Local Gun Shops

[AtomicRooster]

I understand we are a bunch of cheap (and in some cases like mine..just dang poor) bastages BUT tax returns are just around the corner and I'm sure many here like myself are already salivating over your next purchase which brings me to my point.

Please,please consider trading with your LGS if your not doing so already. As many here already know there is not a huge mark up IN MOST CASES.

No I'm not a dealer nor am I affiliated with one. I'm a old manufacturing guy myself but this is the thought that occurs to me.....

WHAT IF THERE WERE NO LOCAL GUN SHOPS? (And no internet). Just a thought.

[Oh Shoot]

.....

WHAT IF THERE WERE NO LOCAL GUN SHOPS? (And no internet). Just a thought.

 

If there were no internet, then the Crash has happened, and folks will only be using the guns they already had anyway. Or swapping them for food.

 

- OS

Edited February 18, 2016 by Oh Shoot

[runco]

Work to hard for my dough, try not to give it away to others, and the government doesn't get a 0% interest loan off of me either, rather pay in than get a check.  So by choice I buy from the retailer with the lowest cost which usually means a internet business and locally someone that has the lowest transfer fee.  Lowest cost is the best customer service any retailer can give to its customer, anything else is sales blah, blah, blah.  

[RC3]

If you were not to far way I would have suggested north side gunshop. I have enjoyed all my purchases there and the owner is kick ass.

[TGO David]

Work to hard for my dough, try not to give it away to others, and the government doesn't get a 0% interest loan off of me either, rather pay in than get a check.  So by choice I buy from the retailer with the lowest cost which usually means a internet business and locally someone that has the lowest transfer fee.  Lowest cost is the best customer service any retailer can give to its customer, anything else is sales blah, blah, blah.  

 

Are you saying that the owners of your local gun shops don't work hard for their money?  Does the $20-40 you might save by buying online make as much of a difference in your life as it might in the difference of a small business owner's success or failure?

 

Just things to think about.

[RED333]

I have not got a .gov check for years. My money serves me better the what .gov does with it.

I but firearms on a whim, I see something I like I buy it. I do give the LGS a shot, but price is always a big point.

[Monkeybat]

If I can find what I want locally at a reasonable price I'll buy local. My problem is finding what I want.


Sent from the Fortress of Solitude.

[Sidecarist]

While I do my best to stretch a dollar I do patronize local small businesses. I used to be one... I worked hard to give my customers value that they can't get on line, or from a big box and it worked...right up to the divorce.

I now work for a small company that provides huge value through service. We cost about the same, or maybe 2% more, but I know my product better tan the big guys, or the Internet guys.

If all we ever do is shop price then we will get the lowest value as well. I visited an LGS yesterday and found that I could buy primers for less than a big store and ask questions of someone knowledgeable about their products. I got lucky on price and I would gave paid a bit more for the service I got. Sometimes the small local guy can save you a bit by having lower overhead.

Go visit them and see.

[10-Ring]

I'll give the LGS a shot when I'm looking for something though it can usually be found online at a price that the LGS can't match.  I do think it's good to ask if they will match the price that you can find it for elsewhere.  I've had them match the price and I've had them say "that's a really good price I can't beat that."   I don't know what the profit margin is when a LGS sells a gun but I figure that $30 or so that they make off of a transfer fee is pretty easy money for them considering that they didn't have to put any money into the merchandise.  Yes I know that transfers generally just help cover expenses but the LGS is getting a slice of the pie an the internet age where other mom and pops are SOL.

[gjohnsoniv]

Funny you mention transfers. I was in a gun store the other day and asked about them. The response I got was "we don't want to be in the transfer business, but if you're a good customer we'll see about accommodating you." I can honestly say that's the first time I've heard that. Anyway on topic. I try to buy local when I can. I've gotten burned and that turned into a mess, but that was a rare situation.

[Omega]

OK, now I know I posted this earlier.

I pay around 2k a year so no new purchases for me. I buy from local shops if they are at least close to what I can get them online for if I include shipping and any transfer or hazmat fees. But some shops are well above that for some items so I will order online.

[MrsMonkeyMan2500]

I've never had a problem getting a good deal at my LGS. I've only done two transfers in the last year and one was because it was a smoking hot deal from Buds and the other was because it was a VERY hard to find rifle.

I felt guilty both times, but I built my AR there and I've spent a pretty decent amount there in the year I've lived here. Hands down, it's the owner, his wife and some of the staff that keeps me coming back.

[runco]

Are you saying that the owners of your local gun shops don't work hard for their money?  Does the $20-40 you might save by buying online make as much of a difference in your life as it might in the difference of a small business owner's success or failure?

 

Just things to think about.

I am only saying that I work hard for my money, and I am a very good steward of my money.   That is all, nothing more or nothing less.

