Interesting Gun Shop experience

[Lee Enfield]

If there is a price labeled well that should be it, obviously an opportunist ******* worth avoiding.

Well that's easy to say, but has the price of a jug of milk and a loaf of bread stayed the same over the last 20 years?

I know the price of gas and vehicles has changed...

In my experience at gunshops and gunshows, it's better to put a pile of parts together and then ask for a price on all of it rather than picking out individual parts.

I don't think a price on a label should be written in stone.Some little shops have parts that they acquired many years ago.I came across one that the owner had passed and the new owner was sorting through the bits and pieces. Ross nose cap with a price of $1.75 on it. I knew what it was worth and so did he. My offer of $100.00 was turned down.

In my experience also, often the price tags on small parts is what the original retailer asked 40 years ago.

Sometimes it's easy to tell, like when the name of the (out of business) business is on the tag....or you recognize the handwriting (or cost coding) of the out of business owner

[therno]

I just have never understood why most dealers in the trade are so dam grumpy or angry. You are running a business or trying you are trying make a sale. Try being a little personable.

[mmppres]

i feel like you its not right to do business that way i have sold a quite a few things over there last year of learning to sell at shows that were under priced not that i didnt make money i just didnt get going rate. my loss there gain. learn hard way but some people are pigs when they see dollar signs. wife said better to make a few dollars often than on one big amount one time .

[Lee Enfield]

i feel like you its not right to do business that way i have sold a quite a few things over there last year of learning to sell at shows that were under priced not that i didnt make money i just didnt get going rate. my loss there gain. learn hard way but some people are pigs when they see dollar signs. wife said better to make a few dollars often than on one big amount one time .

Locally we had a business (shut down in Dec '98 when universal registration came in) whose proprietor kept his prices low and made a straight 20% on consignments and sales.

His secret was what he called "serial gun buyers", who traded and returned the same guns over and over as they cycled thru the community.

Some guns which were recognizable (to me) cycled thru the shop 5 or more times (for a while he owned up to 3 stores in the area), netting him 100% profit on a single gun...


I guess I didn't mention the fact that he retired in '99 at the age of 40...having worked the gun business and gunshow circuit since he was 16.

[ssj]

Well that's easy to say, but has the price of a jug of milk and a loaf of bread stayed the same over the last 20 years?

No but it also isnt the same pint of milk that has been sitting there for 20 days let alone 20 years. or the same cost structure to make the "new" part.

Now if he had kept the prices up to date, Ok but to suddenly say oh that price is wrong and go get a price off ebay or similar is just bad, simple really it is my money I'll shop elsewhere.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Ultimately, such a "blessing" can be a curse.

[Frederick303]

Well another side to the story:

A lot of the older collectors dealers do not always know exactly what they have and where it is. Sometimes a part ends un in thew wrong box. if a chap pulls out a box of old parts and there happens to be a part in there he needs or wants to keep around, and he refuses to sell it to me at any price, well I understand. That is just the way it works, no reason to be mad.

Now if a story has a price posted on a gun and they refuse to honor that price, well that is a bit different. I can see folks getting upset about that.

[Warren]

Locally we had a business (shut down in Dec '98 when universal registration came in) whose proprietor kept his prices low and made a straight 20% on consignments and sales.

His secret was what he called "serial gun buyers", who traded and returned the same guns over and over as they cycled thru the community.

Some guns which were recognizable (to me) cycled thru the shop 5 or more times (for a while he owned up to 3 stores in the area), netting him 100% profit on a single gun...


I guess I didn't mention the fact that he retired in '99 at the age of 40...having worked the gun business and gunshow circuit since he was 16.

I miss Bob, as he ran a good shop.
He paid low and sold low. Always told you what he would sell it for and kept his part of the bargain.
Good guy but sure needed a hair cut!!! :-)##