Was I out of line?

[cal50]

I've read and re-read your comments. In my opinion your comments were harmless enough. I'd tell the store owner to go urinate up a rope.
This is still America and if he took offense in your simple comments he takes himself much too seriously. Too many gun store personel think they know everything about everything just because they stayed at the "holiday inn express" the night before, if you know what I mean. Just because they own or work there don't make them infalible or experts.

I'd find another dealer to do business with unless his prices were low enough to make up for his misery. Then I would keep it strictly business with him. You're a potential customer and that should at the very least get you treated with respect and a smile. Give your business to someone else.

+1 (what you said ) and 100% spot on.

I had an FFL for around 13 years. I obtained it in part of the way most of the local dealers thought they were doing you a favor by letting you in the shop and then charging retail or more. There is nothing worse than someone with an attitude and I will be damned if I give those types one cent.

 

[David LaPell]

I can see the owner's side, BUT when it comes to buying used guns from people, gun shops should have a big jar of vaseline on the counter to make it easier on the customer. I know they have to make a profit, but buying a shotgun for $400, then selling it for $1000 is a scumbag move. What do they do to make the gun ready for sale? Make a log entry, put a tag on it, and put it in the case. I once bought a brand new Glock 26 for $525 and only owned it two weeks before bringing it back to the shop for a sale. I had put brand new Trijicon's on it, and the gun had exactly 100 rounds through it. He offered me $100. I asked him why it was so low, and he said 'I have to make a profit". He would have given me my $100, slapped a $500 tag on it, and made $400 in about 30 seconds. I have walked out after a guy got low-balled on a sale and offered him cash on the spot, though I wouldn't do it in the man's shop.

I can tell from having helped out a friend of mine at his gun shows and been in his shop, and enough guys that I do business with, that the difference is about 20-25% markup. I have very, very rarely ever seen a gun get jacked up to a price that is two or three times what it is worth. Every dealer I do business with takes out the Blue Book, finds the gun in question, then turns it around to show the seller the price, and then explains the fact that they deduct 20-25% as far as overhead. Do some people low-ball, probably, but lets not lump all the dealers in to the same bracket. I know hopefully when I get my FFL in the next year or so, I will do the same practices I have seen as the shops I have been doing business with for years. Eventually it is up to the customer, if he or she takes the money offered, then it is on them.

 

[Tunachaser]

I think that before you open a gun shop, you should have to sell real estate for one year first, then you would have a better handle on what is likely to come out of someones mouth...it never fails to amaze me........... you need to understand, that they walk among us. no slight on what happened here, just a reminder of what a shop owner hears on a daily basiss.

 

[Sebago Son]

Etticate...

I can tell from having helped out a friend of mine at his gun shows and been in his shop, and enough guys that I do business with, that the difference is about 20-25% markup. I have very, very rarely ever seen a gun get jacked up to a price that is two or three times what it is worth. Every dealer I do business with takes out the Blue Book, finds the gun in question, then turns it around to show the seller the price, and then explains the fact that they deduct 20-25% as far as overhead.

David,

This is way off topic, but unless you are doing this as a hobby, operating on a 20% mark up will ensure you are out of business in a year. The goal here is not to just cover the over head, it's to make a living, however meager....

Don't give up your day job....

Like we like to say... "Wanna make a small fortune in the Gun Business? Then start with a big one...".

To the OP and all the others who believe it their God Given Right to act any damn way they please, wherever they may be, I would say this to you because obviously your momma didn't ... behave like a Gentleman and your presence will be appreciated. Screw with the dealer and his lively hood and don't expect to be welcome. This will apply to all business aspects, not just those conducted at the gunshop.

So ends the lesson.

 

[Camster]

I was in a local gun shop today looking at a used gun I was interested in. Someone came in with a gun that he wanted to sell to the owner. It happened to be the same model I was looking at but different barrel length. I made a comment to the seller that I wished I had met you before you came in because I was looking for that model. After looking at the gun, I would not have paid what the owner offered. It was not a serious comment to the seller. I called the shop later in the day and asked if he would lower the price a bit on the gun I was interested in. He started out by telling me this is a legal gun store and we buy and sell by the law, not parking lot deals. I was not trying to buy the gun from the walk-in seller. The owner also made a comment that a person could be barred form the store for these type of actions. Maybe I took it wrong by his comments. Right or wrong?

