Why buy firearms locally? Cheaper online..

[mosin]

To hell with my LGSs is all I gotta say with regards to my city. Ordinarily I support local business but not when they are actively trying to screw you over.

 

[Rangerscott]

Yall are lucky on your local stores. Here, theyre pretty much all over priced.

 

[HillRider]

I was just getting ready to support a local gun shop on a particular rifle because I though I saw the price tag last week that showed a comparable price to an internet site. I asked the manager how much today and it was at least two hundred dollars more. When I mentioned you could get it way cheaper online, he basically said I was a liar. So **** him, I'm going online.

 

[Shooter74]

I have bought from both internet and locally. Just depends on the better deal. I do like being able to physically put my hands on a gun at a local store though.


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[h8ns8n]

online seems to be where i find the best prices

 

[TAVM]

Pros and cons for both. Online is cheaper, but fack I hate buying something and waiting up to two weeks for them to send it out (Buds) and then another week for transit.

Most of the local places can't touch some of the online prices. Can't figure that one out. But the local gun shops also have smiths...that's something that can be valuable at times. Durys has the lifetime warranty on their guns too, new or used.

 

[Shooter74]

I hate the wait times from online sales also but when my purchased item does come in its at a shooting range. So it gives me an excuse to shoot my other toys.


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[heymak]

I actually checked out a pistol at a LGS went home to think about it and found that LGS had an online shop. The same pistol was cheaper online. I bought it and picked it up at the LGS.


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[mroper]

I buy from a sporting goods store because of the discount my wife get from working there. It overrides any interwebz discount. Before that I have bought both ways

 

[tXfactor]

several LGS near me beat online prices after you factor in shipping and FFL transfer. plus, i like to support local economy.

i also don't really like buying used guns online.

 

[specter77]

Thus far with only a few exceptions I have always bought either locally or at a gunshow that was semi-local. I like handling the firearm that I plan on buying and there have been a number of times that I went to buy a firearm and changed my mind and either bought another gun or non at all. I also like supporting local businesses.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Sad thing is with the interwebz generation local gunshops will soon go the way of Blockbuster, newpapers and so on. I would love to support locally but I will give my money to the lowest bidder as long as they keep me happy as a customer.

So who would be left to actually do the FFL transfer?

The way I see it, this industry still has some major problems on both sides. There are those that are stuck in the past, who lack much of the business and customer service acumen the modern consumer now demands in this day and age. When you are in an industry and especially a geographical area where you might effectively have a monopoly on the market with very little competition, it's easy to get lazy, simply not care, and to become downright hostile to your customer base. There are plenty of these businesses that are still in business for the single reason that they are the only option in their particular area. Eventually, those types will breed themselves out of this industry, but I wouldn't hold my breath. They tend to be persistent and survivors.

On the flip side, one of the downsides with the easy and expansive E-commerce now available in this industry is that many consumers have become obsessed with the penny and with instant gratification to the point of probably hurting their local economy. I understand being price conscious and saving money. I price shop a bit too, as I'm not made of money either, but there's a certain point where I draw the line and just go local (as long as there's not an outrageous price difference). I remember a few years ago helping a customer find a handgun. I probably spent 20-30min talking to the guy, because he seemed really interested and I wanted to make sure he found something that would work for him and he'd be happy with. While we were talking he looked up prices on his phone, saw that we were ~$10-15 higher than another store on the opposite side of town, he left and drove across to the other side of Austin and made his purchase at another store. Later on he came back in to shoot at the range, and relayed all of this to us to rub it in our faces. Over $20 or less... Funny, considering he probably paid that price difference in gas to drive across Austin and back.

I have worked the retail side as well as the wholesale side. I've helped new gun stores open. I've also helped small independent individuals try to get their gun retail businesses off the ground. After all that I've seen, I never really care to own a gun store. Talk about working a thankless job, with a not so insignificant percentage of customer base which will not give you their business over a mere $20, with products of extremely low profit margins, and entire groups of millions of people which look at your business with utter contempt and would actively try to put you out of business based on ill-informed assumptions backed by complete fallacies (gun control nuts). No thanks. Those that are able to do it and survive such an aggressive and predatory market have my respect.

 

[XinTX]

For a few years I lived in a small town outside Birmingham, AL. LGS there was pretty small. Good guy ran it. I bought several guns through him (I wish I'd never traded away that .444 Marling). He had great customer service and decent prices. Just a few miles from where I lived. But here, there's only one LGS I'd consider "local", and they have so-so customer service, and their prices are OVER MSRP. I will likely never buy a firearm from there.

 

[TAVM]

I just don't understand why BUD'S TAKES two fucking weeks to send a rifle that they have in stock to an FFL they have on file having been paid two weeks prior. I just don't get it.

 

[tXfactor]

So order from someone else if you don't like it.

 

[Southpaw]

I just don't understand why BUD'S TAKES two fucking weeks to send a rifle that they have in stock to an FFL they have on file having been paid two weeks prior. I just don't get it.

Amount of orders to be processed exceeds the ability and amount of workers on hand that perform that task.

There's a math equation in there somewhere. LOL!!

 

[TAVM]

That was venting guys. I understand the workload equation. It's just annoying is all. But I am already receiving a firearm today from another online gun retailer that I ordered after I made the order with Bud's...and I'm still waiting on Bud's to even ship. I probably going to go through a local shop that I found out would try and price match everything for me. See how that goes in the future.

 

[tXfactor]

What did you expect when you choose the lowest bidder?

 

[TAVM]

Really? It seems like you're trolling because you're bored. The second vendor that I ordered from and will be receiving from today was in fact less expensive [than buds] for a duplicate firearm.

What I expect, is for things to flow smoothly and efficiently no matter what the price is. That's what everyone should expect. Good customer service, efficient delivery and processing, and support after the sale. No?

 

[tXfactor]

You (probably) paid $0.00 for shipping from Buds, and expect them to overnight it? I'm really confused here.