Gun shop frustration...

T

Te Anau

New member
In my years of dealing with gun shops,I have only found two shops that had decent,friendly and helpful people working behind the counter.All others were staffed by backwoods, arrogant know-it-all types that made me want to puke.Today I took four guns in to put on consignment at a local shop and left with four guns.After being talked down to about how little they were worth,I told the guy that's fine and I would sell them on my own.Here's what I had hoped to sell.
1.Cobra Patriot .45acp,as new (reliable and shoots like a dream)
2.Hi-Point Comp 9,as new (never had a single problem,super accurate)
3.FEG PA-63 9X18,excellent (not shot much but works fine)
4.Turkish Mauser 8mm,good condition (not shot much but works fine)

Now I'm well aware that these are ordinary Joe guns and weren't terribly expensive when new or surplus-ed.This gun store however, has the typical shelves of overpriced used guns that you would have to be insane to pay the asking price for.My guns would have been the most reasonably priced stuff on their shelves but they couldn't be bothered.I'm willing to help stock their shelves and pay them to do it and they basically tell me to kiss off.I swear I don't know how the vast majority of gun stores stay in business. :mad:
 
First - nothing there is worth much - sorry, sad but true

Second - if you expect to trade those at their retail value, what do you expect the gun store owner to do with them?

He is going to give you about half of retail so ha can cover his costs - if you do not get that, then you do not understand basic business

BTW, nothing on those shelves is overpriced if folks are buying.....just because YOU can't afford his wares does not mean they are overpriced
 
Don't beat yourself up over it. I honestly don't remember ever selling a rifle or pistol for more than I paid for it, and I've sold some really nice guns (and hate myself for it). I will admit to selling a few that were prone to problems, and I got more than they were worth, but still not more than I paid. I think that the trick to beating that system is to take the middleman out and go direct to whoever wants a specific gun, if you can find that person.

These days I'm happy to say that I do have a few guns that I could sell for more than I paid, but that's more because Colt doesn't make them anymore than it is because I might be a genius. :D
 
oneounceload said:
Second - if you expect to trade those at their retail value, what do you expect the gun store owner to do with them?
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Not to belabor the obvious, but the OP clearly stated that he carried these guns in as consignments. He didn't say anything about trading them, and there's no problem with what he expects the store owner to do with them: tell people they are for sale for $___ and pass along any offers.
 
Not to belabor the obvious, but the OP clearly stated that he carried these guns in as consignments. He didn't say anything about trading them, and there's no problem with what he expects the store owner to do with them: tell people they are for sale for $___ and pass along any offers.
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Perhaps, but that's not the whole story. Any well-stocked gun store isn't going to want to use up valuable retail space for low-end and over priced goods, whether consignment or not. If the OP wanted unrealistically high prices then the shop would have declined the business, that's perfectly reasonable, just hope they did so politely.
 
Sorry to tell you, but this is what happens when folks waste their money on cheap guns. They may well function just fine, but they are almost worthless when it comes resale time.

The store is there to make money. By the time they go to the trouble to do all the paperwork involved, sell the guns, and give you your cut, it is simply not worth their time.
 
If that gun shop's high prices or their variety of guns doesn't bring in a lot of customer traffic then it's understandable that they're selective about which guns that it will accept for consignment.
That's unfortunate for the customers who would prefer to patronize a gun shop with a full range of services including being able to consign a wider variety of guns.
But the shop's decision should be viewed as their loss and not the OP's.
The OP should try to find a shop that better suits his needs and expectations of full service.
The friendly shop here charges 15% or $30 on consigned guns, whichever is greater. They turnover a lot of guns and have a lot of customer traffic that returns often to check out what's new.
Higher volume gun shops that have lower prices need to sell a lot of guns because that's how they manage to pay their workers and their overhead expenses.
They don't mind selling an old .22 rifle for $100 that's been consigned to them because they need a certain number of sales per day just to break even.
The business models that these 2 shops are based on are totally different from each other.
 
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BrittB said:
How much were you hoping to get for those? The FEG perks my interest a bit.
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If a transaction ensues from this post it will be taken to email, PM or The Gun Show, but it will not continue in a discussion forum.
 
"All others were staffed by backwoods, arrogant know-it-all types that made me want to puke."

Really? All of them?
 
You can not buy a gun back for the retail price and sell it for the retail price and hope to stay in business.....

A gun shop owner may have a lease, energy bills, paychecks to write, ect.
He has to make a profit.

