Online vs In Store

[adam42]

Have bought several both ways over the years. If the final price taking everything into account is about equal than I will go with the local store, but by the same token if the online store if that much cheaper I would go online. Part of my problem is there isn't a local store with a good selection to choose from.

[Guest carter]

i just bought from gunbroker last week... think i bid on it on monday...sent out my money order nextday on tuesday, got my gun on friday, i'm sure all transactions arent that smooth, mine came from austin tx... but it was a good deal... 600 doller gun for 400 plus shipping plus transfer i was still under 500 for it... but gunbroker has a lot of retail prices...some above retail, buds usually has good deals...and they have free shipping...so that helps out a lot on the deal...all u really have to pay is the transfer fee...

[cptdean]

GB is all about the seller. I went through at least a half-dozen guns last year from GB (sold a few, too) and didn't have the first problem. Just check the seller feedback, look for $25 shipping (or less) instead of the "buyer pays actual shipping costs" and you'll probably do just fine. No Reserve listings are the most fun.

[Major Kong]

I was shopping for a Kimber Ultra Carry a couple years back and knew exactly what I wanted and had handled this gun multiple times at gun shows. I lived in Knoxville at the time and one gun shop with a range would never give me the time of day when I went in to look and potentially buy. To even get a gun out of the case from them was about like pulling teeth. Some times when I would go in I would never get a hello or anything and would spend 45 minutes to an hour looking at guns through the case without an acknowledgement from the staff.

What Knoxville gun store could you possibly be talking about? I will not even step foot in their store, even though they're less than 5 miles from my house.

[Guest Octo]

I support a particular local business. Beyond that, I will do business with whomever is reputable and has fair prices.

[Guest carter]

i could really care less...i buy it where i get the best deal...i have my usual FFL transfer...use them all the time... so i add everything up...if it's cheaper for me to by in a store i will do it...if its cheaper online i will go that route... makes no since what so ever to spend more money when you can save... just like i can get brand new glocks for 399... why am i going to go to a store and pay 500-600 and upwards plus the high TN sales tax? i don’t care if i have 10 million dollars in the bank I’m not doing it just to pay a local stores bills...sorry its not an ethical decision

Edited February 26, 2011 by carter

[Guest Sprowse]

i could really care less...i buy it where i get the best deal...i have my usual FFL transfer...use them all the time... so i add everything up...if it's cheaper for me to by in a store i will do it...if its cheaper online i will go that route... makes no since what so ever to spend more money when you can save... just like i can get brand new glocks for 399... why am i going to go to a store and pay 500-600 and upwards plus the high TN sales tax? i don’t care if i have 10 million dollars in the bank I’m not doing it just to pay a local stores bills...sorry its not an ethical decision

I'm dying to know where you're getting Glocks for $400.

In my opinion, local gun stores serve a purpose. They provide a large amount of inventory that I can touch, hold and inspect. I can see if it fits my hand and feels good. I can inspect the quality of the actual firearm I intent to buy. For that service, I'm willing to pay a few extra dollars to buy in the store. It's not about "paying their bills", it's about paying for a service.

[SonnyCrockett]

i prefer online,no hassles no personalities .......

but have bought in store as well....honestly in memphis our stores

are slim pickings...the place on summer is awful ,the range is great to buy from I bought a few there,

arms fair I just ordered my first one from these last week(nice folks ill have to see how it goes)

Gun shops need to be user friendly for me to buy,that goes for any shop weather im buying a

dishwasher or a 357 magnum,some of these gun shops are staffed with moron rednecks with

horrible cust service skills - so I dont lay my hard earned money down with these guys,if it works for

you GREAT.......Life for me is about the experience,you give poor service I dont come back but you give great service I am a fan for life - take my money please

Edited February 26, 2011 by SonnyCrockett

[Guest carter]

I'm dying to know where you're getting Glocks for $400.

