Anthony Arms' Bargain Table Not Such a Bargain -- UPDATE POST 23

[Noah_Zark]

SEE POST 23 for UPDATE.

Out and about in the south Pgh area this afternoon running errands and such and the route took me past Anthony Arms, so I stopped. I had not been there for perhaps 6-8 years because the last time it took forever to have a clerk respond to a request to see at used handgun.

I checked out the new firearm stock, the used guns, and some ammo prices, etc. Some items competitive, but some others were ridiculous (A Romanian bolt action trainer marked as a "Mauser trainer" and priced $500). To the right of the entrance were a couple-few folding tables with firearm magazines thereon (metal & plastic, not paper). The sign said, "25% off price as marked, unmarked magazines $10 ea!" Looking through the mags I found eight marked $24 and $25 each that I could use. Rounding, that's 8x $25 = $200, and taking "25% off price as marked" would make it $150 plus tax. After waiting for the clerk to finish handling a couple customers ahead of me, he rang them up by reading the well-worn bar code on the plastic bag containing one of the mags and announced $230-something. I said, no, should be around $160.

He responded, "No, that's the price." I observed that he scanned the barcode, which was the original price, and someone had ink penned $24 and $25 on the store price labels above the barcode. I said, "$24 and $25 is the price as marked. Then take 25% off that. Should be $160 or so." He says, "That's a discount on a discount. The $25 price is already 25% off." I replied, "No, $25 is not 25% off the barcode price. Someone marked them down manually because they haven't sold because they fit an obscure firearm. The sign says, '25% off price as marked, unmarked magazines $10 ea'. That would be 25% off either $24 or $25. Again, about $160."

So he turns to the screen, moving the mouse, pressing up and down keys and the shift key, muttering. Nothing's happening on the screen. He does this for 30-60 seconds, then turns and announces, "It won't let me override and discount a discounted price, I can ring them all up at $24, that's all I can do." I replied, "Well, that would be an override, because the ink penned price is less than what came up when you scanned the barcode. If you're not honoring the terms of the sign, and walking away from a $150 sale on magazines that have sat here for years, I'll pass." I left them on the counter.

Nothing changes. I learned my lesson. And the mags? I can order them offline for ~$22 ea, free shipping.

Noah

[Hodgie]

Unfortunately this is a reoccurring theme in too many gun shops in general.

[marinville]

I have never set foot in this place, and with the reputation they keep, I doubt I ever will.

[Smilez226]

That place is absolutely horrid, I have been there once and won’t do it again. Like Hodgie said, this is a common thing in many shops. Ace sporting goods here in Washington is great for ignoring customers with cash in hand. I’m all for supporting local shops, but damn they make it hard for me to want to step foot in their shops.

[Justin///M]

That place is absolutely horrid, I have been there once and won’t do it again. Like Hodgie said, this is a common thing in many shops. Ace sporting goods here in Washington is great for ignoring customers with cash in hand. I’m all for supporting local shops, but damn they make it hard for me to want to step foot in their shops.

Yeah Anothony's is bad, and Ace's sometimes seems to think they are doing you a favor by being there.

[spartakis252]

I’ve been considering starting a thread about how horrible local shops are anymore. And by local I mean just about everything in south & western pa.

My lovely wife and I spent an entire weekend running around every gun shop within an hour of Beaver County, we’ve come to the conclusion that none of them are worth walking back into. Anything and everything from know-it-alls talking out their asses to just being completely ignored.

With the fall of chain stores in this area, Sportmans Warehouse, Gander Mountain & fuck Dicks, and the rise of internet sales, one might think these local guys would be a little more appreciative of potential new customers driving an hour to see what your shop has to offer.

[Daycrawler]

LOL thanks for the heads up. Should I ever find myself in that place, maybe Ill leave them an upper decker. Maybe you should go back and leave them an Ark sized upper decker.

[Gunsnwater]

LOL thanks for the heads up. Should I ever find myself in that place, maybe Ill leave them an upper decker. Maybe you should go back and leave them an Ark sized upper decker.

So you’re the one. (00) [got my eyes on you]

[comsubin61]

I have experienced similar changes in one of my local shops. They were great to deal with when the owners ran the shop on the sales floor and we, the customers, dealt directly with them. It was the best shop in montgomery county. I did all my transactions through them. I made sure that any deal I did with a private person went through them so that I could introduce the shop to others.
Then they moved, got bigger and hired a manager to handle the store. Everything quickly became black and white, no personal attention and no “Special treatment” for older customers. Infact The couple of times I dealt directly with manager I felt that I was cheated. That would have never happened before.

I understand the reason behind the move but perhaps a better , more personable manager would have been better. I have not been at that shop for several years now and I miss the old shop. The sales people laughed more and so did their customers.

They are still a very successfull shop for what I hear, so I wish them even more prosperity in the future.

[DukeConnor]

That place is absolutely horrid, I have been there once and won’t do it again. Like Hodgie said, this is a common thing in many shops. Ace sporting goods here in Washington is great for ignoring customers with cash in hand. I’m all for supporting local shops, but damn they make it hard for me to want to step foot in their shops.

My take on Ace's is, when they are with a customer, they focus on that customer. When it's your turn they focus on you.