Maybe it is just me, but when I dump over a grand on a new rifle or pistol, I want it to be in new condition.   I have been looking around for a while for a CZ Evo Scorpion Carbine and finally found a couple of places that had one.   I went to buy it, but when I arrived, I found the rifle scratched to hell all down the sides.    It turns out they were hanging it on wire hooks with no protection on the wires.  No tape, rubber lining, nothing.   So after dozens of people want to see it, it gets beat to hell.

So I passed on that one and went to a local Academy sports that had one in stock.  I arrived to see it in the display case laying on its side on a jagged plastic display.   This one was scratched all over both sides an on the barrel as well.   So I didn't buy that one either.

How hard is it to put a little felt on the gun racks, or put rubber guards on the hanging hooks when displaying high dollar weapons?   I just don't get it.

Anyone else have similar experiences with seeing brand new guns beat to hell before even being sold?

That's frustrating, indeed.  The real problem comes in when they only have one of an item, which is the displayed/handled item.  Luckily, all of the times when I've gotten new firearms at various shops, they've had multiple and I've gotten it straight out of the box, without any obvious post-factory handling (save for what the shop had to do to check the firearm into inventory).

Sounds like how Bullseye has their Evo and a few other guns on display . Bullseye at least had more than just the display model in stock so mine was brand brand new, not just brand new hung on a metal peg.

For a 15% display discount I'll buy it.

I asked if they would sell it at a discount and they said "Hell NO! This is an election year!"

This is reason #87 I prefer to buy most things online.

Some people just have to touch and feel something. There are certain guns like a sporting clays gun where I get that.

The LGS for the most part is an inconvenient place with piss poor information 80% of the time. I'd much prefer to just have stuff show up at the house.

There are some exceptions. I still impulse buy my fair share from LGS. I have said numerous times that it would be nice if Atlanta had 4-5 epic super gunstores rather than 100 rinky dink ones. Its sad that AO is the largest and best selection in the area.

The reason this is the case in the gun market vs camping stores like REI is the margins suck on a small scale, and there are people all over that dream of owning a gun store even if they risk their retirement and make 35K a year. You can make more money installing mailbox posts than a similar sized retail gun business. There are certainly some exceptions, but most gun store owners could easily take the time, effort, and expense and live a lot happier with another business with less risk.

No truer words were EVER spoken!!!!

No offense to anyone who owns their own retail store but owning a retail business these days just plain sucks.  There are more problems and issues with them than you can shake a stick at.

There is not enough room here to list all the headache that occurs everyday.




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Screen names?

No kidding!  Our insurance carrier requires us to take our handguns out of the case every night and unfortunately as careful as you try to be, guns still get scratched.

I take no offense, and you said a mouthful!!!

The only reason I'm still in it, is cuz I've been doing this for just over 25 years, I own the building it's in, and I gave up trying to be a wannabe gun store well over a decade ago. Though, as a pseudo-pawnbroker, I do still hold an FFL. If anyone ever asks me, I tell them that they're either crazy, or stupid, to want to get into a bricks and mortar retail operation in this day and age.

Scratching the guns is the LEAST of your worries, if you are ignorant enough to try to earn a living in a retail store these days!!!

(I'll be updating the "pseudo" prefix in the Doug King thread ASAP. The City Attorney for the City of Madison, just requested to continue my arraignment for yet another 30 days, as of today, which is just one more reason to say FU to any sort of a retail and/or pawnbroking type of venture in today's anti-business environment!!! )