Gun store employees that are just plain full of it...
- Thread starter forrestinmathews
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Cardboard_killer
Member
This says most of it for me. I walk into a store to make a purchase, I don't ask about much (unless it's a used gun) except what price they are willing to take. I don't ask much because I've already done a ton of research, and know as many details as most sales clerks do about that gun. Gun clerks cannot be expected to know the details of every gun behind the counter; there are just too many of them unless you are like us, old with a lot of experience and love of the tools. And even then, some of us are real idiots.
I will pay more to buy from the LGS, but I won't pay much more. So, if I go into a store and the price is > 10% more than what I can get online, shipped and transferred, then the LGS is not going to get my business on that firearm. However, my favorite LGS will often deal their way down to a reasonable price on new guns, especially if I show them where on the web the better price is, and that I've included shipping and transfer costs in my calculations.
Frank46
US Veteran
Sometimes it's really fun to listen to the dealers stories at local gun shows. Like the guy who said he paid $600 for the H&R model 12 the CMP was selling some years back For $300 with Redfield Palma sights and Big bore front sight with an envelope full of sight inserts. And he was asking $700 for the model 12. Almost cracked up in front of him. And the guy selling a chopped up lee enfield for $350 who I asked if could come down a little on the price. His answer "that's what my daddy has on the price tag". And the list goes on. Frank
I don't mind the innuendos, rumors, and gossip ......but those lies are going too far.
Gun-related minutia is abundant. Not everyone can know everything but they should be able to say, "I don't know." when they don't.
This is no know on police officers but even police officers have difficulty with basic gun facts:
From the Business Insider article, How to trace a gun:
"So, take that murder we began with. Blood all over the place, cops looking for clues, the booties. They find the gun! What happens next does not involve the wizardry of some supercomputer somewhere. It hinges on a phone call.
That cop with the gun dangling from his pinkie. He dials the tracing center and describes the gun. This is Step One. Let's say, for example, he reports that he's got a 9-mm semi-automatic Beretta 92.
This would seem to be a straightforward matter. It's not. Cops are bad at describing guns. This is because many guns look alike and the nuances can be fantastically minute and critical to a successful trace."
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During my working life, I was very open (far more than most) about acknowledging what I didn't know. That actually took guts in my profession. Clients and fellow employees actually admired me for that. They knew when I said or wrote something, it could be trusted 100%. They knew it wasn't guessing, speculating or just spewing BS.
No gun shop owner or clerk can know everything there is to know about every gun ever made. I get that and I cut them a lot of slack as long as they are not messing with me. I was once offered a part-time job in a gun shop and again once with a major sporting goods retailer. While I have pretty good knowledge and experience with respect to handguns and MSR's, I know next to nothing about more traditional long guns. The latter bothered me and so I never accepted, nor would I ever accept, any such job even though it would probably have been fun.
A family member who has far less firearms-related experience than I actually did go to work in the gun department of a major sporting goods retailer. I don't know how he pulled it off, but he did so successfully for a long time. Eventually he moved on to something more lucrative, but I always wondered what it would have been like to deal with him as a gun salesman. Knowledge and honesty or finesse and BS?
I'll probably never know. 
I once had a in store 'gunsmith' tell me that it was
impossible to convert any handgun to a different caliber..........
That made me sad to hear that thar bit of news....
.
Wow! My Second Model Hand Ejector converted from .455 to .22 lr just achieved "Unicorn Status".
Arik
Member
I usually hear silly stuff from the customers more than the employees. Knockdown powers and what a friend of a friend of a friend said. There's a lot of misinformation on both sides
I'm not sure I'd call those "woppers" or "lies". Everyone is going to have a different opinion on triggers.
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Walkingwolf
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What bugs me is when a LGS has a gun for a great price that I never intended to buy in the first place. This happened to me last year with a Ruger Security Six snub for $400. When I looked at it the clerk told me right off the bat $350 out the door. I am not a snub fan but that was tough walking away from that gun.
nachogrande
Member
THIS!!!!
AND it is EVERYWHERE. My biggest pet peeve is people that simply can't say those three magic words "I DON'T KNOW". As a male of the species you would think it would come easy, seeing as how often we don't know stuff. My wifes best friend (here) is about to die cuz her Dr couldn't say it & now has stage 4 cancer.
