Supporting local gun shops...

Wishing for cheaper and cheaper consumer goods is what has this country (and many other countries) teetering on the edge of financial disaster while the Chinese are prospering. If you don't understand how economies work, you should find out.
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Gosh...and here I thought that the Chinese industrialists were prospering because they only had to pay "coolie wages" without benefits in deplorable working conditions (dormitory living, food deducted from wages, more than eight hours a day, first weeks wages kept by the company to discourage quitting, etc.)...just like the "good old days" of American robber barons.

Myself, sometimes I support my LG stores (plural), sometimes I buy on the internet.
 
Gun stores sell more than guns.

My state has created the illusion that it is 'illegal' to ship ammunition here so effectively that it would be funny if it were not actually happening.
 
I agree with the statement - "Not all LGS are created equal."

We have two in our small town. One called Lock & Load is a professional price gouger and looks to retire on every sale. I refuse to do business there and my understanding is the shop is struggling. The second is a small operation but the guy really helps his customers and passes along bargains when he can. I usually drop a couple three hundred bucks on reloading components when I stop by. Bought two guns from him and the prices were very reasonable.

Gander Mountain is 45 minutes away. I bought two guns from them and traded for a third. I wait for their stuff to go on sale. They too are over priced and their recent financial woes show that. I think they lost touch with their consumer base and I also think they don't understand retail sales.
 
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Around me, I have a Dick's (worthless after Sandy Hook), Gander (used at retail, new at retail+) and several pawn shops with actual gun departments that make Gander look inexpensive. I'll order guns and supplies online from all sorts of stores, including big-box Academy with free shipping over $25. (For those out West, Academy is very similar to Big 5). Cabela's will run sales, I have their credit card so I get free shipping most of the time. I get the best rates for "stuff" (not guns) from Gamaliel because my club orders truckloads of targets so all those big. boxy, or hazmat stuff gets shipped for free with the targets. Bullets for rifles and handguns? Too many online folks with great pricing, even when factoring in shipping.

Retail is retail, but places like Gander that put finely-tuned pencil against true customer service lose in the end. I look at all of the big chains who started as merely catalogue stores and they are all in serious financial shape. Fancy "Lodges" and high overhead, coupled with inventory carrying costs will kill any retail store, no matter the type of goods. Small stores can't afford to place 50-100K orders to get everything, so they pay higher unit costs to be able to get 1-2 at a time - your sales price will reflect that.
 
I would like to point out that your local gun shop is necessary in order for you to enjoy that rifle or handgun you want to order from the online distributor. You can't get it without a local gun shop!
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Actually not.

Your local pawnshop can conduct transfers – pawnshops for whom gun sales are a small part of their overall business.
 
I know 4 guys who operate out of their home doing nothing but transfers; cheaper than any pawn shop or big box store who want $75/transfer - these guys do it for $20 plus the phone call.
 
I feel your pain. I'm in much larger populated area and have a Bass Pro, Cabelas, Acadamy Sports, Dicks and several small gun stores. Like most people I only buy from the large chains if it's a really good sale. Will order reloading equipment or drive to get it from Cabelas. I also have 3 lgs within a five mile radius. One is crooked and overcharges by at least $200.00 per gun that I can either buy or order at the one that's 200 yards away from it. All specialize in something so one may have cheaper assault type weapons while another has a ton of older revolvers and lever guns. Third is catered to the hunter and carries every optic from cheap to Nightforce and Scmidt and Bender. Guess it depends on your need at the time. It is a shame though for one shop to make $50.00 profit on a firearm and another as stated before trying to retire on each sale. I don't always shoot American made guns but to my knowledge all my stores in vicinity are American owned. Just have to bite the bullet sometimes depending on your needs.
 
Anyone order guns through Walmart? If you know the model # of the gun you want it's a simple transaction. I have purchased two rifles through them and been very happy with the purchase.
 
@flashhole.

walmart will send to a dealer?
I know some walmarts do not sell guns.
I bought a marlin 60 from a walmart but had to drive 20 miles to one that sold guns.. ones near me do not.
 
Anyone order guns through Walmart? If you know the model # of the gun you want it's a simple transaction. I have purchased two rifles through them and been very happy with the purchase.
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The Walmarts where I am keep an Ellett Bros catalog behind the counter. Won't let you order a handgun, but you can order shotguns ans rifles from the catalog for delivery to the store.
 
I never really thought about it until someone mentioned it here, but even online sales support a lot of gun shops. I get transfers done by a part time Dealer. He is mostly a black gun shop, but does not mind doing transfers for your stuff. He does a lot of shows and will keep an eye out for stuff that is more in your line and welcomes consignments. I buy a lot of on line guns and most do come from gun shops somewhere in the country. I like to cruise the net and pick up "Parts guns" and Gunsmith specials. Deals like that do not come up too often in your local shops.
 
