Ever regretted going to a LGS?

MikeInOr said:
I really question if a LGS is a valid business model any more. At least in a smaller town like mine that is still big enough to have a few national chains
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The biggest reason for me to visit a gun shop is trade-ins. As known I an a collector of vintage (what I call vintage) arms and have no use for much of the 'new stuff'. Consequently, I tend to look into pawn shops and gun shows more than LGS. I find it curious that a local competes with a large volume 'chain store'.

Looking at the past, history seems to operate in cycles. So it may swing back, but possibly wait until I die to do so. Such is life.
 
Being near a military base, pawn shop on every corner.

They fit into the same category as the LGS.
Some of them, I entered once and will not be back. Some are occasionally visited. A very few are regular stops.
 
We had one open about 10 years ago here. I went in to check out a Sig P227, I was the only person there, and the owner treated like I was an inconvenience to his day of sitting. When I asked if he had one, he said yes, we went over to it, and I asked if I could handle it. He said "Well are you going to buy it?" In a very condescending tone. I replied "I'll probably get one, but not from you anymore". He replied "okay, then leave". I didn't acknowledge it as a LGS after that. About a year ago somebody bought the business from him, so I gave it another try. Great service, good prices, and no problem to handle any firearm they had. I told the new owner my experience with the old owner, and he said about half of the guys that have come in since he bought it have said the same. It's now my favorite gun store.
 
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Life lessons can be learned, and shared, with each of these stories. Unfortunately those folks who need the lessons in order to improve themselves won’t often read things like this, or they might but ignore the lessons altogether. :(

I love poking about in a LGS, and buying things when I see what I need/want. I don’t love feeling like I am a bother to the staff or being treated like I am a clown that just walked in from the big top. Attitude is everything if you want to have me come back. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
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Mark_Mark said:
what happened to… “How are you, I’ll be right with you… or How can I help you”

here in the PNW, locals and longtimers are STUCK UP! That why I miss living in the South!
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Yeah, it's funny. I'd been living for years in California, Hawaii, Arizona and California again, and when I came up here to stay in the mid-90s, it struck me that even the gun shops in San Diego County were a lot friendlier than many of the gun shops in the greater Puget Sound area. One would have thought it'd be the other way around.

We have a local shop that's tolerable, with a decent used selection normally (including the odd 1911, SIG/Beretta/CZ pistols, lots of S&W and Ruger revolvers, range of hunting rifles and shotguns) that has decent service (even better if they know you), fair prices, and I try to give the benefit of the doubt sometimes, because in a mostly military area, they have to deal with the crazy mix of total novices or know-it-all military and old guys. It becomes painful to me at times watching some of the clerks deal patiently with some of the folks that walk in their door. Transfer fees a little high, and you gotta make a reservation to come in to do a private sale, but they're all quick with the paperwork and typically cheerful.

So long as a shop will let me handle a whole bunch of guns, not exhibit any pressure to buy, and give me a cheery, "Have a good one!" when I walk out the door without buying a thing, I'm good. My frequented shops know I'll be back and likely to drop a grand or so the next time I come in.

Local gun shops to me are like the big gun shows at the fairgrounds. I know I'll miss 'em when they're gone, in spite of the occasional aggravation.
 
There are 3 stores in my town of you don't count Walmart ( I don't because mine has near Zero customer service).

The first is run by a Navy Vet and his family. Good folks. It is a traditional gun store with a mix of New and Old firearms. One display wall and counter is the New plastic Rifles and pistols. That's probably his bread and butter to keep the lights on. The other wall is a mix of New and Old ( some are consignments) of traditional Rifles and shotguns.

The Storefront ( window area) is made up of benchtops that mostly have reloading equipment, and component consignments, and shotshells.

The fourth wall is the business portion, where the checkout, cash registers, and small, walled off business office is located. If you can't tell, I really like this store. Good friendly folks. They will do transfers and consignments, no problem. Not always the cheapest, but they have earned my business.

The second place is a combination mini-mart/ gun store/ fishing tackle type store. A good one stop shop to pick up your Beer, ammo, cigarettes and newspaper. But they only sell brand new guns. No transfers, no special orders. But they are also good friendly people. Interesting business model, but it works in this Cowboy town. I did buy one gun there, and also a small gun safe, because they would deliver to my garage. The Big plus to this place is that they have a big inventory, including some pricey higher end firearms up to about $3500. They seem to be the most well off/ financially stable.

The 3rd place is a custom gunmaker/ gunsmith working out of his Boat/AtV/Gunsmithing shop.
This guy is awful. Basically tells you up front that he doesn't take custom gunsmithing work for less than $1000. The guns he has for sale are customer trade-ins, or guns that owners didn't pay for after he worked on them ( probably because of his piss poor attitude or long wait times ) I went there one time. That is the last time. I see that he gets terrible online reviews, which go undisputed. Customer's are a bother to him, it seems, while he would rather be working on his outdoor recreational toys.
 
We had a LGS open within about a mile from my house, I was thrilled.

First time in I found they only stocked AR's and variants, and Glocks and other plastic pistols. All were behind the counters. The actual shelving in the customer area had very few items, Glock logo pistol pouches, plastic cases, etc. I don't even think they had a cleaning kit in the place.

