Help me to understand something

[Guest semiautots]

I think all of this discussion is good.  This is what capitalism is all about.  In the old days, men spoke at the local meetings or at the Post Office.  Imagine living in Tuscon, Arizona in 1873, when the only hardware store in town got a shipment of Colt's new revolver.

 

Business is about making money.  Some are greedy and want more money, some are altruistic and want their customers to be their friends.  Some customers will buy regardless of the price and appreciate the business for having what they need and some customers will only buy from the absolute lowest priced retailer around and do without as a show of principle.

 

It's all good.  It's all capitalism.

[Ugly]

Lager head, I agree with most of what you said, my gripe is the level of what takes place. If they can get the inflated price that's good for them. A thread adapter for a p22 which normally sells for 15 and marked up to 45 overnight is beyond reason to me. I wouldn't do that to any customer especially one that has been loyal. It's the nature of the beast and it's nothing new but that doesn't mean I'll support it or shops that will partake in the practice to that level.

[E4 No More]

Lager head, I agree with most of what you said, my gripe is the level of what takes place. If they can get the inflated price that's good for them. A thread adapter for a p22 which normally sells for 15 and marked up to 45 overnight is beyond reason to me. I wouldn't do that to any customer especially one that has been loyal. It's the nature of the beast and it's nothing new but that doesn't mean I'll support it or shops that will partake in the practice to that level.

I wouldn't support a shop doing that either, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Making a personal choice to not shop at a place as discussed is not the same thing as publically coming on a forum and trashing the business.

 

Look at it this way: Isn't it a violation of forum rules to do a "Thread Dump"? What if 10-ring was selling a gun that I thought was too high and I started posting derogatory posts about him on this forum. Would that be fair? What if I stated that he was a D*** for doing so...would that be tolerated?

[Ugly]

I concur, praise in public, damn in private. I'm not sure about the rules, I've avoided pointing fingers except for the community agitator. 

[10-Ring]

Yes, but you appear to advocate that you are the one entitled to judge whether someone is price-gouging or not. IMHO, that's ok for your own determination as to whether you'd do business with me or not, but not ok if you got on the Interwebs and talk disparagingly about my business, trying to trash my reputation, and destroy my business because pricing is not in line to what you think it should be like some are doing on this forum.

Are we not all, as consumers, entitled to judge whether someone is price gouging or not?  Personally I would have no issue bashing a gun shop that was blatantly gouging their customers (say selling $100 bricks of .22.)  More questionable gouging I wouldn't personally do it.  Of course if a fella was pricing his goods fairly then he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

[RED333]

Free market cuts both ways.

Most of the time it cuts the second time worst.

[TrickyNicky]

I don't understand the problem? A store is free to do with their inventory as they like, I don't think anyone here would dispute that.

The flip side to the coin is that we're free to talk about it. If a store makes its own bed, they have to lay in it.


As far as us sitting around bitching about it, as a retail manager I wish there was an online forum full of my potential/former/current local customers telling me what they don't like about my store.

[E4 No More]

Are we not all, as consumers, entitled to judge whether someone is price gouging or not?  Personally I would have no issue bashing a gun shop that was blatantly gouging their customers (say selling $100 bricks of .22.)  More questionable gouging I wouldn't personally do it.  Of course if a fella was pricing his goods fairly then he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

so if you sell an item that I think is gouging then it is ok with you that I get on a forum and call you a D###. Is that what you are saying?

[E4 No More]

You better pray for free markets. One day we might have them. I don't have a problem with the guy charging a 100
bucks a brick for .22lr or a thousand bucks for a Glock 17. I pity the fool who buys it. Free market, or capitalism, also
means you don't have to buy it. Free markets tend to take care of themselves. If something sits on the shelf long
enough, it will eventually get a price reduction. That may not be convenient to you or I, but bitching about it won't fix
it. Abstaining from it usually does, except for the idiot who is too dumb or desperate to deal with it being overpriced.
Not too much you can do about that.

I don't pity the fool. A fool is a fool regardless. Perhaps the fool thinks that he got a good deal. What's that to the person who doesn't buy the item that they have to bitch about what the fool did? Edited April 8, 2014 by SWJewellTN

[Dustbuster]

Say you have been selling that same pencil for years for $1, all of the sudden the pencil becomes scarce and there are stupid people out there convinced and willing that they should buy all of the pencils that they can get their hands on even if they cost $1 million a piece. Before this panic hit you were getting the pencils wholesale for $0.50 and you were happy selling them for $1. At this point you decide to charge more money for the same product just because you can, yep that's being a d***, not to mention taking advantage of your customers. A good business man will take care of his customers. A business man who doesn't take care of his customers will not be a business man for long.

I don't see that anyone is being forced to do anything. And yes it does take two to tango that's why I despise the people that pay inflated prices just as much as much as I despise the ones selling it at inflated prices. For the record I refuse to pay more than $30 per 500 for .22 and I have plenty for me and mine, most of which I have acquired since Newtown. I could normally care less about what stupid people do but when their actions affect what I pay for ammo I start to care.

With that being said it makes me wonder how Franklin gs is still open....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[TrickyNicky]

With that being said it makes me wonder how Franklin gs is still open....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

They have a great location and lots of inventory.