In my opinion, local gun stores serve a purpose. They provide a large amount of inventory that I can touch, hold and inspect. I can see if it fits my hand and feels good. I can inspect the quality of the actual firearm I intent to buy. For that service, I'm willing to pay a few extra dollars to buy in the store. It's not about "paying their bills", it's about paying for a service.

i can get them from a lot of places...mainly directly from glock in Ga. I get the Homeland Security discount which many of the people around here don't even honor, case and point, i was looking for a .22 tactical rifle, I wanted the GSG-5... i went to out post armory, they had i think 4, the SD version i wanted was 675, i went home and read a msg board, they mentioned a website, they had them for 489... so i bought from them and saved, its one thing to save a few dollars and not really worth your time to do it, another thing to get raped, ANOTHER eample, went to a local pawn shop here in Murfreesboro (not Murfreesboro Pawn he's usually decent on price) they had a Sig SP2022 and i have been looking at them since i use to have one and really want it back (not the same one of course) i remember i payed like 450 for mine a few years ago at a gun shop near walmart on charlotte which is no longer there, they had 665 on the price tag...I'm like well dang they went up, so i come home and search on Bud's, guess what they have them for $394... free shipping and no tax... where would you buy at? NOT THE LOCAL SHOP! and further more Buds DOES have a store front and are a brick and mortor. if it's only like 20-25 bucks extra including tax at a local store ok i might do that but not HUNDREDS!

[Guest Michael.G]

ive been thinking about ordering a taurus pt745 for a few weeks now. Buds has them for 354, free shipping. just pay 20 dollar transaction fee and 10 for the background check. I went to the gun show today and all of the ones i seen was over 370 +tax. so that was a no go. stopped by a local gun shop today and he beat what the final buds price was going to be. After tax+background check I've only got 364.87 into a new Taurus pt745. My hats off to the little man !

[shoota40]

i buy local anytime i can if the price is close 20-30 bucks and it is usually or less. its just good to keep business local if u can. if something was a great sale (50+ total price) or something i just couldnt get local then id order online.

[Guest Michael.G]

the owner of the store is a really good guy. He said anything else I was going to order to stop by and see him first. I've been in there before several times but just window shopping.

[Dolomite_supafly]

As far as those who think there is no tax on internet purchases, there is. It is called a use tax and is the same rate as sales tax. It is required to be paid anytime a purchase is made from outside of the state. Most do not pay but it is law and is supposed to be paid.

Sales and Use Tax

Use Tax - The use tax is the counterpart to the sales tax. It is applied when merchandise (tangible personal property) is purchased from outside the state of Tennessee and imported into the state for use or consumption. The 45 states that impose a sales tax also levy a use tax

Use Tax - same as the sales tax rate

And they have recently changed the laws that if an online retailer has a brick and mortar store within the state you must pay sales tax even if you order from outside of the state. I have noticed a few places I order from now have some sort of brick and mortar locatoins in the state. But despite how hard I try I can't seem to find an address for them.

Uh... 'cause it's a condition of the license?

When I first got out of the military I was getting everything together for a home based FFL. My intentions were to purchase firearms for the FFL then "sell" them to me. In speaking with a regional agent I was told it was illegal to intentionally use an FFL to increase a personal collection. At that point I gave up on it.

Dolomite

[Guest carter]

WANT THE GOOD AND BAD PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING!!!!!!!!!!

Heres my 2 cents for what its worth.

In the long run i'd prefer buyers just coming in and checking out what we have in stock or letting us get what they need. We guarantee and warranty everything we sell. I think we have competitive prices, and actually will beat any other area brick and mortar store. I strive too have courteous customer service and a staff thats knowledgeable. Im a little guy thats been here almost 20 years. I have seen bigger larger stores come and go. So far im blessed I have survived so long. Im totally convinced that if the public continues to turn their backs on small buissiness and the mom and pop places they will be like the dinosaurs in the not too distant future. So im all about putting money back into the community where you live, work, and vote. Because if you dont what will happen then?

We do transfers for $25 plus the tics which makes it $35 total. Were glad and very happy to do them because we sell tons of stuff on the net ourselves. Including in that service is faxing/emailing our FFL to your dealer and making sure he gets it. All we ask is you stay in contact with us and the seller and prefer you get a tracking number from them so you know when the gun arrives. We dont open the packaging until your here to pick it up, that way it insures in your mind we didnt ... scratch, drop, or swap your gun. You can only imagine some of the guns we have gotten in and their conditions.

We see tons of transfers. Most of them run smooth as silk, however we have seen our share of issue as well. One in particular involved the gun being stolen when we ran the tics check, then the customer was completely "out" of pocket and had to sue the seller to recoup his funds. That took over a year after it was all said and done and had several Govt agencys involved including ATF.

