Remington's response to Walmart specific guns

[Dolomite_supafly]

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[TD=class: text, bgcolor: #C6D3BA] Response Via Email (Jennifer)[/TD]

[TD=class: text, bgcolor: #C6D3BA, align: right]01/05/2012 04:49 PM[/TD]

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[TD=class: text, colspan: 2]The firearms sold in Walmart are identical to the one's sold in other gun dealer locations. Some of the bigger chain stores will do special runs with different stock options or accessories but there are no changes that would keep you from using aftermarket parts on them for that model.[/TD]

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I emailed them in response to the rampant rumors that Walmart sell different or inferior guns from Remington.

Dolomite

[Mike.357]

Obviously a lie from them.

[Garufa]

Wal-Mart only sells factory seconds made in China, regardless of what Remington says. It's a well known fact....it's all over the internet. I've even heard it on this very forum.

[141FE]

Wal-Mart only sells factory seconds made in China, regardless of what Remington says. It's a well known fact....it's all over the internet. I've even heard it on this very forum.

Really?

How about a link or two? Surely if it's all over the internet it must be true.

[Defender]

Good to hear. But I think sometimes some manufacturers DO sell some guns to certain store chains that are different than their standard fare. I was speaking to a Taurus customer service guy in Miami once and I asked him about a model they had in Sports Academy...this guy right away told me that that model sold in Academy was the "California" model, and to stay away from it. Looking at it online I didnt see that there were more than one version of it.

[Mike.357]

I always though california models mean they had substandard sized mags

[willis68]

Does anyone know if Wally World can order from Remington's catalog, IE special orders?

I have asked my daughter who works there to find out but she has yet to do it. I sure as hell hope so and if they start selling decent Handguns I will need to buy a new safe!

[Mr. Brooks]

Really?

How about a link or two? Surely if it's all over the internet it must be true.

You may have missed the sarcasm.

[Caster]

Well, I don't know what the gun industry does but I know for a fact the the Michelin tire you buy at Walmart and Sam's Club IS NOT the same Michelin you buy at a Michelin retail outlet. I would not use the word "factory seconds" but they are substandard to the regular Michelin line. Reason? Michelin makes the best tires money can buy, no one can argue that. They chew up the road and spit out the miles, but thy are expensive. One of the few times you get what you pay for. BUT, Walmart won't pay wholesale prices Michelin demands. Michelin builds a lower grade tire to keep a very comfortable Walmart contract. They are not junk mind you, but they are inferior to the pureblood line you buy in a Michelin outlet retailer.

Likewise Goodyear does this. There are entire lines of Goodyear tires that money cannot buy from anywhere but Wally/Sam's.

As far as guns go, I have no proof but I would NOT be surprised to see such things as an 870 with cheaper wood or something similar. NOT junk or seconds, but they cut corners where they can get away with it. The reason is simple, when the marketing juggernaut know as Walmart offers you a contract, there is no negotiating and no company in their right mind would turn it down.

I remember several years ago talking to an FFL dealer about a base model 870. Walmart was selling them for pennies more than his wholesale cost was. I asked him this could be and said it's simple. When I order from my distributor, I can get a few dollars worth discount if I buy 4 or 5. Well, when Walmart contracts for several thousand to distribute to all their stores...............

BTW, I hate you walmart!

[Steelharp]

Well, after coming back and reading the following post, # 11... yeah, I can see...

Edited January 6, 2012 by Steelharp
changed mind

[Jonnin]

The response says as much, the stocks may be different, IE cheaper, on some models of some guns by under some contracts. Sounds like exactly what people are saying --- well not the extreme made in china comments --- but that some of the walmart guns were made by cutting corners somewhere along the way. Which is fine, no one is buying at walmart to get a gun with a $500 engraved hardwood stock in the first place. But to say the response is not weasel words for "yea, we do special runs with low grade stocks and take off some of the accessories" is to delude yourself.

[Lumber_Jack]

I smell a cover up by Remington.

BTW I wouldn't wipe my ass with a set of Michelin tires.

Sent from my Mom's basement

[Guest bkelm18]

The response says as much, the stocks may be different, IE cheaper, on some models of some guns by under some contracts. Sounds like exactly what people are saying --- well not the extreme made in china comments --- but that some of the walmart guns were made by cutting corners somewhere along the way. Which is fine, no one is buying at walmart to get a gun with a $500 engraved hardwood stock in the first place. But to say the response is not weasel words for "yea, we do special runs with low grade stocks and take off some of the accessories" is to delude yourself.

I believe the question was not strictly to do with quality, but whether or not Remington made special guns for Walmart that would not work with standard accessories like stocks, etc.

[mikegideon]

Well, I don't know what the gun industry does but I know for a fact the the Michelin tire you buy at Walmart and Sam's Club IS NOT the same Michelin you buy at a Michelin retail outlet. I would not use the word "factory seconds" but they are substandard to the regular Michelin line. Reason? Michelin makes the best tires money can buy, no one can argue that. They chew up the road and spit out the miles, but thy are expensive. One of the few times you get what you pay for. BUT, Walmart won't pay wholesale prices Michelin demands. Michelin builds a lower grade tire to keep a very comfortable Walmart contract. They are not junk mind you, but they are inferior to the pureblood line you buy in a Michelin outlet retailer.

Likewise Goodyear does this. There are entire lines of Goodyear tires that money cannot buy from anywhere but Wally/Sam's.

As far as guns go, I have no proof but I would NOT be surprised to see such things as an 870 with cheaper wood or something similar. NOT junk or seconds, but they cut corners where they can get away with it. The reason is simple, when the marketing juggernaut know as Walmart offers you a contract, there is no negotiating and no company in their right mind would turn it down.

