Surprising news (to me ) about Gander Mountain.

[Hokkmike]

Sure, I like to support the local "mom and pop" gunstores. And I DO buy guns there more often than at Dick's, Gander Mt., Cabelas, or Pro Bass. My latest purchase will be from a guy (friend) who has had a country gun store for over 30 years 7 miles from my house.

But I found out this week that Gander Mt. will PRICE MATCH any gun store within an hour of their location if that gun store has the gun you want in stock and they sell it.

This did surprise me.

The downside is that you do not get any of their "gun buyer" benefits.

This is JFYI and JFYD. (just for your discussion)

 

[earlthegoat2]

It is easy for a place like Gander Mountain to make claims like that because they are a big business. The truth is though is that by policy they can only go so low. They will not sell a gun at a dollar over cost for instance but a local shop may if they know you well enough and other reasons.

Once when I was working in a smaller shop in the same town as a Gander Mountain someone came in looking at the same gun they were looking at at GM. They said Gander Mountain will match any price. I said sure they might but they will have to go through their supervisors who may or may not be there. They sould probably have to take the really outrageous requests to corporate who I guarantee wouldnt be there. All I have to do is ask my boss who happened to be standing right next to me.

It works for GM in theory but not practice. I would advise trying it out. It will be good for a laugh at GM.

 

[Hokkmike]

I would advise trying it out. It will be good for a laugh at GM.

I did. They did. Maybe more experiments are needed?

 

[HoosierQ]

So I guess if you can get the gun at the same price within an hour's distance they would have to have some other inducement...right. I am not jamming you and I didn't know this either. Problem is, if I find a good price at a local place, I am not going to Gander to match it. Undercut by 10%...now we got a promotion!

FYI fellow Hoosiers...halfway decent ammo at GM in Greenwood this weekend. Blazer Brass .45 (haven't seen that in ages). Prices still high but it's there.

 

[scurtis_34471]

It is pretty moot for me, since most of the local guys are as high or higher than Gander. Gun prices in my town are ridiculous.

 

[Hokkmike]

So I guess if you can get the gun at the same price within an hour's distance they would have to have some other inducement...right.

I get you HoosierQ. In my case I had some store credit. Sometimes people give gift certificates, etc. Incidentally to all, because I want to seem like the "good guy" here (which I am - really), I ended up making my purchase at a "little guy's" store anyway.

I'll get a pair of hunting pants or some ammo with my store credit.

 

[Warhawk83]

Local shops here are generally $50-$100 higher than the Academy chain here. Bullets are RIDICULOUS at local stores. A box of .380 is $20 higher at one place in town.

 

[TimM]

I have never understood this price match thing. If another store has it at a lower price - buy it there.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

I got a lot of money for a third year law school student. Between my landscapping setup and NRA Pistol instructor gig I make twenty-four hundred bucks for forty hours a month give or take. Guess what, I'm not buying at shops. I've got an FFL guy who ordinarily only marks up items by 10% over wholesale, but I bring him twenty to thirty customers a month where I'm there for each visit to buy and pickup(he likes and trusts me) so he now waives. I get thirty bucks per student(the student pays me, I'm saving them one to two hundred bucks even with paying me, sometimes in some cases on the Smiths and H&Ks they've save over three hundred compared to the local shops).

The house I'm living in and will likely lease to own soon enough in the next year is zoned for an office, and so possibly an FFL. I'm an NRA certified pistol instructor and I'll take my chance with ATF to call on them to get my FFL. Only sell to my students and so.

I'm of the opinion there is no point in buying in shops anymore. Try to find who the lcoal FFL guys are running out of their houses and what their prices are, and if they will transfer from gunbroker.

 

[JonB]

No GM around here, but the local shop is WAY over priced on almost everything. I stopped by there on Saturday to giggle at the prices. Example - $269 for a used 870 Express 20 gauge. Seriously?? Used Benelli shotguns (SBE, etc) 'on sale' for $1400 and up.

The guy actually offered to drop the price on a new Beretta Xtrema2 for me from $1200 to $1150 if I traded in my Benelli Nova on it. HA!

 

[kanook]

most big chains will match any stores advertised price. They do it to get you into their store. Next time you're in Bass Pro take in a Gander ad and ask if they will honour it, they will.

 

[scurtis_34471]

I buy a lot of my handguns from Bud's Gun Shop online. Supporting the "local guy" is all well and good, but not when they are $200 higher.

 

[CoRoMo]

Price Matching

Gander, Sportsman's Warehouse, Bass Pro, etc. all do this. I've asked the guys at the big stores if they'll beat a competitor's price. Nope. They'll match it though. What's the point then? If I find a low price, I'll buy it.
If they can beat the price, I'll buy from them, but they won't.

 

[clarence222]

I try to buy as much as possible from local stores first, however if GM had something I wanted that the local guys didn't I wouldn't hesitate to buy fro them

 

[ACORN]

FWIW my local Gander wouldn't match the price Wally World had on a CZ452 Trainer, said they'd be losing money on it. Didn't ask a manager or supervisor, just said they couldn't match it.

