Dealers prefer selling Glocks?

As a guy who has yet to buy his first pistol, I tentatively plan on buying a Glock compact 9mm as my first once I get my CCW (mid-Summer). I've had some handgun shooting experience over the last year or so. I've tried Glock side-by-side with a few other similar automatic pistols, and every time I put one of the other other pistols I want to go back to shooting the Glock.

I can't explain it other than saying that I just like the way it shoots. It also has a reputation for being reliable and easy to clean - that goes a long way with me. I also plan on taking it shooting with some regularity, so it won't just sit in a safe and it will get dirty.

I am not above being talked out of it, but I'll need to at least shoot something that I prefer to a Glock, and so far that hasn't happened. I have yet to try the CZ 75, which is one I'd like to try. I haven't tried the Sig Sauer either, but the price point puts me off a bit on this one, at least for a first pistol.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a newbie's perspective.

-Andrew
 
Although I have several 1911s and other semi autos, if I were starting over and did not have a SA I would go for Glocks. I just have found them more reliable than others I have tried. The prices are good, and they do not require returns and tuning.

Regards,
Jerry
 
Glock = Over Rated! What will a Glock do that my Ruger wont do?

Lower bore axis
faster trigger reset
light consistent trigger
simple manual of arms

Minor differences but makes for a more effective tool IMO. Nothing wrong with your Ruger heck we sell the fire out of them.

Can you please explain how the Glock is "over rated"?
 
nefprotector:
Glock = Over Rated! What will a Glock do that my Ruger wont do? Buy a Ruger instead! Usa! Usa! Usa!

find it's way into many le agencies.

just how many agencies are using any configuration of ruger's??
 
A lot of what the shops in my area are selling / ( what customers are buying ...is the real question ) ...is 90% or more based on price.

New shooters are afraid of used guns / they don't know enough about guns to really understand grip angles, differences in triggers, differences in controls on the gun .....so they buy what names they know, what is priced right ...90% or more of the time.

I have a buddy in the gun business ...and he sells a lot of poly frame guns ...XD's, Glocks, etc .../ over steel or alloy frame guns. He does a big used gun business / takes a lot of trade-ins ..... the buyers that are looking for higher end guns / specific models / expanding their collections are less than 10% of his customers ( like 1911's, S&W revolvers, Sigs, etc ) ....but they're 50% or more of his profit. He makes very little off of Glocks, XD's etc on the lower end.
 
My usual toy store usually asks questions about the firearm's intended use beforethey recommend anything. They'll show you Kahrs, S&W's, SA's, and others right alongside the Glocks.

The Glocks being offered above all else is usually an attempt to push their own preference, IMO. Most of the time the salesman won't know which make and/or model offers the best profit, anyway.

Daryl
 
While I suppose it is easy enough to shoot 500,000 rounds through a handgun, that would amount to about 2 1/2 boxes a day, every day for ten years.
 
I’ll neither praise nor condemn the Glock.

Back to the OP:

It usually takes three to four times longer to sales pitch and close the deal on an expensive item, when a customer has expressed no clear preference, than on one which costs half as much. Earnings per hour are better on the cheaper item. That’s why car salesmen want to be on the Chevy team rather than Cadillac.

Familiarity with a brand also helps sell it. The Glock name is known to newbies more than the others.

The customer who will buy the expensive item usually knows what it is, why he wants it, and requires no sales pitch. He will almost always, in some manner, let the salesman quickly learn this. But unless the salesman knows this he is going to push what sells quickest and boosts his commissions or his boss’s esteem of him, whichever one benefits him more.

If I worked in a gun store I would push the Glock.

[Now why did I promise not to bash Glocks? Clay, stop typing right now!]
 
As others have said, dealers probably recommend Glocks because it's probably one of the most simple semi auto pistols out there. It's also reliable. It's probably a standard response for most gun store clerks if some newbie wants to buy a firearm and don't know what to buy.

They also steer women towards revolvers too.

They do give you bad advice though. For some reason, a gun clerk steered me towards a snub nose with an exposed hammer even though he knew I was going to pocket carry. I was a bit hesitant, but I took his advice like an idiot. Now I have to worry about it snagging when I draw, so I have to draw it with the thumb covering the hammer.
 
Funny, the guys at my local gun shop don't recommend the Glocks for newbies (like me and the wife) because of their safety. He prefers other handguns for beginners simply for the reason that most other handguns have a better safety on them. He does stock and sell a LOT of Glocks and said he would sell us (or get us) anything we wanted.

