I'm curious to see how you guys might feel about something that happened to me today.

I had money in hand to buy a new gun and was in a local store I've bought a few from in the last year. In the front door walks another customer wanting to sell one of the guns I was hopeing to find.

I didn't say one word to the customer but watched as the store owner came over and started negotiating with the customer. I would have gladly offerred in cash the amount that the customer offered the gun to the store at. The store owner offered him a lower figure and the customer turned to me and said "I see you looking at this gun would you like to buy it?". I simply said "No".

After they finished their deal the dealer paid the guy $735 for the pistol. I milled around until after the customer had left the store and drove off and told the owner that I'd like to buy the pistol. I said that I was very interested but didn't say a word because I was in his store. He said "yea that would be a way to get your ass thrown out".

So anyway he prices me the pistol at $935! I told him I was willing to go as high as $850 and give him $115 profit for 5 minutes of work. He said he' come down to $900 for cash. I thanked him and left went somewhere else and bought a different gun.

Is it just me or would you feel a little slighted too? I could have jumped in and bought the pistol for $750 but out of respect kept out of the deal until they were finished and even offered what I considered to be an excellent profit. I'm feeling that they don't appreciate my business and don't feel like going back anytime soon. What do you think and how would you feel about it?.

FWIW dealer cost on the pistol new is $735 (he looked it up and told me). It had 3 mags and it had a set of crimson trace grips with it (which I asked if he would just leave off and use with another of the same model he had)......................DJ

The dealer has to make a profit,there lot's of "hidden cost" that the 5 minute deal won't cover. I respect your dealings with the shop by staying out of it,it's his business and everyone is trying to make as much as possible.We all do the same when negotiating our pay grades,contracts,money for a job,whatever....He was working a 20% deal and if that is what it takes for him to live and to be there the next time you come in,so be it.....it's may be me,but I only ask one time for the best price and I am prepared to pay cash and take it home....
my 2 cents worth

I'd have said "I'm only interested If you cannot come to an agreement with the store owner".

If the store owner kicks you out, well then it's his loss of custom. Which he's now lost anyway...

Scott

If I was a long time customer I might have pushed a little harder. Then again, his show and it's pretty tough sledding right now. I'd let it slide. Doesn't sound like he's real neighborly.

Happened a few years ago to my brother we were in a gun store and a guy come is with a ruger M77 full stock in 243win. Beautiful little rifle. the gun owner asked they guy behind the counter how much he would give him, he said $ 200. My brother chimed in and said to the guy behind the counter I will buy that off him for $200 give you $50 and save you the paperwork. Everyone agreed and we took home a mint rifle at a good price.

Any store owner that threatens to " throw my ass out" just lost my business. There are too many guns to be bought to be dealing with an azzhole.

+1

djp..,

You don't own the store dealer squat. You come out ahead and the seller comes out ahead. Biddness is biddness. First money takes it.

O

+2

Look at it from the dealer's perspective. He's going to sell that gun to somebody for $900. Whether it's you or not is entirely up to you. He doesn't really care.

I was at a gun show 4-5 years ago and brought a couple of guns to trade in towards a new Browning Gold Hunter shotgun. I was talking to the dealer and he was looking up values in his book when a guy walked by and wanted to buy one of my rifles. I asked the gun dealer at what price was I better off taking money from that guy rather than him (get a break on the sales tax on a trade in). He gave me a number. I told the guy who wanted my gun $50 more. he bought it and with that money and the trade in on an old shotgun got the new Gold Hunter for $50. In your case If I wanted that particular pistol I would have said something. Business is business and your money is just as good.

Thats all fine and good but we know how negative word of mouth can impact a business. There are numerous gun shops that I will not return too and will not endorse to anyone, even if they simply ask the location Ill tell them I dont know.

I have been in that situation many times. I just wait to see what happens if they aren't making a deal. I just tell the seller I will talk to him outside of the buisness about it.

Id like to stand 50 feet from the organized gun buy backs the dumbazz police department holds and offer 60 or 70 bucks cash for the guns that the dilholes are turning in for 50 dollar wal mart cards.

yeah offering to get thrown out would chap my azz, but some gunnies are pretty gruff, no biggie,

but would you have seen that pistol had you not been in "his" store?

he's got a sizeable investment there, but the best investment he will ever make is good customer relations.

believe if I'd been in his shoes I'd have negotiated abit more with you maybe settled on $875 or so, who knows, or at least tried to explain why I couldn't.

a guy don't make building notes and/or rent payments by selling stuff for what he buys it for, how much mark up depends on each individual biz I suppose.

imo you did the right thing, but the dealer was a bit of the azz and I'd agree I'd find another place to spend my $$ as well

If I had wanted it----Well for me I'd have said hell yes if the dealer does not give you the price you wanted. But I would have allowed the store owner first choice. After that how much?

