Support your local gun shop!

[Tony2much]

I've been going to every gun show and major seller (Bass Pro, Gander Mtn., Dicks Sporting Goods, etc.) within 60 miles of my home and have been amazed at the high prices they are asking for new or used firearms. About 3 weeks ago, I decided to check out a local gun shop. They had a brand new, never fired, in the box S&W MP .40 compact in the "used" case. It originally belonged to someone who had too many guns (if that is even possible) and they were asking only $349.00. Even though I had just recently purchased a 9mm shield for $449.00 from one of the gun "stealers" at the gun show, I promptly paid the asking price and smiled all the way home. The next day I went to the range and fell in love with my first .40 S&W. I've always had several (and still do) 9mm's so this was a new experience for me. I honestly didn't notice any appreciable difference in recoil and it was very accurate at my testing range of about 15 yds. I went back about a week later and bought a brand new Sig P290RS Liberty Edition 9mm for my wife's birthday (she picked it out, $449.00). Yesterday, I took my brother to this same local gun store so he could look at some home defense firearms. They now had a like new (12/13 manufacture date), in the box, S&W Shield in .40 cal sitting in the "used" case (calling my name). He had an asking price of $329.00 but quickly accepted my offer of $300.00 for being a repeat customer!

My point is that we need to support our local "mom and pop" gun stores and include them in our search for new or used firearms. They have a little more flexibility and appreciate the repeat customer business. They can usually offer better deals than the big chain stores and gun shows. I know I will be a regular customer of my local shop.

Here's a pic of the newest addition to my M&P family. It even came with a full magazine of Federal defense rounds and a nice lettering job!

 

[liljohn]

I always support my LGS, I usually stop by once a week to check out what has cycled through as you never know. I do find that with the resent run on ammo that the lgs price is usually higher than Walmarts price. I actually believe that Walmart in the end will keep the ammo prices everywhere reasonable in the long run.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[moxie]

I shop around. Sometimes there's more to the package than just the price. I put it all together and buy from the store that offers the best package and price.

 

[GerSan69]

I support whoever has the lowest price. My money is only loyal to me!

 

[timn8er]

+1 to GerSan69, to an extent. I try & support LGS's, but if they don't have what I want, what am I supposed to do? If all you're into is poly pistols, they have what you want, usually. But if you're into 3rd Gens, good luck!

 

[GerSan69]

Precisely, Tim. I think you're always better off trying to find something locally, since that gives you an opportunity to look it over before putting your money on the counter. But if the item is cheaper elsewhere and I'm comfortable with the reputation of the seller, then my money goes where I'm spending less of it. I simply don't believe in letting loyalty get in the way of business. You can bet your LGS doesn't.

 

[Jim1392]

+1 to GerSan69, to an extent. I try & support LGS's, but if they don't have what I want, what am I supposed to do? If all you're into is poly pistols, they have what you want, usually. But if you're into 3rd Gens, good luck!

I had this posted on another thread and I thought I would copy and bring it over to this one. Since it almost seemed to me my LGS didn't really care about my business.



I'm kind of in the same situation right now. I purchased a gun from my LGS last week on his web site and picked it up. While in conversation with him I made it clear that I would rather not buy things online, and I wanted to give him my business. I guess I was hoping to establish a relationship with him. Well a week or so later I'm looking to buy another revolver that he doesn't have on his web site. So I email them since their site says it's there for a quicker response. One day, two days go by nothing. So call and get someone there and ask if they can get it for me. He says he will check and get back to me. I call him back a day later, since no one called me, and he tells me his distributors do not have it in stock. I ask him if he can order it and he says he may have one arriving in a week or two. So then you will have one then right I ask. Well I'm not sure he says until I open the boxes. We just get what they send. I'm really confused here with that response. Now I have found the gun on one of the major online sites and I'm seriously considering just looking out for myself, even though, there will be shipping, transfer fees etc. and just order it, and pick it up somewhere else. And I know in the end I might wind up paying more for it. I'm thinking that sometimes it's just better to look out for yourself and not worry about supporting LSG's since it seems like some don't really care where you buy your guns.

 

[Llando88]

Good for you.

My local gun shop was out of stock on the SKU number I wanted, and could not tell me when they expected it in.

Moreover, when I enquired as to a price, it turned out the price was 'market' based.

My conclusion was they used gunbroker.com and pass the profit on to the owner.

No, thanks.

I bought my pistol at Gander Mountain, on sale.

I'm sure there are good LGS out there, but I would not blindly go down to any local shop and give them a pile of money, just because they are "local".

YMMV, of course.

 

[Marie13]

I bought a 9mm Shield about a month ago. One LGS only had .40 Shields, which I was not interested in. I checked another one. Nada. Both said they could order for me, but it would be maybe 30-90 days for it to come in, and no real idea. I checked on Gunbroker and I was able to get a Shield for $400 + $35 shipping (+ $35 transfer fee) from a FFL in the next state over.