 

I know its difficult for local businesses to compete against the world with the invent of consumer shopping on the internet, but this is not my row to hoe, I just take advantage of it since it allows me to have more cash in my pocket, and more cash in my pocket allows me to buy more things.  I am the consumer, and unless I win the lottery and/or I am flushed with so much disposable income from various sources of income from investments, and other revenue sources, in my view and smarts, I have no choice but to be tight and shop smart, isn't that a display of good stewardship?  

 

Seriously, it always bugs me why don't the small biz sympathizers just walk into a mom & pop shop and give cash freely (donation) with nothing in return.  That surely would help their business model.

[enfield]

I bought a lot of guns before the internet existed. The web is no more a necessity than cell phones or Kanye West.

[orientalexpress]

If it were mandatory to pay sales tax on Internet purchases I'm sure it would level the playing field for the LGS. The LGS is already at an almost 10% disadvantage. I doubt you guys are paying your sales tax on your internet purchases.

[TripleGGG]

Have yet to buy a gun off the Internet and I purchase a lot of stuff online. Have always been able to find what I wanted local or thru private sale.

[Sidecarist]

 

 

Seriously, it always bugs me why don't the small biz sympathizers just walk into a mom & pop shop and give cash freely (donation) with nothing in return.  That surely would help their business model.

 

Well I guess I'm a small business sympathizer. Having been a small business owner, and now working for another small business I'm probably prejudiced...

 

If you feel that you don't get any value from shopping in your community thats your choice. I believe that there is value there. The local community needs to be supported, or we simply won't have any community someday. We will all live our lives waiting for UPS and the mail.

 

Don't get me wrong here I don't just freely spend my hard earned cash without a care. I need to see value in it. Yes I may pay a small amount more, but convenience and product knowledge are worth something, and I'm willing to pay a bit for that. I don;t like to shop at big box stores, or small businesses where the service is poor. It's not worth my time. I went into an LGS about a month ago. When I couldn't get the attention of a staff member after about 10 min of waiting, I left and will not go to that shop even for a deal now. They haven't earned my business or added value for me.

 

I'm fairly new to TN and I could have lived anywhere I want east of the Mississippi. I want to be a working part of the local community. I could have moved to a state with low or no sales tax etc. In the end the people and the eastern TN mountains brought me here. I will support locals, and I hope they will support me.

 

Rant off

[Spiffy]

If I can find what I want locally at a reasonable price I'll buy local. My problem is finding what I want.


Sent from the Fortress of Solitude.

 

We can order that for you!..........well so can I for cheaper....

[jimic]

If it were mandatory to pay sales tax on Internet purchases I'm sure it would level the playing field for the LGS. The LGS is already at an almost 10% disadvantage. I doubt you guys are paying your sales tax on your internet purchases.

 

yes. more taxes is a good idea.

I would buy gasoline on line if I could not  pay tax on it .

 

We are taxed to death.

[orientalexpress]

yes. more taxes is a good idea.
I would buy gasoline on line if I could not pay tax on it .

We are taxed to death.

Yeah, because you're not using the services that the state taxes provide. I'm not about taxing people to death but you should be paying a "fair" amount for the legitimate services the government provides.

They should actually revisit the gas tax because if you drive a hybrid or an electric, you're using the road just as much as the guy that drives a truck yet you're not contributing to the upkeep of the roads. Edited February 18, 2016 by orientalexpress

[felinesNfreedom]

I wish I could spend a tax return on guns. Up until the last two years I have owed every year. After the birth of the kid I get a return but we have used that the last two years to help pay off all debt along with me working part time. I had some extra cash and was going to buy my Glock but the transmission went out in my truck two weeks ago and I had to have that replaced, good bye gun money :(

[jimic]

Yeah, because you're not using the services that the state taxes provide. I'm not about taxing people to death but you should be paying a "fair" amount for the legitimate services the government provides.

They should actually revisit the gas tax because if you drive a hybrid or an electric, you're using the road just as much as the guy that drives a truck yet you're not contributing to the upkeep of the roads.

 

You can always send the state an extra tax check if you don't think your paying enough ..for there services.

 

I think there are over compensated.

 

State and Service seems to be a oxymoron to me.

[Hozzie]

A second way to look at this is there are those LGS and those with an FFL that have embraced transfers.   I can guarantee you that the Saddle Shop makes more than most LGS simply through transfers.  They aren't a traditional gun shop, but I bet they do 15-20 transfers per day.  Easy money if you ask me.  I am the most impatient of the impatient most of the time, but rarely can't I buy something that an LGS sells on Amazon and have it in two days.  More importantly, I didn't have to go anywhere.

 

For ammo, I buy in bulk or reload so even in components I buy in bulk.  Times have been changing for a long time.  It's the old adage, adapt or die.

[E4 No More]

Tax return? :bowrofl:

 

I'm paying $21,000 and getting about $20 back after paying H&R Block for the use of their website.

[NextExit]

I'd love to buy guns with my tax return but for some reason, I'm told I need dental work as soon as I get it. ;)