 

[bigfatdave]

I have never understood this price match thing. If another store has it at a lower price - buy it there.

I've used the GM match twice.
Both times I was able to get a quote on a gun from a LGS, but no ETA ... it is worth it if Gander has it in stock and nobody else does, but otherwise I'd buy from the local-owned shops every time. Local shops have better prices if you're willing to haggle and if you're helping them avoid the CC fees.

 

[Deus Machina]

If they'll match the price of a local place that has something in stock, and will sell it... why not go to the local place?

I still prefer to buy online or at gun shows. Even the shows have better deals than the utterly stupid prices in this town. The biggest place wants $800 for a CZ RAMI. Only two places carry anything at any acceptable prices, neither has the greatest selection (but one will order anything I want!) and one of those just recently started carrying ammo. $43 for Blazer Brass .45.

So, even if I did care about the price matching, that's a no-go.

 

[oneounceload]

It is pretty moot for me, since most of the local guys are as high or higher than Gander. Gun prices in my town are ridiculous.

You mean like Ocala Armory????? GTO????? Jerry's???????

 

[Avenger29]

Both times I was able to get a quote on a gun from a LGS, but no ETA ...

My local gunshops absolutely suck at ordering stuff.

Me: "Do you have such and such in stock?"

Them: "No, but we can order it and have it here within a week. I can call my distributor now to see if they have any in stock."

Me: "OK"

Them: Calls distributor

Them: "Yeah, they have 10 in stock. You want it?"

Me: "Yeah, how much down? 15%? Sounds reasonable. Here's $150, I'll pay the balance when it's in"

1 week later....

Me: "Hi, has my such and such arrived yet?"

Them: "No, not yet. Should be here within a week"

2 weeks later, repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

Till I finally drag it out of them that they didn't order it in the first place.

Screw the "local gunstore". Poor customer service, high prices, empty promises.

I deal with one smaller shop that's an hour away and the big chain stores.

 

[akodo]

often times what happens in a case like described above is the gunstore owner has a set inventory level he likes to maintain.

For instance:
Gun Maker XYZ
Model A = 6 guns
Model B = 8 guns
Model C = 4 guns

but the store allows the stock to drop to 50% or below before a re-order is placed, AND there has to be some minium number of guns for the order before the re-order is placed as well. (let's say 10 guns) This is because he gets a volume discount from the distributor.

In general, he sells enough guns from gunmaker XYZ that he ends up with a re-order ABOUT once a week, maybe once every two weeks.

When he calls his distributor to order a new gun at the request of a customer, he doesn't tell the distributor 'put it in a box all by itself and send it to me!' what he does is say 'when I have another order of 10 guns, please add in one gun of Model F'

This means he still gets his volume discount, and the shipping fee is roughly the same.

But if it is a slow week and he doesn't get 10 guns from that maker sold, no shippment is re-ordered, and the 'additional gun' isn't sent out.


the order is 'in the system' but not necessarily 'on the way'

 

[B BRI]

Gander Mountain is typically priced a little too high around here . . .

I typically order online from home, and have it shipped to my local Gun Store. I pay too much for the FFL transfer there, BUT I feel strongly about supporting my local gun store and the weekly chats with the owners and fellow consumers there more than make up for the added cost.

I have actually asked my local store to match the prices I have found online ( even with shipping & transfer fee ) and he won't. HOWEVER, he doesn't mind that I buy online and have it shipped in ( that transfer fee is all profit ) and he does call me when he gets something in that I might be interested in and ALWAYS treats me like I am his best customer ( and I know I'm not ).

Having been in sales all of my adult life, he does a GREAT job and takes care of me regardless of whether I buy from him or not.

 

[doc2rn]

^Had that happen to me 3X's in a row. Stopped buyin from any of them. Started using a local FFL and lowered my cost by 30%! The savings from a private guy was huge! It let me buy an extra gun this year.

 

[conw]

IMO this matching thing rarely makes sense, but I can think of one situation where it would.

You could use a prospective price match buy in a negotation to haggle them down on a gun another shop doesn't have. E.G., if you sell me gun A at price match price from the local gun shop, I will buy gun B for (whatever price).

 

[Caimlas]

I'm all for supporting the local shops, up until they start gouging people. Some are good, some are bad. I've had my fill of a handful of shops when I've seen them offer "best offer, $180" for a new, never fired custom 1911, and similar other atrocities to people that don't know any better.

 

[coloradokevin]

Yeah, but Gander Mountain is so over priced around here that I rarely go into their store to begin with. I did once take them up on the price match offer, and bought my Lyman Universal Case Trimmer from Gander, with a price match to the Sportsman's Warehouse price.

Mostly I see it as a gimmic. All else being equal, I'll shop at the more reasonably priced store!