Polite Gun Dealers and Gunsmiths

[Wildalaska]

Heres some lines for polite gun dealers and gunmsiths. This will eliminate those nasty comments about dealers and gunsmiths that are posted regularly on the net.

1. I'm sorry you overpaid for that no longer in production Llama 45 and that I cant give you a trade credit of $500 for it on a new Colt Gunsite, Im just a thief.

2. Im sorry that there are no parts available for that gun show special you bought, and I am nothing more than a mercenary for charging $50 to spend two hours making you a new one.

3. Your right, I am wrong to charge you $30 to drill and tap a hole, its just a hole that your buddy can do with a drill press.

4. Please accept my apologies for not spending an hour discussing the RKBA with you, it is rude for me to cut you off just so I can help paying customers.

5. Is so very egotistical for me to not want to build a lightweight 50BMG on a Swedish Mauser 96, youve given that a lot of thought and I must be jealous of your expertise.

6. Please allow me to spend the rest of my day showing you the handguns that you will have your buddy order on line.

7. I know you can get it cheaper off the net, Ive got a lot of nerve trying to charge you $5 more.

8. Heres my dealer catelog, order whatever you like.

9. Its my fault you got a denied on your NICs check, if I was not such a traitor to the gun movement I would just rip that form up and let your buddy buy it for you.

10. Oh yes you are absolutely right no matter how arrogant and nasty you may be.

 

[George Hill]

 

[Traveler]

You must have had one heck of a day!

On the other hand I reconize each and every one of those customers.:banghead:

 

[JohnKSa]

I can see the points on both sides and both sides have good arguments in their defense.

The bottom line is that a customer gets to decide how many and which gun shops he goes into--a gunsmith/gun shop owner has no control over how many nethersphincters wander into his place of business. If he wants to make money he has to have people in his shop, and some percentage of those people will be idiots and worse. After a few years of putting up with the sort of nonsense we've all seen go down, even the nicest guy will begin to develop some spines.

More dealer lines.

1. Yes, that gun you're sweating all over is new. Would you like to handle another? I heartily enjoy wiping down every gun in the place every 15 minutes.

2. Sure! Take anything you want apart. After all, when people buy new guns they don't care if they've been disassembled and reassembled a few hundred times by people who walked in off the street.

3. Uhhh, what do you mean, "Define: fugitive from justice."

4. No, not at all, I don't need any money down to order you that $2,300 left handed rifle chambered for the 6.32mm SuperMagnum Wildcat. If you don't buy it I'll just sell it to the next guy who walks in.

 

[hansolo]

Embarassing hour @ Gunshop

I try to support my local Gunshop: I buy ammo that I can get cheaper at Wal*Mart, I bought a NIB pistol there that was $40.00 less across town, but, today, a now-former friend undid all my good deeds(not really, but embarassed me):

My ex-Pal wantd advice on a Taser-- did I know where one could buy one...like, today? "Yes, at the shop where I do most of my business." Ex-Pal meets me there. He drills the friendly salesman on all aspects of this Taser; the salesman "turns" my "Pal" to the shop owner. Pal tells Owner, "I'm ready to buy the top of the line Taser with the laser...what kind of deal can you give me?(This baby was ticketed for about $300.00) The owner says "No other outlet within a hundred miles can even get these...I can because I'm the R.O. at the local Police Department."
"Pal" says, "Well, I guess maybe I don't really need one anyway. I'll take some pepper spray." Dealer says, "How big a discount will it take to get you into a $10.00 can of Spray?" I walk away as I'm starting to chuckle. :banghead: No wonder Gunshop owners get a little "testy" sometimes!

 

[swingset]

Whoa hansolo, that "submit" is tempting, huh??

As for polite gunsmiths, I've seen little reason to give them a pat on the back. I'm a patient, friendly and decent guy, so you tell me who's polite here:

I have 3 gunsmiths near me (and only 3). Gunsmith #1 posts hours of operation on his door, which is ironic because he's never there. I've been to his shop 5 times in the last 6 months, and never gotten through the closed doors. Nice. At least he's politely saying he doesn't want my money. Oh, and his answering machine hangs up on you right after the beep. Is it possible that his entire shop is a huge practical joke?