I remember several years ago talking to an FFL dealer about a base model 870. Walmart was selling them for pennies more than his wholesale cost was. I asked him this could be and said it's simple. When I order from my distributor, I can get a few dollars worth discount if I buy 4 or 5. Well, when Walmart contracts for several thousand to distribute to all their stores...............

BTW, I hate you walmart!

There is a simple explanation for the price difference. Unit price goes way down on just about anything when you buy a boxcar load of them. With that said, you generally don't see walmart buying the high end models within a product line.

[Will H]

There are undoubtedly special runs for retailers, my favorite example being the Mossberg 600 compared to a Mossberg 500. They were identical just different marketing. My point is that sure, the stocks may be different, but that company is still putting something to market that will reflect them. Look at the cheap Federal 9mm ammo at Walmart. It's common knowledge that it's reboxed Blazer Brass. Is is defective? Almost 2,000 rounds of it put thru my Beretta with no issues says no, the ammo is just fine.

I would bet that IF you were to ever find Berettas, Glocks, Rugers, Springfields, or any other reputable handguns at Wally world they would not be any different than any others...

[TNFF319]

Remington sells crappy weapons. Take any new gun off the shelf and work the action.

[Oh Shoot]

I believe the question was not strictly to do with quality, but whether or not Remington made special guns for Walmart that would not work with standard accessories like stocks, etc.

Previous thread, reason for Dolomite's current thread:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/long-guns/67075-walmart-evening-2.html#post838808

and forward in that thread...

- OS

[Guest bkelm18]

Previous thread, reason for Dolomite's current thread:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/long-guns/67075-walmart-evening-2.html#post838808

and forward in that thread...

- OS

Yep, that's the thread/question I was referring to.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I looked and couldn't find that thread. If I had I would have posted this in there.

Dolomite

[RobertNashville]

I can understand why someone with only a passing interest in firearms would buy from a store like WalMart but why would a firearms enthusiast buy from them rather than support local gun stores????

Even if it means that I pay a little more for it; I rather buy from someone that truly supports the firearm community than some big box store who's only concern is making a sale...if we want them to be around for the long term then we had better support our local vendors...just saying.

[gunbartender]

Does anyone know if Wally World can order from Remington's catalog, IE special orders?

I have asked my daughter who works there to find out but she has yet to do it. I sure as hell hope so and if they start selling decent Handguns I will need to buy a new safe!

yes they have a special order catalog. pay half up front and half when it comes in.

all major retailers get "special" edition guns. bass pro, dick's, academy, wal-mart, etc. will purchase firearms that are exclusive to them. the major distributors do it as well.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I think the biggest reason why the do exclusive editions is so they can't match "like items" pricing. If Bass Pro has the only one like it in the world they do not have to price match.

Dolomite

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I think sometimes some manufacturers DO sell some guns to certain store chains that are different than their standard fare. I was speaking to a Taurus customer service guy in Miami once and I asked him about a model they had in Sports Academy...this guy right away told me that that model sold in Academy was the "California" model, and to stay away from it. Looking at it online I didnt see that there were more than one version of it.

Perhaps in some cases that could be a good thing? Academy is not my favorite store unless they just accidentally have something I want. Have only bought one gun from Academy. However, have seen a couple of guns at the range with desirable non-standard features, where the owners told me the guns were "academy special editions" that nobody else sold. The kind of extra little features I would prefer over the stock configuration.

Look at the cheap Federal 9mm ammo at Walmart. It's common knowledge that it's reboxed Blazer Brass. Is is defective? Almost 2,000 rounds of it put thru my Beretta with no issues says no, the ammo is just fine.

Yep the Wally World Federal 9mm is as good or better than anything else I've tried in that price range. Shot a bunch of it myself. Am not really arguing a point, but all the Wally World Federal I've used had FC on the headstamp rather than Blazer? Maybe it is still made in a Blazer plant or something, but the headstamp is FC. Haven't shot much Blazer factory ammo, but the Blazer stamped 9mm brass I've reloaded, seems to reload easy and work good.

I can understand why someone with only a passing interest in firearms would buy from a store like WalMart but why would a firearms enthusiast buy from them rather than support local gun stores????

Even if it means that I pay a little more for it; I rather buy from someone that truly supports the firearm community than some big box store who's only concern is making a sale...if we want them to be around for the long term then we had better support our local vendors...just saying.

Yep, I usually try first to buy guns from a mom&pop. On the other hand in Chatt, it would be a loss if Sportsmans Warehouse was to close, because they have a lot of goodies, reloading supplies, accessories, that the mom&pop places don't stock. Academy carries some accessories as well, but not nearly as big a variety of useful accessories as Sportsmans Warehouse. So in that case maybe the big gun places deserve some support as well?

I guess by the same logic we should buy expensive ammo from the mom&pops rather than cheap ammo at wally world? Ain't arguing with you, just thinking it over. For some reason it seems more reasonable to pay more at a mom&pop for a firearm than to pay more at a mom&pop for ammo, though maybe the mom&pops actually make more of their profit to keep the doors open on stuff like ammo?

[Oh Shoot]

,,,, I rather buy from someone that truly supports the firearm community than some big box store who's only concern is making a sale......

I see ANY store that sells firearms as "supporting the firearm community", since so few still do. Remember, I grew up when you could buy a gun from most any hardware store, Sears, Western Auto, etc etc. The govt puts so much burden on FFLs that I'm grateful for any walk-in store that does it, of any size.

- OS

[Oh Shoot]

yes they have a special order catalog. pay half up front and half when it comes in....

If it doesn't come in a certain period of time (90 days, but not sure?), you can get your deposit back. But they don't cancel the order, and it might come in later, where they put it in the rack for general sale. That's how I lucked out and got my Marlin .357.

- OS