It's been my experience that the dealers have a different markup based on whether it's a stock gun or a special order. If it's a stock gun, he has no idea how long his money is going to be tied up in that gun, and will mark it up to get the return on his money that he needs to stay in business. On special orders they usually add around 10%, because they know their money isn't going to be tied up. They'll get paid for the gun before they have to pay for it. They actually get to use the money for a little while before the invoice is due.

Also we need to remember that ALL the store's costs and profit have to come from the markup. If a store pays $150 for a gun and sells it for $200, the original 150 goes to the distributor or whoever the dealer bought the gun from. His phone bill, electric bill, rent, any real estate and employment taxes, maintenance, any other cost, and his paycheck at the end of the week comes out of the $50.

If we like having local gun stores around then we need to be willing for them to make a decent living from us so they can stay in business.