Is your Gun Store Overpricing Things?

Does Your Gun Store Price Gouge?

  • Yes

    Votes: 42 56.8%

  • No

    Votes: 32 43.2%
  • Total voters
    74
  • Poll closed .
Shopping around different distributors can save you more than "pennies."
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I agree, and very often, a lot more.

"Capitalism?" Sure, some of you may make that claim, but as far as I'm concerned it's taking advantage of a bad situation to line one's own pockets.
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We had a good bit of that around here the last time too, and its still going on at a couple of places.

Its a vicious, and self propagating cycle too I think. A bit of deceit and greed on one end, and lack of planing and knowledge on the other.
 
I understand supply and demand and all, but why would I pay double at the shops who raised their prices almost overnight, when another a little farther away, didnt raise them at all?
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A retailer has to price his merchandise based on what his next reorder costs will be, which is why you see gas go up quickly when prices rise and fall slowly.

If your guy buys a gun for 100 and sells it for 125, but is told the next time the gun will cost him 110, he needs to raise his price on his current inventory so he has enough built in to cover that reorder point and keep his margin the same.
 
A retailer has to price his merchandise based on what his next reorder costs will be, which is why you see gas go up quickly when prices rise and fall slowly.

If your guy buys a gun for 100 and sells it for 125, but is told the next time the gun will cost him 110, he needs to raise his price on his current inventory so he has enough built in to cover that reorder point and keep his margin the same.
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I understand that, and dont have a problem with that.

Its when you see the prices on the existing stock jump (I personally saw it too, with new labels over old), and they try and tell you crap you know not to be true (some of us deal with this all the time, and have been for a long time), its pretty obvious they are trying, and actually are, taking advantage.
 
And then YOU have a choice - to buy or not; therefore, there is no gouging. You either willingly pay his ASKING price (and everything is negotiable), or you don't and walk away. In either case, there is no gouging.
I worked in a small retail store, and I also owned one for a while, and sometimes prices go up quickly, depending on the commodity. At that retail store, we were changing prices both up and down daily as vendor prices on reorders came in - that's reality. Gas price go up - freight charges start getting adders and that gets passed on - etc., etc., etc.
 
Not necessarily. I heard my share of bitching and complaining, and the "G" word, from those who begrudgingly paid for what they wanted/needed. They did pay, but obviously, they werent happy about it.

A lot of people around here, only shop at one place, because thats where they have always shopped, and their dad always shopped. Its not just guns either, boots, clothing, etc,. Its like its tradition or something. :rolleyes:

They act like Im crazy when I tell them you can save a lot of money online, if you shop around. Then again, I aint from here, so what do I know. :)

Hey, if youre not smart enough to plan ahead for those times things might get tight, you get to pay out the butt for things, if you can even find them (can you believe people were dumb enough to pay $100 for a brick of .22's! :rolleyes:).

The other thing you see a lot of around here is, a "box" of ammo, is usually 20 rounds. The boxes I get, if and when I buy factory, normally have a 1000. Maybe its perspective, eh.
 
I definitely see some over pricing in my local shops. One of the local ranges also buys and sells used guns, and they want $375 for a used Bersa BP9cc, which I can get NIB from Bud's for $330 or so, plus $15 FFL. The box stores, of course, are outrageous. The only local store that carried the PT111 G2 when I bought mine was a box store, and they wanted $320. I got mine from PSA for $199. The pawn shops around here ask high prices for their used inventory, but they are willing to negotiate, at least.
 
The pawn shops around here ask high prices for their used inventory, but they are willing to negotiate, at least.
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Of course they ask high - it's a lot easier to drop a price than it is to raise it in the middle of a negotiation. Just before the end of the year, you should be able to get good deals at pawn shops. many folks pawn things to buy presents and the shops want to clear out inventory as many states tax them on inventory in the store at year's end. Those guys also want their end of year bonus.
 
I don't shoot as much as I used to, so I pick up a lot of powder and primers at the local shop. It probably is a little more. I really do not check. I try to stay out of crap holes like WALMART and Cabela's. If it seems a little high priced, I leave it there. I try to throw a little business towards the "Little guys".
 
When I went to buy my GP 100, this year, I went to 7 GS's in the Nashville area.
The best price, even after their fee to ck my record, they were $125 or more than
Buds in KY. I went to the same stores to price my wife's LCR 357 with similar results.

As for ammo, the stores were 50 to 60 % higher. I get this. I'm in buisness too.
But, I also compete with the online companies. The GS's here don't!!! One of the GS owner said to me that the people here are too rich and too lazy to shop online. I shut my mouth, thanked him, and never came back.

So, I buy my guns on line and unless I need 25 or 50 quick rounds, go online
and buy them at a decent price.

Doc
 
Last week the local guys won my business. Today it was the internet guys. They're trying to make a living. They have a different overhead structure than the cyber only and cyber combo stores.

I don't mind anyone trying to get a higher price. If it's unreasonable then I'll look elsewhere.
 
