Anyone actually buy from Bud's et al

[D.B. Cooper]

Does anyone ever buy a gun from Bud's Gun Shop, or any other similar website?

I just priced out a plain-jane Ruger 10/22 for my son. Bud's credit card price (because you can't buy online with cash) was $3 less than my local Sportsman's Warehouse and $13 less than my local Cabela's. I haven't even checked with any of the LGS around town.

There is no way you can ship a gun to a local FFL, then add on the transfer fee, for $13.

I've seen this with every single gun I've checked on that site. Am I missing something here?

 

[SharpDog]

I've bought many from Hinterland Outfitters. Great prices, fast $10 shipping. No complaints. My FFL then charged me the NICS fee but I was way ahead on price. Generally, the stuff I buy is hard to find items and Hinterland is great for that. Strictly online purchases (Hinterland) make up about 25% of my purchases, another 10% are GalleryOfGuns and the rest are originated through my LGS (either order or over the counter).

https://www.hinterlandoutfitters.co...auto-birchwood-stock-blue-finish-p-24308.html

https://www.hinterlandoutfitters.co...-swivels-recoil-fold-rear-sights-p-31917.html

https://www.hinterlandoutfitters.co...mi-auto-walnut-stock-blue-finish-p-46368.html

https://www.hinterlandoutfitters.co...-takedown-stock-stainless-finish-p-44966.html

 

[MachIVshooter]

Does anyone ever buy a gun from Bud's Gun Shop, or any other similar website?

I just priced out a plain-jane Ruger 10/22 for my son. Bud's credit card price (because you can't buy online with cash) was $3 less than my local Sportsman's Warehouse and $13 less than my local Cabela's. I haven't even checked with any of the LGS around town.

There is no way you can ship a gun to a local FFL, then add on the transfer fee, for $13.

I've seen this with every single gun I've checked on that site. Am I missing something here?

Most of them offer free shipping, but no, you're not likely to save on a cheap item like plinking .22s.

Buds tends to not be the best price unless an item is on sale anyway. Check Grabagun.com. I just picked up an RP45 with night sights for $353 shipped.

 

[tarosean]

I've seen this with every single gun I've checked on that site. Am I missing something here?

If you're searching for something that can be found in any store in America. Probably not.
Pretty sure I've only bought one gun from one of those online places and that was Grabagun. It was just to good of a deal to pass up. (I do buy a lot of guns online so I cannot be 100% certain)
Most of the time my LGS beats all the online places. When he cannot, its generally not enough to worry about and would rather gladly give him the business. When I do purchase something via Gunbroker he doesn't charge me a transfer fee.

 

[danez71]

I've used galleryofguns.com which is different than Buds etc in that your local FFL isn't doing a transfer... it's done as a sale.

Transfer fees around me are rediculous. $75 min and usually more like $100

I also prefer to buy local so if I can't find something I want local, galleryofguns.com is a great compromise, imo.

 

[mjsdwash]

one reason their prices are not as good as they used to be is that -around here- online sellers have dragged down prices. While most shops charged appx. MSRP+10-15% or so a few years ago, theres only one shop near me that still does. Every other one has gone down to MSRP or slightly less, one thats below, as a direct result of people not buying. They still have the bad habit of refusing special order accessories, and saying buy from the internet.

 

[ilbob]

You'll probably find that buying online is not real cost effective for some guns while it is for others. You just have to shop around and see what pricing you can get. The last few guns I bought online were Bargains compared to what I could get in town even having to pay 20 or $30 FFL fees. One thing to note is shipping and taxes can eat up some of your savings as well as the FFL fees.

The local gun shops around here don't seem to be all that interested in competing price wise on much of anything.

 

[SharpDog]

one reason their prices are not as good as they used to be is that -around here- online sellers have dragged down prices. While most shops charged appx. MSRP+10-15% or so a few years ago, theres only one shop near me that still does. Every other one has gone down to MSRP or slightly less, one thats below, as a direct result of people not buying. They still have the bad habit of refusing special order accessories, and saying buy from the internet.

