Online vs Local Gunshop

Where do you buy your pistols?

  • Online

    Votes: 44 36.4%

  • Local Gunshop (includes gunshows)

    Votes: 89 73.6%

  • Other (see post)

    Votes: 15 12.4%
  • Total voters
    121
  • Poll closed .
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Here in VA there are plenty of people listed through gunbroker as ffl's for transfers in the range of $10-$30 for a transfer... where the local stores want $75 to do a transfer. Another reason to buy online. Not to mention the closest gun store to me refuses to carry any "foreign made" guns except for Glock and Sig. everything else in the store is pretty much Ruger and Colt. I went in and asked about a CZ and was pretty much laughed out of the store... why put up with that crap? and why should I help a business that doesn't want to help itself to stay in business?

Ross
 
Gander Mountain wants $85 here in Florida, ridiculous. I use a small Army/Navy store who charges me $25. He only sells Glocks, so he doesn't mind when I transfer HKs, Berettas, and Colts. I've bought several nice knives from him and a bunch of ammo as well. (It's quite out of the way for me, but worth it.)
 
First post here. I bought my .357 at a local pawn shop. I didn't bargain, but they cut me a deal anyway, to make the sale. There's something about face-to-face, supporting the local guys. It's not all about $$$. That said, I like to browse online, see what's there. But ordering online seems like such a hassle, with getting the FFL to send in the paperwork, etc. Is there any online retailer that takes care of all that paperwork?
 
New gun: If I'm "shopping" I go local. I can touchy-feely.

If I know exactly what I want, I search on line for best nib price and save tax but pay shipping.

Used gun: local
 
I buy locally. The prices are as good as online with the FFL fee attached.


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online.

ive had it up to my eyeballs with the attitude of local shops. I secretly pray they do go out of business, yes. Most don't deserve to be in it in the first place.

And prices are a joke typically. And the new money grabbing technique? 50$ fee if nics gives a delayed response. It's like going to a bar fight. You know you will get hit, you are just hoping its not an uppercut.
 
I'm split. I have bought some online & some at stores. I prefer real stores, but a bad attitude will get me out of there fast. There is a real friendly kitchen table FFL I've used for the online purchases.

But the best answer is- I love face to face with somebody off local classifieds.
 
Over the last 10 years, most of my guns have been bought on-line.

1. Bigger selection if you are looking for something specific.

2. Our biggest local gun store in the area is not the best for customer service:

a. Opinionated and condescending ~ if you are not into what they stock.

b. Prices are too high at our local store, they don't seem to understand
why someone would buy on-line if its $50 or $75 cheaper than theirs.

c. They have the attitude they have cornered the market and the
customer has no choice but to buy theirs.

My best story and last trip to our local shop was 4 years ago: I had them order a new breech loader for me. When the gun came in it was obviously defective. The hinge was loose and the firearm did not lock up right. The owners 21 year old son stood in front of me (very annoyed that I was not happy with the gun), he had his hand resting on the pistol he was wearing and told me, in his time, he had shot a lot of loose guns that did not lock up tight. It would never be a problem. I needed to pay for it and be happy. I told him I would not be paying for it and he had best go to the back and get his father right then. They sent the gun back (I offered to pay the shipping, but they declined). I never felt threatened by the young man, but it was his cocky, condescending attitude that finished me.
 
online.

ive had it up to my eyeballs with the attitude of local shops. I secretly pray they do go out of business, yes. Most don't deserve to be in it in the first place.
Click to expand...

NICE attitude here. If they are out of business, good luck getting that gun someplace that'll do transfers.

And prices are a joke typically.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Overhead will typically do that.

While online sales have its place, if one continues to not support the local shop, then good luck finding an at home guy who will NOT be charging 70-80 bucks a transfer.
 
About half and half. The guns I've bought at the local gun shop/gun shows tend to be spur of the moment type purchases, whereas the online ones were more considered and deliberate. I'll walk by the glass case in my regular gun store, see a newly arrived piece, and ten minutes later it's mine. OTOH I'll spend several hours researching guns and prices at different online vendors before I pull the trigger.

Either way the gun store makes $, either a sale or a transfer fee. They never complain.
 
