Went to Targetmaster Today

[steve762]

I'm a full-on free market guy and while it hurts me to know that walmart might have some steals on ammo, buying ammo there is something I've decided not to do.

Before, Walmarts would all have great prices on guns. So imagine you bought all your guns there. Your local gun store loses its sales on those guns. You buy your ammo at walmart too.

Finally, the local gun store closes because they've lost too much in sales to wally world. Two weeks later, a local chapter of the "million mom march" holds a rally at walmart and walmart decides that it's not worth having protestors outside killing the other $1M in business they do that day, and they pull guns and ammo off the shelf. Many of them have pulled guns out of the stores already.

Now you've lost your cheap ammo/gun supplier (walmart) and the place where you'd go for repairs, the indoor range, the ability to buy used guns and evil ar's and ak's, and the variety of brands your local shop can get.

I'm not saying you should pay a huge markup anywhere, just that it's important to support your local shop.

[soberbyker]

I'm a full-on free market guy ...

...., just that it's important to support your local shop.

Although I agree with your post and understand your scenario, saw it first hand when a local pharmacy went under after CVS opened a block away, I do support my local shop(s), whether it's a gun shop, a hardware store, auto repair shop, local sandwich shop etc. sometimes I just have to go where my dollar goes the farthest, with the ever increasing price of things these days. I've been laid off a lot lately too. I like to shoot a lot. That extra two or three dollars for ammo adds up quick, since it's not a necessity I need to be thrifty. I am a very loyal customer, I used to buy gas from the same place all the time, stuck with the brand when away from home, now I go where ever has the best price, same for most things these days.

I wish I could afford to only buy from mom & pop stores, you get much better service, and I do when I can. However sometimes reality wins out over idealism.

[NineseveN]

I'm a full-on free market guy and while it hurts me to know that walmart might have some steals on ammo, buying ammo there is something I've decided not to do.

Before, Walmarts would all have great prices on guns. So imagine you bought all your guns there. Your local gun store loses its sales on those guns. You buy your ammo at walmart too.

Finally, the local gun store closes because they've lost too much in sales to wally world. Two weeks later, a local chapter of the "million mom march" holds a rally at walmart and walmart decides that it's not worth having protestors outside killing the other $1M in business they do that day, and they pull guns and ammo off the shelf. Many of them have pulled guns out of the stores already.

Now you've lost your cheap ammo/gun supplier (walmart) and the place where you'd go for repairs, the indoor range, the ability to buy used guns and evil ar's and ak's, and the variety of brands your local shop can get.

I'm not saying you should pay a huge markup anywhere, just that it's important to support your local shop.

Yes, but let's really expand on this scenario.

Not all local shops have good prices or give good service, certainly no better (and in some cases, worse) than at WalMart. I have one local shop that gives decent (not good, not great, just decent) service with decent prices, and a Gander Mountain that gives excellent service with not-so-decent prices and a WalMart that has great prices and virtually no service.

It's not so cut and dry, most of the mom and pop shops that I've been in seemed to be bothered that you came in to ask some questions.

[bubba23]

Not all local shops have good prices or give good service, certainly no better (and in some cases, worse) than at WalMart.

You better find some new gun shops. While I don't know many gun shops that compete penny for penny with Walmart, neither are you choices limited to a handful of items. And the service at Walmart isn't just bad, IT IS NONEXISTENT!

I don't care where you buy your stuff, but I am proud to say that I have never and WILL NEVER buy anything from the Walmart gun department.

Walmart could close tomorrow for all I care, but I sincerely value having multiple guns shops available.

[NineseveN]

You better find some new gun shops. While I don't know many gun shops that compete penny for penny with Walmart, neither are you choices limited to a handful of items. And the service at Walmart isn't just bad, IT IS NONEXISTENT!

I don't care where you buy your stuff, but I am proud to say that I have never and WILL NEVER buy anything from the Walmart gun department.

Walmart could close tomorrow for all I care, but I sincerely value having multiple guns shops available.

Price is the least of my concern in the order of service, selection and price. Granted, my local shop is good in that sometimes I get excellent service, sometimes I get decent to poor service. Their prices aren't highway robbery either.

I've never purchased a firearm at WalMart based simply on selection alone, they just don't have what I want. My local shop has a good selection of EBR's, but then again so goes my Gander Mountain (SA M14's, AR-15's, defense shotguns at both, the local does have a couple of AK's whereas GM doesn't).

But what I was getting at is that a lot of these mom and pop shops have terrible customer service, I've been in enough of them and read enough posts about them to know this. Sure, WalMart service is non-existent, but they're generally not rude the way some off the local guys are in most areas.

If you can't compete in price, you must compete in service and selection. Merely being better than WalMart isn't really competing.