The owner and the sales guy, if I'd even want to call him that, could have gotten movie extra gigs as bearded guys with tats playing illegal militia type parts. No personality at all, either straight faced or scowling. Smile never, too bad ass tactical for that.

I must have put on my cloak of invisibility by accident when I went in there, because they acted as if neither one could see me. Guess I didn't fit their idea of a customer. I tried again months later, same inventory, same attitude. So disappointed.

They didn't last two years.
 
igotta40 said:
Anyone else visit a shop and never went back?
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Yes.

Visited some brand new ones and 'regretted' it for buying stuff they had on Grand Opening Discount, where the deal was just too good to pass up. (Tough on a person to get to "gun poor" buying stuff :) )

D.B. Cooper said:
out sell mil-surps by wide margins.
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Well, the days of the "milsurp" as we knew it in the 90s are gone.
The warehouses of outdated military rifles are now empty.
Any new emptying of military stock will be of select-fire weapons, and those will not wind up in LGS racks at all, let alone for $100.

There might be some still-closed warehouses in Russia and China, which might have some serious treasures in them, but, absent major regime changes, we are not likely to find out. (The other downside being that, if such places exist, they will have been operated by People's Warehouse Collective #195 for the last 75-100 years and saw "care" not up to Ethiopian standards.)

Back to the topic--in my life, I know I have been spoiled by having access to some incredible LGS, with good stock, good employees, etc. This can mean I have some (semi) unrealistic standards for other shops. Such is life.
 
Can't say regretted as been disappointed with similar themes posted here above. But on a positive note, there's a little gun shop inside a car parts store around here that is my favorite to patronize. They don't have a huge selection but will have a few good used items. Mostly the staff (one owner and one staff, actually) are knowledgeable, helpful, and reasonable people. I enjoy dealing with them. Never an issue handling the wares and I respect that by being polite about it. They just know how to do business.
 
CapnMac said:
...I have been spoiled by having access to some incredible LGS, with good stock, good employees, etc. This can mean I have some (semi) unrealistic standards for other shops...
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I see your point. There are two local shops in town I never go to. During the riots, when ammo and components were unobtainium, I dropped by. Both had at least something. I was in one while a guy was picking up a firearm I had been wanting but none of the big chains had them for months. I asked if he had another. His response was "Not today. Come back tomorrow." So, I bought my boxes of overpriced but available ammo and came back the next day. Sure enough. Brand shiny new firearm that no one in town could get.
 
I was a frequent customer at a local indoor range in South Houston for years. I’ve bought and sold there at the new & used counter. The prices aren’t anything to brag about but occasionally they get something interesting, or a police trade-in, and the staff is always great to deal with.The range had a lane charge of $8 no time limit, no gun limit, a punch card for free lane after 10 visits, free lane with a FFL transfer ($30) and if I were doing a FTF sale, they would print a Firearm bill of sale for me. That all changed about a year ago when it got a new owner. I’ll still go there though. The same great staff is still there, and that’s important to me.
 
The LGS had TWO of my dream guns show up in the case on the same day. I was very young and very poor but there was no way I was going to be denied. Less than 48 hours later my car broke down in a big way and I had to just about sell a kidney to make it through the next few months. So yeah, going into the gun shop is not always a great plan...
 
I visited a LGS to make a pistol purchase many years ago. There were six old guys sitting around the counter that looked like mobsters with heavy tats. When I entered they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I thought that I interrupted a drug deal. I really felt threatened. Should I mention it was in New York. Never went back.
 
Many times.. I hate it in those shops that have employees that were used car salesmen. They bum rush you and ask 47 times if you need help, like they didnt hear you the first 46 times! I usually never go back.
 
igotta40 said:
I was a frequent customer at a local indoor range in South Houston for years. I’ve bought and sold there at the new & used counter. The prices aren’t anything to brag about but occasionally they get something interesting, or a police trade-in, and the staff is always great to deal with.The range had a lane charge of $8 no time limit, no gun limit, a punch card for free lane after 10 visits, free lane with a FFL transfer ($30) and if I were doing a FTF sale, they would print a Firearm bill of sale for me. That all changed about a year ago when it got a new owner. I’ll still go there though. The same great staff is still there, and that’s important to me.
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Marksman Range?
 
gifbohane said:
I visited a LGS to make a pistol purchase many years ago. There were six old guys sitting around the counter that looked like mobsters with heavy tats. When I entered they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I thought that I interrupted a drug deal. I really felt threatened. Should I mention it was in New York. Never went back.
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You don't know how close you came. They were sizing you up for cement shoes and which car trunk you'd best fit into. Change your address to the East River, right next to Jimmy Hoffa.
 
I guess I'm lucky, but I've never been in one I regretted. There are 3 independent gun shops locally. One is an indoor range, but he sells a few guns on the side. He gets $5 for transfers and does them free if you buy one hour of range time. One other shop also does $5 transfer fees. Both places sell at MSRP, but they eat the tax. Price on the tag is the price you pay to walk out the door. While they don't carry a lot of stock, they will order anything you want.

The other shop is bigger and very well stocked. It is a family business and I've been a customer and consider myself a friend of the family for 30+ years. Their prices are marked higher, and they get a premium for transfers, but I've always been able to get good deals from them. I don't even ask. If I'm interested, they look at the price on the tag and quote me an OTD price quite a bit lower. Not just guns, but everything in the store. I'm sure they do the same for all of their regular customers.
 
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