The latest involves one were dealing with now. Customer ordered the gun, we faxed our FFL and the package came in, we opened it in front of the customer, and low and behold they shipped him the wrong gun... and it was a complete piece of ****. They sent his gun to a dealer in Alaska. Right now were going into the 4th week and were trying to help the customer all we can but our hands are just about tied. We shipped the gun that was shipped to us back, but still haven't seen his gun yet. To make matters worse I have about $15 in phone charges involved into talking to dealers in Ohio and Alaska now for the past month. So in this particular instance its been a nightmare. Btw, the original difference in cost of this seller buying the gun online vs from us was $23.... so ask yourself, is it worth it?

in that case no its not worth it... like i said if its less than 30 bucks than in a retail store i would DEFINITELY by local, example... I was looking at a judge PD stainless... the shop had it marked for 540 i think... i checked right in front of him on the internet on my phone what buds was selling them for, it was a little over 100 dollers cheaper...i asked him if they would come close to that price out the door he said no im sorry we can't i said ok thanks for your time... i never ended up buying one...but in any case that's what is killing the local business, he could of had a sale, but i understand if they have more tied up in the firearm its not ethical for them to drop the price, i talked to a guy in GA where i bought a poilice trade in S&W 4006, he said they are killing him on glocks cause everyone says they can get them cheaper... i told him i get a DHS discount and can get them for 397 and come cents, he said he can't even buy them for that price from what ever distributer he uses... Internet transfers are another thing...lol i use to use a Pawn shop here in murfreesboro...think he charged $30 total, but he has an issue sending his FFL to certin people that don't have a store front...thats his choice, i would still use him but seems like pulling teeth to get what u need sent out

[Dolomite_supafly]

in that case no its not worth it... like i said if its less than 30 bucks than in a retail store i would DEFINITELY by local, example... I was looking at a judge PD stainless... the shop had it marked for 540 i think... i checked right in front of him on the internet on my phone what buds was selling them for, it was a little over 100 dollers cheaper...i asked him if they would come close to that price out the door he said no im sorry we can't i said ok thanks for your time... i never ended up buying one...but in any case that's what is killing the local business, he could of had a sale, but i understand if they have more tied up in the firearm its not ethical for them to drop the price, i talked to a guy in GA where i bought a poilice trade in S&W 4006, he said they are killing him on glocks cause everyone says they can get them cheaper... i told him i get a DHS discount and can get them for 397 and come cents, he said he can't even buy them for that price from what ever distributer he uses... Internet transfers are another thing...lol i use to use a Pawn shop here in murfreesboro...think he charged $30 total, but he has an issue sending his FFL to certin people that don't have a store front...thats his choice, i would still use him but seems like pulling teeth to get what u need sent out

He needs to contact Glock about becomeing a LE dealer. Otherwise he is at the mercy of his distributor who more than likely does get the LE dealer discount.

Dolomite

[Guest bullseye717]

Online is where I would prefer, but if the local stores were a little more reasonable, I'd love to buy from them.

[dlm37015]

glock sells glocks through its wholesalers for a price controled by them glock models like 17,19,22,and 23 at about 445.00 at wholesale to stocking dealers .

once or two times a year .with that said the cheapest place i know to get one is sling point firearms in lexington ky they sell them at gunshows for 469.99 .

the discount for homeland security or law enforcement is the 11%exise tax thats not anything glock or anyother mfg give you it law but its is to be bought with a letter head from you dept .i go by the old adage i will sell you something at a fair profit and give you good custmer service i myself dont buy mush online no reason just dont do would rather do buisness with folks i know i have bought guns from most every dealer around here thats just me .i have found that no matter what you have someone will have it for less just my 2 cents worth

[Guest gladman]

It all depends on the price difference. If the local shop has the gun I want for $20 more (after figuring in all taxes/shipping and fees), I'd still buy local. I buy guns online that I can't find in a store (especially used guns) or that are way cheaper.

[RobertNashville]

When buying a firearm, I only buy from a local vendor or a private person...I've never and never plan to buy a firearm just "online". However, when it comes to accessories like ammo, holsters, scopes, etc...I'll buy from 1) whoever has it and 2) whoever hast it at the best overall price but I still try to give preference to my local gun shop. Generally if I don't buy from them it's only because they don't have what I'm looking for.

[luvmyberetta]

I prefer to buy local, but seem to find a lot better deals online. I purchased two pistols online in the past two weeks and saved over $400 between just those two purchases compared to the price the local shop quoted (on the exact same pistols). I just don't have the money to burn at a local shop when I can get it so much cheaper else where. I got one from Bud's and one from a private online dealer. Bud's has some of the best deals I've ever seen on pistols, new or used. Some people don't like the idea of buying out of town, but I saved enough money on those two purchases, to buy a good supply of ammo or even a third pistol. That's a huge deal!