I would never consider buying at MSRP. Even my LGS who I gladly pay a premium of about 10% plus taxes basically to keep them in business charges about 5-10% under MSRP. I can still save by buying online but I don't if my LGS can order it so they get some more $$$ out of it. It's still 5-10% or so under MSRP if they order it. But these are all high-end items Sig, DD, etc. For an item with an MSRP of $1200 It generally works out that I'll pay an extra $50 to my LGS plus taxes ... and the whole thing will come out to a little over $1100 including NICS, taxes, etc all-in. If I get the same item through Hinterland and have it shipped to my LGS I'll end up at around $1050 all-in.

This is about the average over the last many years (not including the great guns and ammo crisis) but even then I paid less than MSRP scoring two Saiga AK-47s for $1K ea. out the door during the Christmas season of the great gun and ammo crisis. My LGS wasn't happy but he stuck to the agreed-on price (ordered them just before the crisis) and so I'm happy to give him extra business opportunities whenever I can.

 

[reddog81]

It depends on the guns you're looking at and your location. On common guns sold everywhere they all have to be competitive. On $1,000 guns only sold in limited shops the saving can be worth it, of course some people will pay an extra $50 just to be able to inspect before buying. Additionally the local shop will bill sales tax while the online vendor probably won't.

 

[dh1633pm]

Yes, yes I have. Like anything else, check the price and find your best deal. I don't get irritated if their price isn't the lowest, I just seek out something more to my liking. Buds has been a good source of more than rifle in my collection. When I have ordered shipping is fast and service reliable.

 

[rpenmanparker]

Does anyone ever buy a gun from Bud's Gun Shop, or any other similar website?

I just priced out a plain-jane Ruger 10/22 for my son. Bud's credit card price (because you can't buy online with cash) was $3 less than my local Sportsman's Warehouse and $13 less than my local Cabela's. I haven't even checked with any of the LGS around town.

There is no way you can ship a gun to a local FFL, then add on the transfer fee, for $13.

I've seen this with every single gun I've checked on that site. Am I missing something here?

State and local tax? None with Bud’s?

 

[Ks5shooter]

Grabagun,Tombstone tactical,sportsmans outdoor superstore. Grabagun 7.99 flat rate shipping,Tombstone free shipping,sportsmans outdoor superstore free shipping.

 

[brennok]

My LGS sells at MSRP and sometimes even above so I don't even bother looking there.

Not all of us have big block gun stores. I have a Bass Pro and that's it.

Also Bud's gives the cash discount for multiple payment types like echeck, but they will hold for the funds to clear.

Payment methods accepted by BudsGunShop.Com are

• Money Order(3% cash discount applies)
• Certified Check (3% cash discount applies)
• Personal Checks including online bill payments (3% cash discount applies, orders held for 5 business days for check to clear)
• E-Check / ACH (3% cash discount applies, orders held for 5 business days to allow funds to clear our bank)
• Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover Credit Cards (retail price). Debit cards may only be run as Credit Cards and therefore a retail price.
• 90 Day Layaway (Most Firearms): 20% non-refundable deposit (retail price); pay balance in 90 days ($49 Minimum Purchase Required).
• 180 Day Layaway (Select Firearms Only): 10% non-refundable deposit (retail price); pay balance in 180 days.

 

[rpenmanparker]

Here is my formula for best price considering we have state and local tax in Houston.

Look up the actual model number of the gun you want.
Search for it on www.gun.deals.
Find the lowest price offering from an out-of-state store that ships free and doesn’t charge extra for credit card.
Buy it and have it shipped to my preferred FFL (cost $25 for the transfer).
With this method I beat any price I could find locally. Occasionally a local gun show might have it cheaper, but the tax usually nullifies the advantage.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Buds can be hit and miss. For a lot of guns, especially the popular ones, they are right up at retail and even sometimes higher. But there are others you can score some pretty sweet deals on. For a long time, they were selling some Del-Ton ARs for $369 each - that's the cheapest I've ever seen for a factory AR. Right now they have some Hi-Point rifles for $269 that are tempting me - all the gun shops around here want like $350 for them. One local guy wants $450 for his - get out. The CZ 22 rifles (I think they're called the 455s?) are a tad over $300 on Bud's, whereas they are more like $450 guns in the gun shops I've seen carry them.

