Online Gun Prices?

[Alexx1401]

My tendency is to have my favorite LGS order it for me as I like that business a whole bunch and am totally willing to pay the extra just because of the bar-none best customer service I've ever had. Something to be said about establishing first name basis status.

Wife and I have been using a Mom Pop place since they opened couple decades back. Many of our guns come from them and cost a little more. I too have no problem with this to keep them open. I will look at price then ask them. When they can get it for a little more I use them. Benefits of this are a few. They no longer even ask for cash up front. We tell them, they order, we buy. When they cut off the pay and walk option here the shop no longer asks us for money till they actually let us walk with the gun. Last couple hand guns after the 10 day wait they said come get your gun. When I have ordered online for something they could not get they give us a very fair price to do the transfer. Sadly City of Tacoma is at the brink of running them out of business. They held off on the new tax for now that the owners made clear. If the city does it they will have to close. If they do I hope they set up shop out here in the county. I would volunteer to come help them move if they do

 

[SUPER X]

I buy from gunshops or FTF. For "run of the mill" stuff, I use places like Buds to find out what the bottom price might be.
As far as the LGS saying, "go ahead and order it," they probably learned from experience, that if someone is chiseling, there is a good possibility that they won't be a good customer.
I have witnessed it at retail, at service places and at the charity I volunteer for : some people have this sense of entitlement. Thankfully, it's a very small percentage. Still, it's those ones you want address and say, "kindly go pound sand." But you don't. Smile and wave.....

How does one go about chiseling charity ?

 

[OldBroad44]

Not to thread hijack but, if you do a good bit of traveling with your camera and gun, consider getting a not-camera camera bag. For example, I picked up a Gregory Graph messenger bag awhile ago - just your average, run of the mill messenger. It could hold a laptop sure, or just some books, papers, etc. It also fits a solid amount of camera gear and doesn't scream, "look at me I have lots of gear!" The last thing you want is to be targeted by a thief looking to make a quick snatch and grab for your camera gear also getting your gun. For the same reason, change out the neck strap that comes with the body for a generic, especially if you shoot Canon. Why, oh why, they print the model on the neck strap is beyond me - it's an advertisement to any would-be thief. Those padded velcro dividers can be purchased on their own and easily sewn into any bag.

You're exactly right. My camera fannypack and camera pack dont look obviously like fannypacks or packs for either cameras or guns. I dont travel outside the state often; when I do, I'm flying, and carrying neither cameras nor guns. When I go into the field to do garden photography, the pack carries camera gear only, and the only gun is my edc on my person. Most of the time when I'm carrying the pack, it's carrying neither cameras nor guns but stuff like a clipboard, water jar, planting seeds, a jacket, a hat, etc. And normally the fannypack is carrying stuff like my wallet, checkbook, keys, phone, knife, harmonica, etc, and my edc is on my person. Sometimes there's no way to carry my edc except in the fannypack, though.

 

[Alexx1401]

You're exactly right. My camera fannypack and camera pack dont look obviously like fannypacks or packs for either cameras or guns. I dont travel outside the state often; when I do, I'm flying, and carrying neither cameras nor guns. When I go into the field to do garden photography, the pack carries camera gear only, and the only gun is my edc on my person. Most of the time when I'm carrying the pack, it's carrying neither cameras nor guns but stuff like a clipboard, water jar, planting seeds, a jacket, a hat, etc. And normally the fannypack is carrying stuff like my wallet, checkbook, keys, phone, knife, harmonica, etc, and my edc is on my person. Sometimes there's no way to carry my edc except in the fannypack, though.

I started using a fanny pack years before they started making them for guns. State had no CC law. I saw these everywhere and one day thought it would work great and it did. When they started making them for guns I was at first stumped why so many gun people said they "scream gun". Since back then I would still go to malls and such and in nice weather they were everywhere. After many years when I finally figured out why so many gun people were saying that I did have to laugh, a LOT.
Last time I was on Jury duty I used my largest Uncle Mike's pack. It was to keep crap I had to kill time with me. Easy at entry to toss on the belt to be x-ray. None of the LEO's all over ever gave me a second glance.

 

[Jonnyuma]

...Its worth even more to see and handle various guns and discover one I didnt know I wanted.

That seems to happen waaay more often. Amazing the amount of cool stuff that I had no idea how badly I needed until I was made aware of it's existence.

...wallys quit salling handgun ammo .One of them had guys behind the counter that know nothing about firearms outside of recent popular production 223 or 9mm . And never heard of the caliber I needed

I gave up expecting a knowledgeable counter-person long ago... like, decades.
Same at auto parts stores. If I need a actual assistance, I go to the shabbiest, grungiest, NAPA or Baxter's I can find... that's where the old dudes who know stuff work.

 

[CountryGent]

I'm of the notion that if our archaic, unconstitutional laws were no longer a thing, many, though not all, LGS would dry up and blow away like Waldenbooks, Blockbuster, etc. The laws put in place over a half century ago (GCA68) and over 80 years ago (NFA34) aren't going anywhere though, so it is a moot point. Part of the reason of why I started a side business FFL is to offer easy and inexpensive transfers, sans the moronic BS of the local gun shops in these parts.

 

[P7M13]

How does one go about chiseling charity ?

Chiseling buyers, you can probably picture in your mind. Not a term I would apply to recipients of charity. These are the folk who don't know the words "Thank you", "Please", or complain when you give them what they asked for but it isn't exactly what they wanted. Or, "You only sent me ONE and I asked for FOUR!" Um, the limit for one person is ONE.
Work with teachers to set up their classroom for a year, send them a list of the materials we will be shipping, and the teacher responds, "this is not sufficient quality, I insist that you send "x" brand." The equivalent analogy would be setting up a class with a PSA rifle and 20K rounds of Wolf Ammo, and the instructor writes back 'I insist on Daniel Defense and Hornady Match ammo.'
Encountered half a dozen lately where the item shipped was returned as a vacant address. Two where the address given was an empty lot. Shipping services are pretty awesome now with instant feedback that the address you are attempting to ship to is non-deliverable - and then the people get belligerent when you ask them for clarification on the address and inform them that it's an empty lot. I'll ask, "can you show me a piece of mail you receive at that location?" and never hear from them again.