This seems to be hot topic today, so I'll give you one I JUST had....

I found a Glock 19 9mm with 3 15-rd and 1 17-rd hi cap mags, with only about 200 runds thru it for $425. A pretty good deal.

So I called a dealer I've dealt with a few times to do the FFL b---s---.

He asked me "Why aren't you buying one from me?? I sell Glocks."

part of me wanted to say "Its none fo your freaking business. Do you want your $50 for the transfer or not??"

I gave him a partial explanation, confirmed the fee, and asked if it would be okay.

Would I be right to get pissed at this guy?? Does he have the right to harrass me for NOT buying from him, when he'll make as much off the transfer as he would selling a gun???

As a business owner he should find a way to let you know that he is in the gunselling business and the web is killing folks like him that have overhead to pay.
You as a customer should find the best price possible and he should know that

I do transfers for $20. lots of guys buy stuff off the internet. I am glad to help these guys out and my customers buy lots of stuff this way.
You know what. I am still making money even though I am not selling the gun. $20 is a fiar price for doing the paperwork and the same guys who get me to do it for them buy ammo,gun cases,holsters, bullets,powder,and brass. Maybe I don't have exactly what a guy is looking for but He knows I will help him get it from someone else. The guy will almost always pick up something else when his gun comes in so it great deal for both of us.

I think he had a right to ask, if not how does he improve his business?

Sounds like a great deal.  Figure the hicaps are worth $70 each, that's $280 in magazines alone!  (assuming they are real Glock mags)

I like those gun stores that have "preferred customer inventory" rooms which can be accessed by invitation only and after normal store hours.

Rich -

Acutally it WAS NOT a web deal. It was a friend of a friend. The pastor of my mother-in-laws church was selling it.

But, point well taken. I guess the reason it ticks me off is that I deal ALMOST EXclusively with the local shops for anything that they do sell. For him to (I admit unknowingly) treat me like a squid cheesed me off.

$50 for a simple transfer is pretty damn good. The dealer really has no right to complain. Maybe you should have let know what the deal was and given him the opportunity to match it (which we all know he couldn't have).

I think some dealers are having a difficult time grasping that the Internet has fundamentally altered the way that many guns are bought and sold. Savvy gun owners have access to more information than ever about what guns actually cost and how much dealers mark up their prices. Dealers that learn to embrace the Internet are going to survive and the others will struggle or go out of business altogether. My local dealer, also a hardware store, is probably doing more business than ever thanks to the Internet. They didn't even let me pay for a transfer one time because I have been sending so much business their way. I'm all for reasonable transfer fees and buy other accessories from the local dealers, but I am less willing than ever to bend over and take it in the shorts and pay exorbitantly high markups. Unless they find a way to provide superior service and tap into niche markets, perhaps the day of the small stand alone gun store is drawing to a close.

Boomer -

great post. I wish i was that quick thinking on my feet. Instead, I fumbled out some weak explanation.



WOW!!!!!!! You may be one of the FEW people who actually get it. The market is changing. Adapt, and you will thrive. Hang on to the past, and say "Bye, bye."

I don't OWE my business to anyone. They have to EARN my business. Even in the gun industry, to patronize "old school" dealers is silly. They can take advatage of the internet, just like anyone else. Adapt, and thrive. Its the way teh free market economy works.

Maybe should have told him you "would if he could match or beat the deal" you found.

All in all, I would expect him to be somewhat appreciative that you thought enough of him to do the transfer through his shop.

I have worked retail full/part-time for 20+ yrs. I appreciate my customers (some when they walk through the door and others when they leave [:D]) and I had customer service drilled into my head early on. These are two qualities that seem to be severely lacking today.

I just want to know why you don't just do a private sale. Put the $50 in the "collection plate" with the pastor & be done with it.
Scott

Garandman, $50 is steep!  I found a super nice FFL guy about 35min from me. He charges me $10 a transfer! I bought two guns and he charged me $15. I felt guilty!  He never asks me any questions about the weird stuff that I buy. He will order stuff for me at dealer prices too, but I usually forward my check first. I found him on Gunsamerica.com.  You might want to look for a new guy too.

My heart felt condolences go out to you and yours.