Man am I upset!!!

[Fackler Rebel]

Stopped at the local pawn/gun shop today, looking for something smaller to carry than my 6 inch model 57. The gun is like new, had Pachmayr grips on it, I put the wooden on the model 57 I gave my younger brother for his birthday in 98. Anyway they offered me 350 for a like new model 57-3. I told them they were crazy as hell and left. Never do business with them again. Guess I'll just have to figure out a way to carry the Smith.

 

[Robinett_11B]

Never sell to a gun/pawn shop if you don't NEED the $ right then and there. You'd be much better off selling it here or on a local (Alabama) gun forum. The price they offered sounds about what I'd expect any shop around here to offer. If you're after a carry gun, either sell yours for a fair price (not in a gun/pawn shop) or put up a WTT ad and trade it for something better for carry.

Good luck!

 

[Fat Old Guy]

Sorry but it evident that you don't understand the gun bidness. Blue Book for a 57 in 95% condition is under $600. The dealer has to take money out of his drawer to pay you for that gun then put the gun in his case for who knows how long until it sells so he is unable to use that money for anything until that gun sells. 50% of Blue Book is not that unreasonable for a slow moving gun. If it was a gun that is in high demand, he might have given you more.

Everyone . . .. well, mostly everyone, knows that the worst place to sell a gun is at a gun shop.

Despite popular belief, it isn't that the dealer is trying to rip you off, it is just the reality of retail.

 

[arjay]

They buy at wholesale and sell at retail.If they don't,they go broke.Same as any other business.

 

[Moe W]

I agree with

Fat Old Guy and Arjay 100%. I have to say one more thing...many people, and I am one of them, scout the pawn shops for a good buy on a gun. I see many people on forums cheering about the good buy they got in a pawn shop. I hope none of them are people who would criticize a pawn shop for what they pay for guns. We cannot have it both ways....I will not criticize a pawn shop for what they offer for a gun or what they pay. They are just doing business. The person offering the gun for sale in a GS or pawn shop does not have to sell. Those businesses are not running a charity. They are trying to make a living.

 

[kudzu3]

They gotta make money. Not an unreasonable offer.

 

[StatesRightist]

$350 for a model 57 is a joke, I don't care what kind of excuses others make for the pawn shop. You either go wholesale to wholesale or retail to retail or you are getting taken. I buy a lot of guns, and my trading at wholesale and paying at retail is something I NEVER do, nor am asked to do, but once by a store.

 

[crankyoldlady]

If you are upset, you are taking the offer as a personal insult. It isn't personal. It's business.

 

[boatboy]

I think thats what they do. Funny no one ever gets pissed when they go into a store and find a "deal" thats undervalued

Hank

 

[Barrie]

What the guys are saying is completely correct in that the dealer has to make some money or he won't be in business very long at all. The item is always worth more then they can or will pay for it as they like to eat as well just the same as us. I always sell my excess guns privately as to make a profit.

 

[StatesRightist]

The average business profit in America is less than 10%, If you can't make a living on 20% total profit on a gun deal, you should go out of business. The dealers I deal with are fair, one of which is one of the largest independent shops in America. I should be grateful I guess, the overpayers finance my deals for me.

 

[jerryv]

if you want to get your feelings really hurt try selling your car back to a new car dealer. ouch!

 

[nipster]

The average business profit in America is less than 10%, If you can't make a living on 20% total profit on a gun deal, you should go out of business.

Agreed, I routinely see gun stores buy guns at 50% of blue book and then mark it up by 200 or 300%.

I dont do business with these shrewd people.

No one is obligated to make 100% or more profit, if they want to operate that way, they dont get my business.

And the funny thing is, people here will call you a socialist or communist for having a viewpoint like that.

 

[nipster]

if you want to get your feelings really hurt try selling your car back to a new car dealer. ouch!

Completely different scenario. Cars depreciate 30% or more when you drive them off the lot. You cant say that about a gun. Especially an out of production classic gun.

 

[bamabiker]

I will not let my feelings get hurt over something like this.
I had a Colt Python that had been reblued with refinished grips. I tried to trade it toward a S&W at a LGS. They offered me $200 for the Colt. I just stuck it back in the gun rug and ended up buying the S&W out right.
Yes it had been reblued but $200, no thanks. But I don't let that stop me from shopping there. They get a lot of nice S&Ws in there and I've since bought others from them. They also sell a lot of guns so if I get mad and stop going I'll just be hurting myself.
I ended up trading the Python for a pretty nice first year Highway Patrolman at one of our gun shows. Never really liked the Colt so I was happy with the trade.
Get mad at a low offer? Water off a duck's back.

 

[turbo38gn]

The average business profit in America is less than 10%, If you can't make a living on 20% total profit on a gun deal, you should go out of business. The dealers I deal with are fair, one of which is one of the largest independent shops in America. I should be grateful I guess, the overpayers finance my deals for me.

Can you tell us what businesses there are that survive on 10% or less mark up.. with no other means of income?

 

[ken158]

I have a friend who works for Gander Mt in the gun dept. They advertise gun buying first weekend of every month and sometimes have a gun buying expo - means nothing... policy is to buy at 60% of gun condition rating per blue book no matter what "specials" they advertise.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

The average business profit in America is less than 10%, If you can't make a living on 20% total profit on a gun deal, you should go out of business.

Like many, you have mark-up confused with profit. Mark-up is what you charge over the cost of the actual product. Profit is what is left at the end of the day after all expenses are met. The guy with the shop has to pay his employees and his rent, not to mention utilities. Let's not forget taxes and insurance premiums. When all is said and done, at the end of the year, if the guy is keeping 5% of his gross sales, he's doing good.

 

[StatesRightist]

Can you tell us what businesses there are that survive on 10% or less mark up.. with no other means of income?

Feel free to research the average corporate profit margins for the last 30 years. The net returns are 10% or less. There are some higher, some lower, but average is as stated. Google it, you will find it interesting.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

I used to be an active gun dealer. Mostly, I sold guns to feed my hobby. I'd buy five or six of something, keep one and sell the rest with enough mark-up to pay my table fees at gun shows and pay for the gun that I was keeping.

I'd buy a gun at $150 wholesale and mark it up to $175. Then the "customers" would come along and say stupid things like "I know what you paid for it and you should be willing to sell it to me for that." My response? "Tell you what, you go pay the money for the FFL, get the business license, deal with the inspections, and the paperwork and you get can get the cheap guns too."

What used make me really laugh was that these idiots would pay $50 for a crappy nylon holster that had a wholesale price of $10 and think that they were getting a deal. For the record, I didn't sell holsters but the guy at the next table did.

If you wnat to grumble about gun shop prices, blame Lee Harvey Oswald.