Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Do you place a monetary value on hassle?

My time is valuable and my BS tolerance has dropped considerably as I have aged.

I do. I take people fishing for money. My rate is very reasonable, unless they want me to fish daylight 'til dark.

I'm not a big haggler when it comes to buying guns. But my standard question when I'm looking at a gun I'm interested in is:

"What's the best you can do me on it?"

Sometimes they don't take anything off of it. Sometimes they'll knock it down a very decent amount.

I've had people knock 20% off with no more than that question. Even on guns that were worth what they were asking.

I generally hassle people for free.

I bought a new Ducati motorcycle for $2000 less than the local dealer was asking by driving to Columbus Ohio and riding it back,...about 450 miles round trip. Both of them were new leftover models from the previous year.

The Columbus dealer had an ad in a regional sales magazine and had a lot of leftover models that he had marked down to clear them out.

I told the local dealer that I would give him $250 more than the Columbus dealer was asking just to save me the trouble of going to Columbus to get the bike. But he wouldn't budge a bit.

I told him I'd have to go to Columbus for $2000.

I used to have a big sign in the auto shop I owned:

"LABOR RATES ARE VARIABLE BASED ON THE CUSTOMER'S ATTITUDE"

My time is valuable- - - -so is yours. If we're doing business, I'd much prefer to do it face to face, with a considerable amount of respect given by both sides. The best way to lose me as a customer forever is to act like a jerk. That applies to the local guy, and the one across the country with nothing but a website to deal with.
Jerry

My LGS does transfers for $20 inbound, $30 outbound. Owner is also Left Handed. So, is somewhat sympathetic to me ordering unique LH stuff off the internet. When I order stuff directly through him, I never haggle the price. I always pick up "something" while I am there. Always pay cash.

I feel like I get dang good service, for a reasonable price, and never feel like I am being talked down to, brushed off, nor taken advantage of. So, if I am paying a few dollars extra here and there for being treated like a human being (zero hassle), it is worth it...

Heck yeah. I'll pay more if I get a few more minutes of my day back.

My wife thinks I’ll do some crazy stuff to save a few bucks but the older I get the more valuable I find my time to be. Maybe when the kids are grown and life slows down (if it ever slows down) I’ll revert back but I find myself increasingly paying for convenience

I look at the whole transaction and certainly factor in convenience, reliability, cost and local versus online.

My son was telling me the other day he now takes all his motorcycle/ small engine/ mechanical work that needs professional intervention over an hour away to a guy in Columbia MO because the guy did a rush job for him when everyone close by him couldn’t handle it in less than four days.

That's what I do as well. Paying a few bucks more for convenience from a reputable source is worth it to me.


However....

The decision has been decided based on a lucky happenstance and also my waiting too long.

I've been trying to get a quote from Whittaker Guns on this particular rifle but I guess they don't do those on Sunday or Monday, so no quote. No quotey, no buyey - and that's not my choice. Their website won't let me add the rifle to my cart at all without a quote. SW has been showing that I could pick up the rifle in their store on Monday, September 9th.

Well, I was poking around the Whittaker website and found the exact same rifle in a different caliber but listed under a slightly different manufacturer, "Tikka Beretta" instead of just "Tikka". And lo and behold, they have a price listed and it's considerably less than Sportsman's, even after I cash in my Sportsman's rewards points and throw in the military discount. I'm assuming the rifle in the caliber I want will be the same since it's the exact same model. $9.99 flat rate shipping from Whittaker doesn't add much plus it's Whittaker's so they have a good rep for fast shipping.

The final kicker is that now the Sportsman's website is showing that I can pick the rifle up on Monday, September 16th, a full 13 days away. Guess they only do inter-store transfers on one day each week and if you miss that day you have to wait until the next week. A phone call to Whittaker's tomorrow to order and pay by CC, plus I'm sure they have my local guy's FFL on file, and it should get here sometime next week.


Way lower price from a very reputable dealer and faster delivery to boot. Damn, I hate when that happens....

I don't consider Sportsmans Warehouse, a local gun store. They have a local store but the money goes somewhere else. I tend to buy used guns, which Sportmans don't have. I don't buy used because it's cheaper (sometimes it is) but I tend to like older guns. Not that many shops around here anymore to dicker with. Just easier to find it on one forum or another, or sometimes, Gunbroker, If it's on a forum, lot's of people will take my check because I've been around a long time. That makes things easier, far as I'm concerned. Usually there's not a one to one situation to determine which is the one I want. Sportsmans is usually less expensive than Cabelas, although I think Sportsmans raised their price when Cabelas came in. I seldom (read virtually never) go to Cabelas to shop for guns.

if it involves work yes.

Buy local if you have to. that is the gun has any issues. you just have to follow the money.