This is a reply to rellascout's post #11. Sorry I'm a newbie .
Being a FFL myself I appreciate that advise. If the average shooter only knew the cost
and the huge amount of record keeping and work that goes into being a dealer it would
blow your mind.
If you give an FFL a price that you can buy a firearm for and he can't or won't match it
you have done the fair thing .
I also know that I sell to regular customers as cheap as I can and still stay in business because the are loyal as I'm sure other local FFL,s will too .
 
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Local range offers 3% off member discount (even on special event sales price which are quite competitive to online prices) and life-time warranty on all new firearms they sell on top of the manufacturers' warranties.

Any problem with your firearm, the range staff/gunsmith takes care of it or you get a new replacement firearm. No calling customer service, no shipping cost, no waiting, no hassles (Yes, they do sell High Point/Taurus pistols right next to Sig/HK/Kimber/S&W/Springfield/Nighthawk and extend the life-time warranty to all).

Hard to beat this level of service from online vendors who require you to deal with the manufacturers' customer service directly. I am still trying to evoke the life-time warranty on pistols I bought from the range, but they keep shooting without issues (Glocks/S&W M&Ps and even my Taurus PT145!).
 
I prefer to shop locally and support my community and my local gun shops.

I've sold a good number of guns on GB but if I want to buy a gun then I go to my local shop.
 
I used to almost never buy guns online. Now I buy guns online when it's something I can't find locally or it's much much less expensive. Out of the last 4 pistols I've bought, 2 were online and 2 were local. I prefer local but when I can get a gun for $399 online and it's $599 in the shop.....I'm not going to pay the $599.

Lately I've noticed that a lot of the smaller shops are really pushing one or two brands really hard (maybe I should say harder than usual). If I go looking for that brand, I'm in luck. If I want a different brand, I'm out of luck because they either don't have it or the price is insane. I guess I'm pretty much a 50/50 on this one in the end but I do prefer local when I can make it happen.
 
Finally got approved by THR mods a week after joining :eek:
thus can finally post

My first and only gun (so far) is the Ruger Mark III 22/45.

I was going to buy at Bud's Gunshop (online) then i saw that a gun show was in my area. went there to see if they had better prices.

I was going to buy the 4" version. was shocked to see the 4.5" version had white sights. That sold me. (the 4" version had black/unpainted sights.)

It was $10 more than Bud's, but the FFL fee ($25) cost more than the state tax (5%). so it was about even on price. no brainer to buy it at the gun show than to wait days for it to ship.


To answer the Op's question:
I'll probably buy online unless the local shop has its prices online also (or advertised in their weekly sales circular).


Unrelated:
I could have had a NiB AR-15 5.56/.223 for $599 (online). I went to do some research on it first. A couple of hrs later when i came back to it, it was sold out :(
 
I've never seen a good enough deal to make me purchase online especially with shipping and transfer fees. Maybe sooner or later I will. My local gun shops. Have decent prices and good selections. I live 5 minutes from Cabellas but they don't even come close to the smaller shops. Cabellas is usually at least $50 dollars or more than the smaller shops with firearms.
 
Here in CA I tried getting my kimber from a local shop: $1050+10% sales tax +$25 reg fee.... MSRP $900

I picked it up online for $800+$25 2-day shipping+$75 FFL Transfer fee.
 
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The one last local place that had a decent selection of handguns went out of business a few years ago, and the other places are full MSRP or even higher, so a local purchase, unless it's on sale at Gander Mountain, etc, is pretty much not going to happen.

I've bought about 18-20 guns online, not a single dud in the bunch, and I didn't overpay for any of them. If I would have purchased the same guns locally, I would have paid probably 60-75% more for them (Most have been used). I inspect them carefully when I get them and if anything looks out of place, I have a friend who is pretty much an expert and he looks it over. I haven't kept all the guns I've bought online, but that's a monetary issue, not because I had problems with them.
 
I agree, I always go local. I live in a big city so I usually will go a little farther out to the smaller towns surrounding my city. I find the small local shops to be great!
 
Always local. Gun shops or big box stores .I will pay a little extra to support them.
 
I typically go to the local Gander Mountain to look at guns. If they had comparable prices to online prices I would definitely buy one from them. However since their prices are never even close, I don't feel obligated to pay an extra 1 or 2 hundred dollars just because they were nice enough to let me hold the gun for a minute or two.
 
I would like to give 100% of my business to my LGS', but they aren't always giving good prices. Plus, if I buy a $1000 rifle from say... Bud's (that might cost $1200 at my LGS), I don't have to pay sales tax on it either. That's a big savings.
 
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