Gun prices online vs local dealer markup

[Merick]

Comparing prices of several things on line to what local dealers have in stock it seems there is quite a divergence in favor of the local dealers (no surprise). But how much is understandable and at what point is it egregious? I understand a store front has overhead, but to be 8 multiples of transfer fee plus shipping over median online prices it appears some local dealers are begging people to buy from someone else.

Related; how much do you pay for a transfer? ($40 ouch!)

Clarification; current production not short supply items for the sake of discussion.

[Love Life]

I pay $25.00 for a transfer. 90% of the firearms I buy are bought online. It's odd that I can buy a gun online, pay shipping, pay transfer, and still come out under what the local gunstore is asking.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

one of my local dealers charge $35 transfer fee
another one (hardware store)charges $25

If you are talking used guns, many times, online sellers are not dealers, hence the lower pricing.

[Love Life]

New guns coming from brick and mortar stores in other places are cheaper after all said and done compared to my LGS.

[GoodOlBoy]

One of our local shops charges $65 for a transfer, acts like a rear end whenever you are in his store for ANY reason, and on average charges $200 to $300 MORE for the same guns you can get from academy, wal-mart, gander mountain, etc. You even mention reloading stuff around this guy and he will throw you out of his store, and forget about muzzleloaders he won't even order them, buy them, or sell them.

The next shop is over an hour away. They charge $30 for a transfer and are happy to just shoot the bull with you for an hour or two...

GoodOlBoy

[Hannibal]

One of our local shops charges $65 for a transfer, acts like a rear end whenever you are in his store for ANY reason, and on average charges $200 to $300 MORE for the same guns you can get from academy, wal-mart, gander mountain, etc. You even mention reloading stuff around this guy and he will throw you out of his store, and forget about muzzleloaders he won't even order them, buy them, or sell them.

Wow. How does the place stay in business?

I don't have a problem paying a mark-up to the LGS so long as it's not excessive. The issue I run into is finding what I want. I nearly always know what I'm after BEFORE I set out to buy. Tried ordering stuff. Doesn't always work out.

[tomme boy]

One store it is $35 another new store that opened is $15. Guess which one everyone is going to.

[GoodOlBoy]

Wow. How does the place stay in business?

I don't have a problem paying a mark-up to the LGS so long as it's not excessive. The issue I run into is finding what I want. I nearly always know what I'm after BEFORE I set out to buy. Tried ordering stuff. Doesn't always work out.

Because 99% of his business is buying guns and jewelry off of desperate people. I have a sneaking suspicion he is selling them off either online, or through another store in another town. Anyway it's just odd that the guy DOES stay in business considering there are almost never any customers in his store buying anything, just those desperate to sell for a few bucks.

GoodOlBoy

[nagantguy]

Online is almost always cheaper fer the guns I buy, if its even close I try to buy local but buds is always hard to beat fer price, I got a guy will do transfers fer 20 USD. With that and shipping online is still usually cheaper, leaving me with more fer molds and powder.

[DCM]

LGS near me is fairly reasonable on stuff they have in stock. Special orders are a waste of a ton of time, usually months.
I found a FFL that charges a much lower transfer fee with none of the drama.
He does it part time and loves firearms more than $$$.

[pretzelxx]

I don't really like all of the local shops, too many rude people. There's one i like but its probably a 30 minute drive on a good day. I plan to order online and bite the boolit on a local with low fees. Its cheap!

[oldfart1956]

Fortunatly, locally here I have several private individuals with FFL's and transfers are $18/20. But they have little overhead. And of the 5 new handguns I've bought off actual gun shops this year I haven't paid a single transfer fee. (no transfer fee on new guns) I've looked at online purchases but till you tack on all the additional fees I'm not seeing the savings. Four of the handguns I paid less than Buds online price for. Go figger? Audie...the befuddled Oldfart.

[petroid]

My favorite LGS does xfer a for $15. I have had several online purchases done through them. They are happy to do it for less than the other guy. And they sell on consignment for only 10% commission. I buy from them if they have a good deal. If not, they are happy to get my xfer fees.

[kopperl]

You sure you didn't wander in to our local store?

One of our local shops charges $65 for a transfer, acts like a rear end whenever you are in his store for ANY reason, and on average charges $200 to $300 MORE for the same guns you can get from academy, wal-mart, gander mountain, etc. You even mention reloading stuff around this guy and he will throw you out of his store, and forget about muzzleloaders he won't even order them, buy them, or sell them.