The thing is that any comment at all,no matter how benign,can screw up the dealer's transaction,so silence,stepping back, is the rule.The seller came into the store solely with the intent to interact,hopefully sell to the dealer.Anything voiced by other customers is unwanted noise/distraction.

 

[feralmerril]

I havent read this entire thread but am reminded of a incident with a buddy I was with. We were at a small motorcycle shop when a guy came in to sell the owner his old BSA. My buddy got in the middle of the conversation and I guess offered the guy more than the owner. It embarassed me and I walked off.
A few weeks latter we were there again and the owner said I gotta get this off my chest and bawled him out. He said when you start paying half my rent here, you can do that. Thats my opinion too!

 

[gyrhed]

I look at it like this. The gun shop has to make money to stay in bussiness, but It doesn't take many trips into the shop to figure out if they are high profit low volume, or low profit high volume. I avoid the former like the plague.

I have been in a shop numerous times and have seen them give 30-40% of what it was worth, but they do have to make money. Sit back and figure how many guns he has to sell every day when he get $35 a tranfers and not much else.

I was in a shop looking for my son a shogun when a really nice remington 1100 came in. This particular shop is well known locally for underpaying for guns. There are several within a few miles that would have given the guy more than the $100 they gave him. As he walked out the door I offered them $200 and they took it. Still a goods deal for me. If that guy had said no to their $100 take it or leave it I would have chased him into the parking lot and bought it in full view of the shop and don't care how they felt about it. They had their chance.

 

[markeb]

Sebago Son, What you think you might do with your boot, or if you were my momma, read the original thread. I did not try to make an offer to the seller. I was not trying to bid with the owner. Just made a comment to seller about the gun. They had already made a deal. Happy Mother's Day.

 

[GTbob]

How could you not know any better? One would have to be completely ignorant of any common courtesy and unappreciative of the Gunshop Owner's place of business.

I want a dislike button!!!! Not everyone was born understanding all the rules! That's why there are mentors for goodness sake!

And I am so glad I live in Colorado, where people are nice and we respect each other.... and not with a boot up another's rear end!

 

[TNDave]

As long as Markeb was not actually trying to buy the gun or interfering with a deal it seems his comment was not a big deal. While everyone knows you can't step on a man's deal in his shop, it seems the original poster's comment was not an attempt to undercut the dealer but just a comment maybe better left unsaid. And of course delivery is everything and you can only joke around with people you know. If the comment was made without a smile to a dealer you have no rapport with it could go over like a lead zeppelin.

The dealer in question certainly needs a lesson in diplomacy no matter what else. Alienating a customer is not good business. In my area if the seller had not accepted the dealer's offer, once the seller was in the parking lot he would be fair game.

It sounds like a combination of an awkward comment delivered badly to someone with a thin skin.

 

[senecaap]

It sounds like a dumb comment made without thought, it does not seem he was trying to "squash" the deal". An apology is in order to the dealer to clear the air. Most people have made dumb comments not thinking of the overall situation and have had their hand smacked, that's how you learn.
We aren't all so lucky as some of you that have never made a mistake, perhaps you could try a little patience, before you unleash your inner paper tiger. Or just keep being hard and expect no mercy when you make your first mistake.
PS Some of those talking about "common courtesy" could use a little.

 

[Sebago Son]

Robert,

"Intersecting Common Lines"?

Where do I send you your half of the light bill, the property taxes, employment taxes, oil bill, business insurance, mortgage, employee payroll, A/P expenses, sales taxes, license fees, etc?

Oh and don't forget... when you buy on-line "for cheaper" you still have to go through an FFL to receive....

Nonsense like you are spouting make for "Soup Nazis"....

 

[BearBio]

I agree Robert is incorrect but for different reasons than Sebago Son states. They actually are at contradicting points of view.