Gunsmith #2 likes to insult my guns. Me: "Can you thread the barrel on this FAL for me?" Gunsmith: "Yeah, but it's not going to help that gun any, they're not very accurate". Me: "Ok, well, I'll just throw it away then". I walked out, never to return. Jerk. Good thing the wife didn't come in with me, he'd have called her fat and ugly.

Gunsmith #3 takes 5 months to silver solder a part on for me. Probably 10 minutes of work. When I pry at month 2 why the delay, he says "Well, it's hunting season and I'm busy doing some work for hunters". I politely tell him that my shooting needs are as important to me as a hunter's, but he fails to see it my way. At 4 months he says he's forgotten about it, but he'll do it this week. At 5 months I tell him I'll be in to pick it up in a couple days. He says he hasn't done it yet. I tell him I'm aware of that, but I'd like my gun back so I can take it to a competant gunsmith. He says sorry and he'll do it right away, just give him a couple hours. I go in the next day and he's in the middle of my job, which is done sloppy and he overcharges me.

Wanna cry about customers? Shoulda picked a different job my friend. I don't feel yer pain.

 

[eoR]

swingset sees hansolo's three and raises him one.

 

[MLH]

I Think

I would have called and left it at that.

 

[Wildalaska]

Gunsmith #3 takes 5 months to silver solder a part on for me. Probably 10 minutes of work.

10 minutes? methinks you are taking poetic license here....

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

I only mention online prices when they are trying to gouge my wallet. $199 for a PA-63 with one magazine, and lots of scratches!

 

[cheygriz]

WildAlaska,

I agree with you. However, there are always two sides to an argument.

1. That's a nice Colt Diamondback .38 you've got there. Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore, and you can't get parts for it, therefore it's virtually worthless. I guess that I could allow you $20 on a trade on the Weatherby.

2. Of course I don't stock 10MM pistol ammo. They haven't made guns or ammo in that caliber for ten years or more!

3. No, I don't stock, and won't order, old military surplus klunkers like the Kar 98 Mauser you want. Those old guns aren't safe, There're illegal to hunt with, and nobody makes ammo for them anyway. Here, take a look at this nice Premier grade Sako. This is what you really want.

4. You don't need anything bigger than a .222 Remington for hunting deer and elk. It just happens that I've got a whole bunch of them in stock, and I can make you a really good deal.

5. No, I won't order you a reloading machine. Those damn things are dangerous. Only a total idiot would reload ammo. But I can make you a really good deal on new factory ammo if you buy it in bulk. Hell, you've been a good customer for a long time. If you order a case, I'll give you a 5 percent discount.

6. I don't care what your buddy at the gun club said! This Simmons scope is every damn bit as good as his Hensoldt, and it only costs $59.95!

These are all real. I didn't make them up. They didn't all happen to me, but some were told by peole that I know and trust.

In all fairness, I should add that in my experience, these creeps only represent an extremely small percentage of stocking dealers.

 

[firestar]

quote:
"In all fairness, I should add that in my experience, these creeps only represent an extremely small percentage of stocking dealers."

I wish I could agree with you on that matter. In my experience, m the majority of dealers are either rude, incompetent or dishonest. I am not saying this to make people mad, it is just my personal experience. Maybe I live in a bad area for gun dealers or something.

There are 15 gun shops in my town. I have visited about 10 of them. I would say that the main problem is dishonesty followed by incompetence and then rudeness. That is to say, there are more dishonest dealer than there are rude ones, of course being dishonest is a form of rudeness.

I have every dealer try to cheat or lie to me about something that I know he kinows the truth about. Whatever gun you seem interested in seems to be "the best gun for the money" and whatever gun they don't stock is "the biggest POS ever". I went to a shop asking about Kahrs when they were still relativly new and had one dealer tell me "I won't stock those POS because they are made by the Moonies". I went back a few years later and there were Kahrs in his case! I guess they are not POSs anymore and they must not be made by the Moonies anymore either.

