You wonder how small gun shops stay in business???

[Mannlicher]

Campergeek states:"It has become popular to slam Walmart for their effect on small business. The fact is, Wal-mart hasn't put ANYBODY out of business. What has caused small businesses to close is an inability to identify and capitalize on their differentiation from the discount giant that moved into town."


That is mostly disingenuous bs my friend. Evidently you have never been a small town retailer when WallyWorld moves in and destroys the local business community

Now I am not saying Wally World is evil, but to glibly say that they have put no one of biz is silly.

 

[carp killer]

All my local gun shops don't even stock cheap .22 ammo anymore since the WM came to the area. In fact one of the gun shop owners will tell you to buy the cheap .22 ammo at Walmart. The only way a small shop can survive a "big box" store is to sell what they don't stock. So that means that the small shop has to sell pre/post ban AW's, handguns, used guns and hi-cap magazines. That is what gun buyers are looking for these days. Just go to any gun show, tables selling AW's and hi-cap mags are the most crowded.

 

[MikeJ]

As I'm reading these posts, I have to ask, do the big box stores in your area REALLY have that good of a selection? The Walmart, Big 5 etc. in my area, Phoenix, Az., have such a small selection that it isn't even a consideration in terms of gun shopping. I don't think any of the gun shops consider these stores to be of any real threat to their livelihood. The Walmart that is closest to me is also one of the huge mega Walmarts. Just curious because in my locale the issue is gun shops and pawn shops where the prices differ drastically. Mike

 

[starfuryzeta]

Wal-Mart's here (there's about 7 of them) will stock a few rifles, shotguns, black-powders. The ammo prices are good, but sometimes not good enough to put up with the traffic (people and auto) hassle. However, the local gun stores are getting way overpriced. Don't even think about going in and getting an "evil black rifle" for under $1000. Sorry, I have and will go to auctionarms, gunbroker, etc, get what I want cheaper, and pay the transfer fee. Oh yeh, the local gun shops won't do transfer's anymore, but the FFL pawnshop owners will. They've gotta change or die.

 

[Rafter-S]

Quote: "I'm waiting for someone else to come along and out do Walmart, it will happen some day."

Here in Texas The Academy is doing just that. And most Academy stores are located close to a Walmart.

What goes around comes around.

 

[txgolfer45]

Academy and Oshmans are giving Walmart a run for their money in the firearm department around the Dallas area. Both have better selection on rifles and shotguns than Walmart. Both carry handguns which Walmart does not do. Academy and Oshmans seem to hire people who know something about guns. The Walmart employees in the sporting goods departments around Dallas are pretty much clueless. If there are any knowledgeable Walmart employees in the sporting goods department, I haven't seen any.

Scott

 

[campergeek]

That is mostly disingenuous bs my friend. Evidently you have never been a small town retailer when WallyWorld moves in and destroys the local business community

I guess, then, that the local business community offered nothing of value to their customers that Wal-mart couldn't provide. Adapt or die, but don't blame your business woes on somebody else.

It's easy to complain, but difficult to adapt. Another hobby of mine is home theater. Once, while shopping for my television, I listened to a local store manager gripe and complain that big stores and the internet were putting the small stores out of business. I didn't go back there because the bad attitude put me off, and rather than show me WHY it was in my best interests to shop there the proprieter tried to guilt me out of my money.

I did, however, finally purchase my television NOT from a national chain, but from a local retailer - one local to Oregon, that is. I found them via the internet. They learned to adapt and prospered for it.

What too many local retailers forget is that NO store started out big, and if you're not continually looking for ways to better serve your customers and grow your business, your fate is sealed. If a "local business community" has done things the same way for many years and grown stagnant, they are certainly at risk of being eliminated when a more customer-savvy competitor moves in. That's not the fault of the new competitor. In this case, perhaps it's time to close the buggy-whip factory.

 

[Zundfolge]

In addition to what campergeek just posted, It has always annoyed me that some people think it is better to protect the businesses of a handfull of people at the expense of the rest of the community by keeping Walmart out.

Walmart may help some small businesses put themselves out of business, but they also provide products that people want generaly at much less cost.

I guess many would rather that people pay more for food and clothes and such as long as a few local business owners aren't forced to compete in the free market like the rest of us.

 

[Sean Smith]

I guess, then, that the local business community offered nothing of value to their customers that Wal-mart couldn't provide. Adapt or die, but don't blame your business woes on somebody else.

Bingo. We the consumer don't owe the corner store jack squat if they charge higher prices and offer nothing in return... as is often the case. Gun stores run like a hobby by dinosaurs with no social skills deserve to die. Boo hoo.

 

[Partisan Ranger]

I want to give my business to local gun shops, but their prices are simply nuts. At Shenandoah Sports in Winchester VA, they wanted about $540 before tax for a Glock 26 w/o night sights . The clerk said he could order me one with night sights. No thanks, if I want to get effed, I'll ask my wife.

 

[starfuryzeta]

they wanted about $540 before tax for a Glock 26 w/o night sights

I know your pain. Around here, look for a NIB glock to start around $600 at most places. Auctions can be your friend.

 

[Oracle]

This is the reason that I am very selective about the gun shops that I go to, as there are a pretty fair amount of them in the Atlanta area. I visit one regularly because they carry a good selection of milsurps, have a relatively low transfer fee, and offer good service. Their price on handguns isn't that good, so I go elsewhere for handguns. One shop has a good selection of hard to find reloading stuff there, and I go there for that. There are a great many gun shops in the Atlanta area that don't really offer much of anything to me, their prices are way too high, they offer poor value in trade, and don't carry much else that I want for their prices. So, I don't go to those places, and some of them have shut down. Well, I know why .

 

[Atticus]

I've never bought a gun from the Walmart closest to me. I'm not sure that I've ever seen a clerk behind the counter at that store. I thought I did once, but it was my reflection. Got tired of staring at myself after awhile and left.

My biggest beef with local gunshops is the trade-in and consignment policies. They're generally worse than the gun show dealers. I would be willing to take a hit on my trade-in OR the new gun - but not BOTH. I would like to see a Saturn dealership type of gunstore i.e.,
here's our cost, our price, and here's what we'll give you for your trade-in.
Nuthin from nuthin leaves nuthin...and that's what the local shops are getting from me. Most of them have policies carved in stone that are paving the way to foreclosure. Those guys need to work the law of averages and quit trying to make it all at once. Oh...and acting like I'm not the enemy (for even thirty minutes) would help as well.

 

[XxAR10xX]

Think things are crazy around your parts? Here in California, you almost gotta sell you first child to afford some of the guns that are on sale. I dunno if it is the political climate, lack of gun shops (which there definitely is), but the prices at the mom and pop stores are just stupid. Probably the only place that is semi reasonable is Turners, but even then I don't really care for their sales staff. And for Wally Mart out here, they haven't stocked guns for the last year or so. I dunno if it was because of licensing or something else, but their shelves have been barren. Anyhow, even when they had guns, the only thing worth buying as a 10/22.

Nowadays almost all of my purchases are made online. The internet is a wonderful thing when it comes to cost savings. Especially on big ticket items ($500+) you really save on tax and whatnot even when you factor in shipping.