For the Gen 4, no thats about as low as most places I have seen. ($520 + tax.) If it was a gen 3, yes you could have gotten it for about $40 cheaper. Just what I have found with my local prices.

 

No I would never pay the marked price. To me it is like buying a car.

 

No I would never pay the marked price. To me it is like buying a car.

What do you do for a living?

 

If you are happy with the purchase and seperation of the money, then you did good. A value on anything is what the market will baer. Anyone could feel that they paid to much or got that "smokin deal".

I have at times paid more for something because I just had to have it and didn't want to wait for a cheaper price.

 

Generally speaking, I will pay sticker price because I only go to certain shops to actually buy and I know what their markup is. I go to other shops once in a while to see what they have, and see if they might be running a sale or something, but I usually actually buy from one or two shops.

When one shop has a tag of $489 plus tax, and the other has the exact same gun for $600 plus tax, there is no sense in asking if they will come down because even if they do, they will act as if they are doing you a favor by coming down $10 or $20 on their exorbitant price to begin with.

 

If by "marked price" you mean the price as marked on the tag, I very seldom do that. I NEVER do it on a used gun.

If you mean "RETAIL price", then no, I never do that either. Whenever I go gun shopping, I use my I-phone to check prices before I even ask to hold a gun. Gun Broker is a good place to find out what the "everyday price" should be. Davidson's Gun Genie is a good place to find the best price in your area....if it's available.

I've walked away from many new guns I WANTED, but refused to pay full price because it was the "in thing" at the time. I usually find what I'm looking for at a 20% or better discount later down the road. I'm still waiting on the price of a FNH Five Seven to drop below the $750 mark.

 

At the shop, our marked price barely makes enough to keep the doors open. A lot of people don't understand the amount of money the shops pay for some of this stuff. I don't know many prices but I do the costs of Glocks and at $520 (with a non stocking dealer) the shop only made $45. You can do the math, that is less than 10% profit. Nominal profit margin to keep the doors open is usually considered to be 33%. Meaning that, at the considered profit margin you should've paid over $600 plus tax for that gun.

The mark up on guns in gun shops is ridiculously low. You should see the markup on some stuff in AutoZone. Wiper blades that cost $8.99 on the retail can be marked down to $3.99 to still make a 53% profit margin. Imagine if guns were marked up to those extremes.

 

Imagine if guns were marked up to those extremes.

I can...they are called Guns Plus and Gander Mountain here in Fayetteville.

I found one shop in town that will do $20 FFL transfers. He's made $20 off of me on more than one occasion by doing nothing more than a few minutes worth of paperwork. He'll do it all day long, even if he has the same gun in his rack at a 20%+ mark up. He's the reason I'm not afraid to buy guns on line.

There's another shop in town that must have a pretty good distributor, because prices on guns ORDERED through them are always pretty low. They are close to base, so they can charge what they want for the guns on their rack, and know most Soldiers with deployment money in their pockets will pay it.

 

I found one shop in town that will do $20 FFL transfers.

Our transfers are $12 for the first gun and $2 for each additional gun after that. We seem to do quite a few transfers.

 

I do not mind paying a fair price for any good or product. I know that in order for doors to stay open at a buisness that they have to make a buck.

 

It somewhat bothers me when people complain about local gun store prices and quote what they can order the same gun for online. These people always seem to forget to account for shipping cost and FFL fees associated with buying a firearm online.

 

I do not mind paying a fair price for any good or product. I know that in order for doors to stay open at a buisness that they have to make a buck.

+1

 

Our transfers are $12 for the first gun and $2 for each additional gun after that. We seem to do quite a few transfers.

There are a few places here in town that do them for $25, and one that is $50.

 

I dont haggle on prices. I locate an item I want, at a price that I'm willing to pay, and purchase it.

 

I dont haggle on prices. I locate an item I want, at a price that I'm willing to pay, and purchase it.

I'm the same way, I hate to haggle.

 

Depends on the shop. At Hyatt's I never pay what's on the tag. But some places put their best price up front and don't haggle. Bought my Benelli SuperSport from Hill's in Raleigh and they didn't haggle..but it was the same as Gunbroker so I was happy to buy.

 

What do you do for a living?

I am in procurement consulting.

 

I'm the same way, I hate to haggle.

I'm in this batch. If a place is ridiculously high I don't mess with them, if they're generally fair I'll pay sticker.

 

I do not try to brow beat people on their prices. I hate it when people do it to me and therefore, don't do it to others. I almost always buy new, that way I know what I'm getting, and I buy from the local guy. I have a shop that gives me good service and I like supporting them. I'm not going 20 miles up the road to save $20 and I'm not going to hassle them to meet or beat the shop that has it $20 cheaper 20 miles up the road.

I know the expense of running a retail business, what it takes to keep the doors open and earn a modest living. Nobody running a retail gun shop is getting filthy rich and I don't begrudge them making a profit. He has his price, I want it, I buy it...or I pass. But I don't insult him by trying to beat him down to get it $20 cheaper. I wouldn't feel good about it if I suceeded. I'm not going to be the greasy tightwad trying to squeeze one more 10 bucks out of the guy.

I like the local gun shop. I like having a good selection and if they don't have it they'll find me one. I like having hunting and reloading supplies along with some knives, flashlights, ammo, scopes, magazines, etc. Mostly I like being able to spend time perusing all that while engaged in some great conversation.
That's worth a lot to me.
I want them around a long time.
I'm willing to support that.

 

Depends on the shop. At Hyatt's I never pay what's on the tag. But some places put their best price up front and don't haggle. Bought my Benelli SuperSport from Hill's in Raleigh and they didn't haggle..but it was the same as Gunbroker so I was happy to buy.

Yeah if your headed to Hyatts and want to see what they will take check out their prices on their website first, they are a lot cheaper then their store.

Only pay the price on the sticker if its good.

 

The only time I haggle, is if I am trading something in, and I usually only try to get them to throw in some range time with the trade.

 

I am in procurement consulting.

that explains your previous comment.

 

I always try to get a better price. If they can't do any better, then they'll let me know, and I make my decision from there.

If they do come down, I don't act all butthurt about them originally trying to get more out of me than they would settle for, and I don't expect them to act that way for me asking.

I don't work my job to make my money to keep other people in business. My money needs to go as far as I can stretch it. The target end result is me being happy with the value of my purchase, it's up to the seller to make sure he watches out for his end of things...he knows what his margin needs to be. And I've bought enough pieces to know that the figure scratched down on a tag isn't engraved in stone.

No reason we can't talk civilly about out and work out a deal that makes both parties happy without insulting offers from either side.

 

Here's what I do, new or used, marked or unmarked price........once I get a quote, or see the tag, I politely ask "Is that your best price"?

If they say "yes it is", and I think it's fair, I will proceed with the purchase.

If they knock off a few bucks, well then they did it because they could afford to, and they wanted my business.

I only ask the question if I'm serious about buying.

Either way, I don't get into any further discussion on price. One question is all they get. However it ends up, I stay polite.

Lou

 

If the difference between the online price+shipping+FFL fees is significantly (at least $50) more than the sticker price (before taxes), I will see if they do better (not necessarily match to the dollar, but coming into the same ballpark). For me the benefits of buying local are worth way more than a $20 or $30 price difference.