Years ago when I bought my first new car, I went into the dealer and explained to the salesman that offered to help me that I was looking at their model "X" and their competitor's model "z". He didn't immediately jump on the competing product and make things up or spew misinformed opinions about it or just simply make shit up to get the sale, he explained the virtues of his offering.

Compare that to when a lot of us go into gun stores and the sales idiots tell us that HK's (or Sigs or 1911's or whatever) are worthless and overpriced, so they don't carry them, what we need is a Glock.

When I go into a shop, I expect to be met with a smile and "can I help you". I don't expect to be ignored because I didn't dress in my Sunday best and the ignorant oaf behind the counter thinks I can't afford a gun (this happens to people ALL the time, especially in non-chain stores). I don't expect to be lectured about my choice in guns, if you don't carry it and can't/won't order it.




But aside from that, in your scenario, if the mom and pop shop went out of business and WalMart later stopped selling guns, someone would come along and open a new shop to supply the demand...there is not a finite number of gun shops that can be opened over time, where there is demand, someone will supply it. The mom and pop stores that turn a profit do so because they do right by their customers, those that don't, don't deserve to remain open.

[reels18]

I went into a local gun store(take a guess where) with the intent of buying a G34. They had none in stock but I eyeballed a G21sf with Pic rails. Mine has the Glock rails on it and decided to do a little impulse spending. I told him I wanted to put the G21 on lay away.

He asks how much i wanted to put down on deposit. Not wanting to cut my cash supply short for the week, I told him 100 bucks. He tells me that lay away is for thirty days. I said that I knew the terms and that I bought at least 6 pistols there in the past on lay away.

He then asks me when I would pick up the pistol. I told him that I would be in at the end of the week after cashing my pay check.

All of a sudden, he claims that his boss demands at least half of the money of the total price be put down to reserve the pistol. I told him that I had never had to do that in the past. He told me it was a new policy by the owner and that the 21sf with the Pic rail was easy to get if this one sold.

Needless to say, I didn't put half down. I waited till the end of the week, and took a ride to South Philly to SPAG. They did have a G34 which I scarfed up immediately.

I was kind of pissed of the way I was treated at the first gun store but it turns out he did me a favor by not letting me lay away the G21.

The point that I am trying to make is, I will gladly spend my money in a gun store if I am treated like a valued customer. No one wants to be treated like some hump and have smoke blown up his butt. I don't demand much in the way of service, a little respect and an effort made to give me value for my money isn't too much to ask.

If and when I do make any big money purchases for guns, you can rest assured that I will give SPAG the first crack at my money. It was worth the time and travel to get there because they had what I wanted and they treated me like a long time customer even though it was my first time there.

[NineseveN]

The point that I am trying to make is, I will gladly spend my money in a gun store if I am treated like a valued customer. No one wants to be treated like some hump and have smoke blown up his butt. I don't demand much in the way of service, a little respect and an effort made to give me value for my money isn't too much to ask.

If and when I do make any big money purchases for guns, you can rest assured that I will give SPAG the first crack at my money. It was worth the time and travel to get there because they had what I wanted and they treated me like a long time customer even though it was my first time there.

Those shops can compete, others, just can't. That's economics, it's not WalMart's fault. Sounds like you had a good experience at SPAG. Care to cite anything specific in your experience that made the transaction positive (though, we're likely getting off-topic here, maybe a new thread is needed)?

[bubba23]

The point that I am trying to make is, I will gladly spend my money in a gun store if I am treated like a valued customer. No one wants to be treated like some hump and have smoke blown up his butt. I don't demand much in the way of service, a little respect and an effort made to give me value for my money isn't too much to ask.

I absolutely agree. There are plenty of people who want your business--no need to put up with jerks.

But, in my experience living and shooting in PA for over 20 years, most gun stores are pretty good. Not all, but most.

On the other hand, I have noticed that many gun shops have a very low tolerance for idiot gun owners. So if a person is finding they are being treated poorly everywhere they go, perhaps there is a more obvious problem.

[NineseveN]

New topic to cover the thread drift can be found at: http://www.pafoa.org/forum/general-2...gun-store.html

[reels18]

I had an enjoyable time there today. I was surprised to see that Tommy opened the range, free of charge to all fathers.

I got there a little after 10:30 and there were a few shooters on the range. I fired for about an hour and coming out of the range into the showroom I found the longest waiting line I have ever seen at the place.

I thought I would be one of a few shooters because of Father's Day. Looks like a lot of guys had the same idea.

Anyway, I would like to thank Tommy for the nice gesture of free range time. The range officer was a fellow I have never seen before. He was completely professional and seemed to be helping a lot of people.

I remember our conversations about keeping the gun shops open by purchasing from them. I had no plans to buy anything there other than a backstop for shooting. Since I wasn't being charged range time, I ended up buying bore cleaner, a set of ear protectors and even a baseball cap. I ended up spending more today because of the freebie. I really didn't need them other than the ball cap, but, I thought I would return the gesture.