There are plenty of gun dealers.

BTW---What was it?

You did the right thing not jumping in on the deal in the dealer's store. The only reason you saw gun was because of that guy's business.
The way I see it not jumping in was the right thing to do and doing the right thing not high five worthy.
So the dealer owed you nothing because you did nothing more than what anyone should of done in the same circumstances.
If you did say something you would deserve to be thrown right out.
I see the dealers reply similar to your comment that brought the response.
The dealer had no reason to show you favor either,IMO.

You did the right thing not jumping in.

Just because some dum bass walks into a store and wants to buy doesn't mean he can outbid the owner on a deal. If the deal doesn't go down you would be fine to walk outside quietly and try and make a deal but saying something during the time the store owner is negotiating would make one a lowlife chitbag.

I feel the same way. The store owner could have said, "I appreciate your consideration. How can I help you?" When somebody threatens me they lose me forever.

His place of business and his business. You were right for not jumping in. Had I been the dealer and could turn a fast even 50-75 bucks in a couple of minutes I would, but that is me.

Agreed 100 percent, selling it like that means no time in it and instant cash in the pocket.

Terry,

You're the smart one. The annual rate of return, for making $115 in 5 minutes, on an investment of $735, is astronomical. Heck, the daily rate of return is over 1500% by my calculations.

Scott

YUP!!

as well as a happy customer instead of a disgruntled one. What do they say about how people share bad experiences at stores with others at least 10 times.

If the store owner gave two schits about you as a regular, repeat customer, he would have offered you a good price to keep you happy and in doing so you both win. He makes a quick profit and keeps you happy. Win win. To not do so he displayed how little he cares about your business.

Threaten you and not offer a discount? Screw him, I'd be shopping somewhere else.

It would have been entirely proper to say "I'm interested only if you can't come to a deal with the store." That absolves you of any hint of horning in on the store owner, yet preserves your right to dicker after first right of refusal.

I bought two guns from customers who walked into the store where I worked, but not until the boss declined to buy. I didn't announce my interest until after the boss declined, BTW.

"customer turned to me and said "I see you looking at this gun would you like to buy it?". I simply said "No"."

Where you screwed up. This deal was offered to YOU!/

What is it with gun store owners and the attitudes?

You did the right thing, and the store owner took an opportunity to turn inventory instantly, and used it to sour a customer. Yeah, that's good business.....

The store had no more skin in this transaction than in an FFL transfer. JMO, Dutch.

Buddy of mine works in a gun store, and many times I have been loitering at the counter when someone comes in and tries to sell a gun, I never say a word even if interested, and if his offer doesn't interest the customer he asks me if I am interested and to discuss it in the parking lot. Same guy recently came into a batch of pre-64 Winchesters, he did not put them out, he called all his customers who might be interested and added $100 to what he paid. Most went out the door at $200 dollars, and yes, he is well aware of what they were worth. He wanted to 1) turn a quick profit and 2) take care of his old customers.

Not all shop owners are scum suckers, and not all are as nice as this guy. You did the right thing being respectful of his business.

The store had all the "skin".

The guy that wanted to short the dealer or steal the business from the store had "no skin". Just by being somewhere doesn't grant someone the authority to do whatever the [bleep] they want.

Apparently some peoples ethics and morality comes with a price or model number.

That's the way to do it! Fair all around.

I hate hearing about pissed off old guys that want to get a GREAT deal just because they think they deserve it.

Open your own F'in store and deal with all the bullchit licensing, insurance, security, etc. if you want a cut rate price, otherwise STFU because you think you deserve a gun based on the price paid by the dealer.

I would rather make 3 deals a week that net me $50.00 a pop than 1 that netted $100.00, keeping the money moving while adding to the till is how you stay in business.

You did the right thing, on the other hand the owner didn't have to tell you that he would have kicked you out.

I would be looking else where to spend my hard earned money.

Should have gave him a wink.....lol

Would a wink have made him a "lowlife chitbag" with no ethics or morals?

Winking at another man so you can buy his firearm must be a southern thing.

The prices on used guns are so ridiculous in my part of Fl that its a miracle they sell anything.

Sure, for two book entries and maybe a phone call I'd be happy with that. A business looses money while goods sit in inventory. Moreover there used to be the concept of customer good will. Word of mouth can make a big difference for a small business.

