Overpaying to Support LGS?

My LGS will often match any prices from brick and mortar stores in the area. Most of the time they already beat them handily with regards to price and service.
I do very little shopping on the interweb, because I believe in supporting my local small businesses as much as possible.
I like to know the name of the people I do business with, and appreciate it when they know mine.
 
I have a LGS here that gives a 5% military discount. Although that is not a whole lot, it has gotten my loyalty and about $3K in business last year. During ammo shortages they did not price gouge and always had a stash under the counter for the regular customers. I personally like to support the local guy unless he becomes ridiculous with his prices.
 
I buy from both LGS and box stores. Many times the LGS is cheaper, but a lot of times, especially ammo, they are not. And I'm all for those who want to support their local stores, but I hardly think that I'm saving a business/local economy from going out of business by buying a $15 box of ammo. Its supply and demand and if people are willing to pay 15% more today then that drives the price up to 20% before too long and prices keep rising. Its basic capital market strategy.

I for one live by that model that you try to get the most for the least amount of money, its how all big businesses made it where they are. Paying a little more if it makes you feel good is perfectly OK in my book, theres nothing wrong with it, its your money you worked for. But I also owe it to myself to make my dollar that i worked for go as far as I can make it go. The more i save the more i can spend on something else.

And a big assumption is made that the LGS are all stand up guys and deserve your business. Uh, no. Some think you owe it to them to buy from them and some of them are no more knowledgeable than the staff at the big box stores (just because i have ARs for sale doesnt mean i know anything about them..been there) And some of the people at the big stores ARE knowledgeable, it depends on the store. The online stores IMHO are only helping the prices stay competitive. It forces other stores to keep their prices in check, and if you cant stay competitive, then oh well, not my problem. My money is more important to me than it is to any business, small or large. I go where I get the most for my money.
 
I buy from the cheapest I can find. With the way gun stores have gouged prices, held back inventories of gun parts like AR uppers and lowers so that the only way you can buy one is to have them build a complete gun for you starting at 2100$. It's this kind of business tactic that have turned me away from LGS's. I still buy from them if they can get what I want for a price I will pay.
I have supported LGS’s for many years including the one I worked in for over 20.
Gun stores used to be like the hardware stores of the 60’s. You knew them and they knew you. So many gun stores have opened up around the city I live in over the past 10 years and there isn’t one now that cares or wants to know your name other than for the paper work.
Its all product turn around and make money. It also shows in the quality of people working in most of them.
Not the brightest. Like last fall buying a Nagant,,, paper work done and the guy put and called in the wrong serial number.:rolleyes:
 
Wow, I'm glad the local shops around here aren't like the ones some of you guys have.
I've never had these issues with any of the smaller shops in my region.
 
There's a place up the road that I will buy some things from once in a while. They are high on guns... not quite so bad on some things. I noticed that their reloading components (powders and primers only) are mostly in line with gun show prices if not a little high. I'll pay that markup to support them though. They're stupid high on ammo but I reload so no skin off my back. Only ammo I'm planning on buying is some match .308 to group in my son's rifle (don't reload .308 right now). I also buy cleaning supplies there, although it's a little more expensive than Walmart. That's my one "I'll just pay it because it supports them and it's only a few bucks more" purchase along with reloading stuff. I bought a gun there once (got my boy an CMMG AR there during the Sandy Hook scare right before prices got stupid), but they are WAY high and typically don't haggle. I recently saw a base model Kahr CW9 there for $430.00, and that's the least they would take. That was pretty high considering I can get one 50 bucks cheaper after shipping and transfer fees off of Gunbroker. I'll order online thank you.

I don't know what their transfer fees are. I use my old LGS from my hometown for that. It's only a 45 minute drive and I like to visit, so I reserve them to be my transfer store. I usually buy some odds and ends while I'm there there, and honestly I like them much better just because I've known the guys there a long time. I just can't drive close to an hour just to pick up a couple of things when I can drive 10 minutes and pay a few dollars more.