The next shop is over an hour away. They charge $30 for a transfer and are happy to just shoot the bull with you for an hour or two...

GoodOlBoy

[dragon813gt]

$20 fee, as long as it's not from Bud's. Closest shop that will perform a transfer from them is about an hour away. I tend to buy old guns online. Saves me lots of money in gas driving all over just to find out no one has what I'm looking for. New guns are a wash. It might be $20 cheaper to buy online. But then it has to be a planned purchase. I like stopping in and being surprised by a lovely new firearm in the case. They usually leave w/ me in that case. Lately the dealer I use for transfers hasn't been answering or returning my calls. I've been trying to order a rifle from him. Looks like I will just buy from Gunbroker and just use him for the transfer.

[Huskerguy]

I must be very fortunate. My LGS just changed hands but he promised to do business just like the guy he purchased from. He was always the best price I could find on firearms. Kept his prices very competitive. His inventory was not always what I was looking for and in those cases he helped me find it, actually turned me onto Buds. Charges $20 to do transfers. If the new guy is close to the former (he actually worked for him for several years) then we are good to go.

[Petrol & Powder]

It has a lot to do with the gun itself. Popular guns that sell quickly can often be found at reasonable prices in gun stores. Guns that are not as popular are: A. difficult to find in small gun stores and B. often cheaper online even after transfer fees and shipping costs.
I think it is always wise to get a good idea of the market you're operating in (both local and on-line) before putting money down.

[GhostHawk]

In the last year I have bought 8 guns. All online. Best deal was for the Pair of Mosin's from Cheaperthandirt. FFL fee's total for both was 25$. 20$ for the first and 5 for each additional gun.

I checked the local pawn shops, but everything was either way out of my price range, in calibers that I had no interest in, or both.

I have recently switched to a different FFL, because he would accept from private owners not another FFL. My original FFL dealer was a pawn shop and I started noticing that I was having problems. In one case waited for 3 weeks for the gun only to find that the guy selling it still had not gotten the FFL info.

So I got ticked off, canceled the sale, threatened him with major bad press all over the internet to get him to retract his restocking fee.

Found a new FFL that is easier to deal with, and have continued to buy online.

Still paying 20$ for FFL transfers, but when I give my FFL a Email heads up he contacts me 3 hours later saying handshake is complete and the gun is being shipped. He contacts me again when he gets it and we arrange a time to meet at his office.

I understand that local gun shops, sellers have overhead. But I have also seen those same company's giving low ball offers for used guns, and 3 days later its out for sale not marked up double, but 6 or 8 times what they paid for it. That is highway robbery in my opinion.

Midwayusa gets the majority of my die, mold purchases, Amazon gets some. For ammo or componant's I do tend to shop around a lot. But I have bought several things from Selway Armory over in Montana. And I'm always willing to give them a plug. Good prices, good service, reasonable shipping, fast delivery.

I have also bought both powder and primers from Recob's target shop over in Wisconsin. (Great company)
And most recently from Bass Pro Shops and Cabella's.

I'm holding fire right now on a 300$ or so order, waiting for someone to get in some Promo or Red Dot.
First outfit that does also gets the chance to sell me a bunch of primers.

Spreading that 28$ hazmat fee over 4 pounds or more of powder and 4k of primers takes a lot of the sting out of it.

[smoked turkey]

In our area the store prices reflect internet pricing because they use the internet to sell some merchandise. The fact is their selection is pretty small. On the other hand they are always willing to do the transfer for about $25 on internet purchases. As a general rule if they have what you are interested in the prices are not too different than internet and they can be inspected before you buy. I would much rather buy locally than risk shipment and payment of transfer fees. The catch is their selection is small compared to big box stores or an internet site like GB.

[singleshot]

Online is almost always cheaper fer the guns I buy, if its even close I try to buy local but buds is always hard to beat fer price, I got a guy will do transfers fer 20 USD. With that and shipping online is still usually cheaper, leaving me with more fer molds and powder.

At this point, I'd check out impactguns.com and cheaperthandirt.com. The last few I've bought from them beat or matched Budsgunshop without the misleading "buy it now" prices and last minute auctions on high demand items. I pay $15 for transfer fees.