When looking for a new shotgun last week, everyone was out of stock in the one I wanted except a Dunhams an hour away just across the Virginia state line. So, no problem I thought, I'll just drive up there and get it since it is perfectly legal to buy a long gun across the border. The first problem was, once there waiting in the firearms dept. for several minutes I finally had to go in search of an employee for help. Then I get one to help me and ask to look at it to be sure it was OK, I tell her I'll take it and she asks for ID and ready to start the paper work. Well, she sees my NC ID and promptly tells me they will not sell to out of state residents. I politely reminded her that it is legal and she insists it is store policy for any guns. Rather than argue, I asked if they would ship it to a store near me and again...no they will not even do that. By this time I was quite po'd so left, intending to never set foot in one of their stores again and drove home after wasting two hours of my morning.
Well, it gets better. When home, I decided to write a complaint to the local and national chain offices and getting info from their web site, happened to see this same shotgun now listed as just in stock at a store 30 minutes or so away. I drove down there only to have the clerk tell me they did not have it there and he would not even look in back to make sure, or to check to see that it was in fact, shown as in stock. I am fed up with poor service and this garbage from stores and their employees and wondered about experiences at other Dunhams. I haven't shopped a lot there but whenever I have been in, the stores have been almost devoid of customers and now I know why.

Wow
I didn't even know Dunham Sports were still in business.

The last time I shopped at one was when I was still in high school back on the west side of Cols OH.

Sitting here thinking about it, that must have been around 30 years ago. Heck the service sucked then.

The only time it was half way decent was when some of the guys I ran around with worked there.

I worked at Dunham's for years way back when (like when they still sold handguns) and, yes, it is store policy that no gun sales to out of state IDs. The only exception was military ID holders. The store I worked at wasn't really near a state border, but was directly adjacent to a very large Navy base and a relatively short drive from an Army base as well.

Can't say anything about inventory checking because, well, back then there was no website. We didn't even have registers with barcode readers. But, yes, there was often dispute over whatever was in the sales flyer and what was on the shelves or what people thought XYZ item cost. Dunham's was sort of a charlie foxtrot in that way. People would always ask to check in the back, but, generally, nothing is kept in the back. The only exception is usually guns, and that's only if there's no room in the display cases, then they're locked up in the stores "gun room". I would go back and hand pick mil surp rifles for people, etc., but I know more than a few of my coworkers would just give you whatever was in the case, even if there was backstock in the gun room.

And also not surprising that you had to wait for the counter jockey. The stores usually run at minimum staffing at any time that's not about 12-3:00 PM when both morning and evening shifts are present at the same time. Finding an uneducated person who doesn't know their shit is par for the course. Each store might have one or two "gun guys" who run the field and stream department, but if they're not scheduled to work or there are only 4 employees to cover the whole store, that gun guy isn't going to be at the counter. Very often it's just any ole manager/assistant manager who opens the case for you and that's it.

Your experience, though frustrating for you, is unsurprising.

I went in to our local Dunahm's, which still sells handguns, to purchase one they had in stock. When it came time to start the paper work, they asked for my Driver's License. I gave them my recently expired DL along with the State temporary extension (the new card hadn't arrived in the mail).

The salesman told me they couldn't accept the paper extension because they require "Official Documents." Um, it came from the State, it has the State logo and name on it, the police will accept it, what part of it isn't an "Official Document"?

The manager was standing nearby, listening in. She interceded and informed me that it is corporate policy not to accept the State's temporary extension even in the presence of the expired DL it's extending. I said, "Well. I've bought several other guns from FFLs in the last two weeks and it hasn't been a problem. Not sure why you would decline an actual official document while telling me it isn't an official document. But, OK, your store, your rules." and proceeded to pack up my wallet and fold up the paperwork I had started.

She watched me, and as I finished up, said, "Well, what do you want to do?" I told her, "I want to buy that handgun. But you don't want to sell it to me. So, tomorrow I'll drive one town over, where I know LGS has it in stock at the same price." Her response, "We do have layaway, you can make payments on it until your actual DL comes in the mail." I walked away, called a different gun store than the one I was thinking of going to the next day, drove 30 miles the opposite direction and left with the gun an hour later...using my temporary DL and all.

Dunham's can get bent.

Dunhams said adios to the Yoop a couple of years ago.
No loss, really.

Went to Dunhams here in WV last tuesday. They had signs on the counter about how they do long gun sales to adjoining state residents (ex MD) of course. They were picked clean of pistol and rifle ammo. And as I stood at the pistol counter for 45 minutes waiting on two sales associated to help me after they were done with other customers, the two douchebags kept disappearing in the back so I said Fuck it and left quite disgruntled. I will probably never go back there. Plus having to wear a damn covid mask in the store was even worse...Sheeze!

It sounds like Dunhams has poor service all over and not just locally. I plan to not go in one again but I will say that the best thing about that experience was that nobody questioned me about not wearing a mask, and even the employees were not wearing them.

Dunham’s is like Walmart if buying a gun, a pain. I did buy a P365 from Dunham’s early July, decent price, in stock.

Like most retail today people are hired on the warm body basis. It used to be in specialized businesses or departments like gun shops, auto and powersports dealerships that new hires had to have some sort of related background experience. That started to change in the 80's.

Around that time management started thinking that you could train anybody to do any job. Kind of true, the issue is how well do you want that job done.

You would think retailers would be going out of their way to make their customers happy.

Maybe Dunhams Sports have never heard of Bud's Gun Shop, or Grab a Gun, Gunbroker, etc. You know, the on-line mega gun stores that they're competing with..?

Much of the retail experience these days sucks ass. Lousy service, poor selection, employees that simply don't care.
It's not a mystery why on-line retail is cleaning up.


...

The whole field and stream department makes up very little of any given store's revenue, and is very location specific. Guns and ammo happen to be the biggest part of a very small part of store earnings--and they're the one with the greatest liability and time-to-sale cost (i.e. filling out 4473s).

Most stores earn their greatest revenue on shoes and apparel, unless something has radically changed in recent years with the Dunham's model.

Just remember, you're essentially talking about a shoe store that happens to sell guns and wondering why corporate doesn't compete with online gun stores that move huge volume.

Am currently waiting for a phone call from the district manager in Ohio, regarding an ammo purchase.

They had two people working in a 8000 sq ft store


one looked to be 18 and the store manager looked to be 20 y.o.