Man am I upset!!!

[austintexas]

The local gun shop I deal with ( buy, not sell) offers 75% of wholesale if a gun is avaliable from a supplier. He then resells the gun at wholesale. that means his markup is 25%. Of course the offer is contigent on the guns condition. He is pretty knowledable on collectable guns so the price is often negociated. If you are trading in a gun the price is usually higher.

SWCA 892

 

[nipster]

The local gun shop I deal with ( buy, not sell) offers 75% of wholesale if a gun is avaliable from a supplier. He then resells the gun at wholesale. that means his markup is 25%. Of course the offer is contigent on the guns condition. He is pretty knowledable on collectable guns so the price is often negociated. If you are trading in a gun the price is usually higher.

SWCA 892

Which seems pretty fair.

But most gun stores seem to offer you half of what blue book is, and then sell it for what they are going for (not getting price, but asking price) on gunbroker. Equating in more than 100%, sometimes 300% profit.

I realize B&M stores have to make money, but this is obvious ripping people off, and you cant justify it.

"It may sit there for months"... is not an excuse.

Those 10 new hi-point 9mm's or M&P shields they just bought might sit on the shelf for months too, and they are getting no more than 20% profit on them... that excuse does not hold water. Unless you think it's ok for them to make up their profit margin on the backs of used gun buyers or sellers. If you think that is ok, then I guess you are a gun store owner at heart

 

[Fat Old Guy]

Ok, so you are an educated business owner. You mention CORPORATE PERCENTAGE NUMBERS, WE ARE TALKING THE LITTLE GUY ON THE CORNER THAT IS PROBABLY A ONE MAN OR 2-3 EMPLOYEE STORE. THE SAME EQUATION DOES NOT WORK FOR BOTH BUSINESSES.

With the exception of a few notable product lines, even the giants have a big markup on many things. It might surprise you to know that even on sale, the markup on a lawn tractor at Home Depot can be as high as 30% over cost, depending on the model.

 

[Old Corp]

I am in no ways any sort of business man, but have done a few years working at a large LGS. Have seen more than a few super-P.O'ed over the quote they got when bringing in something to sell. But honestly, most come to understand after a little explanation.

A prime example in this is the AR - style rifles and it seems that everyone in the world bought one, or two or three a few years back. Several want to get that 'expected return' on them they were sure was part of the deal when they bought. Guess what? The market is all but flooded, and none of the toys bolted to it's sides make much difference. Can be a rude awakening for the uninformed.

Another semi-amusing scenario is dealing with estates. Oftentimes non gun-savvy relatives want to see deceased Uncle Elmer's 'gun collection' become the huge sums of cash they have been told it's worth.
Co-workers and I have made 1/2 dozen trips out to the relatives multiple cars to bring in guns for eval, and price discussion.
Folks, there is an amazing number of old Iver Johnson/Stevens/Western Auto/Monkey-Ward/Mossberg/ Glenfield/ FIE / etc. et al. guns out there. Many times the sterling piece in the whole crowd will be an old well-used Fox Sterlingworth SxS shotgun.
It is like delivering a death notice to these relatives that Uncle Elmer's guns will barely pay for the gas they burned driving over 5 counties to get there. They were CERTAIN that his 'collection' would put them on Easy Street.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

"It may sit there for months"... is not an excuse.

Having a product sit on a shelf has a cost associated with it. There is the cost of the money if it was borrowed. There is the opportunity cost because they can't use that money for something else. There is the cost of storage and display and the cost of cleaning the gun. The merchant needs to make up that money.

There are times when the merchant wants to get rid of something that is sitting there costing him money and he'll lower the price dramatically but that doesn't happen too often in the gun world.

Banks will often give you a better price on money over a short term than a long term. Why? Because they know that they'll be able to sell that money again very soon.

It is all basic retail concepts.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

If you want to be insulted, try selling that diamond engagement ring that the jeweler told you was an "investment."

 

[arjay]

I'm not quite sure why anyone would sell a gun to a dealer now that we have internet auction sites.Fast and easy generally pays less than putting out some effort.

 

[C.S.63]

To the OP,
I sure hope I did not upset or offend yourself with my post.
I was trying to explain the other side of the counter from the shop I
worked in and help out at on occasion.
seeing the other side of the counter really opens your eyes to the
industry. Hopefully I did not offended any with some short answers,
if I can answer any questions feel free to ask. This is a great forum!!
c.s.

 

[Fat Old Guy]

I'm not quite sure why anyone would sell a gun to a dealer now that we have internet auction sites.Fast and easy generally pays less than putting out some effort.

A number of reasons. It is easy. Most people don't have a clue about the laws pertaining to interstate sales. Immediate gratification.

I think that the last one is the most important. You want to buy a new boom stick your wife says that you need to get rid of one before you buy another. So you put it on-line and take a guess at a price and it sits and sits and sits. So you lower the price but it sits and sits and sits. Now a month has passed and you don't have your new boom stick. Far simpler to say to your dealer, "Hey, what will you give me for this?" Much the same reason that people trade in a car when they buy a new one.

 

[vytoland]

I can't believe this thread hasn't been locked!
Where is the civility that is the "NORM" on this forum? Many of the posts are full of scraps & insults. Regardless your opinion, this thread is an embarrassment. If this were the first thread I saw before I joined this forum, I would have closed my browser & never looked back.

Moral of the story, some deals are deals, some deals are not, and some are just fair. Whether you're mad, insulted, etc. at the offer, that's up to you. Happiness is a CHOICE.

Regardless your stance on the subject, why don't we stop the insults & bickering, and let civil discourse prevail.

Respectfully submitted,
Hillbilly

all the mods must be asleep or watching the olympics

 

[Hapworth]

Lotta guys I like in this thread who usually post good and helpful things totally unraveling and kicking each other around.

Seriously, take a breather...

 

[account]

Ooh look! A bunny!

 

[Hillbilly77]

Ooh look! A bunny!

"It's rabbit season!"

"It's duck season!"

"Rabbit season!"

"Duck season!"

Aw, dammit! There it goes again!

 

[Fat Old Guy]

Ooh look! A bunny!

 

[Kanewpadle]

You put a pancake on his head and made him sit there!! Man your mean!

 

[Fat Old Guy]

You put a pancake on his head and made him sit there!! Man you're mean!

He likes it, really he does. Every day, he goes into the kitchen and brings me a pancake and waits for me to put it onto his head.