I do all my online gun buying with Bud's because they have the local FFLs already on file (I'm not going to ask a gun shop owner to take the time to fax in his paperwork, on top of the normal background check junk, just to make $20) and all my transactions with them have been seamless. If I am buying a gun sight unseen, I'm not going to go with an unknown vendor just to save 20 or 30 bucks.

 

[BigBore44]

I’ve bought several guns from them. Has always been great. Sometimes they are the cheapest. Sometimes they aren’t. But have nothing but praise for them. Slickguns is another great site.

 

[Jesse H]

I picked up a Ruger American Rimfire from them in the past. They were reasonably priced but the only ones who had it in stock.

 

[Elkins45]

I live an hour away, so I just pick up at their retail store and don't have to pay a transfer fee. I do have to pay the 6% sales tax.

I've bought a few guns from them online, and a couple more just wandering in the store.

 

[Speedo66]

Used Bud's when I was looking for a particular Browning Buckmark model I couldn't find elsewhere. Their price was good, I used electronic check so no credit card fee, and they shipped for free.
Local FFL charged a reasonable fee to accept, no additional fee for the background check, and no sales tax.

From a financial standpoint, I thought it worked out well.

The only downside was when at one point I called to find out why delivery was so slow, a manager got on and threatened to halt the sale if I complained any more. I thought that was extremely poor customer support.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

My local prices are higher than most places, and we have a higher sales tax than many as well. The last gun I bought was a Sig P320 that cost me $460 from Bud's. It was a dealer exclusive model I couldn't get, but all of the P320s locally were $550+ tax. After transfer I saved more than $100.

 

[RETG]

Bud's sometime runs some great prices. Purchase a PX4 INOX for about 100 buck cheaper than anyplace in and around where I live including the LGS (two of them), Sportsman's warehouse, Bass Pro. But my local FFL will do a transfer for $15 since there is NICS check required and he is about five minutes away. Whereas the LGS, Sportsman's and Bass pro are hours away from where I live.
When I lived in SE UT, I used to use Davidson's via a local pawn shop and got some great prices.

 

[mjsdwash]

I would never consider buying at MSRP. Even my LGS who I gladly pay a premium of about 10% plus taxes basically to keep them in business charges about 5-10% under MSRP. I can still save by buying online but I don't if my LGS can order it so they get some more $$$ out of it. It's still 5-10% or so under MSRP if they order it. But these are all high-end items Sig, DD, etc. For an item with an MSRP of $1200 It generally works out that I'll pay an extra $50 to my LGS plus taxes ... and the whole thing will come out to a little over $1100 including NICS, taxes, etc all-in. If I get the same item through Hinterland and have it shipped to my LGS I'll end up at around $1050 all-in.

This is about the average over the last many years (not including the great guns and ammo crisis) but even then I paid less than MSRP scoring two Saiga AK-47s for $1K ea. out the door during the Christmas season of the great gun and ammo crisis. My LGS wasn't happy but he stuck to the agreed-on price (ordered them just before the crisis) and so I'm happy to give him extra business opportunities whenever I can.

I have to go 62 miles to get an FFL to sell anything meaningfully under MSRP. Theres about 7FFLs between, and everyone is at or over. The thing I really hate was when we had Sportsmans Werehouse and I could buy powder for $18/LB, but they closed, now the cheapest is $33. Of course WA has high taxes, VERY high property costs, and limited competition. I don't really mind paying the extra %10 or so, knowing what it costs to stay open, but at the same time most of them have embraced the online transfer concept. Its working capitalism without hostility or cheating, so Im allright with it.

 

[FROGO207]

I have used Buds and Davisons to buy on line before and each time have saved $100+. For something that every discount chain store that handles firearms has in stock then you will not see any savings. For something that is oddball or high end then the potential to save big is there. you just have to do your homework before hitting the buy button. No different than Ebay and sellers with different shipping options. Total cost to your door is what matters. Sometimes the convenience of a purchase is the deciding factor as well.

 

[JeffG]

Bud's is good to go. Great prices, fast shipping. They have guns nobody else has in stock.

 

[toivo]

You don't have to use a credit card with Bud's. You can authorize a deduction from your checking account, and they treat it just like cash, with the cash discount.