Big retail stores and why buy there?

I got two of my best gun deals at Walmart. The first was a Win '94 shortly after they stopped making them. While everybody else was scrambling to pay top dollar, the local Walmart had their last one marked down for clearance at $199.

The other great deal was a T/C Omega Z5. Normally about a $300 package but again, on clearance for $200.

While I do like supporting a LGS when practical, they can't begin to come up with deals like that.
 
Have purchased a good share of my guns, and all my used guns, from a LGS.

Have bought several new ones from Sportsman's Warehouse. The local store has a gun counter staffed with very knowledgable people. When they have sales their prices are hard to beat. Their ammo prices are almost always better than the LGS by a good amount.
 
I use Gander Mt and Cabelas as gun libraries. They have a large selection and I can check out several different models at the same time.

Then I go to my favorite little local shop and have Jim order me one.
 
I have bought guns from pawn shops, Walmart, Gander, online, etc. - wherever the best deal is. I found a screaming deal on an old S&W I frame R&P target gun at the pawn shop (they didn't know what they had) as well as a nice S&W 19-3 snub at Gander.
Sometimes you get lucky. The big box "libraries" can have some deals if you know what you are looking at.
 
I use Gander Mt and Cabelas as gun libraries. They have a large selection and I can check out several different models at the same time.

Then I go to my favorite little local shop and have Jim order me one.
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Bingo!
 
I thought I was the only one who noticed how rude and disinterested LGS employees are!

I pride myself in being able to understand other people and what makes them tick. I have been unsuccessful in understanding these people. The markup on guns is not as high as some may think. If you want to make any sort of profit then you need to sell more than a couple guns every now and then.

You would think these small business owners would actually want traffic in their stores, and they would want to do everything they could to help answer people's questions and get them the guns/ammo/accessories they want.

Maybe they are tired of answering the same questions every day (do you have those black rifles? What caliber are they again?). Either way, I dread going into those places.
 
I baught a gun at Cabelas last fall because I actually had the chance to handle it there and I liked it so much I just purchased it.

My grandpa is an FFL: so usually I go through him. The only gun I ever got at a big box store was that one. I can get better prices from my grandpa anyway. I will say that all three of my LGS have exactly the same prices as cabelas or Walmart.

Gander mountain prices are outrageous on new and used guns, and ammo. Whatever everyone else is charging in town GM charges about 130% of it. Yet for some reason people around here just love them.

I appreciate two of those three LGS and I support them when I can; but to be honest their selection is much more limited, prices are the same, and cabelas is in a nice location by a mall, so my wife and daughter are occupied while I go there. My favorite LGS is in the middle of nowhere: an hour outside town, another good one is weirdly in an industrial complex, also far from other entertainment and the third LGS is in a bad part of town and the people there are suspicious and condescending because they get a lot of questionable foot traffic and newbies in their store.

So if you ask me "why" I baught a Weatherby Shotgun at cabelas the answer is convenience.
 
I thought I was the only one who noticed how rude and disinterested LGS employees are!
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Some are , some aren't

Maybe this contributes to the attitudes sometimes:

All of these shops allow browsing without pressure to buy. I have always felt comfortable and welcome in these shops.

That said, I have purchased three guns from the local 'big box' store. Why? Price and availability.
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Customers aren't all sunshine and rose either
 
Bought my SPX at the aptly named Dicks. All due to price. At the time all LGS wanted $649. Got it at Dicks for $574. Guy was a jerk, but I'll never have to deal with him again.
 
I like to go to small shops for many things...better buying experience and supporting the little guy. Life is too short to be obsessed over money I won't need when I'm dead.
 
Big Retail Stores and Why Buy There

The reason is they are often the only game in town.
Clinton put the small Mom and Pops out with high license fees and onerous regulations.
I use to buy my firearms from on hobbyist type Gun shop operated from his converted large garage.
The prices were far better than Big Box stores. They don't save you money.
They realize they are essentially the only game in town and charge full suggested retail and more.
For instance Gander Mountain on firearms and ammo and everything else.
The Feds harass the small Mom and Pops trying to find one little mistake so they can yank their licenses.
Big Boxes have Lawyers and money.
One small Gun Shop that has good supplies is higher than Big Boxes though.
They are owned by the Folks making Barrett Rifles.
They sell a lot because they are the only game around. I can't gnerally afford their reloading supplies or firearms. But they do have a good selection of what everyone wants.
Arices don't matter to the Farmer when he sells his crops or the Construction guys and Professionals.
Use to be that way with general society but not now. Penny pinching is the anme of the game.
 
I usually go to Gun Shows, which is mostly small dealers/shops. I really do not buy new, and the used selection in Cabela's has crazy prices. They may as well put all that used stuff in the Gun Library.
 
We got a Sportsman's Warehouse in 2007, and it was great... at first. After a few months, it seemed like every visit there was a new set of people behind the counter. The place has been open just over 7 years now, and the gun department is on its 5th or 6th set of managers. The original store manager was finally given the ax for his bizarre hire/fire policies, but it's a bit late for a lot of customers. I haven't set foot in the place in 3 years myself, and am back at the LGS I patronized before SW came to town. Many of the same people are still there as when the store opened in 1970; I know them, I trust their opinions, and I'll keep going back because of that. One of my friends that has managed to stick it out the entire 7 years in the camping department at SW says the place has run in the red for the whole time it's been open, but "it's cheaper to keep it open at a slight loss than it is to close the doors"... huh?? It actually did close once, and re-opened as "Wholesale Sports" under Canadian ownership, then they closed and sold it back to SW, who re-opened it again as Sportsman's Warehouse.
 
I know this thread is more about guns then ammo but one of the reasons I like buying ammo at Wal-Mart is that the ammo I get there always seems to be shiny new brass and I'm sure some of you would shudder if you knew how much of it went straight into the brass bin at my local range :p

But yeah, the prices are only marginally worse than what you usually get online (although you can obviously find some incredible deals on the internet) and the ammo is usually in fantastic condition.
 
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