Local gun store experience

[Ruger 13]

I have never done consignment nor will I ever!

 

[Tom S.]

You misspelled "Bob". It should be Boob.

 

[CH4]

I knew an FFL that did this. He sold the guns, tried to leverage the cash and lost it. Went to jail. Ask to see your guns.

 

[AJ]

Our local gun store does not do consignments. He has lots of guns in the cases and on the long gun racks. About 80 % of his inventory is used. They would rather buy your gun then sell it as theirs, greater profit margin. Guns are sold either over the counter or in on-line auctions. You have the option to either sell to them or not, your call.

 

[s&wchad]

Last year, my father consigned a few pistols with Bob to sell in his store.

A few months later, I was in the store and Bob asked about my dad and the pistols. I asked Bob why he never displayed them for sale. This was his answer- he keeps consignments in the back, whether a few guns or a collection, and he contacts local buyers/collectors to come in and bid on them. He then sells to the highest acceptable bid.

I don't understand this business concept.

My father had purchased these pistols several years prior and just wanted his investment back. No gain. Bob was allowed to keep all "profits". All of the pistols had gone up in value since being purchased and Bob saw no problem with the arrangement.

Of course Bob had no problem with the arrangement.
The business concept is simple... He was essentially running an auction and trying to maximize his profits. He knew exactly what your dad wanted for each gun and had no incentive to sell them quickly.

Dealers who take in consignment guns typically do it for a percentage of the sale price and a fixed amount of time is stipulated in the contract.

Bob sounds pretty sleazy to me, but this deal was offered to him on a silver platter.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

This is in a town of 100K plus surrounding communities.

A wee bit of early morning math.

That's about a fifth of my state's population. We're gun folks. Adios Liz.

It's far more than double my county's population of 42,000, and, geographically, we're the second largest county in the state.

I live in a tiny mountain town of 48 full time residents, 30 miles from gas 'n' groceries.

Okay, no more math.

My lgs is minutes from my front door. His shop is chock full. He's busy. He doesn't have a "back room." Everything is in full view. He buys whole collections, and he has a "call list." He's had his ffl for more than 40 years, and he does consignments for 15% (oops, more math).

Good for you for dumping "what's his name."

 

[444 Magnum]

You misspelled "Bob". It should be Boob.

Nice. I didn't see that coming.

 

[Skeet 028]

Back when I had my shop I did consignments on higher grade shotguns. Handguns and rifles I put in the cases. I did 15% fees. Before selling any if the offer was lower than agreed upon list I always contacted the consignor. The high grade shotguns were taken to larger shoots and talked around with people looking for nice guns. I did 10% on guns up to 20,000. 5% over that figure. Surprisngly the over 20 were easier to sell and there were of course less of them. I had nothing but time in any. I just knew people all around the country and what they were looking for. None of the shotguns went on a "rack"unless in the under 2500 range. That said there were no real auction sites then so it was an actual salesman job. The guy with the OPs guns needed to be gotten gone. Glad you got your stuff back. I went to one World Skeet Shoot in Savannah with over $110,000 worth of guns. Sold $75,000 worth in a week. Went to the Grand Trap shoot and bought $25,000 worth for under $15,000 in 2 days. I had to leave as I was broke enough to get back home just about.. Trap shooters were easy! LOL... BTW... pretty sells!... On a side note any shotguns people wanted to shoot first had to buy factory ammo from me. No reloads...so I made a small profit there too

 

[Walter Rego]

The practice of some gun shops of having a "preferred customer list" of people to call when certain firearms come in on trade or consignment is not unusual. But in many cases you won't even know about such a list unless you ask, or are known to the employees as a regular customer and/or buyer. And how well such a list is administered can be hit or miss at times.

I have had gun shop employees tell me many used guns never see the display cases, they go into the vault and customers who have expressed interest in those makes and models are given the right of first refusal.

So it may help to ask about those "want lists" when you go to your favorite gun stores. It might pay off. Not in the way of "good deals" but more in the way of getting guns that you have been searching for.

Regarding some of the poor or shady practices that have been mentioned in this thread, they aren't all that uncommon. Best ting to do is not patronize those places or at least do business with them with your eyes fully open and proceed with caution.