Coworker got ripped off

[Osobuco]

I found out today that the female that works adjacent to me has a lifetime permit. I found this out after she told me that she had a gun. Then she told me that she bought the gun at Don's guns. She was robbed and the police officer that came to the scene told her to get a weapon and shoot someone when they came in her house. Well, I asked her how much she paid for her Bersa .380. She said she got a warranty, a range session, and box of ammo for ....wait for it....
$700.00!!!

Well, in this day and age of the internet and the ability to quickly do a market assessment on just about any item you can imagine in my humble opinion it is mostly your friends fault that she overpaid. If Don has these in the case marked $700 and she paid that then good for Don, bad for her. On the other hand if Don does not have them marked and offers the same item to people he perceives as knowledgable at a lower price and folks he thinks are naieve at a higher price then bad for Don.

Fundamentally, you all know the adage about a fool and his/her money. Lesson #1 DO YOUR HOMEWORK! If you do not know where to start then ask someone you trust to help you!
Lesson #2 DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Did I say do your homework?????

 

[maxmayhem]

obvious

this is the most obvious advice ever given

Well, in this day and age of the internet and the ability to quickly do a market assessment on just about any item you can imagine in my humble opinion it is mostly your friends fault that she overpaid. If Don has these in the case marked $700 and she paid that then good for Don, bad for her. On the other hand if Don does not have them marked and offers the same item to people he perceives as knowledgable at a lower price and folks he thinks are naieve at a higher price then bad for Don.

Fundamentally, you all know the adage about a fool and his/her money. Lesson #1 DO YOUR HOMEWORK! If you do not know where to start then ask someone you trust to help you!
Lesson #2 DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Did I say do your homework?????

 

[maxmayhem]

agreed

if he did not follow the law then he would be in jail and out of business....people that are saying he does straw purchases ...where is your proof?...i never claimed this but did claim his pricing was outrageous and i wont shop there

Don is a competitor, and I would love to pile on.... BUT:

If his paperwork was not PERFECT and all of his sales legal, HE WOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS. While we may disagree with his business plan, IT'S HIS BUSINESS, and he does a ton of it!

I admire him for offering cash rewards for the recent murders of two innocent young people, and when his shop was broken into.

Want to stop people from being 'victimized' at Don's? Please send me a check for any amount and I will run more TV commercials than I currently do in order to take some of his business from him.

I do what I can.

 

[markiemark]

I agree that he did nothing legally wrong and it happens in other areas of business than just firearms. But like the old saying goes "what comes around, goes around". I'm sure it will come back to him.......Karma has a way of making things even.

 

[Spanky46151]

Friends don't let friends shot at Don's Guns...lol

 

[Mosinowner]

I bets dons sells Mosins for 500 and thats just a round receiver

 

[Zoub]

I bets dons sells Mosins for 500 and thats just a round receiver

No. Mosins don't fit Don's demographics.

Don proves the adage of location, location, location. Also that advertising works but not without L, L, L. He located his shops nearest the people easiest to make margin on.

That is why his Northside shop and range closed. His business model did not work up there and the location was out of the way.

A sign that says "Guns" off any exit on 465 would sell guns. If Bradis ever does that, their sales would probably double again.......for the right reasons.

 

[maxmayhem]

mosins

I hate mosins...this has nothing to do with mosins...seriously, i know you love mosins but try to stay on topic...

I bets dons sells Mosins for 500 and thats just a round receiver

 

[Htrailblazer]

I was just talking to my wife about the differences the way different genereations handle things.

It seems older generations 70+ bought from the local store, didnt buy if they already had the item and it wasnt broken. If it was broke they tried to fix it themselves or find a local company to reapair.

The next yougest generation say 50-70 seems to buy whatever whenever. if something hints at being broken they go buy a new one without even thinking about it. I good example is my father had this TV that a guide option that would pop up if you turned it on with the remote. He hated it and after maybe a year bought a new tv to replace it. I took the old one and spent 5min on google to find out how to get it never pop up. He was just going to throw it away.

I tend to think that people around my generation 30-50 research more about things when they are broken or need to buy something. I know everytime I have a question or and issue come up that i dont know I just get out my smartphone or computer and look up what I can find. We tend to buy multiple items that fit the same need so there are always backups so if something does break we dont go without. There was a time not too long ago I had both DSL interenet and still had a dial up account in case the DSL didnt work.