The two LGS I checked are the ones closest to me. There are others, but they were too far away. IL has a 72 hour cooling off period for handguns. Because I ordered mine online and my NCIS background check came back right away, I only had to go to the LGS where I did the transfer once.

Don't minimize the convenience factor for some folks.

 

[Tony2much]

I haven't purchased any ammo from this store yet, or even know what his prices are like, but I will also buy from whoever has the best price. I am like most folks and only as loyal as my options. So far, his S&W MP prices (and 1 Sig I bought) have been better than anywhere else. I usually do my homework first before going shopping, so if I happen on a deal, I know it immediately and whip out the wallet before someone else beats me to it. In all fairness though, his older, more collectable firearms were a bit too pricey for my taste. I've been buying guns for over 30 years and took about a 10 year hiatus before just recently getting back into shooting, so my ideas of what guns should cost is quite a bit outdated. I wish I kept so many of the (all metal or stainless) guns I sold years ago. I can't afford to buy them back now, but at least I kept a few of my favorites (S&W model 60 and 36, 629 classic hunter, 5906 a few old Rugers and my Hi Standard .22's).

 

[hangnoose]

support your LGS?

I'm more than willing to pay a bit more to a mom & pop store that has great knowledge & customer service. ON THE OTHER HAND those lil shops that tried to gouge me during the panic can rot you know where. & I'm not shy about telling ANYONE which are which.

 

[Venenoindy]

All my firearms have been purchased at local gun shops, the only time I have interact with a retail store has been couldn't find it anywhere else.

 

[CommonCents]

when shipping and transfer is factored in, I rarely find much savings at all over LGS.

 

[Donn]

My LGS has done me too many good turns. I'm doing business strictly there. Not just price and selection, if there's a problem, they take care of me. There are other reasons, but it all adds up to the same thing. Till I have a reason not to, I'm loyal to the LGS.

 

[oldillini]

For me the decision to go with LGS is pretty simple. Only big store around is a Gander and I am not going to pay 10% more. Fortunate to have a LGS in the area that turns over a lot of volume. Purchase my 9mm Shield 4 months ago for $400. Selection also beats the Gander near me.

I did purchase a Range Officer on Gunbroker, only to find out when I received it at the FFL (LGS) that they had just put one in the case and was asking less than Gunbroker + shipping.

LGS is just my preference.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Your story proves a point that my buddy (who recently purchased a gun shop) and I had the other day. New guns can be stocked and sold by just about anybody with an FFL. On new guns, people shop price. used guns are a separate story. People will flock to where the inventory is just because others don't have it. Once there, the LGS has the advantage as the used gun is fondling, isn't likely to be anywhere else close and or at a predictable price if it is. His philosophy is: If you keep the shelves filled with a good mix of new and used inventory, they will come. ( and come more often).

In your case, you looked at new and found nothing competitive enough to get you to bite. However , one shop had a deal on a used one and you both ended up happy for it.

 

[ginzo]

My LGS is a small pawn shop, he treats me good. The lowest price isn't always the best thing, but he is close enough to the lowest price. AND I specifically order what model # I want and he gets it. Sometimes it's a few weeks, sometimes a few months. I can wait considering this is my 3rd purchase in just over 13 months.

 

[Stan12]

LGS are all different. I lived in Ohio before, and our LGS was StoneWall range. They always offered ammo at the best available prices, and their price and variety of firearms was very good, so I purchased my two pistols from them.
Now I moved to Minnesota and stopped by at the local "Bill's Gun Shop & Range" at Robinsdale. I noticed they offer ammo at quite high price, and I told this to their associate. "That's right, our price is high" - he replied with a smile, - "and you know why? Because when a customer at the range runs out of ammo and wants to shoot more, he has nowhere else to go, and he buys from us!"
Before moving from Ohio I read in the internet that Minnesotans are very straightforward and sincere folks. Well, they are.

 

[rwsutley]

Not all local gun shops are the same. I go to one shop for ammo because they have the best price in town. They also have a pretty good gun smith who is one of the owners and is very reasonable on pricing his work. They ask high dollar for their used revolvers and don't turn over their stock very often. There are a couple of other shops I drop in on very often because their prices are generally much lower and their stock is always changing.

 

[lrmnut]

I always buy LGS for new guns, the reason they can't always get you what you want when you want it is because most of them can't buy directly from manufacture they have to go thru a distributor but I've found as for myself my LGS is always cheaper then buy on line when all cost are added in. Let's not force are LGS out of business like Walmart did to mom & pop shops. Of course I still believe buying American even if it cost a little more is always the right thing to do. IMHO