Yes

Not something I wanted, but a customer refused the dealer's offer and left. I asked the dealer how he would feel if I made the customer an offer after he left the store. He said he wouldn't care for it, because the customer usually came back and took the offer when he found out other dealers would offer even less.

Bruce

i agree and anyone threatens to throwm me out will never get my business again

I would have told the seller I wanted the gun, then asked the store owner how much to do the transfer. Win-win-win.

I keep thinking of someone going onto a carlot and offering to buy a customer's trade in for what the dealer offered the customer for it. You'd probably get asked to leave pretty fast.
You're at someone else's place of business, trying to take their business away from them.

would you guys hang around a car lot and offer $100 more than a dealer paid for a trade in? Would you hang around a restaurant and offer 50 cents more for what the owner paid for his steak? If you saw how much the man in a clothing store paid for his suits would you offer $5.00 more? At the feed store when you saw the price of hay bales would you offer an additional quarter? If the jewerly store owner paid $400 for a diamond ring would you expect to get it for $425?
Most businesses need 20% minimum to stay in business. Some like the jewerly store markup 200%! My friend at a local gun shop says 25% markup on guns is normal. That makes a $725 gun over $900. Unless you own a business you have no idea what you are talking about.

Serendipity. The guy just happened to be there. It's not like he was camped out in the store trying pick off sellers as they walk in the door.

The store owner is short sighted. Does anyone usually just buy a gun?

"How about a scope (gun case, reloading dies, powder etc. etc. ) to go along with that?"

Make a customer for life, or piss one off that never returns.
It's a free country.......

I think you did the right thing by not stepping in. That being said, if any dealer, salesman, proprietor-whatever you want to call them, ever threatened to throw me out over something like this, they would never see one red cent of my money ever again, and I would go out of my way to let everyone I knew know what an azzwipe this guy really was. There's ways to make business, and there's ways to keep satisfied customers coming back, and this wasn't one of them.

I don't have a problem with a dealer having a good markup, but the language and comment about kicking him out of the store would cost him in the long run. You don't make money off the customer the first time he comes into the store, you make it off him for years; every time he comes into the store. Who buys just one gun?

Dealer had the opportunity to buy the gun and low balled the seller. Seller turned to DJ and said, "do you want to buy this gun?", and the majority here say it's wrong to say, "Hell yes, I'll buy it!"
Dealer took the deal off the table when he low balled the seller.
I have alot of gundealer friends but I'm not queer for any of them. Business is business and an offer to sell is an offer to sell.
My dealers have profited off me big time so they wouldn't think of throwing me out the door.

i'am with T Lee on this one ,and the guys that get most of my money deal,and they get respect and friendship from me and recomendations .

quite often its a personality thing,for example ,i walked into this store for the first time,started talking to owner,walked out with a sav carbine and stith set up for under 500.oo he now saves all his savages for me and i buy,seems like he wants to sell guns

. Coming from a store owners perspective which I am. This would get you asked never to come back. He did not lowball the seller he was simply buying the gun as cheaply as possible which is how you stay in buisness. I cannot give the same for a gun as you can because I have hundrends of thousands of dollars in overhead and I have to charge tax plus background fees. Once these are added the gun I just lowballed I might make a 15 to 20 profit which is alot on a gun these days with gun broker and buds gun shop around. Now with that being said I would not have told you I would have kicked your butt out even though I would have. I also would have sold you the gun at a discount since you watched me buy it to keep good relations. Also if I would have not got the gun bought I would have told you that it was okay for you to buy it. This happens alot and generally the customer does the right thing and I will remember that in future negotiations with that customer. I have had people sit in the parking lot till after the deal and I don't agree with that either since around 80 percent of customers will come back in the next hour or so and sell it to me just another part of the buisness. They usually go home and tell their wifehe wouldn't give me enough for it and she sends his ass back up to the store. Not trying to rant just giving another side to look at.

That's a quick turn around.

Did the store owner check the gun into his FFL book?

Then call to make sure then SN was clean?

btw, I think you did the right thing but the owners threat to you was crass. I would have walked out and not come back.

I certainly wouldn't be doing business with a guy that threatened to throw me out of his place....I work to hard for my $$$to deal with rudeness.

As an example there is an Army/Navy store 1 block from my office and many a day on the way back from lunch I'd stop in and chat with the owner...bought 3-4 Case knives and a Ruger pistol from him...one day I go in and the owners over by his register looking at a clipboard and I ask about the caliber of a nice wood blue Ruger 77 behind the counter, he looks up and say .25-06, so I look a second or two longer and say how much are you asking for it? He snaps his head up and angrily says It's XXX DOLLARS WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO BOX IT UP FOR YOU? I simply said no thanks, and walked out! That was 4 years ago and although going by the place 3-4 times a day, 5 days a week I haven't and won't ever set foot back in the place! He lost 2-3 guns sales a year, probably 10-20 knife sales and I tell everybody i get a chance that he's a jerk!

