Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Like Cabela's or Dick's? Maybe get 10% off with cash or some other good reason?
Generally, no. I've been able to at the gun shows, but never at a store. Our local Gander Mountain puts stuff on sale all the time though, so they sometimes wind up being cheaper than a show. Depends on what you're looking for though.
Best way to negotiate is to bring in a lower advertised price fom somewhere else and see if they will match it. Markup on guns depending on the area is fairly low compared to other consumer products like clothes. Less wiggle room so to speak.
Best price is usually on Buds on the web. But then you have to pay to have it transferred to a local ffl and that usually means any savings you would have received is eaten up in fees. But sometimes you can score a deal.
A quality used gun is usually the best way to get a deal unless its a model in high demand.
No not at big stores but at gun shows or just gun shop,s then you can usually negotiate or have them receive a gun for you at a fee.
There are places such as Buds Gun shop online where you can get an idea of a decent price for a new gun and then compare using that plus shipping and any dealer fees the dealer who receives the gun might charge you. Often when you show the dealer the price you got online then they might order you the gun or match the price including the other fees. I have found most guns on Buds to be a little over cost but hard to get guns will be higher.
The other thing about ordering online is that you may not have to pay the sales tax, ask the dealer who will receive it if that is the case or not and how much they will charge you to receive a firearm for you.
Agreed, most chain stores employees are not authorized to negotiate. If you wanted to buy a wholesale lot, you might be able to negotiate with someone who is actually in charge, but that's beside the point. There are very few used guns out there that have any sort of significant functioning problems. Not like used cars where if you buy a well-used example it will probably need some work. Depends of course on what you want and what you expect - a lot of guys will buy a bolt gun, and if they can't get it to shoot well enough to suit them, usually they are looking for a 1" group at 100 yards or meters, from a bench, sometimes they will up and sell that gun. The stand up guys will tell you, "I can't get it under 1.5" at 100" - so if that's good enough for you, and for a lot of practical hunting this is fine, you can buy that gun for less. Or if you are a fairly accomplished handloader and smith, you can do what they couldn't.
I'm digressing here, but given that the gun's error and your's will add RMS, if you can shoot well enough from a sitting position to really get benefit out of a 1" gun versus a 1.5" gun, well, my hat's off to you, that's good shooting.
All of this I am assuming you are shopping for a rifle. For a shotgun, it's a lot easier, you will find little or no functioning problems with any quality shotgun with the possible exception of some automatic (self-loader) guns, and most of these are just dirty, if you don't know how to clean it and don't want to learn, any decent smith can clean it up for a reasonable price. If you will spring for a double-barrel, they generally last about forever and seldom have issues, and keep their value well.
Most quality pistols and revolvers will shoot much better than anyone but a real champion can shoot them, although again you may find a jam-prone pistol on the used market. You can buy any current production Ruger with complete confidence though, if it won't work right, send it back to them and they will fix it or give you a new one. If they give you a replacement gun, rest assured it's not completely new, they will have function-fired it enough to know that it will not disappoint.
What you *can* do, though, is find the same gun used at a pawn shop, small gun store, or at a gun show. Or, you might find an individual seller by want ads in either a traditional newspaper (remember those?) or a want-ad type paper.
All that said, the local discount store (Bi-Mart) has pretty good prices on guns, particularly if you catch what you want on sale.
I take your initial post to mean that you are looking for a good deal on a gun, so I am trying to point out alternative ways to get a gun that will do what you want to do for less.
Final thought: Just like hunting for game, patience will pay off in your hunt for a good gun. Don't rush things, enjoy the shopping experience, if you buy a good gun at a good price, if you need or want to sell it on, or trade it later, you should not lose anything.
Thanks everybody. I went to Dick's yesterday for a Marlin 795 and gave them the price they wanted. When I was a kid the owner of the small shop would say, "Now go pick out a nice case."
Like Cabela's or Dick's? Maybe get 10% off with cash or some other good reason?
Cabelas, maybe, but, not on new firearms, only on used. The profit margin on new firearms is too limited and many are simply not allowed to lower their prices per the manufacturer and the distributor's stocking program. Dick's, no, absolutely not as they only deal in new product.
I bought a gun at Sportsman's Warehouse and they gave me a discount without me asking, I went up to the front to pay and it was ten percent cheaper than the tag on the gun had said. I was pretty pleased with that, it covered the sales tax and the extra mag I was buying.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
