Shopping around isn't quite the same thing as going to a dealership where you know you won't buy, taking up their time, doing test drives on their cars , etc. and then when you've figured out what you want, buying the car from a dealer who keeps prices low by not allowing test drives, not having a large stock on hand, etc.
Let's consider the "services" I provide to gun stores:
1. I pay my own gas, wear and tear on my car to make a special trip to a gun store to consider buying product that they have sitting in their cabinets.
2. I take time out of my day and put money in my pocket to consider giving that money to a business that doesn't know me from Adam.
3. If the staff of the gun store was courteous and helpful, or think I was offered a really "fair deal" (not looking for a steal here), I give the store invaluable free testimonials and advertisements on forums like this one.
Looking at a gun behind a glass case is not equivalent to test driving. Even handling the gun, without working the action isn't equivalent to test driving. Now, if the gun shop hands me 10 rounds of ammo and lets me shoot the gun at their range to try it out -
that's the equivalent to test driving.
What I'm hearing here is an "expectation", no perhaps some kind of "entitlement" to a customer buying a gun store's product without price shopping. That is the difference, in my opinion, between a lot of gun shops and other successful retail businesses. Does anyone remember Circuit City? Circuit City also thought that, because they offer premium service, that they could charge premium prices. They sold the same stuff as Walmart, Best Buy, and various internet sources. But, their prices were consistently stupid. Stupid prices for stupid people. The problem is, there aren't that many stupid people with discretionary money to spend on any regular basis; and a large number of "stupid people" don't stay stupid forever....they just might be a little slow, but they'll eventually make it to the party.