Some of the guys there have been fairly cool, but I think that everyone I've ever spoke with there has been either condescending or flat rude at some point. It's too bad because that's the one gun shop I WANT to like but just can't. :shrug:

[Dustbuster]

I think the name and appearance appeals to the locals, I dunno. I brought a lever action marlin 1894 in to trade on a sig w cash. One of the owners told me it was worthless to them. A customer saw it as I was leaving, sold it to him in the lot. I went to specialty a few days later and got what I wanted for 250 less. They should rename that place frumpy cat gun hole....went back one more time looking for a specific holster. Ended up getting one through amazon for 19.00 less.maybe they're still angry over the robbery a few years ago.. Oh well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[Guest semiautots]

FGS is great if you like paying full retail and dealing with someone that knows more than you do.  Haven't ever found any "deals", whether it be ammo, mags, lights, or guns.

 

But there is a lot of money in Franklin, so their model works.

 

Franklin needs to have a Hero Gear or Guns 'n Ammo move in.  Hopefully the money would not corrupt them, too.

[LagerHead]

Am not making a moral statement, just observation that there are many pricing strategies. "What the market will bear" is one strategy, which seems common nowadays. Dunno if it was more or less common in the past.

 

Ye olde "engineering job shop" pricing strategy is very old as well, maybe fallen out of fashion lately or maybe not. Calculate what a gadget costs to make, add a nominal profit figure, and you sell the gadget if customers can afford the price.

 

I don't think any pricing strategy should be enforced by law, but am old fashioned enough to appreciate the cost plus approach. What goes around comes around

 

They're both the "cost plus" approach. One is just cost plus more than the other. 

[Jonnin]

I fully support the right to charge people whatever price and make profits.  Fine.

 

But unethical people deserve to be called out, loudly. 

 

I have the RIGHT to charge old, senile people an arm and a leg for some "service" or to trick them into signing their property over to me in exchange for "whatever".  This is unethical but not illegal. 

 

I have the RIGHT to buy something at walmart, quadruple the price, and sell it to idiots.  This is unethical but legal. 

 

I have the RIGHT to cater to stupid, handicapped, sick, or otherwise judgmentally impaired folks and rip them off.  See?

 

See where this is going?  Charging a new gun person 80 bucks for a 20 dollar box of ammo is beyond "making a living" and has edged into taking advantage of the (apparently) mentally disabled.   Giving someone $200 on a $600 gun because it is lightly used is crooked.  Buying guns at super low prices from widows etc is dirty. 

 

Time was that I felt gun people were a community bonded together, loosely united with a common cause (protecting our rights and enjoying the sports/hobbies/etc).  No longer.  These days I feel like all gun sellers are on par with used car salesmen.   I do not know if something changed or if my eyes just opened as I grew older and wiser.   Time was I cared to buy from local vendors and gun shows to keep them in business.  Today, I could care less if the majority of them died in a fire -- and it would be a tossup whether I would pee on em to help.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Jonnin

[Guest semiautots]

Retail jewelry is usually marked up 200% to 600%.  Depends on your perspective.

[RC3]

:popcorn:  This is getting good. Its quite simple really, you arent forced to go to a single establishment for your business. If one does not have what you want at the price you want, what is stopping you from going else where?

[E4 No More]

Funny, I don't see any examples from the judgmental crowd on here where they turned down money while selling something. That doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, but subjective is subjective after all. That is the entire rub here. Brining up elderly or disabled to try and make a point is weak IMHO. We aren't talking about deceit here; we are talking about a willing buyer for a willing seller.

[E4 No More]

Retail jewelry is usually marked up 200% to 600%.  Depends on your perspective.

Yep, years ago I worked for Radio Shack and could look up the profit margin on the inventory. They were selling a ionic fan at huge profit margins to people willing to buy them.

[A.J. Holst]

Being in sales all I can add is: the buyer can walk at anytime, most purchases are not one of a kind items so patience is the buyer's friend and a good deal has nothing to do with price it's how you feel about the entire buying experience. A good salesperson knows how to discover wants needs and desires that the buyer didn't even know they had by simply asking questions.

[A.J. Holst]

Being in sales all I can add is: the buyer can walk at anytime, most purchases are not one of a kind items so patience is the buyer's friend and a good deal has nothing to do with price it's how you feel about the entire buying experience. A good salesperson knows how to discover wants needs and desires that the buyer didn't even know they had by simply asking questions.

I do agree with Jonin; a professional governs him/herself with ethics and integrity not greed and lies.

[Jonnin]

Funny, I don't see any examples from the judgmental crowd on here where they turned down money while selling something. That doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, but subjective is subjective after all. That is the entire rub here. Brining up elderly or disabled to try and make a point is weak IMHO. We aren't talking about deceit here; we are talking about a willing buyer for a willing seller.

 

 

It is deceit.  I flat out heard the guy selling ammo at over 60/500 that it was "the last of it" and the he "got this batch off the black market".   He was trying to scare someone into buying it with BS, period.   A willing buyer that has been lied to perhaps deserves the life lesson, but the guy doing the lying is still in the wrong and deserves whatever bad publicity his stunt brings upon him. 

 

Or take it the other direction.   DO we as conservatives actually support *true* capitalism?  Where cartels and monopolies rule, shoddy products sold to gullible buyers is ok,  heavy markup after elimination of competition is acceptable, and so on?   The ammo thing is exactly that... they buy up all the supply and jack up the price --- the definition of a monopoly.   We regulate those because somewhere in the 1920s and 30s someone realized what happens if we don't.

[Hershmeister]

Call The Whaabulance