Mike

When I ran the store and there was someone around trying to short stop a deal I wasn't happy. And turning a gun quickly just because someone was there and saw it go down is not always a given either.

I had lots of customers I had a BOLO for certain weapons and I could get full price the next day, why would I give away profits because some chute rooster happend to be hanging around that day. The guy knows his business...let him be. Buy it or not.

Those mud butts were the same guys that would brag about ripping off their dead buddies widow for a 101 or or BT-99...sad examples. We'd always offer fair prices even to someone who didn't know what they had.

I have been in a gun shop many times, almost every time, when someone comes in to sell a gun. I have NEVER interfered in any way with their dealings. I mostly go to the farthest neutral corner and let them conduct business.
In the case with DJ, the seller initiated the intent to sell to DJ after he refused to accept the dealers offer.
Makes a big difference.
Not hard to understand.

Your manners far outshine the store owners. Unfortunately his attitude seems to be that of many gun shop owners nowdays. Not someone I would do business with nor recommend to others. Gun/pawn shops rely on repeat customers business, that is not how your get it. GW

Just because he refused the dealers first offer doesn't mean the negotiating was over as you can see the dealer got the gun didn't he. Go your local gun shop and try this see how far it gets you. I know other dealers that go ape shI when this happens I mean like fighting mad. It happens but it is usually the guys you don't want hanging around anyway the ones who don't want anyone to make a dime off of them

The dealer should have been more greatful for your courtesy you were the better man and handled yourself well

During the negotiating with a customer, I would remind them that If they sold to me they were off the hook for anything that might happen with the gun after I ran it thru my books. They might be able to get $50 more selling to some stranger on the street, but when the cops came looking, they'd have some splainin to do.

Actually, it does mean the negotiating was over... an offer to sell, a price offer to buy and a refusal to accept the offer and that ends it. Negotiations over. Then he offers it for sale to DJ who is standing there, starts a new negotiation. Whose ass should be booted, if you are into that sort of thing, now?
Like I said, I never interfered with a transaction before... and you still don't understand.

At this point I would have just smiled at the dealer and left his store never to return again. You did the honorable thing. The only thing I wish you would do is to PM me the name of the store so I won't make the mistake of darkening his door myself.

It is the dealers store he opened it so people would come in and buy guns from him and sell guns to him on the cheap for resale. He did not buy the property go through all kinds of trouble to get his FFL, spend hundrends of thousands of dollars to stock the store and pay for advertising and signs so you would know that he is in the buisness of buying and selling guns so you could treat it as a local swap meet. If you buy a gun in my store without me giving you the okay you will not be allowed on my property again. You are im my store to negotiate with me not any tom, dick, or harry standing around. They came to my store because they know I am in the buisness of buying and selling guns. This is not a gun show. Ninety percent of my customers turn down my first offer if they did not I would be offering to much in my opinion. Would i ever tell someone that did the right thing that i would of kicked him out of the store no way. I would have also gave him a good deal on the pistol. My customers would tell you I am the best gun dealer around to deal with and the most honest but I am there to make money not let you buy guns on the cheap because you happened to be in the right place (my store) at the right time. You don't need to be buying guns from other customers in a gun shop unless the owner gives you permission.

I've been in that situation where a guy brought in a gun to sell on consignment. I waited till he left and bought the gun from the dealer at his price. He only made 20%. I'm just glad we've still got a few good dealers in business with all they have to put up with. I try to support them.

I had this happen to me at the now defunct "Rusk" gunshop in Madison. They were going to give a guy $125 for an sks and a pump shotgun. The guy needed money to get his truck fixed. When they went to get paper work, I told him I would give him $125 for the SKS and he could keep the shotgun. He and I were both happy and those egg suckers at Rusk were not.

Thanks,
Tom

What a bunch of Nancy's. What do you think would happen after undercutting a business owner in his own store? I'm thinkin' I've been in the same situation a 1,000 times. Had I offered to undercut the dealer in any one of them I would have expected and deserved to get my ass thrown out.

I guess it would be ok with some guys on here that if they got an offer from their wife to have sex, when someone else was there at their house when the offer was made, that someone else could offer to do it instead. Interesting.

It's his store and he has the right to keep people from treating it like a public gunshow,..but his response to you indicates that he's a jerk.

I don't patronize businesses which are ran by jerks.