Clips at Gander Mountain?

[iamhistory]

So I was lurking around the pistol cases tonight at my area Gander Mountain while my wife was picking up an order we'd placed and I noticed something.........something strange, somewhat disturbing, something that just plain reminded me of why I really don't like doing too much business in Gander Mountain.

Every handgun under the glass that had a tag attached to it stating the model, price, etc.......also stated how many "CLIPS" that handgun came with.

I just sighed, enjoyed the eye candy complete with trigger locks, continued to be ignored by the over abundance of counter staff due to Christmas shopping as I waited to look at a Springfield 1911 micro, and then.......finally wandered away to the checkout.

 

[psyopspec]

Last week I went to GM to browse their gun selection and pickup some batteries for my surefire lights. That section of the store was surprisingly unbusy for the week before Christmas, and the five people who worked it were standing in a circle swapping stories that involved a lot of loud profanity. My moral standards aren't that high, but I believe there's a time and place for such language, and on the job while interacting with the public isn't exactly it.

After about 10 minutes of browsing and being ignored by the salesmen, I finally asked for my batteries, and right after they contacted my hand the young man that helped me headed back to his clique. I went up to the front to checkout, only to find two cashiers working a line with over 20 people in it. Right after that I headed to the new Sportsmen's Warehouse in town, and in my two trips there I've made purchases and been extremely happy with their selection and service in the gun department.

edit: And yes, I noticed the "clips" thing in their gun section too.

 

[Trebor]

Complain to the manager about the profanity. I can't speak for the chain as a whole, but that behavior would not have been tolerated at the GM I recently worked at. I'd complain about the lines as well, but that's more of an issue of a manager mistake in scheduling over willfull customer dis-service.

 

[71Commander]

At the GM I frequent, there is a permenant sign at the front desk that states "Help wanted-all departments".

This could explain some problems.

 

[why_me]

disclaimer

I dont work for GM or Sportsmans warehouse.
I found help at GM with reloading questions. Sportsmans warehouse i found incompetence. Just my take.

 

[mattz357]

For months, my local GM refused to believe me that one of the Glock 17s in the case was used. It was a second generation with scratches and a gouge in the frame. The barrel had more "smilies" than I've ever seen and it was dirty. I went in there the other day and it was finally in the used case, labeled Glock 17, one "clip," and priced at $499!!!

 

[cracked butt]

I find the service at GM to be inconsistant from store to store or year to year. Sometimes they are outstanding and other times you just have to roll your eyes and move on.

 

[birddog]

Within a short drive of each other (in the Buffalo NY area) there is a GM ( at which I frequently make purchases) and a place called The Buffalo Gun Center. When I want accessories, and know exactly what I need, I go to GM. When I want help, advice, or a firearm, I go to Buffalo Gun Center.

Just yesterday I was hoping to hold a Ruger KP345. The kid (when he finally got to me) at GM told me, "lots of guys are asking about them, but I don't think they're out yet." Wouldn't you think they *might* look into that if lots of guys are asking? I thanked him, and left.

10 minutes later I was in Buffalo Gun Center, holding a KP345, getting a detailed rundown of the features, and generally enjoying myself.

When I handed the Ruger back to the guy at the counter, he asked if there was anything else I was looking for. I told him my wife was interested in the new Rorbaugh R9. A moment later, I had one of THOSE in my hands.

You just can't beat the small guys for service, and help. Unfortuantely they can't usually beat GM on prices, so I'll continue to frequent both, but keep my gun purchases limited to the small dealers.

 

[lee n. field]

Unfortuantely they can't usually beat GM on prices, so I'll continue to frequent both, but keep my gun purchases limited to the small dealers.

Whatt?!?! The Gander Mountain here is quite pricy for pretty much everything. The only reason I ever go there is that they actually have reloading stuff in stock. I don't think I'd ever buy a gun from them.

 

[ralphie98]

I just sighed, enjoyed the eye candy complete with trigger locks, continued to be ignored by the over abundance of counter staff due to Christmas shopping as I waited to look at a Springfield 1911 micro, and then.......finally wandered away to the checkout.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one this happens to. After multiple trips to GM and waiting an average of 15 minutes at the gun counter, I decided to not buy any gun merchandise there ever again.

 

[blue86buick]

My experience with GM seems to be almost opposite most of you guys. Well, I should clarify that...there are a couple of gents that work the gun counter, that REALLY seem to know their stuff, are always ready to help, don't seem to mind ignorant questions, and so I have no qualms buying from GM when they are working. OTOH, most "normal" people working there aren't as good. Their prices aren't excellent, but they're not bad either.

It's my understanding that the tags are typed up by a salesclerk at the store, and it seems most people refer to magazines as "clips"...so that could be the root of that issue.

