Overpaying to Support LGS?

Absolutely not. There's nothing wrong with price shopping as long as you are comparing apples to apples. This is about using services from business X where one isn't going to buy in order to facilitate a purchase from business Y that keeps its prices low by not offering the services that the shopper felt he/she needed to take advantage of at business X.

This is really simple in spite of all the rationalization and strawment posited in at attempt to muddy the water.

If you don't use or want the services that LGS's provide then it doesn't make sense to pay their prices.

If you DO use/want the services that LGS's provide then it makes sense to pay LGS prices.

That doesn't mean blindly paying any price any LGS asks, but it does mean comparing apples to apples--comparing LGS prices to other LGS prices, not comparing LGS prices to prices charged by businesses that don't provide the services that LGS's do.
Click to expand...

I am sorry but having a gun behind the counter for sale does not equal a service. It is the part of their business model. IF they are smart it is only part of their business model. If it is their business model they will not survive very long in todays market.

What you see as a "service" is nothing more than the traditional retail "push" model. It is not the "interweb" or not having a local retail location that makes the "newer" gun stores more price efficient it is the fact they use a "pull" or just in time inventory model. The avg LGS has to bring in inventory for you to look at because they don't know any other way to sell things. They are dinosaurs in terms of the rest of the retail world. You call that a "service" I call it their necessity because that is all they got.

I will use Bud's as an example. They are about 1.5 hours up the road from me. They have a huge internet presence but also have a retail store. They hold a fair amount of inventory in the store at the same prices you find on their site. If its not instock they pull it from the distributor to the store for you to pick up. They use both approaches in order to satisfy different types of customers and serve a larger geographic area something any LGS store could do but few understand.

Look at people like Top Gun Supply, PSA etc... They get it. They do both as a result they are rewarded by the market. Nothing but the vision and desire to do it prevents any LGS from doing the same.

The failure of most of the LGS I have encountered is that they do not know how to run a store using any other method other than the "push" model. They are not tuned into enough about the trends that are actually moving and the inventory reflects it. They also lack the marketing and sales knowledge which is needed to create markets within their local markets.

They do not leverage the internet, social media or hobbyist board like this one. They simply sit in their store "pull" inventory in and try to push it out. I can go to the 5 or so LGS in my small town every week and see 90% of the same inventory sitting on the shelves week after week. The majority never moves.
 
If you want to know the truth, all of those folks on gunbroker posting pictures of their guns and permitting gunbroker to publish auction end results is far more of a service to me than any piece of hardware in sitting behind a glass counter.
 
I am sorry but having a gun behind the counter for sale does not equal a service.
Click to expand...
Simply having a gun in stock isn't a service. Allowing people to view/handle/examine guns they don't own is a service.
It is the part of their business model.
Click to expand...
The fact that something is part of a business model doesn't mean it's not a service. Service of various types is a huge part of the typical restaurant's business model, for example. The fact that service is part of the typical restaurant's business model doesn't mean that it's not service anymore.

Your points about the various types of gun selling business models are more or less accurate, however there is still room for the "old style" gun shops because many people simply aren't interested in buying any other way.
 
Which raises another interesting point(s). When I buy firearms from a gunshop I almost always request a NIB model from storage--there's no telling how many times the display model has been goofed with--let alone possibly fired.The shop will almost always tell me it's the only one they have, is brand new etc. All the problem guns I've ever had have been demo purchases. I've gone back to a shop later in the day to discover that a new display gun has magically appeared to replace the one I bought even when I was told the one I bought was the only one they had. I bought a rifle once that had a filthy bore from a store that obviously been fired--the store said no way--a call to the manufacturer and they said no way a gun ships without going through clean and prep. I've had shop owners gladly show and let me handle someone else's FFL transfer--something I did very gingerly, almost reluctantly, I know I sure wouldn't want my paid-for-in-advance gun which the store has nothing into handled by others.
 
If I go to a shop to handle a gun with no intention to buy it I go to my local Dunham's. The employees there could care less if you buy it so there is no pressure. There is also no chance of me buying from them since their prices are outrageous. That rarely happens though because 90% of my purchases are spur of the moment items that I couldn't pass up the price on gunbroker.
 
How did this thread make 5 pages? :confused:

If you like your LGS, the service they provide, and feel they offer a good value then support them, if not then don't. Its that simple.

Unfortunately a lot of the gun stores around my area (twin cities) suck, they are very rude or lack any knowledge of guns and accessories. The rest of them are OK but nothing exceptional. Personally I don't worry about their success.
 
