Thank goodness for the honest man...

[Murgatroy]

I went wandering into my local LGS this morning. Nice little mom and pop up here that my wife found for me not long after we moved to town. Since I have been here, I have lost count of the money I have spent in there, but it has been a lot.

 

The gentleman and his wife that own and run the place are good salt of the earth folks. Nice as can be and always friendly. 

 

The day after the Newtown tragedy I went in to see Larry, and look at a pistol for the wife. While I was there I bought the last two PMags he had, at $15 a piece. We talked for a bit and I went on.

 

I am not one to fall into the whole pricing war lately, I see both side's points, though I firmly fall to another, though it doesn't make my stomach easy. I guess since I am not selling, or buying, it is easier for me to stand on the outside and be glad I don't have a horse in the race. I had everything I wanted before this all went down. Don't plan on selling any of it either.

 

So I went into Larry's shop today to see how things were going and I couldn't help but notice, his prices were only up about 10% from two weeks ago. Sure, he was wiped out of anything that didn't have a bolt or a revolving cylinder, but his prices were well within reason of what they should have been. 

 

I bought a couple of boxes of ammo, .223 flavored, at a 10% markup. Smiled the whole time. His wife rang me up, and the total came to about half of what it should have. So I asked her, did you forget to ring up the other box? We all got a good laugh out of it, and it reminded me why I like shopping there.

 

The point is, there are still good people out there trying to do business. And like Larry told me, shipments are few and far between now. Doesn't really matter what price you put on it, it is gonna sell.

[buck1032]

Good deal that you have a "mom and pop" shop to shop at. And even better that they dont participate in gouging and even better is that you stepped up and did the right thing when buying and not just over looking it.

[vujade]

Thanks for sharing Murgatroy.  I hear stories like this and I regain confidence in humanity.

[gregintenn]

I drove by my local shop today, and intended to stop, but I would have had to park in the road, as his parking lot was full. I just kept driving. :rant:

[Guest cardcutter]

Cherish tnem! they are few  and far between.

[Mark A]

Glad you have a good place to do business. They sound like good people and it is good of you to recognize that fact and continue to support them

I don't want to pay high prices but I am all about supply and demand. I guess I just don't have the time or energy to complain about prices. It is either what I want and I can afford it or not.

I wonder if all these people that are so outraged over prices are going to go to the gun store and give the owner money when he has no product to sell. He still has business and personal bills to pay that don't stop just because of panic buying. So what will they do when they can't get any product to sell for months at a time?

It is entirely possible that in a few months time we will have a lot fewer locations to go shop at. What do you think prices will be like then?

Eventually the system will balance and then new people will get into the market and offer choices. This is how it has always worked. Prices will come back down and we will all spend a ton of energy to save $5 on a $500 purchase. Choices are great and the system works when left alone.

These events are entirely predictable and easy to plan around. You just have to be about 10% aware of what is going on around you.

I think the best plan is to develop a relationship with someone you like and share values with. Supporting them consistently will pay rewards in the long run. The OP has a good thing and good for him.

Mark

[sigrug17]

There are good shops out there... I believe in the 'free' market, but I also hope everyone will also REMEMBER who's been totally and obviously GOUGING out there...during this time... D&T's been my LBS in this area good folks....

[Murgatroy]

Rolled back in to see Larry today.

 

I am so glad I found this shop. We talked for a while about the current state of things.

 

He is stocking ammo, but it is up 100%. He said he is having major supply issues, to the point of having to place daily orders to get anything in and on the shelf. He had all the flavors, except oddly enough, or not so anymore, .22LR. His suppliers have all gone up on him. He is still holding his regular profit margin, but he is paying more and more for shipping as well with daily orders. So, I can't really fault him for his prices. He isn't really making a lot off of it.

 

His prices on long arms were nice, he had an AK or two at $1000, several bolt actions. Finally got to handle a Ruger American. It was in .270. Had it been .308 or .30-06 it probably would have followed me home.

[RED333]

Rolled back in to see Larry today.

 

I am so glad I found this shop. We talked for a while about the current state of things.

 

He is stocking ammo, but it is up 100%. He said he is having major supply issues, to the point of having to place daily orders to get anything in and on the shelf. He had all the flavors, except oddly enough, or not so anymore, .22LR. His suppliers have all gone up on him. He is still holding his regular profit margin, but he is paying more and more for shipping as well with daily orders. So, I can't really fault him for his prices. He isn't really making a lot off of it.

 

His prices on long arms were nice, he had an AK or two at $1000, several bolt actions. Finally got to handle a Ruger American. It was in .270. Had it been .308 or .30-06 it probably would have followed me home.

They led me home, so as the wife sees it first.

Got a good shop there, thanks for sharing.