The youngest generation teens-20s seem to be about internet shopping and having the most advanced whatever, no matter the condition of what they already have. I know many people like this. the have an Ipad but when the Ipad2 came out they bought it too. same thing with phones and clothes and purses its always having something new.

These are just my observations and are probably just the people that i know??

 

[Dirc]

Don's Guns named among top five dealers selling guns to criminals

 

[williamsburg]

i was in there whille back...i remember seeing and xdm 9mm for 899 in black and 999 in two tone stainless....there was a guy shooting his gun at the range and they told him he had to buy thier ammo and it was.........42 for a for 50 rnds of 40 cal......wow
why do people go there when there are so many options

before dons.. (.)
after dons.. (O)

 

[radar44]

Years ago, my wife with her big, blonde hair, walked into Don's and said " I need to buy a scope for my husband and I don't know anything about guns'' ! When she told me this, my heart almost exploded.... long story short ....3X the price. I still have that scope because it was a 'gift from her' . I waited a little while... and kindly asked her to NEVER go in there again. Ah to be young and dumb again

 

[jimmyw86]

I dont remember you having to buy ammo at Dons to shoot. Its been a couple of years since i've been there though.

 

[the1kidd03]

all speculation....but I too have heard from a few sources that if you go into Don's with enough cash...they will "forget" the paperwork

 

[ruger7722]

dont shoot Don unless he comes to your house,lol.Dons and Pops are higher but look at what you get?????????

 

[doublebarrel]

I think Don's have a money-back guarantee on guns they sell (read it somewhere on their site). I've never seen a gun store that has a Walmart kind of return policy. So he does offer something others don't. Whether that's worth 3X the price, is of course another story...

 

[alexanjl12]

I dont remember you having to buy ammo at Dons to shoot. Its been a couple of years since i've been there though.

You only have to buy their ammo if you rent one one of their guns.

 

[HandK]

That is absolutely disgracefully! I do not know how people like that can sleep at night!!

 

[kludge]

all speculation....but I too have heard from a few sources that if you go into Don's with enough cash...they will "forget" the paperwork

If that were the case they would already be out of business. With all the publicity he gets, I'm sure he also gets scrutiny.

I think Don's survives on "any publicity is good publicity."

 

[paddling_man]

I've been in Don's twice in five years. Both times in the first 6 months I moved here. Once to see what was there ($500 Kel Tec P32s?!?!?!?) The second time because I really, really, really, really wanted to shoot a new gun when it was 8F outside and I couldn't make it to Pop's - not that I'm a Pop's fan either. The range seems ill-equipped and riddled with folks who know nothing about gun safety. When your time is up? Oh, they TURN THE LIGHTS OFF. Yeah... that's safe.

Anyway, not been in since and warned people away from there as well. Prices? Well, each time I was in the place was packed. Packed with folks who looked like they were narrowly skating away from a Rico conviction for gang activity, but packed nonetheless. Someone is paying those prices.

I look at it like this: I can buy a bottle of 500-count aspirin from WalMart for $8 or I can buy two in a foil pack from Village Pantry for $2.59. I'm paying for convenience. The mall store, with higher overhead and impulse buyers, will price higher than a discount big-box or even the internet. Heck, us knife guys encourage brick-and-mortar stores and INGO encourages us to use Site Sponsors even though we can get the item frequently cheaper at an online vendor.

We pay a premium to enhance our shopping experience, for convenience or even to support a particular retailer and their customer service. Don's is doing something for his clientele to keep them coming back in droves or he wouldn't still be in business. Maybe it is simply providing a place for that particular cultural demographic to shop where they don't feel like they're being eyeballed as criminals by the part-time employees who are LEO full-time or reserve.

Man, I'm really NOT defending Don's. I find him repugnant. I think his place is unsafe and ratty. I'm surprised the range passes any inspection. The prices are RIDICULOUSLY high. I'm definitely not part of the demographic he serves. Still... he must be doing something right in that business model to be making a profit.

I would be frustrated if my wife unknowingly went to Don's and spent 3.5 times normal pricing to buy a gift for me. I would be likewise frustrated if, me asking for 500 aspirin, if she spent $647.50 for 250 foil packs from Village Pantry.

Just my opinion... If I dislike a retailer and their practices, I vote with my dollars.