RETG
Member
Would be nice if ALL manufacturers did the same....
https://www.shootingsportsretailer....ield-armory-severs-ties-dicks-sporting-goods/
https://www.shootingsportsretailer....ield-armory-severs-ties-dicks-sporting-goods/
Springfield Armory Cuts off Dick's Sporting Goods
- Thread starter RETG
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tommy.duncan
Member
Awesome!! Kudos to Springfield!!
gamboolman
Member
Well done to SA ! May have to buy another rifle from them.
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If consumers would do the same.
Consumers have been doing the same for a long time. I read an article earlier in the week dealing with athletic gear and clothing that indicated that Dicks was already in financial trouble long before they decided that their sister store Field and Stream would stop selling certain guns. Dicks stopped selling them years ago.
My guess is that they see this as an opportunity to get free advertising by doing something controversial and at the same time they are hoping folks who are already anti-gun will be drawn there.
I think that where they miscalculated is that a lot of the people who buy guns, also buy sporting equipment and chose to go to one store that carried both. The crowd that didn't buy guns anyway already have many other options for sporting goods stores that never carried guns anyway.
No doubt Amazon was hurting them too. I've found that I can buy most anything I need from Amazon and have it delivered to my door in 2-3 days and save a lot of money. Not to mention that the only large sporting goods stores are an hour away. Guns are one of the few items that I can't buy and have delivered to my door.
Hokie_PhD
Member
I doubt they "scrambled" in this decision.
1. the Dicks announcement was over a month ago, so the management at Springfield probably took their time, looked at the impact to Dicks and their sales there. They also probably did analysis on Dicks business model and where they (Dicks) will be in the next year or two
2. The decision was probably based on a risk analysis of how many of their products Dicks sells. I'm guessing not enough to keep an association with them
3. they probably did some market research to see what impact this would have on their customers, both those who are loyal and those who were annoyed from previous decisions that adversely impacted them.
4. they know the anti 2nd folks aren't going to buy their products so they don't care what they think
5. they looked at the amount of "free" advertising this created and estimated what the affect on sales will be
They then weighed the risks of all of this and the benefits and decided that this was a no brainer. We're talking about them and it's in a positive way. So while they may not be totally out of the dog house with some (many?) it's a step, and if they keep taking steps those actions will show where their values are.
Acelaw
Member
I've messaged all the manufacturers I can think of asking them to follow Springfield's lead. These retailers need to understand that these policies have consequences
Fine Figure of a Man
Member
Maybe so but I never thought of them as anti 2A.
What they did was collaborate with anti 2A politicians to crush their competitors.
Much worse than the average anti 2A type that is just ignorant or emotional.
Fine Figure of a Man
Member
Springfield, Dick's and Rock River should work together, they could split the cost of lobbyists.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/02...rat-gun-control-lobbyists-april-records-show/
http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/02...rat-gun-control-lobbyists-april-records-show/
CoalTrain49
Member
I'm wondering how big box stores like Dicks, Sportsman's Warehouse, Gander Mountain, and Cabelas can stay in business and compete with online retailers. The last few guns I purchased were online and I picked them up at a friends house who is an FFL dealer. He charges me $25 dollars, he lives a mile away, and it takes about 15 minutes to do the transfer. If I go to Cabelas I pay about 10% more and have to wait an hour to get a NICS check. That doesn't include driving an hour to the store in some of the worst traffic in the country.
Or I can just order a firearm online from a local gun dealer using a credit card, he has it shipped to his business from the distributor and I pick it up. No FFL tranfer fee and no shipping cost. Again, about 10% less than a big box store. That overhead has to be killing those BBS retailers.
I'm thinking the online retailers are taking over the business and Springfield knows it. They were just looking for some free advertising while Dicks is still in business.
Or I can just order a firearm online from a local gun dealer using a credit card, he has it shipped to his business from the distributor and I pick it up. No FFL tranfer fee and no shipping cost. Again, about 10% less than a big box store. That overhead has to be killing those BBS retailers.
I'm thinking the online retailers are taking over the business and Springfield knows it. They were just looking for some free advertising while Dicks is still in business.
Old Dog
Member
Not to derail the thread, but I disagree. I suspect that most gun-buyers still continue to make most of their purchases in person, at retail outlets. Searching for the stats, they've got to be out there ...