Some bigger purchases, like a gun or major accessory, I will buy online or at a big box store at the cheapest price. I consider many online vendors (Graffs, Brownells, MidwayUSA) to be businesses worthy of my support. I would rather shoot black powder rounds out of homemade BP using a crappy piece of cast lead out of a piece of pump pipe than to ever spend another dime at CTD.com. Capitalism be darned, the level of extortion I saw there after the Sandy Hook run put a bad taste in my mouth (Pmags that were 11 bucks in the morning being marked up to 60 that afternoon).
 
Tom there is nothing wrong with making money. But visiting gun stores around here most have turned in to a used car lot. Or like another city in IN the gun store owner did commercials and the last thing he said on the commercial was "I don't want to make money,,, I just want to sell guns!":rolleyes:
Back 20 years ago people working in LGS knew what they were selling and went out of there way to help people.
Around here what I used to consider LGS have all become and treat customers like the big stores.
 
I consider my local gun shop on par with a Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom, the service is that good. Sure plenty of online stores have excellent customer service but at the end of the day, face to face wins out for me. Also, if I have any problems with something I buy from the store, they either replace it or act as a go between with the company; handling shipping, receiving and whatever PITA may occur in the process. As far as how much more I'm willing to pay, here are a few items I picked up lately...

Benchmade Mini Grip - $89.99 online, $100.00 in store

Streamlight TLR3 - $68.95 online, $85.00 in store

M&P 9 Magazines - $32.99 online, $38.99 online

So, around $32 "overpaid" by buying local. If you factor in what I would have paid for shipping, I'd probably be more like $15.

I also pick up my self defense ammo from them but since there is no shipping involved, its much cheaper to buy a few 20 round boxes of Gold dot or whatever locally. I'm going in today to check out the new BX trigger for my beloved 10/22 (which I also bought from them at a mark up) and possibly get some night sites put on the ol' EDC.
 
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One thing I do that would help suport the lgs is when I go in and look around if I dont find a firearm or scope that catches my eye I will pick up something just to be buying it like a pack of targets or can of pepper spray . Just something to give them business instead of just looking around and leaving . As far as common type firearms , ammo , cleaning suplies I get them from the big box .
 
Back 20 years ago people working in LGS knew what they were selling and went out of there way to help people.
Click to expand...
Actually, let's look back at that. 20 years ago, most retailers got MSRP. Those were sustainable markups.

Nowadays, everybody has to compete with internet retailers who sell at pennies over wholesale. In many cases, something's gotta give if a brick-and-mortar retailer has to meet those prices. Successful ones supplement their income with other services (which people also try to haggle down), but they have to focus on efficiency to some point. It might be nice to have an atmosphere in which the same five guys hang out at the counter all day telling hunting stories, but that doesn't pay the bills.
 
The only big box store I have purchased a firearm in the last 10 years has been Sportsman Warehouse. I look over the inventory at other places (Academy, Bass Pro and so forth), but seldom get very serious about buying.

For the most part, the decision to buy is often based on "who has it" within a reasonable price range. I have never purchased from the online gun dealers unless it is a collectable and will likely continue that practice. The only non-collectable exception that I can think of is something I simply can't find locally and eventually deciding to buy online. Some of the DA 22 revolvers might fall into that camp, as well as the Ruger Alaskan in 480 Ruger IF I ever see a new production one. I try to support the local gunshops, and often the purchases are accessory items. I know the markup is higher on them.
 
Big stores arent always bad. The new Cabela's here gave well over 100 jobs to local people. And it brings in customers from hours away. Good stimulant for the the local economy if you ask me. If a lgs closes thats just a few jobs, but if the bigger stores leave then thats 100s of jobs.
 
I usually take a laissez faire and capitalistic approach to buying goods and services, and I won't buy from a business just to 'support it'. Usually.