I am leaning towards a full-metal Baretta or similar handgun as my first purchase. I like the weight and feel of the heavier handguns.

I also know darn well that I will eventually own at least one Glock, who wouldn't for their price and performance.
 
Funny, the guys at my local gun shop don't recommend the Glocks for newbies (like me and the wife) because of their safety. He prefers other handguns for beginners simply for the reason that most other handguns have a better safety on them.

This is a joke. The Glock platform is one of the safest firearms on the market. Simply put if you don't pull the trigger, either accidentally or on purpose, the gun cannot fire. The design never has enough firing pin spring tension to ignite a prime until the trigger is moved to the rear. Literally impossible for a Glock to fire without a trigger pull.

Besides if you must rely on an external safety to keep from having an ND then you are probably making a mistake by purchasing a firearm to begin with.

Simplicity in some cases can be an asset. It can actually help the newbie because it is much faster a platform to master and has less levers and buttons to tinker with. A more intimate relationship can be achieved faster with the simple Glock platform.

Yeah I totally disagree with that dealer.
 
warpig602:
what sig for carry and bedside/hd?

Sig 226 Elite in 357 for HD and cold weather carry. Sig 239 in 357 or p245 for concealed.....if I go with the Sig. My P2000SK in 357 is generally my prferred carry gun these days. If Sig would make a good 10+ round compact I would carry it. The P250 is close but just doesnt suit me. Ideally Id like to see a P245 in 357 Sig.
 
love - hate

love your Glock -or hate it. If you have any thoughts of reloading never own one. LEO's get there factory jacketed ammo free (taxpayers pay for it) so it is a non issue. Read there owners manual - no lead ammo because of there rifling - not fully supported chambers means kaboom with there .40 models. Own one and enjoy it --- just don't reload for it!
 
Glocks are just very popular and shoot well.
In addition, they are offered in many different calibers.
I've owned a 19 and a 23 and liked each of them.
 
It's simplistic, I know, but my guess is that dealers prefer to sell Glocks because it's easy to sell Glocks.
That's really the crux of it. Most first-time buyers unintentionally put themselves in a bad spot. When they're getting into something new (guns or not), they ask friends and family for opinions first. They assume that anyone who already owns guns must know something about them, and they often arrive at the sales counter with some unsettling preconceptions. That's a whole threat to itself.

So, they ask their peer group. Their brother has a drinking buddy who shoots now and then. He snaps, "get a Glock!" They talk to a guy who used to know a guy who was a cop, and he heard that Glocks are the best thing out there. This is seemingly confirmed by its constant presence in the media.

So, when this person goes to buy his first gun, he's looking for a Glock, whether or not that's the best choice for him. Chances are, some of the salespeople are big fans as well.

That said, I've never felt the Glock was a good choice for a beginner. That trigger is unforgiving of sloppy discipline. The disassembly levers are awkward with weak or small hands. Requiring a pull of the trigger to disassemble (without forcing the user to check the chamber) is an invitation to disaster, as I've personally seen twice.

But, they're light, and as drinkin' buddy says, they hold a lot of shells in the clip. Hard to argue with that.
 
tom servo:
That's really the crux of it. Most first-time buyers unintentionally put themselves in a bad spot. When they're getting into something new (guns or not), they ask friends and family for opinions first. They assume that anyone who already owns guns must know something about them, and they often arrive at the sales counter with some unsettling preconceptions. That's a whole threat to itself.

So, they ask their peer group. Their brother has a drinking buddy who shoots now and then. He snaps, "get a Glock!" They talk to a guy who used to know "a guy who was a cop, and he heard that Glocks are the best thing out there. This is seemingly confirmed by its constant presence in the media.

So, when this person goes to buy his first gun, he's looking for a Glock, whether or not that's the best choice for him. Chances are, some of the salespeople are big fans as well.

That said, I've never felt the Glock was a good choice for a beginner. That trigger is unforgiving of sloppy discipline. The disassembly levers are awkward with weak or small hands. Requiring a pull of the trigger to disassemble (without forcing the user to check the chamber) is an invitation to disaster, as I've personally seen twice.

who better to ask than friends/family.
it's hard to go against the grain where so many folks buy glock's for a reason......simplicity, reliablity and priced right.

btw:
release levers require learning how to use. no different than any other new firearm.
**how many have the scratch from the takedown lever on a 1911 from 1st disasembly.
glock manual says to clear 1st, which is standard verbiage with all firearms.

share the story of what you saw twice.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top