 

[Kingcreek]

Of the 2 GMs I frequent, Both are good for some things but not fair gun prices.
I once spent (no, lets say wasted) 10 minutes trying to explain to a GM employee that 7.5 shot was actually SMALLER than 6 shot and why this was so. I was going to hunt dove on state land and 7 is max shot size. GM didn't have any, and he kept asking why I didn't just buy the 6s. and if I didn't want the 6s, he would happily recomend the 4s...
He then went on to label all of the mags as "clips"...
aahh, but the story has a happy ending. He now has a high-paying job working for the US government.

 

[Templehall]

I have bought my last gun at GM

I was christmas shopping close to the local GM, so I decided to stop there for my brother's present ... Rem 870 Express. The price was comparable to other places I'd seen. So i got it there.

While filling out the paper work, I noticed they had a "Ruger 50th Anniversery" revolver in the case. Great! "May I see that?", say I. Hmmmm. That's funny; this is a plane jane, run of the mill, blued with the case-hardening-like finish, .357 magnum Vaquero. I bring to the sales associate's attention the fact that there is no such animal as a 50th anniversary Vaquero, and that his company's inventory is mislabeled. (In a very nice, respectful, noncondescending tone) The reply I got was "Oh, I'll look into that."

I went back the next day to pick up the S&W 3913LS which I had decided to give my wife for Christmas. "Hey; look at that. That tag is still wrong." Different sales associate that night. I passed on the same information the second time, in the same very nice, respectful, noncondescending tone. The answer this time was "Dayshift can handle that since they have more time"

Since a glaring error was brought to their attention twice, and in a respectful way, I could assume that these associates intended for their company to falsely advertise their merchandise. Or it could be that they were just too lazy to correct a simple problem. Either way, I don't feel comfortable spending any more money in that store.

 

[P0832177]

Limited Resources

Some of the GM's around the metro are neutered with respect to not stocking reloading supplies. And, well the upside to my situation is that I am just there to buy. I know enough to get what I want. I find them friendly! And, at times there is a wait for service at the counter to get some items, ie when I wanted some more Surefire batteries.

Sportsmans Warehouse owns the best selection of handguns in the cities! They are EBR friendly, whereas GM will only order and not stock. They have the second best reloading selection. Their only upside is that they are open on Sunday.

 

[litman252]

Well the "great" GM in town has a price gurantee, I think they will give you the diffrence back up to $50.

They are good for the selection, other than that................

Want a EBR??? Better buy from more than gander mounta in then.

Tony

 

[Erik Jensen]

cool. maybe, if they've got so many clips, I can pick up some more enbloc clips for my Steyr M1895!

um... yeah.

 

[SteveS]

FWIW, I have found "clips" for sale at smaller dealers and at gun shows. As for poor or slow service, I have also found this at a variety of locations. The GM near me has decent prices and decent service, depending on who is working that day. My wife was gun shopping several years ago and GM was one of the few stores that didn't insist that she could only handle a .22 for recoil.

 

[Schwatt]

litman252:

Here in Minnesota, they give you double the difference on any cheaper identical product from a local competitor. (Wal-Mart )

I know a guy who found a food dehydrator for $39.99 from a competitor. What was GM's price? $99.99

No, they didn't pay him to take it, but he got it for free.

They won't tell you about it, but I'm pretty sure every GM does the double the difference promotion, it's corporate policy. You may even have to talk to a manager about it.

Heck, almost every single thing I buy there is either cheaper to begin with, or I get the double the difference deal. It gives me more money for ammo

 

[halvey]

Here in Minnesota, they give you double the difference on any cheaper identical product from a local competitor. (Wal-Mart )

Which GM did that? I tried that once at the Lakeville store then they started to whine about how it had to be in an ad, and the same week and you had to have your mother there and your first grade report card and all sorts of BS. So I just went across the road and was done with it.

 

[ducati]

Twice I have gotten real good deals on pistol primers. 1000 primers for 1.89 I think. Seems when you buy them by the thousand and they ring them up the box list it for 100 primers. Oh by the way I usally point out this mistake. The 1st time I bought several Items and didn't relize til I was home. The second time my wife called me told me she was at GM asked if I needed anything, told her primers. they only charged her for 100 instead of the 1000. She now thinks the primers only cost 1.89 for a thousand.

 

[moxie]

Ain't America great!

You can shop wherever you want. When I'm shopping for magazines, I don't care what they call them..."thingies," or "those metal things there." I buy them where the deal is best. I know what they are called and that's all I care about. If you need help and the staff is busy BSing then break in and ask for help. If they are being loudly profane then be a man and tell them face to face to tone it down. At the very least complain to the store manager. Whining about it on this board accomplishes nothing. Take charge of your life and stop complaining about things that are either irrelevant, or that you yourself should handle.

And if a store undercharges you by a factor of 10, then you ought to go back and pay the difference.