Support your local gun shop until

[SEM]

Call your internet store and ask them to open a stuck bolt with a live round on board,.... I do buy from both local and internet shops, And I do realize being a small business owner myself dealing with all that is said above is getting worse not better. I can not and do not try to compete with a company that makes it's profits from shear volume rather than personal knowledge and way better smile ( I am considered a grump quite often)....... A lot of small shops get their tires kicked and realize that the customer just came in for free knowledge touch and feel and will go buy somewhere else. Has anyone ever asked you to work for less than your worth ??

Rant over....

 

[Ernest T]

I have quite a few well stocked gun stores locally and most will dicker with you if you let them know you can find it much cheaper on the internet, but are interested in buying locally. I don't demand internet prices, but after adding shipping, hazmat fees and a little extra we can usually agree on price. My biggest issue is their stocking level, they often don't have what I want in stock. There are a couple places that seem to be run by curmudgeons and I wouldn't set foot in their place if they had a 50% discount.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I have quite a few well stocked gun stores locally and most will dicker with you if you let them know you can find it much cheaper on the internet, but are interested in buying locally. I don't demand internet prices, but after adding shipping, hazmat fees and a little extra we can usually agree on price. My biggest issue is their stocking level, they often don't have what I want in stock. There are a couple places that seem to be run by curmudgeons and I wouldn't set foot in their place if they had a 50% discount.

You reckon its the “ridin with biden” bumper sticker on your prius that makes em a curmudgeon?

 

[Retired shooter]

I'm not sure I get it. So if you'd just told the nice young men "On learning the price, that's just unreasonably expensive, but thanks anyway" you'd have felt remorse for yourself, and sorrow for them?
-

The only remorse I am feeling is that I did not ask the price when I called. ( I usually do.) I had checked the online price, knew what it was. Figured it's just a buffer tube cant be that much difference. . Had to go to town anyway. As I said getting older but still learning. Sorry for them, no more of bend me over.

 

[jackieschmidt]

As to the OP’s first post, I think we need to differentiate between a Gun Store, which sells shooting supply’s and parts, and a Gunsmith Shop, which actually works on firearms on premis.

 

[Retired shooter]

I believe that the days of finding a good gunsmith actually working out of a gun store are rapidly coming to an end. There are a few of the really good gun stores that not only sell parts, ammo, accessories, reloading supplies, that type of stuff, and have even a mediocre gunsmith in the back shop.

I remember yrs. ago the really good Smith's all worked out of their own business, kept a few of the parts they needed on a regular basis. Those were the good ole days.

I have a neighbor that shoots competition, was telling me about a farmer western Ks, was a Smith. Said he would never have a rifle built by a farmer.Word of mouth was reason enough for the neighbor to check this guy out. Drove about 2 hrs to meet the guy. Nothing out there but house and big barn.
Inside the barn was a air conditioned, heated, clean as a hospital surgical room, just as well lighted, separate building, complete with all the latest machinery, and gun building tools. The gunsmith also had a 1 mile plus range that he tests all of his builds, and repairs .

Did not intend to write a book , just saying for better or worse times are a changing.

 

[Charlie-NY]

H1000 on Hodgdon's website is $56 and some change, plus tax, shipping and Hazmat....$60 on the shelf is a bargain!

Hodgdon's website is one of the highest price retailers on the net, IMO anyway. I'm guessing that they have some sort of agreement with their wholesalers/retailers to NOT be competitive. I'm kind of surprised that they are so poorly stocked with their own products.

I have bought powder there when I was desperate but have found much better sources on the internet.

 

[Tesoro]

If you are LGS owner and happen to live by a good body of water, then convert it to a fishing tackle shop and your problems will be over.

Example If anyone dosent get it :

Deer season is on and an out of towner comes in and says "man, I didnt see even one buck today" and the owner says " justin smith just showed me a pic of a 5 point stud he just shot on blackberry mountain yesterday'. The customer says "what did he shoot it with?" and the owner replies "a 7mag". The customer then says "you have any 7 mag rifles for sale?"

Thats is atleast the tackle shop story in my little town!

 

[Jester560]

I will gladly pay a premium to buy local. Once the big stores and internet have killed all the small businesses, they will be able to do anything they want to and we will be stuck with it.

 

[Tesoro]

I will gladly pay a premium to buy local. Once the big stores and internet have killed all the small businesses, they will be able to do anything they want to and we will be stuck with it.

Sadly it is called e-commerce. We cant stop it because we are price driven consumers. Thats why we buy tomatoes that look like them but have no flavor. Why we buy meats that are injected with 10% salt water to make them appear to be a good buy. and the list goes on.

 

[Jester560]

Sadly it is called e-commerce. We cant stop it because we are price driven consumers. Thats why we buy tomatoes that look like them but have no flavor. Why we buy meats that are injected with 10% salt water to make them appear to be a good buy. and the list goes on.

