quote:

Originally posted by Top Gun Supply:
Forgive me forum for I have sinned...

We definitely could have just thrown them up on gunbroker and made at least an extra $100 each, but I prefer to offer them directly to our customers.

The last 2 years have not been good to the firearms industry. We sold quite a bit of product at cost and below cost just to keep the cash flowing. This is just how business works. We are not a basement business. We have 2 retail stores, a warehouse and 20+ employees. We need a fair amount of cash flow just to open the doors every morning. I absolutely do not fault any of you wanting or waiting for a better price. I do understand how the consumer thinks and why.

So, don't taze me bro!

I agree with this. The past couple of years has been rather NASTY in the retail gun business. People froth over the sick Palmetto and Sportsman Outdoors deals and get bent sideways when a local shop can't do the same. Ye gods, the sheer number of FFL transfers that come in these days. It's more than enough to make me want to double our transfer fee, if only I had the power to do so.

We're supposed to be in the business of selling guns, instead we're the ones taking the risk and responsibility of doing up background checks perfectly correct for a guns that some other dealer profits on without much if any of the legal scrutiny, evil eye and 4473 audits of the ATF, while our example(s) of the same guns are just sitting in inventory unsold.

Gorillas like Palmetto makes crazy stupid deals with manufacturers, demanding steep discounts while dangling carrots of 100/200/500 piece orders for a single model. Meanwhile the typical small LGS is left hanging because they have to buy the SAME models from the dastardly distribution side with their middleman markups because they don't have the money to drop $50G to $100G with said gunmaker to even get consideration for preferential pricing.

We've got the SIG 365 coming in from SIG shortly. Not sure where we'll be price-wise, but if it were up to me I'd price 'em near MSRP just to offset the recent beating that we're taking with classic P-series guns. We haven't sold a Legion or Mk25 in ages, nor have we done much with rest of the hammer pistols from Newington.

Ok, time to get me back on my meds...

My LGS is the same way with their pricing. But if I can order a gun online and it end up being cheaper even after a FFL transfer fee, that’s a sign that the LGS needs to make their prices more competitive. Why would I pay $100 more dollars for a new gun if I don’t have to? Either way, I am contributing to the LGS with the FFL fee.

I will be getting a P365 but I’m guessing it will be ordering it online for $500 rather than over $600 that my LGS will likely charge.

quote:

Originally posted by soggy_spinout:
[QUOTE]People froth over the sick Palmetto and Sportsman Outdoors deals and get bent sideways when a local shop can't do the same.

That's because the vast majority of these folks have never run a business. Or managed employees, taxes, and all the other crap that comes with it and bleeds you dry every time the numbers go into the black and you think you're OK.

The want this, they want that, but what they want eventually works out to their detriment because it kills what they valued most: the LGS which was a family business.

Then they complain that they can't get service, or even worse, they want their LGS to handle the warranty.

I see the same thing in the avionics business and have friends pulling their hair out over it.

They look at the web site and visualize a huge operation with tons of employees when in reality it's a small office with a small warehouse and a couple of folks on computers.

You got what you wanted folks, enjoy it.

Soggy_Spinout we doubled our transfer fees on handguns and rifles AND will not accept transfers from Buds or Grabagun - and we still have 5 or 6 per week!

Hard to do business when everyone wants free shit. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Soggy_Spinout we doubled our transfer fees on handguns and rifles AND will not accept transfers from Buds or Grabagun - and we still have 5 or 6 per week!

Hard to do business when everyone wants free shit. Regards 18DAI

Five or six a week...oh how I'd be happy with just that. We're too often seeing that many in a single day these days.

We've even had customers get surprised and/or upset that we have any transfer fee at all. Considering the time spent bringing a gun in, doing the background check, hoping and praying that it doesn't go to further review and being put on hold for an hour or even 15 minutes, or the headache and additional time spent if the transaction is delayed or worse yet, the headache and added legwork when the idiot customer is denied...the paltry money we charge just isn't worth it, or anywhere close to profitable even at a meager level.

Customers have the right to seek out the best deal for their hard earned money, I get it. But they also shouldn't expect the world when the lion's share of that money is going somewhere else and not supporting the local business. They also shouldn't expect a local shop to be happy when the big internet dealers are dumping guns below MAP and manufacturers are looking the other way, while we're trying our best to play by the rules that their legal departments establish but apparently selectively enforce. Wave enough cash under their noses and guess what, they turn a blind eye...or so it seems. It's AutoNation for guns, and it's the small shops being squeezed into oblivion.

At least a couple of shops around here are charging $75 or more for transfers, which a year or two ago I would've thought was ludicrously high. But when going through our costs in doing this flood of transfers that we're now seeing, I'm finally seeing the practical logic in their once presumed madness.

EDIT: I apologize for getting so off-topic, but it's maddening and very sad to see just how bad it's becoming because of the online gorillas.

All the reason to find a tabletop FFL who does them for $25 flat without the LGS gunshop-bubba-attitude.

Of course you miss out on the conspiracy / ban / civil war talk, but it's a small price to pay.



Thread drift OFF.

ADCO is local to me. They are not a large shop. Their prices are always within $30 or so of what I'd pay if I bought online and pay the transfer fee.

I'll support the local guy for that little of a difference. Plus, the staff is nice and helpful. I enjoy shooting the shit when I'm in there. But if he charged me MSRP, I'd find a new dealer.

