O K so I've been thinking about this for sometime and decided to compose my thoughts here....I draw no conclusions and am only making observations...here goes.
I see post after post about the price of guns....people who think that gun stores should sell at wholesale prices, gun show vendors who sell above retail prices and guys selling guns on the forums who 1) sell a gun as LNIB with only 2 or 300 rounds fired or 2) guys who offer used guns at retail prices or 3) guys who rate guns with very apparent wear or blemishes at 95%.
I would like to make a few observations on each of these fronts.
Retail stores-to expect a retail store to sell at wholesale prices or a price you saw somewhere on the internet is not realistic. The costs asssociated with operating a retail establishment are considerable and you get the advantage of seeing the gun first hand before you buy. How many go to a shop examine a gun and then buy it on the net somehwere and pay shipping and a transfer fee and end up at or near the price they saw it at the local shop. Now the shop lost a sale, profits and has to cut back inventory staff etc...and so it goes.
It is also frustrating to go to gun shows and find vendors selling guns there above retail...sure they have expenses too but I would wager that for the gun show vendor specialist that they are less than the retailer..many will openly nepotiate and low ball guys patrolling the shows looking to sell guns but then get offended or ignore you if you try to negotiate with them...I guess that my expectation is that prices at gun show should be something less than retail if for no other reason than the volume of business that one has the opprtunity to conduct at shows and their lower overhead...I won't go into the credit card up charge and my lack of desire to walk through shows with large amounts of cash....
For the forum sellers, If you have the gun it is used! I guess to me it is like cars, once you drive off the lot the price goes down. People complain about the price dealers charge but they want to sell a used gun at or above what dealers do (not including collector items here) with no overhead. I understand that all prices are negotiable but don't get po'd when someone offers less than retail for a used gun. Also realize that LNIB means never shot, never touched never even opened IMO....but the gun is used because you are not a dealer and you did not get it from the manufacturer.
Please note that these are my own personal observations, I don't mean to offend anyone and I understand that everyone has a right to a different opinion....these are just mine. I have bought guns from dealers, at shows and several from great reasonable sellers here on INGO. I just think we all need to reevaluate some of our thinking about pricing and conductiing business...
So there you go....have at me
I see post after post about the price of guns....people who think that gun stores should sell at wholesale prices, gun show vendors who sell above retail prices and guys selling guns on the forums who 1) sell a gun as LNIB with only 2 or 300 rounds fired or 2) guys who offer used guns at retail prices or 3) guys who rate guns with very apparent wear or blemishes at 95%.
I would like to make a few observations on each of these fronts.
Retail stores-to expect a retail store to sell at wholesale prices or a price you saw somewhere on the internet is not realistic. The costs asssociated with operating a retail establishment are considerable and you get the advantage of seeing the gun first hand before you buy. How many go to a shop examine a gun and then buy it on the net somehwere and pay shipping and a transfer fee and end up at or near the price they saw it at the local shop. Now the shop lost a sale, profits and has to cut back inventory staff etc...and so it goes.
It is also frustrating to go to gun shows and find vendors selling guns there above retail...sure they have expenses too but I would wager that for the gun show vendor specialist that they are less than the retailer..many will openly nepotiate and low ball guys patrolling the shows looking to sell guns but then get offended or ignore you if you try to negotiate with them...I guess that my expectation is that prices at gun show should be something less than retail if for no other reason than the volume of business that one has the opprtunity to conduct at shows and their lower overhead...I won't go into the credit card up charge and my lack of desire to walk through shows with large amounts of cash....
For the forum sellers, If you have the gun it is used! I guess to me it is like cars, once you drive off the lot the price goes down. People complain about the price dealers charge but they want to sell a used gun at or above what dealers do (not including collector items here) with no overhead. I understand that all prices are negotiable but don't get po'd when someone offers less than retail for a used gun. Also realize that LNIB means never shot, never touched never even opened IMO....but the gun is used because you are not a dealer and you did not get it from the manufacturer.
Please note that these are my own personal observations, I don't mean to offend anyone and I understand that everyone has a right to a different opinion....these are just mine. I have bought guns from dealers, at shows and several from great reasonable sellers here on INGO. I just think we all need to reevaluate some of our thinking about pricing and conductiing business...
So there you go....have at me
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