Most folks will buy a gun back for not over 75% of the current market price of the used gun.
 
Only a naive person (or someone who does not care about money) would try to sell his guns through a retail dealer. If you want what they are worth, sell them on someplace like Gunbroker. The retailer is in business to make money for himself, not you.
 
Sorry to tell you, but this is what happens when folks waste their money on cheap guns. They may well function just fine, but they are almost worthless when it comes resale time.
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Ditto that. If I were a dealer, I'd be reluctant to even take in used cheap guns, like Hi-Point. Could have problems, and then I have a genuinely dissatisfied customer over something that probably won't even sell for $100.

My recommendation is to sell your guns at a gunshow. PRICE THEM TO SELL. That means if you have a used Hi-Point 9mm in used, but good condition - walk around with a price of $60 - $70 on it and someone will buy it - might want to ask to see the guy's license. Price other guns accordingly.

I've always sold anything I take to a gun show - basically break even for what I paid for it, but they were not dime-a-dozen guns either. Good quality guns, on the rare occasion I sell one, I sell over the internet or use for trade. I never take a loss on quality firearms (if I thought I would, I just keep them anyway), and once in a blue moon will actually make quite a bit of money on one of them - those are rare occasions.
 
In Jacksonville, I can name three shops with excellent staff:

Shooters
JAX Guns & Gold
Green Acres Sporting Goods

I have had nothing but good experiences with them.

Then, theres the Academy Sports near my house. They even insist on you opening up any box of ammo you buy and inspect it before walking out.
 
Not to belabor the obvious, but the OP clearly stated that he carried these guns in as consignments. He didn't say anything about trading them, and there's no problem with what he expects the store owner to do with them: tell people they are for sale for $___ and pass along any offers.
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Sorry but a gun shop owner does not have the time or space to play games with overpriced cheap, junk guns - consignment or not - if I walk in to put guns on consignment and I tell the owner I want basically retail price for used guns, no gun shop is going to waste their time with this stuff
 
Sorry but a gun shop owner does not have the time or space to play games with overpriced cheap, junk guns - consignment or not - if I walk in to put guns on consignment and I tell the owner I want basically retail price for used guns, no gun shop is going to waste their time with this stuff
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The other side of the coin is that you shouldn't have to take in a museum quality Garand signed by Patton in order for them to give you the time of day.I sold a number of inexpensive guns at one of my two mentioned "good" shops and all they ever asked was the $$$ I hoped to get.If an offer came in they called me.This store stood to make around $140.00 in consignment fees on my guns.Four background checks X 5 minutes and an additional 100 minutes of them showing my guns to various people before they were sold equals $70.00 an hour.That's plenty!!! And the rifles sit out where anyone can look at them without help from behind the counter!

Not to belabor the obvious, but the OP clearly stated that he carried these guns in as consignments. He didn't say anything about trading them, and there's no problem with what he expects the store owner to do with them: tell people they are for sale for $___ and pass along any offers.
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BINGO!!! Aguila Blanca,you are my hero! :p

Perhaps, but that's not the whole story. Any well-stocked gun store isn't going to want to use up valuable retail space for low-end and over priced goods, whether consignment or not. If the OP wanted unrealistically high prices then the shop would have declined the business, that's perfectly reasonable, just hope they did so politely.
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They didn't,and I was asking fair street prices for my guns.They had ample space on the shelves for my handguns.Two are already probably sold to friends.When I return to pick up my new handgun after the stupid 3 day waiting period I intend to mention my non-existent excellent condition 3rd gen.Glock 19 and claim that I would like to put it on consignment for $225.00 just to see what they say.
 
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Just for giggles, I asked my local shop (my favorite... I know all of the guys, and they know me) what they'd give me for a brand new in the box Glock 21SF with four magazines and night sites... The offer: $350. I'd be an idiot to take that, but then again, I learned long ago that selling/ trading to any gun shop pretty much makes an idiot out of me. The few guns I've ever sold, I've sold online. Just about every time I've sold online, I either broke even or made money.

It is impossible for a seller and a gunshop to make a profit. I don't see the point in even trying to sell used (or new) guns to a shop.
 
It is impossible for a seller and a gunshop to make a profit. I don't see the point in even trying to sell used (or new) guns to a shop.
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Do you know what "consignment" means? The OP asked the shop to sell these guns on consignment. He didn't ask them to buy them, or to take them as trade-ins.
 
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