And as an aside, I do run a business, a large one. We are in a boom right now. I could easily raise prices on my good customers because our services (construction) are in short supply right now, but I don't. And if you follow the economy, you know the last several years have been brutal in construction before Trump got elected and it exploded. so don't give me that BS.

you hit your customers, they hit back. Bass Pro had lower pricing than TGS. If you're ok with that, that's cool. I love TGS, but they aren't held in as high esteem for me as they used to be, and that's my feeling on the issue. I would never have thought they'd charge MSRP just because they could. I hope the couple extra grand (or hundreds) they made charging MSRP were worth it in the long run.

There isn't right or wrong here, there just is. We don't all have to agree, it's ok to differ.

Got a call this morning from the SIG Pro Shop, my 365 is in and waiting to be picked up. I put my name on the waiting list a couple months ago and it's going to come home on Friday!

So my LGS (very nicely run, great store) can order it for me for $585, no transfer fee. May I request a price check on whether this is a good deal or if I should try to negotiate a bit? I know the scene isn't exactly friendly for LGS at the moment so would love to support them however I can. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Mech:
would love to support them however I can. Thanks!

I look at it this way: P365 will likely be $550 when my LGS gets it. If I had to transfer it in, that would make it $575. Would I hand my LGS $10 more just for being who he is? Heck, yes! He's taken good care of my wants and needs very well over the years. Is it a few bucks more than I could make the deal elsewhere? Maybe. But again, my local shop has taken very good care of my wants and needs over the years.

I say, support your local shop, Mech.

Alright that's what I wanted to hear! And a cursory look on GB shows that pretty much ALL P365's are selling for well above $600, so I really just wanted a sanity check is all. And they DID have a demo gun in the store that I got to play around with so that cemented my desire to buy one!

This LGS is really quite amazing; they carry Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee apparels (FIRST TIME I've seen it locally!), has a LOT of rifles and pistols all around the place, AND Have a work bench set up in the middle of the shop so people can bring their rifles in and borrow their tools! I live in a county in Washington state that is threatening to turn blue so I'd absolutely love for the LGS to stick around for a long time to come! Thanks vthoky, will be going back there to order the P365 tomorrow!

I’ll bet the gun goes for $500 once supply catches up. MSRP is $600

Funny how a new gun gets some gun stores in a frenzy, mostly the big box stores, for me my LGS's are wanting return business, and deal in fair prices year around, I was told the p365 I ordered will be 499.00 and I know this isn't going to change, knowing who you buy from is a big plus, and is what keeps most of us coming back, I find the big box stores here $80.00 to a $100.00 over what you can buy the same gun for in the smaller gun shop, but most won't do their home work on this and go ahead pay the excess...

quote:

Originally posted by esdunbar:
I’ll bet the gun goes for $500 once supply catches up. MSRP is $600

I picked up mine today from the SIG Pro Shop (at 50% off MSRP thanks to my best friend who works at SIG ) along with a couple 12 round magazines. Then I stopped in another shop on my way home for the hell of it, they have one advertised at $499.00. Of course they are out of stock.
Nice little pistol, much more comfortable in my hand with the 12 round magazine.

quote:

Originally posted by soggy_spinout:

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Soggy_Spinout we doubled our transfer fees on handguns and rifles AND will not accept transfers from Buds or Grabagun - and we still have 5 or 6 per week!

Hard to do business when everyone wants free shit. Regards 18DAI

Five or six a week...oh how I'd be happy with just that. We're too often seeing that many in a single day these days.

I would expect that 5 a day every week would be easy money. If you charge $50 a pop, that's $1,250 a week, for guns that aren't taking up counter space, with no overhead except the time spent logging them in and doing the checks. Even if each takes up an hour's worth of an employee's time, the employee is making what, $15 in an hour, so the business nets $35?

Not to mention any ammo or accessories you can sell them while they are in there.

Opposed to stocking a gun that might sit on the shelf for 6 months taking up room.

Perhaps I see it incorrectly, but it looks like easy money to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Mech:
So my LGS (very nicely run, great store) can order it for me for $585, no transfer fee. May I request a price check on whether this is a good deal or if I should try to negotiate a bit? I know the scene isn't exactly friendly for LGS at the moment so would love to support them however I can. Thanks!

My Long Time LGS quoted me $490.00 here in Colorado. I'm waiting to hear that ALL the issues have been worked out and many thousands of rounds have been fired by many forum members here and elsewhere. I will not be a beta tester.

My LGS sold one when they first came out for $569. A friend of mine bought it a few minutes before I got there. I haven't seen one since then. I'll probably end up buying one.

Two of our local shops each got one from SIG to promote them. Each put them on gunbroker and sold them for $800!! A third shop sold theirs for $520 over the counter.

I ordered one from another shop who hasn't received a promotional deal. He doesn't know when he'll receive it. He sells at his cost plus 10% and condemns his competitors for their gouging. He's done business this way for 42 years.

Well, I placed an order with my LGS for $630 (gun + free transfer + WA sales tax...yeesh). Figured it's a fair price that 1) I am happy to pay 2) Still cheaper than buying online 3) Helps support a new and thriving LGS in the middle of downtown! Hope to receive it soon, fingers crossed!

quote:

Originally posted by 10-7 leo:
IkenI, or anyone else - have you ever fired a P290? If so how does it compare to the P365? Fit in hand, recoil, etc.?

Sorry, never handled one. The P365s are going for $515 to $525 (plus tax) locally and they are starting to show up.