long before you go into one and can't pry the kid off his phone long enough to fill out the forms.
 
I have a shop like that by my house. Was looking for a Stoeger Condor and they said they had a standard model 12ga. I asked how much. He replied $500. I kinda snickered over the phone and he replied, "what is that too much?" I said ya the msrp is $399 and they sell for $325-350. The other end of the phone got really silent and told him thanks anyway.
 
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