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I think a lot of gun stores ramp up prices based on demand, but some are criminally panic selling. I used to live in NY, and during the period where they were raiding and forcefully shutting down gun stores unconstitutionally, a specific store who was the flagship dealer in Nassau County was selling Bushmaster A2 type standard .223 AR15s, was charging $1600-1800. They eventually were revealed to the local gun community for their scum bag selling tactics, but they got away with a lot of it. They also got $5 million dollars of tax payer money in a law suit from the county, which in my opinion is disgusting that they would take money out of the pockets of Americans for being inconvenienced for 2 months after the raping they did of their customers.

Anyway, I have a seller on gunbroker.com, who is gouging like I have never seen, and when I asked about it, he flew off the handle and called me a coward and 100 other names. Check this out, how this for gouging?

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/596599183
 
Prices in my area vary. Ammunition is normally a decent amount cheaper at Walmart than any LGS, but guns are usually much cheaper at any LGS than Walmart or Dunham's (the only two big box retailers anywhere close). I personally shop online for pretty much everything gun related. If I had an LGS that was even somewhat competitive with online prices I would throw them a purchase every once in a while but none of them are. Out the door price on an average firearm between buying online plus shipping and transfer and buying from local shops is almost always at least 30% higher if purchased locally. Excluding big box stores, I would say that the difference in ammunition prices even including shipping still comes out closer to 40% cheaper online if I wait for deals. Does this mean that my local shops are overpricing inventory? I don't know, but I see no reason to hurt my financial situation to help someone else's.
 
I don't walk through life looking for ways to feel victimized.
I get to choose.
Might an LGS have prices just too high? Sure!! Have you walked into a "Hardwood,woodworker,hardware store",???.

We can always find a store that charges way too much,or so it seems.Price a hot dog at a baseball game or popcorn at a movie theatre.
You certainly can do Netflix and Orville Redenbacher at home.

I have options.Online shopping is one.But I do try to buy local.My last handgun,I walked into my LGS.I asked what can you order me one for?They gave me a price.It was a few dollars more than I could have found it elsewhere..but it was in the ballpark.I said "Lets do it!" If it had been $100 more,I'd have passed.
I do get other advantages from my LGS.

The form of "gouging" that infuriates my,is from fellow gun people.
I had a conversation with the gun clerk at WalMart the other day.The hoarder/shelf cleaner/resellers,that know when to check the shelves for .22 stock,then cell phone the friends,and clean off the shelves.

They are no different than people who would buy all the inventory off the grocery store shelves before a hurricane,then charge a mother $40 for a gallon of milk for her kids.
When they buy it all,they take the opportunity for a fair price from all of us.
 
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They eventually were revealed to the local gun community for their scum bag selling tactics, but they got away with a lot of it. They also got $5 million dollars of tax payer money in a law suit from the county, which in my opinion is disgusting that they would take money out of the pockets of Americans for being inconvenienced for 2 months after the raping they did of their customers.
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They didn't "rape" anyone at all. NO one was FORCED to buy from them; any one who did, did so willingly; stop the "BS woe is me, I got ripped off" - because you didn't. :rolleyes:
 
I like Sportsman's Warehouse. It's not as cheap as online, but the prices are easily fair.

Another local shop was pushing the high end of reasonable.

Pawn shops are all over the place. I think one used an old bluebook until a younger employee pointed them towards Google, so they had some absurdly low prices for a while. They are still quite reasonable, though. Other ones ask MSRP plus a few hundred bucks.

I just moved, and the new local gunshop is nuts.
$35 Tapco AK mags, which should be closer to $10 or less on sale.
$26.95 Blackhawk .50 cal ammo cans.
$56.95 bricks of "cheap" .22
$375 LCP II's. I know brick and mortar stores have bills, but come on.

And then everything still has almost 10% sales tax.

I forgot to ask them how much transfers are, but I'm not sure it's worth asking, let alone giving them business.
 
My family and I were at a Gander Mountain in Florida two years ago en route to Disney; Gainesville, maybe. While we were shopping for items we forgot to pack I took a gander at the gun counters. Wow, prices right at MSRP.

On a side note, I bought a floppy hat and later found the exact same hat at a Disney gift shop for less. So... even Disney was cheaper than this Gander Mountain.
 
It is the nature of our economic system that people can, and will, charge the prices that they want.

It's called capitalism.

If people are willing to pay the price that is being asked, it's not gouging. It's the market doing what the market does.

If people aren't willing to pay the price that is being asked, then the item goes unsold until either the price is dropped, or the market brings prices up to the asking point.

No one is holding a gun to anyone's head and FORCING them to purchase anything.
 
I get a kick out of people that complain about brick and mortar prices compared to some online prices. I work in a shop that is always being accused of the prices being too high when they have absolutely no idea what the mark up is. The store marks up new guns 14%-20% depending on the gun. Accessories, ammo included, is marked up 25%. Take away 2% for CC fees and 3% commission and nobody is getting rich.

Used guns are a bit different. Prices an most are similar to what you would see on completed auctions on Gunbroker. This allows room to move if someone is looking for a better deal.

I remember about a year and a half ago when Sportsman Supply had about 250 Sig P938s they were auctioning. I don't think even one of them went for more than $500. At about the same time Gunbuyer was selling P938s for $499. Dealer cost is considerably more than that and there was no way for the store I'm at to compete. We stopped selling them new because people thought the store was somehow pulling a fast one on them if the gun was priced at normal mark up.
 
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