In any case, kudos to SA. And to Hornady, for cutting off business to New York.
Yea most gun folks are not familiar with having stuff shipped to a FFL and such. Of all my friends that buy guns a lot I can only think of one that uses online stores to buy guns besides myself.
There is still places that are unfriendly to doing transfers too. Since gun shops guys are so grumpy many folks are scared to ask them about receiving a gun they bought online.
Most of what I buy is offline. Not usually because of the price, but because it’s something very specific.
Hokie_PhD
Member
I’ve found most gun shops don’t want to do a transfer and if you do they lay on the guilt about not supporting a local business, how they can’t compete price wise, etc. Many of these same stores also have high transfer fees. So it takes a little effort to find one that is friendly and charges a fair fee.
I’ve found one that specializes in suppressors and runs his business from his finished walk out basement. His hours are by appointment and he’s very nice to work with. Order your gun, send him an email it’s coming and he contacts you when it arrives and schedules a time to do the background check and complete the transfer. All for a reasonable fee!
I’ve gotten to the point that I only deal with him and have basically given up on other shops. I say that as I wish the local shops were more price competitive. Now before people jump on me, I know brick and mortar stores have expenses. I’m fine paying a little more to support them. But I’m not willing to pay $100 or more on the same gun when I can get it shipped to the FFL I described and save that money.
buck460XVR
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Used to be, if a store had the words "sporting goods" in the name, it sold guns. Nowadays, folks think of things like Kayaks, Paddle-boards and Hiking boots when they hear those words, long before they think of guns. Kinda the way Americans have gone. Used to be if you spent time in the outdoors, you were probably a hunter. Nowadays, you could be a photographer, birdwatcher, backpacker, snowshoer, hiker or just looking for wild edibles. All of those take tools/accessories with a bigger profit margin than guns. I think this is where Dick's is at. Guns are probably not a big money maker and thus, not selling them is not going to make a difference to stockholders. By standing up for more stringent gun control, they might even think they are going to increase their targeted customer base.....and they may very well be correct.
CoalTrain49
Member
I'm sure that's true but business models change.
A lot of folks are first time buyers or maybe own one or two firearms. They probably don't shoot that much so they don't reload either. For those people a brick and mortar store is necessary. Big box stores have put a lot of mom and pops out of business so that's what they're left with. Lots of people just don't have the time to price shop, but the ones that do will migrate to online eventually as I did. I used to buy everything at a small family owned gun store but when the big box stores moved in and put them out of business I moved online and never regretted it.
My neighbor has a thriving business doing $25 transfers and ordering guns for people. I don't have to physically go to his house either. I can do my business over the phone or email. I know two dealers around here that carry no inventory and take orders over the phone or internet.
You can even buy a car online now.
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I’ve found a lot of the time the local shops can sell for the same as online they may just be out of touch. If they have something I want and it’s higher than online they will usually match what the delivered and transferred fee price would be and that’s awesome.
The shop I’ve been having do transfers could care less. They charge me $15 and never gripe. Last time I was in for a transfer I bought 2 other guns from them while I was waiting for them to find my online purchase in the back.
I work in a very competitive sales market. We have lots of “brick and mortar” it’s cheaper to match the online prices and suffer a bit than miss the sales, when you miss one sale you may not even get a chance on the next.
22250Rem
Member
It seems to me that Dick's has no more desire to be in the gun business. Why else would they be hiring anti-gun lobbyists and even destroying AR-15's that they have in inventory? If they wish to exit the gun business they have every right to. Springfield Armory may only be reacting to decisions made by Dicks. Perhaps Dicks feels they can survive on all the other categories of sporting goods that they deal in. Even though folks like me won't patronize them anymore there are still lots of people in this country who aren't into guns but buy other sporting goods. I wonder what their latest actions will do to their bottom line?
toivo
Member
It's one thing to decide, for whatever reason, that you don't want to be in the gun business any more. It's another thing to start to work actively against gun rights. That's a big "eff you" to your former firearms customers. They're practically begging for a boycott. They might think that they'll attract enough anti-gun clientele to make up for it, but I personally think that that's a mistake in the long run. There are a lot of other places to buy yoga pants and tennis balls.
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