 

[Atticus]

All good points... but the bottom line is that one supports the other financially. So which of the two should be expected to be nicer? With the advent of the internet, I no longer need dealers...they need me. I always start out with a good attitude at shops (I love the places) but my attitude is quickly changed by jerks. I've got better things to do with my time and money.

 

[Wildalaska]

I don't care what your buddy at the gun club said! This Simmons scope is every damn bit as good as his Hensoldt, and it only costs $59.95!

I had a variation of this one today...instead, it was a guy who called asking me for a Simmons scope. When I said I do not stock them, he said "why not, the guys at Kmart say they are better than Leupold".

With the advent of the internet, I no longer need dealers...they need me.

O really...who is gonna do your transfers then?

 

[NewShooter78]

I guess I must be lucky in my gunshop adventures. I go to two shops here and have had pretty good experiences with them. They are eager to help, and I think their prices are pretty good compaired to internet prices.

 

[Rebeldon]

Another dealer line.

I 'm sorry, but I can only give you $300 of store credit for that barely used Glock 21 you want to trade in [that I will sell next week for $475], so I can sell you this used H&K USP for $700 [which I could only afford to give $450 of store credit for last week as a trade-in].

 

[JohnBT]

We must have two of the best gun stores here. Maybe not pricewise, but the help is as friendly as can be.

Well, maybe they didn't seem so friendly 30 years ago when I was younger and stupider, but they're getting better

John

 

[Zander]

Having been insulted and/or ignored in more than one gunshop, I'll have to agree with a lot of what has been said.

However...please keep in mind that dealers are in business, by and large, to make a profit. That usually means that they buy at wholesale and sell at whatever retail the market bears. I have absolutely no problem with this philosophy as it is used in by countless dealers whether they are vending firearms, computers or used trucks. And I personally have no problem with ignoring the drop-in who wants a "clip for my 9" to give service first to regular customers who help pay the overhead.

As to gunsmiths, it helps to weed out the incompetents; my only gunsmith is Rocky McWilliams. Not only is he experienced, he's fair and does excellent work. He picks up firearms for repair at several gunshops in my area and, except for custom work, delivers the repaired product within a week's time.

Also, I'd ask folks to keep in mind that certain times of the year are a whole lot busier than others. Don't expect to find that bargain .30-30 Marlin two weeks into deer season. And don't get your feelings hurt if the gunsmith who works in a given shop doesn't have time to fit rings and a scope you bought somewhere else and want to use tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. At some point, it's worth a lot more to access the time and expertise of a local dealer or gunsmith than to slog through the charlatans who have no other interest than separating you from your hard-earned cash.

 

[KP95DAO]

Just lucky I guess.

The place where I buy guns is C&J Sporting Goods and the gunsmith I use (when I can't do it myself) and recommend is Dale Ellison, located in Bethany and El Reno respectively. They go above and beyond.

 

[dakotasin]

i'm in between dealers right now...

years ago i walked into a small-operation gun store when i first moved here (the sign out front said 'guns' - nothing more, nothing less). the gunsmith/dealer asked what i needed. i told him nothing, i'm just looking; don't have any money today anyway.

the 'smith treated me as though i'd just spent a million dollars. a couple of weeks later, after checking out the rest of the shops in the area, i went back to the shop and bought a rifle for a fair price. the 'smith did the trigger and barrel floating for free.

fast forward 7 years: with the exception of an x-mas gift, all of my firearms (and most accessories) have come from him (and that is quite a few!). i always got competitive prices, solid reccomendations, good conversation, and quality work from him... the 'smith has shut down the sales floor (his heart is in custom work, and running the sales took too much time away from 'smithing), so i am in search of a new shop that has a person/staff that i can trust 100%. the old 'smith never screwed me. i'd ask him what his bottom dollar for a gun was, and he'd give it to me, and i'd buy it - no screwing around back and forth on price... oh, i checked prices elsewhere after the fact just to see how i made out, but i never paid too much.

after reading this thread, it seems that it is going to be nearly impossible to find another shop i like as much. i always knew i had it good at this shop, and now i know exactly how good... now, the search begins anew.

 

[Betty]

I have one to add....

"I'm sorry ma'am, did you mean to walk into this gun store? The hair salon is next door."