We don't want RUGER guns here!

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Hello TFL - I am somewhat of a lurker here, while I love reading the threads here - I typically do not post much.

But recently something was said to me at my (once) local gun shop that just has me so confused that I want to ask the rest of TFL community if they have ever had this conversation/issue with a firearms re-seller.


I've had a Stainless Steel SR9C on order for 7 weeks now, I put some advanced money on it - and every time I went in to check on the status I would get the "not yet" - 'Charlie is working on it" - "No news yet"

All the while I've seen other SR9C on the shelves of other local and "chain" gun shops here in Southern Idaho.

For the last three weeks I've been bothering Charlie about his lack of ability to secure a gun for me.
He said he could not find one to order.

So last week I brought him in a list of local, state and national dealers who had them, I told him I would pay a reasonable mark up if they would order one and resell it.... he said he has "Over 93 gun distributors searching high and low for me and would not entertain a purchase from a competitor"

I went in on Saturday May 05 and he would not talk to me, he got up went to the back room and apparently out the back door, as I tracked down the owner of the store and plead my case to her - she wanted to make it right and went to go find him out back to figure out what to do, she came back and said he and his car were gone.

I went in Monday May 07 2012 and cornered him along with his boss whi is also the owner of the store and after some very nasty words from Charlie - directed at me , he said "WE DON'T WANT RUGER GUNS IN HERE"

I finally get down to the REAL reason I could not get a SR9C - they refused to find/secure/order my pistol.... then he told the owner to charge me a 35% restocking fee for a gun that was never ordered, said he had to call people and do paper work and that alone justified the surcharge for him to do nothing.

Again more words... the owner was clearly upset, I manage two or three new guns a year from this store along with most of my ammo, magazines etc ... you all know the "stuff you buy" to run your weapons - and have for the last 12 years.

She sided with him but never looked me in the eye when she made her decision. The charge stays.
I told her if this was the road we wanted to travel, she'd never see me or my money again....

When we got to the register she gave me back all of my deposit but told me not to tell Charlie....

She won't have to worry - they'll never see me again -

Always wondered why I have never seen any RUGER firearms in their store, and now I know why.... WE DON'T WANT RUGER GUNS IN HERE!

Have you ever run in to this problem - I realize a store my not want to STOCK cretin manufacturers, but take someone's money and then blatantly do nothing about the order?

Confused and a bit angry.



Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
 
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Never heard that, and as a merchant, you're their boss when you order something in my opinion, and they failed to act professionally towards you

You never agreed to purchase the runaround and inconvenience from them
 
I finally get down to the REAL reason I could not get a SR9C - they refused to find/secure/order my pistol....
then he told the owner to charge me a 35% restocking fee for a gun that was never ordered, said he had
to call people and do paper work and that alone justified the surcharge for him to do nothing.
Click to expand...
You had a clear case of criminal fraud against them right then and there.
The rest was small change compared to that.
...and she knows it.
 
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie!
What else can you say, let him have his sad world and you keep your money.
Better yet spend your money somewhere that doesn't employ Charlie.:p
 
People like that is probably why there are fewer and fewer local gun shops. People want what they want, they don't want somebody to cop an attitude becasue they don't like what you like. So go somewhere else. And yes, I realize there are not a lot of options in many of the towns in southern Idaho, but there are options. If the local guys don't want your business, go to the people who do!
 
Enter the big box stores. They may be uninformed and indifferent but don't usually have an attitude from my experience. I'm fortunate to have several good local gun shops near me.
 
I did forget to add that I did drive directly over to Sportsman's Warehouse who did have three SS-SR9C and will be picking it up in a week.
I even got to see and feel the gun I purchased - HA!



Thank you all for letting me have my what the HECK moment.
 
Charlie is a well you know .. If I’m looking for a new gun I usually go to Gun Broker check the stock call my local gun dealer he gets it within 2 days. I go pay him and pick it up. Painless.. And it is always cheaper than it said online. Two happy Campers. By the way two of the last three were Rugers..
 
I've dealt with rude and uninformed people at gun stores but this is a new one. The real mystery to me is why he took the order in the first place.
 
The real mystery to me is why he took the order in the first place.
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I’m pretty sensitive about paying for something and not getting anything. (Like could end up with charges against me sensitive ) The more the money the more sensitive I get !!
 
I'd never again step foot into that shop.....except maybe to let them know everytime I bought a gun or spendy item somewhere else.

How did they ezplain charging you a "restocking fee" for an item they never had and presumably never left the distributor??
Sounds like fraud, you should be calling the Better Business Bureau.
 
I've always been surprised at the lack of courtesy shown by most and I repeat most of the small shops in my area. Try as I might, it's about impossible to support them. It's unfortunate but they are going the same route as wheelwrights.
 
Wow

I can't believe the owner is afraid of Charlie.I would never go back.He left you hangin and didn't care.I buy my guns at Cabela.s.And Black Sheep.I get the best service from these two places.Glad you found the gun you where looking for.I love Ruger guns.The make a beast of a revolver.
 
Most likely stems from Bill Ruger selling out as far as the 94 AWB goes in order to basically save his Mini 14.

There was quite a lot of hate for this and frankly rightfully so. Ole' Bill is long dead lets move on and place our ire where it belongs........with that damn Smith and Wesson lock. :D:eek:
 
For all the sad and outrageous stories like this that I have heard, I would like to say that there ARE good local gun stores. Shooters Station in Conroe, TX is owned by Dan the Man. Everybody knows him by that name.

Dan loves his business, his many animals and his many, many loyal customers. Dan treats his employees with consideration, kindness and respect. His employees treat his customers with consideration, kindness and respect (see how that works)?

He and his employees are knowledgeable, and focused entirely on satisfying every last customer on every single sale. Dan's business is growing double digits year over year. Gee, I wonder why. I asked Dan once what part of his mis-spent youth got him into the gun business. He told me that his wife told him to stop spending so much money on guns or learn how to make money doing it. So he did. Dan loves guns and he loves people.

Dan runs the gun store everyone wishes was in their neighborhood. I'm lucky he's in mine.
 
Have never heard that about Ruger,i do have a gun shop that almost refuses to order Taurus's.If you order one through them they'll tell you to go through another shop for the warranty work.
 
Well this is an odd story because River side range near Akron Ohio told me the same thing. I needed a part for my .22 Ruger pistol and i was told flat out that they refuse to carry any Ruger products. I was told that. "They started turning out junk" or something around those lines so they no longer carry them. I was kind of miffed about it. All I wanted was a part.
 
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