You, Sir, are correct

 

[shortgrass]

The small gunshop of yesteryear is about gone. He finds himself behind the 8 ball, for sure these days. If he is located inside of the city limits, the taxes are killing him, right along with all of the other things 'required' by the city or town. If he owns the building he has property taxes,,, state, county and city. If he's renting his store front, he has that monthly expense. He had the utilities and building up-keep, none of which is getting any lower in cost. His insurance bill isn't going down, either. To top it all off, his supply of goods he'd like to stock is not reliable and sporadic at best. Soon, it's no longer the small local gun shop anymore. If he's selling hazmat on-line, he needs the certifications from the carrier he uses. I checked into that when obummer was in office, it ain't cheap! You'd have to sell a lot of hazmat to cover the cost. Anyone who thinks it doesn't take much to run a "brick n mortar" needs to give it a try! The on-line retailers have FedEx/UPS tracks stopping a couple of times a day for pick-ups of merchandise that's sold and paid for. With selections that need a warehouse to stock what they sell, sales go on 'round the clock. A "brick n mortar" has to be a large enough, and diverse business, selling across the counter and on-line to survive these days. One man shops are all but gone. They can not compete price wise or in availability with the 'big guys'.

 

[3Sigma]

I am willing to pay more (to a point) when local businesses are willing to hold inventory but often times they are not. They say they can order it. So can I.

This mindset isn't exclusive to LGS. Any local powers port dealer ( motorcycle, ATV, etc.) feeds me this same BS when shopping for new helmets.

I want to try it on, and I'll pay extra for the privilege. Otherwise I'll get it 20% cheaper online.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Until they hose you.

 

[ronsatspokane]

I must say, having said what I said earlier in the thread, that the two primary non-corporate LGS's I frequent treat me very well. Both are pawn shops. One is exclusively guns, the other is everything but has a new and used gun inventory that exceeds the corporate outlets like Sportsman Warehouse and even Cabela's. The corporate outlets are the ones that usually don't care about the customer in my experience.

 

[quadracer]

The small gunshop of yesteryear is about gone.

If not through e-commerce then through legislation. Oregon measure 114 will surely finish the rest in my home state.

 

[ben lurkin]

Well, on a happier note, I was in the LGS Friday afternoon and lo and behold, they had some BR4 primers in stock. $8.49 per 100 so they aren’t gouging like most everywhere else is; or at least not as much! Anyway, I walked out with the last 500 he had. Never thought I would live to see the day when I would pay that for primers and actually feel like I got a reasonable deal. About a month ago they had CCI 450s for $5.49 a tray. Was able to pick up 10 of them.

I do like to shop locally as well but won’t put up with getting completely bent over a barrel. If it’s too high I just buy where it is cheaper. I don’t argue, tell them it’s such and such a price; I just move on.

 

[acloco]

Part of our quandry, do we buy NOW or wait? We have watched the rise and fall of prices and availability in our passion. Not one of us, has ever guessed right, every time.

There was a time, not that long ago, where a person could have sold all of the AR's and bought a new pickup. Now, it is primers. ...and Powder.

So, put 150 watt bulb in that crystal ball, and tell me what to do? I Don't Know. ARGH!!!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Part of our quandry, do we buy NOW or wait? We have watched the rise and fall of prices and availability in our passion. Not one of us, has ever guessed right, every time.

There was a time, not that long ago, where a person could have sold all of the AR's and bought a new pickup. Now, it is primers. ...and Powder.

So, put 150 watt bulb in that crystal ball, and tell me what to do? I Don't Know. ARGH!!!

Ar rifles will be a black market only item soon. Good thing ive never needed one.

 

[Stephen Plumb]

Just for some context, here in South Africa we have an outlet called Safari and Outdoor. They are the closest thing we have to cabelas, but obviously a fraction of the size. I was chatting to a local reloading outfit that imports around 10-12 Dillons a month. They support the product well and are sort of, the non-exclusive agents, but Safari orders around 350 presses at a time, for all their stores and enjoys much larger discounts so can sell the products at a better rate. I like and support both stores, but the little guy cannot compete with the big guy, and it is not that he is price gouging, but he simply does not enjoy the same bulk discount.

We have a large muslim community here, and typically they are excellent retailers. One of the secrets to their success is that they centralise their buying power, and will get together in groups to order large quantities, at better rates. Whether it is bicycles, fishing equipment or gunpowder, they tend to get very good pricing.

The fact is that the local gun store does not have the sophistication or power of a buyer from Cabelas or Amazon or Walmart, that will pretty much dictate terms and pricing to their suppliers.

I think the OP would be better off sharing his feelings with the small local gunshop and see if they can give some feedback. Most of them work on a pretty fixed markup and holding stock and expertise is something that the online retailers do not bother with.

I personally hate supporting online stores, as I like to touch and feel stuff before buying, and the thought of checking it at a local store, and then trying to buy it online for a small savings is deeply unethical to me. As a very new reloader, I am learning huge amounts of info from the staff at the my local stores. That knowledge is of high value to me.