The buyer/customer wants to purchase a firearm, at the lowest price he can.

The seller/gunshop wants to separate the customer from as much of his money as possible, retaining for himself the maximum portion.

No one is right or wrong. Different perspectives based on different objectives.

By Sebago's reasoning, I could say "I'll pay your price AFTER I deduct the cost of gas, car insurance, car payment, lunch (if I had a long drive) from your selling price".

No one is forcing the buyer to pay the price asked, or even to go into the gun store. By the same token, the shop can "ask" what it wants- If a particular item sits there, maybe the shopkeeper has misjudged value or demand (actually interdependent factors)-keeping it as inventory is his "mistake".

Another factor in retail is that retail price is not based on what the item cost but on what it costs to replace the inventory. With inflation, most retail stores mark up closer to 60%.

Back to the original post: Was it wrong? No, it was not wrong.

Was it inappropriate? Yes, from the (this) shopkeepers point of view.

Was it a faux pas? Yes, in most shops.

Did the shopkeeper overreact? ????

Did the shopkeeper show poor business sense by his reaction??

Main question= Did the original poster learn from this?

In biology, this would be called a symbiotic relationship (a form of parasitism where both host and parasite derive benefit). A basic evolutionary rule of parasitism is "Don't kill the host!". Most do because they are imperfect but the most successful don't (such as intestinal bacteria of termites-without them it couldn't digest wood).

 

[blackflag]

Eagle-eyed store owner saw what was going on and charged me an extra $20 to pick up a new gun I had pre-paid for and ordered. Told me that will "teach me to pull a fast one on him".

I think it's safe to say that 90% of gun store owners are mentally defective and just have flat-out poor business sense. Certainly, none of them have ever heard that the customer is always right. I have an FFL near me that's a good guy, but he doesn't run a store.

 

[RJW]

I will not comment on the right or wrong of the comments in your local gun shop. But, I generally find that it is best to keep away from any ongoing transaction unless you are invited by the owner of the shop to become involved as a potential buyer or someone who can answer a question regarding the model or its value.

An uninvited comment regarding the quality or condition (positive I assume) can be appropriate, but I would not suggest going a whole lot further.

Bob

 

[Tunachaser]

I think it's safe to say that 90% of gun store owners are mentally defective and just have flat-out poor business sense. Certainly, none of them have ever heard that the customer is always right. I have an FFL near me that's a good guy, but he doesn't run a store.

LOL, no that is not safe to say.

 

[markeb]

OK. I appreciate all the posts, and respect 99% of them. Lesson learned. Let's get back to talking about our Smiths. Thanks.

 

[DOEBOY1]

I have my ffl and I sale guns to people by appointment. That being said I don't have the overhead that most do that have lots of inventory and store hours. I would probably take offense of someone trying to get in a bidding war on my property. But it doesn't seem that the op said he would give more for it, it was close but no the same. But rather than loseing a customer I think I would have told him what he did and let it go. Telling someone they would be barred from the store you not only lost a customer that was looking to buy, you just made an enemy that will dog you for a long time. Right or wrong a direct attack will cause a conterattack. I have a lgs that I frequent that I have been told to stay away from because of their poor customer service. This is something I hear because I am a gun man. Like the rest of you I have friends that talk and you can believe if someone pushed me out of a place because I made a comment that I thought was appropiate but was taken the wrong way by some bully trying to make a point. I would do everything I could to keep everyone I could out of that shop. Doeboy

 

[Wingmaster]

The customer is NOT always right. If they were that would mean I was always wrong. Thats not the case.

Wingmaster

 

[Knightrider03m]

To the OP. You were not out of line at all. And its an old wives tale that a FTF deal would yank an FFL. If I'm looking at used gun and a guy come in with the same gun that I can get it cheaper, I would take the deal with the guy that just walked in. If the owner get all huffy about it then screw em. With the amount of online gun dealers and gun stores, its like shooting fish in a barrel to find another FFL dealer to go to. I've bought guns from many FFLs, I'm not tied down nor am I loyal to any one dealer.