Had he admitted it, she may have caught it in time. In stead she got the medical version of IDK "IT'S NOTHING, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT".
AND it is EVERYWHERE. My biggest pet peeve is people that simply can't say those three magic words "I DON'T KNOW". As a male of the species you would think it would come easy, seeing as how often we don't know stuff. My wifes best friend (here) is about to die cuz her Dr couldn't say it & now has stage 4 cancer.
Had he admitted it, she may have caught it in time. In stead she got the medical version of IDK "IT'S NOTHING, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT".Arik
Member
I dunno....if I have no interest in a gun or no intention to buy your going to have a hard time separating me from my money. Like it better come with a year's worth of free gas or gold bricks. Can't spend money on something I don't want regardless of how cheap it is
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nachogrande
Member
TOUGH INDEED!
That might be worth going back for, need it or not. NOT(generally) a fan of snub magnums either, BUT those are great feeling/balance/pointability/comforting in the hand (for me) in an easy to belt carry trail gun. It could grow on you very quick. Worst case scenario, you would get to use it as long as you wish, then make some $ when selling it. IMO
That might be worth going back for, need it or not. NOT(generally) a fan of snub magnums either, BUT those are great feeling/balance/pointability/comforting in the hand (for me) in an easy to belt carry trail gun. It could grow on you very quick. Worst case scenario, you would get to use it as long as you wish, then make some $ when selling it. IMO
I overheard a young clerk try to sell a Keltec PMR30 to an older gentleman as the ultimate carry weapon because it held 30 rounds and had nearly no recoil.
Since my ignorance knows no bounds I don't mind when I encounter
the same but always appreciated hearing "I'll find
out" instead of "I don't know".
I try to do the same.
the same but always appreciated hearing "I'll find
out" instead of "I don't know".
I try to do the same.
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My biggest complaint is Gun Shops posting a sign that they have
a gunsmith on staff. Then you find out they have a Gomer Pyle
type guy with $7 worth of Dollar Store Tools.
a gunsmith on staff. Then you find out they have a Gomer Pyle
type guy with $7 worth of Dollar Store Tools.
Further evidence that you should know what you are buying ahead of time, and not listen to any sales guy just wanting to close a deal. That is true for buying guns, cars, tools, etc.
I once had a in store 'gunsmith' tell me that it was
impossible to convert any handgun to a different caliber..........
That made me sad to hear that thar bit of news
.
And it became inspiration.
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Shazam!!!!
flip flappy
Member
I totally agree with the Home Improvement store clerks. All I have ever done for a living is carpentry work and been in business for myself for 20 years. Very few know enough to help other than telling where an item is located.
PPS1980
Member
When I got back into shooting I visited about 6 local gun shops in addition to the usual big box names (e.g., Dicks, Cabelas, Gander Mtn., BPS, etc.). The BS factor was pretty high at the big box stores generally and about half of the LGS shops had a pretty high BS factor. What I found was that the BS was pretty high with the "Operators" and pretty low with the old fuds. However, the opinionated pronouncements were highest with the old fuds.
I ended up selecting the store with the lowest of both. Oh, there are opinions but they're typically not shared as if G*d himself was speaking. Yes, there is some misinformation but no more than in any other transaction and less generally. Mostly, my two go-to LGS stores have down-to-earth folks that are pretty good and not full of it.
When I visit other stores I go to look or hold items that my 2 LGSs don't have, can't get, etc. I usually just ask to see what I want and try to tune out commentary. Occasionally, I play along. Mostly, I just try to be polite, quiet, and learn.
The ones that get me are the customers that just HAVE to give you 'the word". Sometimes I have been known to be a bit short with them. My wife calls it "dismissive and cutting". Me, I call it honest and direct.
I ended up selecting the store with the lowest of both. Oh, there are opinions but they're typically not shared as if G*d himself was speaking. Yes, there is some misinformation but no more than in any other transaction and less generally. Mostly, my two go-to LGS stores have down-to-earth folks that are pretty good and not full of it.
When I visit other stores I go to look or hold items that my 2 LGSs don't have, can't get, etc. I usually just ask to see what I want and try to tune out commentary. Occasionally, I play along. Mostly, I just try to be polite, quiet, and learn.
The ones that get me are the customers that just HAVE to give you 'the word". Sometimes I have been known to be a bit short with them. My wife calls it "dismissive and cutting". Me, I call it honest and direct.
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