Will your Gun Store become a Costly Middleman?

offeror

I used to have a kitchen table FFL, and got the wholesale catalogs. There were a few suppliers who would not work with you unless you were a stocking dealer, but there were many who would work with anyone supplying an FFL. I gave up my FFL when the BATF started harrassing kitchen table dealers.

As much as I enjoy a good price, I have to admit I can't see what's to prevent an unscrupulous wholesaler from getting Internet IDs and going into the auction business. They can certainly undercut local prices, sometimes enough to make the shipping cost and FFL transfer fees worthwhile. On the other hand, my attitude about local dealers who jack up their transfer price for what is basically being a recipient mailbox and filling out a 4473 is not very good. I don't want auction guns to have their prices inflated by my local dealer. In one sense, I'm caught between the rock and the hard place. Of course it's up to me to avoid dealers with an attitude and find people who do not view this trend with alarm and are willing to work with me at reasonable cost.

Still, I do wonder what's to stop the wholesaler who wants a bigger market share to start posting auctions under any 'ol user ID. After all, all they need is an FFL on file to send me a gun. If my local FFLer is willing to give me a signed copy of his FFL, I can send it to anybody that will work with me. I suppose I could simply order guns direct from SOG or a dozen others, for that matter. My dealer receives the box, and I get the guns on his FFL for a transfer fee...

Just thinking out loud. You probably wished I wouldn't have pointed this out... In a way so do I. I think some dealers get way too much for some guns, and I like this levelling of the playing field.

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The 2nd Amendment is about security, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member.

Pelican

Don't worry offeror, it won't be too many more years there won't be any gun sales and we will all be wearing dark tunic tops with white pants and sandals and will be identified by a number rather than a name.

The Almighty Himself Entrusted the Future of All Living Creatures to a Wooden Boat.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -"Audemus jura nostra defendere"

Theguncounterkid

That is as interesting thought, but very troubling for more than money reasons. As a kid, i remember going into town every saterday.
Now growing up on the deserts of eastern oregon, this was a treat. Mother would shop, while me and my father would slip into the local gun shop. Every saterday morning was spent discussing everything from barrel to bullet wieght or the best rounds for sagerats. Now, if everyone could transfer off the internet and to thier door on a dealers FFL, gun stores wouldnt last very long. Now i agree that some dealers inflate thier prices to a laughable point, not all do. I guess the key is find a shop that you like, and the markup is less of an issue than the current days round caliber "debates".
Just a random wandering thought.

groundhog devastation

Maybe someday there will be a major shift to "internet purchasing" but I think it will be a long way off. In the Agricultural world,(where did all of the food you ate today come from) the internet marketing of chemicals and seed has been very slow to happen. The people still want the interaction of themselves and another warm body to conduct business!! If you've ever purchased a gun from a dealer on the other side of the country you should understand what I'm saying. You just didn't feel comfortable making that payment sight unseen. I just hope we're still a ways off from buying all we need or want from this computer screen. GHD

Rafter-S

offeror-- Great thread.

Several years ago I spent a little time helping a friend who owned a gun store. And this topic made me think of some of the benefits of buying from a local store. One big one; if a gun doesn't work properly the purchaser can return it for an exchange. When buying from a discount house or gun show dealer, and you have problems, you deal with the manufacturer...or importer. This may or may not be important to some folks.

When we (my friend's store) exchanged a gun for someone, we then sent it in for repairs. When it was returned it had to be sold as "used" and thus deeply discounted.

Another advantage--especially for the novice--different guns could be compared side-by-side so as to choose the one best liked. No way that could be done via mail order.

Then there was always "education" that was provided by the salesman. We were "there" both before and after the sale to help shooters.

Maybe others could think of other advantages/disadvantages of local gun stores.