I bought a rifle once that had a filthy bore from a store that obviously been fired--the store said no way--a call to the manufacturer and they said no way a gun ships without going through clean and prep
Click to expand...
What else would you expect the manufacturer to SAY?
It doesn't mean it really happened that way

I've heard of rifles being shipped that were never even chambered
 
I will support local business to the degree of $5 but thats about it. If I can save more than that and I dont absolutely need it "right now", I will get it elsewhere.
 
I've bought a good number of guns from Austin's main LGS over the years, but not any in the last four or five.

For one thing, the vast majority of the guns I've bought during that time have been out of production, and their selection of used guns is garbage. For another, there's just no value added to make the higher prices worth paying. If the owner provided at least decent customer service (and didn't mostly hire stereotypical gun store blowhards who don't know enough to come in out of the rain), then I might spend more money there on the occasions that I'm looking for a gun they would have. The ammo prices are absurd, so I basically only go there for cleaning supplies. I did buy a safe from them a few years ago, but only because they were offering a sale on any and all safes that made the total cost the lowest I could find.
 
I see on this thread that "Overpaying to Support LGS" has somehow been confused with "Overpaying to support a business with crappy service and rude employees."

I don't think the two questions are the same thing. If fact, I think the original question is flawed in a way.
I choose to spend my money at a few smaller area shops because they offer great service and personal attention that exceeds the big box stores in the area. Most of the times the prices at these local shops is better or competitive with the large franchise stores. When it is a bit higher, I consider the difference a fair trade for the better service. I do not consider this to be "overpaying" and will gladly pay the premium to support good, local businesses.

There are area shops that do not provide good service or have outrageous pricing, and I usually choose not to shop at those.

I order things over the net only as a last resort when I cannot find it locally.

This is not only firearms related items, it is my general theology of commerce
 
I think you have to imagine a situation without local gun stores. Big box like Dicks or Walmart can stop selling certain models not because of the law but because of pressure. The government can use regulatory power to make online sales difficult.

I thing it is worth it to overpay by maybe $200 in the year if you have a bit of means to contribute to keeping a business viable . In fact if you consider the subtle tangibles and intangibles most of that is to your benefit.

Small retailers don't have the same economies of scale big box or many net sellers have, so if something is 5%or even 20% more it is not like they are banking more money.

I am a cheap shopper for lots of things, but given your own practical access to your long term civil liberties is to some degree in play, in this case I think buyers ought to make an exception when able
 
Last edited:
I'd pay slightly more if available at a LGS....

However, most "gun guys" that hang around gun stores and some of the workers have attitudes or an arrogance that I don't like...

I'd rather go to academy, fill out the paperwork and leave with my product without much conversation...
 
I think I know who you mean. Just go up or down the street to Central Market or Whole Foods and buy some fine cheese.
Click to expand...

That'd be the place.

Mmmm. I could go for some Manchego Viejo right now. Central Market for me, though. A few short blocks from my house and less overrun with tech-besotted "new Austin" yupsters.
 
Small retailers don't have the same economies of scale big box or many net sellers have, so if something is 5%or even 20% more it is not like they are banking more money.
Click to expand...

They may not be banking more money, but I am not making more money either. I really don't care how much they are making. I am concerned about how much it is costing - me!

The lgs knows they can't compete on price, but I don't see them doing anything special for me either to add value to the deal.
 
Last edited:
For gun and accessory (targets, magazines, ammo, etc.) prices, the local sporting goods stores I've visited were in line with or better than Walmart and Gander Mt. My favorite store went out of business a few years ago. They provided great customer service and I did my best to give them my business when I could. They were a couple miles from a GM. They never had many customers in there while the GM was always full of people buying stuff.

I buy my black powder shooting supplies from Dixie Gun Works. They are a locally-owned gun store in my area. They are also a well-known, mail-order company. It's nice to walk in, place your order, wait a couple minutes for them to bring it out, pay, and leave.

The word "local" is relative. If you live in Arkansas, Walmart is "local".
 
However, most "gun guys" that hang around gun stores and some of the workers have attitudes or an arrogance that I don't like...
Click to expand...
That's called real life, and can be seen everywhere you look
 
Exactly, and I can choose to spend my money elsewhere...

But the gun community has a special kind of blowhard type personality that other parts of society doesn't. I also try to avoid shooting ranges as well.
 
I buy what I can when I can from LGS.
Before the internet I had 10% of the available options I have now.
Seems like a good round number. They get about 10% of my business.

My guy charges $20 for a transfer. I don't consider that cheap.
Its usually for a gun he did not have and I usually buy ammo or maybe a scope mount install from him. If I am not going in his place he does not have a chance to sell me any thing.
Traffic is the key.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top