I had a most unpleasant experience at my LGS today and am still trying to cooldown. Please note that this is not associated with any LGS in Indiana. I have dealt with this LGS for about 3 years on an almost exclusive basis. This LGS has been open less than 4 years and other than purchasing a gun at a Dallas gunshow (which I knew my LGS did not have) and purchasing a used gun on Gunbroker (which my LGS could not get), all of my gun business has been with him. We are also on a first name basis. Over this time period, I have purchased guns (only 2 of which involved trades) from his shop to the tune of over $12,500 not to mention the 3-4 thousand dollars worth of optics, ammunition, powder, primer, bullets, and magazines. Throughout this period, I always felt my LGS prices were fair (but not the lowest) and that I was not being gouged. I often went out of my way to purchase from him even though there is another LGS about equal distance the opposite direction where I could get a slightly better price but very limited stock.
I was in the LGS last Thursday, things were normal, plenty of ARs, etc. and I purchased some bullets labeled as one thing and when I got home, they were something else entirely. So I go back to exchange the bullets today and noted the following:
1) Still plenty of ARs, etc. but all the prices have been pulled off the ARs and AKs but still on all the other guns. It is obvious that since Friday, the pricing of guns has become inflated for stock he already had and also that it was very fluid.
2) One customer that was buying an AR told him that Walmart had some kind of AR for $847 and the LGS owner said he was going to go buy them all so that he could resell at a much higher amount.
3)All the price tags were removed from the AR magazines indicating that pricing was also inflated and fluid. Previously, these were all marked with Magpul MSRP.
4) I picked up a SCAR17 mag from the shelf and also noted that the price had been removed. Since he didn't have the bullets I needed, I was just going to apply the exchange to the SCAR mag. Previously, he had these marked at $49.95 which was already above MSRP. He told me that since he had sold me the rifle, I could purchase the mag at $60 and I refused. He then indicated within 3 months that mag would be worth over $100. Before I left the shop, he pulled both the SCAR 17 mags off the shelf and hid them in the back presumably to sell later at a much higher price.
5) I left the shop with refund cash in hand for the bullets and a very bad taste in my mouth feeling as if my LGS was trying to bend me over a barrel. Ironically, this is all from a LGS that had always touted how fairly they dealt with people.
In the short term, I was getting ready to purchase several additional firearms and optics from this LGS. Right now, I am not very inclined to do business with this LGS again but, I will let the dust settle from this crisis and do a lot of cooling down myself before I make my decision. Maybe I can get this
look off my face.
I was in the LGS last Thursday, things were normal, plenty of ARs, etc. and I purchased some bullets labeled as one thing and when I got home, they were something else entirely. So I go back to exchange the bullets today and noted the following:
1) Still plenty of ARs, etc. but all the prices have been pulled off the ARs and AKs but still on all the other guns. It is obvious that since Friday, the pricing of guns has become inflated for stock he already had and also that it was very fluid.
2) One customer that was buying an AR told him that Walmart had some kind of AR for $847 and the LGS owner said he was going to go buy them all so that he could resell at a much higher amount.
3)All the price tags were removed from the AR magazines indicating that pricing was also inflated and fluid. Previously, these were all marked with Magpul MSRP.
4) I picked up a SCAR17 mag from the shelf and also noted that the price had been removed. Since he didn't have the bullets I needed, I was just going to apply the exchange to the SCAR mag. Previously, he had these marked at $49.95 which was already above MSRP. He told me that since he had sold me the rifle, I could purchase the mag at $60 and I refused. He then indicated within 3 months that mag would be worth over $100. Before I left the shop, he pulled both the SCAR 17 mags off the shelf and hid them in the back presumably to sell later at a much higher price.
5) I left the shop with refund cash in hand for the bullets and a very bad taste in my mouth feeling as if my LGS was trying to bend me over a barrel. Ironically, this is all from a LGS that had always touted how fairly they dealt with people.
In the short term, I was getting ready to purchase several additional firearms and optics from this LGS. Right now, I am not very inclined to do business with this LGS again but, I will let the dust settle from this crisis and do a lot of cooling down myself before I make my decision. Maybe I can get this
look off my face.