My main local shop will order anything you want but doesn't stock guns, he might have 10 on the shelf. He does stock a lot of reloading components and he's handy. I have ordered the last 3 guns thru him, he may be 30.00 higher but I'd like to keep him in business. He isn't the cheapest on components but he's cheaper than the closest BPS or Gander. I also order some stuff, mainly bullets from other sources. If the local guy is a lot higher I'll order from Bud's or whoever.
 
I am very fortunate to have two great local shops near me.

One of them is the largest in the Rochester area ( Beikirchs ), and can come close to matching Buds or other online sources and they have a huge selection on hand.
The other is a great local smith ( Burnt Mill Smithing ) that does wonderful work for me, and can even keep an eye out for me when i am in the hunt for a very specific used firearm. His prices are competitive, and his work is very well regarded.

I only use online sources as a benchmark for pricing, and still prefer to buy 90% of the time from these two local shops.
 
This is a touchy subject, and I do feel somewhat guilty because I have ordered a few guns online. I support my LGS through transfers. In the last year, I have done 7 transfers @ $20 each. I can not afford to pay the prices they charge for guns. My last purchase, my LGS had the exact same firearm for $170 more than I paid online. I'm sorry, but that's big money to me, so they get my business $20 at a time.
 
meh, I don't even do transfers at gun shops most of them are high on those as well.. 40 bucks for a transfer is high way robbery in my book.

anything over 20 is unreasonable I think, and I've noticed a disturbing trend of some wanting to charge "nics fee" now.. even though we know it cost them nothing when pressured most of them will say that's incase you get denied they can walk away with something for their time... still BS imo though.

My guys carries no inventory and just does transfers out of his house, not very professional but he works cheap. :cool:
 
I grew up in a small town with two gunshops within 30 miles. Both the owners were hard to deal with. .Inventory was limited at the closer one and the inventory at the further one was overpriced.

I ended up buying firearms from Walgreen in my hometown before WalMart came along. My BIL was also a class 3 dealer so if I wanted something unusual, I could buy it from him.

I can't remember the last time I bought from an LGS. I'm sure that there are good ones, but I live in the DFW area with plenty of big box competition. And I have Grabagun's retail location 20 mins from my office. I can buy a firearm from then have it shipped to the retail location, no transfer fee, and pick it up at lunch.

LGSs are going the way of a lot of brick and mortar retail locations. It isn't necessarily a bad thing for the consumer.
 
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LGSs are going the way of a lot of brick and mortar retail locations. It isn't necessarily a bad thing for the consumer.
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Until a Bloomberg group or similar gets laws past against interstate sales of guns........

Up until 1968, you could have a mail order gun delivered to your house by your local postman......
 
Thanks for all the replies, gents. I guess part of this has to do with being a "newbie," maybe? I am the type of customer who asks questions (as I said, I'm new to this), some might be and probably are stupid. And I genuinely would prefer to give the guy I can see my money instead of some other guy in Southern State, USA, my credit card number.

As I said, I've been at this hobby for about two years. It's happened that I've walked into a LGS, ready to buy a gun or ammo, and left after feeling like an idiot for asking the difference between 223 and 556, or whether I should buy shot #this or shot #that for pheasants. Another shop in town, when I went in looking for a 243 for deer hunting, the owner asked if I was looking for a gun for my 12-year old daughter (I don't have a daughter).

Compared to that, at the big box store, the kid might answer and the "gun guy" comes in after being called over the PA system, and we chat for a while about the + and - of this shot vs that shot, and this gauge vs that gauge, and trips to South Dakota, and other things, too. And I save 40% on that ammo b/c I didn't buy it from the guy who called me a "kitty cat that starts with p" for wanting 243. I guess, as the first gentleman said, that I don't understand economies.

Good point about being able to handle/inspect/shoulder the firearm. I must admit to not considering it that much...I just assumed that, if I shot my buddy's Ruger GP or S&W Model 686 or Big Boy or BLR or whatever, that (assuming the model I shot one is in current production) the one I got online would be close enough. Given the expense of some of the guns I'm looking at, and the state sales tax here, the cheap transfer fee and 20-35% discount is a considerable savings.
 
Around here, there are some pure gunshops; and then there are pawnshops that more or less also happen to have a strong suit in the buy-sell-trade-guns game; and then there are gun-shows. These three are the the mainstream of the second-hand gun market as well as new firearms. Flip the coin, and you have your sporting-goods stores like Sportsmans Warehouse or Fishermans Marine that might occasionally have a few pre-owned firearms, but mainly deal in new guns. Then there are the big box stores that have a sporting goods section with some firearms, only new, mind you, and not likely any handguns, but Bi-Mart has added them. If I were purchasing a firearm, I expect it would come from one of two pure gunshops that I have had good encounters with, or, anything can happen at a gunshow. Not all gunshops are equal; some are excellent, others, not so much.
 
Carmike, nobody was ever born an expert in anything.

My grandfather had a saying, "If you don't know, ask." Works for me. :)

I began shooting my grandfather's .22 rifle in 1941. Began reloading for centerfire in 1950. That doesn't make me any kind of know-everything guru, though.

I still ask questions.
 
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