I went to cf last year when I was looking to buy a SBR piston ar, I went in the store and nobody even said hello, walked all the way to the back of the store nothing.. they had a good selection of overpriced rifles and one guy working the counter talking shit to a couple of pimpled faced teens on how he had on order 10 cans , one for each of his rifles after about 5 minutes of just standing there listening to all his bull  I finally asked to look at a LWRC, he came and just handed me the rifle and went back to his friends, I asked a question and he told me to wait until he finished with the other customers, I just put the rifle on the counter and walked away.

I thought about giving them another chance so I went in today with $2500 burning a hole in my pocket ready to buy 2 cans, one for my new SBR and one for my .45 along with one of the threaded barrels that they sell, I walked all the way back to the store again ( 60 feet ? ) without someone even saying hello, let alone do you need any help? I get to the suppressor's section and see 1 guy standing there, I started looking at their again overpriced cans and the guy just walked away, I couldn't believe it, I wanted to talk to someone but I said fuck it, why give my money to these as****** I walked out of the place , went home and 2 hours later  I had placed my order  online and even saved $300 from the cf prices.

I looked at the reviews of cf online and most of the real ones ( most are fake just saying great selections or great prices and giving them 5 stars ) are of people saying the same think of the lack of customer service , I will never go to that fucking place not even to browse.

I think I've bought 5 guns there and didn't have a problem. They come off quite a bit off the sticker and one guy even gave me some free ammo. I wouldn't try to trade anything there though, but that goes for every gun store I have ever been in I suppose.

The place around here that seems to get a lot of accolades is Silencer Shop on 183 between Anderson Mill and RR620 in North Austin.  I've also heard good things about Mooney's in Round Rock.  I know Mooney at least used to do the Saxet Gun Show circuit so he is probably over in the Houston area at least once a month if he's still doing that.

I've been to CF a few times to look, their selection is one of the best in the state, if not the best.  I've always been treated with respect.

Last year they had a case with 15% off all used .45s and 10MMs.  I noticed an FNX in Like new condition, picked it up for $550.

Often when I come across a new firearm and want to check it out in person, I go there and they always have it (Lionheart 9mm, HK P7 being the last 2).

They even had a Husqvarna M40 WWII era 9mm I once sold on consignment 10 years ago for $300 for $925.  It was gone the next time I went in there, wish I held on to it.

The place I refuse to go is Tactical Firearms in Katy.  That place is a joke.

I go to Collectors quite a bit. They're always polite and professional. This includes when my fiancee comes along to look at guns. When she asks about one, they show and explain it to her, not me, and do so without talking down to her. If they're busy, sometimes I have to wait for someone to get free, which can take a while sometimes.

Sounds like your complaint is that, the first time, nobody was free to help you, and the second time, someone you perceived as free to help you didn't offer to help. Not the best experience, but not the worst either.

Did you try actually talking to someone who wasn't with customers or waiting until someone was free? (They might have looked like teens to you---they probably weren't. For all you knew, someone was in the back pulling their special order. Perhaps the guy who "walked off" was in the middle of helping someone else and you didn't realize it?) While you want everyone who comes in to be greeted and asked if they need help, I know from working the other side of the counter that sometimes it doesn't happen, especially when you're usually really busy and have a lot of people who are just looking. And Collectors gets a _lot_ of people who are just there to look.

I don't buy much there because their prices tend to be in the stratosphere, but they are a good place to browse and put your hands on something you are interested in.  If you are desperate for something and don't mind the price, they are a shop that is likely to have it.

I won't blow smoke up yer ass and say they're the greatest ever, but...

I LOVE walking through the place and being able to coon-finger firearms that I can't find anywhere else.

I've only bought from them once, and the experience was unremarkable.

p

I went into CF once.....took a 1942 Colt Super 38 in there to have them look at it and give me info on it.  My wife had just inherited it and I knew nothing about it including the date.  I was not trying to sell it, just wanted some info on it....made that clear to the guy I was talking to.  Anyways he went on about how it is pretty much worthless since no one shoots 38 super and the finish was not 100%.  He was kind enough to offer me 200 bucks for it "as is".  I took the gun and left.

They don't have eager beavers jumping on you every time to move three feet.

Most of the clients there want to look in peace, and will ask for help when they need it.

Prices are high, but the selection is hard to match for rare or the exotic...

Sorry you felt your experience was so bad, but having choices (who to work for, what to shoot, where to shop, etc...) makes life more interesting....