About X months ago (I am going to change these facts to protect identities, but the story, at its core, is true), I took a $25,000 gun to a gun smith to 'support the business', because I know him personally. The gunsmith then precedes to take a hammer and torch to my very expensive gun, thereby damaging it in his attempt to do work on it. I was horrified and sent it to an expert, who is a renowned expert on this type of very expensive gun, to repair the repair job. The expert asked of me, 'what the hell happened to this gun?'. I made up a story about dropping it down a flight of stairs, and he said, 'no, it's been purposely mangled'. It took about $2000, but the gun is fine again.

That's the last time 'support a business'.
 
I buy from my my LGS just to "suppot" it. but being a repeat customer and on a first name basis has helped out a lot, especially during the "panic". they held back a couple SKS mags for me(40$ compared to the 90$ on GB/GA), some ammos(9mm HPR, pricey, but all I could find). about 3 weeks ago, I went in asking for a good bi-pod, sold me an equalizer 2, marked at 109$ for 70$ because he knew I wouldn't pay 100$.

but, I do get taken on guns a bt, usually ends up costing me about 20$ more than it would if I got it transferred to them from bud's. that 20$ pays for the service of them returning to the factory if I have any problems, the big box stores will explicitly not do that for, they specifically say "this gun cannot be brought back to the store, any problems contact manufacturer" so that's it, I don't buy all my guns from there, last thing I got was rossi 357mag 20" SS m92. it was 530$ OTD, which was a bit high, but they ordered it, and it was exactly what I specified.

they are good folks, and if I needed something, they would get it for me. if I needed to sell something in a pinch(I would never do that at a gun store) but they would be fair. there are gun stores around here full of blank holes that get NO business from me, even though they have nice ranges and even they are cheaper than my regs.
 
I am willing to pay a little more to buy from a LGS because I like being able to talk directly to the seller, I like being able to see and inspect the exact gun I am buying, I enjoy their advice, if there is a problem I will not have to ship a return and I enjoy going into the lgs to look around and see whats new and what they have used, if I need gunsmith work they are right there.
There are numerous advantages to dealing with a lgs that I enjoy.
 
LGS in my area are few. A hardware store and a GS that specialized mostly in archery. A couple big boxes too. That is it. I do the internet myself and have them shipped to my FFL who is a pawn shop. $10 and no TAX. sadly that is the future.
 
I owned a sporting good store from 1970 until 1986. Sold mostly guns, ammo and shooting / hunting accessories, but also some fishing equipment and general sporting goods. I used to buy Mitchell 300 Reels at EJ Korvettes as their sale prices were better then my wholesale prices even with my inside discounts. Most of the customers that supported me, knew that they would get a fair deal and good service, but there was no internet in those days and very few really big sporting good shops except for some of the distributors like Parker, who also had retail operations.

I still like to be able to get in the car and go get something I need and without some of the local shops, I would be hard pressed to do that, so I do try to support them within reason. If not, they will not be around. Of three in my area, one charges $100.00 for a transfer, one $60.00 and one $35.00 for the first gun and $10.00 for any additions at that time or within 30 days.

He is my first go-to local gun shop.

Bob
 
I'm cheap. Buying a gun is all about condition and price. It's not like I need any more guns, and I'm not about to overpay for a gun just to try and keep someone in business.

My "ideal gunstore" would be in an industrial area of town in an old warehouse where rent is less than $5/square foot that advertises they will beat any price on the internet by 5%. I always figured that if I opened a gunstore, that's where I would put it and focus most of my business on internet sales. My goal would be to have the largest inventory of used guns around and beat anyone's price on new or used guns to where people would drive for hours just to see what kind of deal they can find in my warehouse. Move my inventory as fast as I could just so the guy who comes in browsing knows that gun they want...it won't be there next time. No BS...just guns.

Unrealistic? Probably, but that would be my business model....if it could work.
 
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