I used to live on the west side of Houston not too far away from Collectors and always liked browsing there.

My .02 Cents...

BIGGER_HAMMER

I just make eye contact and they fight over me.

YMMV

If they'd have been Johnny on the spot this post would be about their high pressure sales staff. Good grief.

I purchased 2 handguns from them. The prices were very good and they came down a bit more with a little haggling.

This has been my experience at CF

Collectors reminds me of my old store master in the Army.



You go along, ask for something and he booms, "This isn't called a store for nothing sonny, we store things here, not give them away".



The same concept is true of collectors, it wouldn't be a collection if they actually sold stuff at a reasonable price.



Their prices are often higher than MSRP. I guess they like the 'suggested' part of that acronym.

Yeah, Not everyone is a Hot Super Model like Clifford...  

Yes they are overpriced, but I never had a single problem there and they always treat me really well.

I've always been treated well there, but I don't normally purchase from them. If I am eyeing something online, I go to check out prices, see if they can price match, get a feel for what I am looking at, etc.
They don't need my money, they have thousands of people coming through their store who will pay crazy prices.

My dad bought a PPK there a little while ago, and despite their typically sky-high prices, it was actually right on par with online places.

If you want a suppressor, buy from silencershop (they can actually ship you a suppressor if you live in Texas) or check out Primaryarms southeast of Houston.

by the way, the ugliest handgun in the world:

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/croatian-php-mv-9mm-para-pr27433/#.VEqz-CLF_Ak

bought several guns from them never payed sticker price. always been helpful.

Visited there once, they had a whole stack of MP5s just piled in the corner of their black rifle section.

Their was a guy checking out one of the neutered HK SL rifles, this big huge oilfield redneck said loud enough for the whole store to hear "What is the for, shootin'aliens?" He just laughed and walked off towards the cowboy guns shaking his head. The guy with the rifle just put it down on the counter and said thank you, walked off. Funny stuff.

Having lived in Houston for a year, I enjoy the large number of gun shops in town.  I've always enjoyed myself in the different stores, but each place can have its own personality that I think it is important to consider to try to have the best time possible.

Collector's really is in a category of its own.  Some of the radio ads mention it as the "best gun show in town", and they're not kidding or exaggerating.  The sheer variety and quantity of guns in that shop is staggering, and a lot of the inventory is out on the show floor, available to pick up and handle.  It's hugely entertaining to walk around the store and just see what's there.  For the store to do so much business in such a variety of guns, Collector's has to have what I assume is a pretty precise read on the market values of new and old stuff.  The price on new, market-saturated guns such as the M&P appear to me to be on the high side, but they also did recently have a HK sale going on.  The upside to to such is system is the kind of used and rare guns that are charming to see live and in person.    


As a result of the store's reputation, and the general attitude of the staff to encourage customers to handle firearms results in an environment where there's a large number of people looking at and touching guns who don't intend to spend money mixed in with the people looking to buy.  The sheer volume of customers is enormous, many are in the act of buying guns, manyare super-knowledgable, many are new, and many are just window shopping.  In that environment, considering those conditions, I'd say that Collector's is a store where you're probably going to have drive the interaction with the sales staff.

I know that most of us have specific expectations for our gun shopping experiences.  With Collector's being as unique as it is, I think that having unique expectations for shopping in that store would give the best change for mutually beneficial shopping experiences between staff and customers.

Do you work there? Kind of strange first post...

I have bought two handguns from CF. Unremarkable experience. They are polite, assume my husband is the one buying but eventually figure it out. Heck, sometimes he is the one buying but then I don't ask all the questions.

Prices are like a lot of specialty store that maintain a large inventory..... you have to know what things cost. I paid retail for both. I could have gone somewhere else and tried to get a better deal. My choice.

Meh

Do they have the best selection of firearms ever that you can pick up and finger bang? Yes

Are they way over priced? Yes

Are they fucking tool bags? Sorta yes but so is every other shit hole "gun store" in this city

I prefer to buy online these days

I live just south of Houston, and I will make a special trip in to visit CF. It is a nice place to go look, lots of stuff and the staff at the back counters are very helpful, the center counters with the handguns and ammo much less so. That said they do Carrie a lot of items, they can be helpful; but I would not send a first time buyer to them!

Talking about expensive stuff:   http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/swedish-model-36-twin-browning-308-r15828/#.VE6CgCLF_Ak


Collectors has all kinds of hard to find guns.