Do most gun shops make you "haggle" for new guns?

[skydelta34]

I don't haggle - but I will ask if they can help me out with the price - they usually knock off $25 bucks - I leave it at that.

Isnt that haggling? You have bargained for a better price.

 

[Rob377]

Generally, I don't buy at gun shops, preferring private party sales. Last gun I bought at a shop was a CZ shadow. The price was fair right from the start, and the trade in appraisal was fair, so I didn't bother to haggle about it. (Thanks Bob at PSS!)
Before that was a GSSF vouchered Glock. No haggling there.

If I'm buying, I've done the research and know what's FMV is. If a retailer has the courtesy to price it accordingly, I return the courtesy by not beating him/her up over a few bucks.
If they don't, I don't do business with them and stick with the private party sales (for which I have generally the same rule)
I don't like haggling. Fortunately, in the age of the interweb, there are plenty of places to get a good price without wasting my time or energy dickering.

 

[gungirl65]

Haggling is half the fun of buying anything big. Why pay sticker price without at least asking if they can do any better on the price? The worst that can happen is they say no. Who knows, they might say yes and you can save a few bucks.

Haggling is one of the reasons I like HH Gregg & Lowes. If you get the right person you can usually get a few bucks off your bigger purchases.

 

[Jubba]

My shop charges $40 over his cost. That's $10 shipping he pays to get it and $30 profit for him. No room for haggling there and no need when he is that cheap!

 

[Richwon4]

Buying a gun for sticker price is like buying a car for sticker price....the only folks who do it is those who do not know any better. The more you patronize a good shop the more they tend to work with you. They have bills to pay too. If I go into a shop and they are even asking MSRP I keep walking because they don't really want to sell the gun, they want to take advantage of someone who does not know any better. There are certain shops I go into for pure entertainment and laughs.

 

[mbills2223]

At my local shop, I always seem to have something on lay away so he usually comes down about 10-15% because he knows I'll be back. So if he can come down, I'll keep returning. I'm in favor of haggling.

The first step is admitting we have a problem

 

[Cemetery-man]

I am loyal to one shop if I buy new. I don't haggle - but I will ask if they can help me out with the price - they usually knock off $25 bucks - I leave it at that. I think their prices are very fair and the knowledge is priceless.

I agree with Skydelta....

Guess what? you just haggled. (see bold)

 

[Cemetery-man]

I don't even have to haggle anymore. At the LGS, whenever I'm considering a new gun the salesman always says, "You know we can do better on that price".

On my last M1A purchase I saved over $100 off the sticker. Haggle? save a hundred bucks.... Hell YES!

 

[sun]

I'm a pretty firm believer that if you overpay or underpay for an item, that somewhere down the road it will all equal out and you'll receive another deal that makes up for it.
That's right!
Get a great discount on a gun and you may end up paying more for ammo or paying a higher price for a car repair or something else.
There must be a law of averages for prices.
After realizing that he had a winning lottery ticket, Al Bundy once said, "Oh no, that means that bad luck is waiting right around the corner!"

 

[chuddly]

i dont like the haggle idea. It just tells me that they are more than willing to rip you off if you dont know any better. but if you know your stuff they might just treat you fair. This is a prime example of why people buy their guns off the internet now and not support their local shop. Heck im getting ready to buy a new gun in the next couple days and i am probly going to drive past 5-6 gun shops to one further away because he is willing to give me a fair deal (about $75-100 cheaper)

 

[Hanen42]

I'm gonna have to work until I am dead with no social security, haha might as well try to save a few dollars.

 

[Bikerdad61]

Haggling is half the fun of buying anything big. Why pay sticker price without at least asking if they can do any better on the price? The worst that can happen is they say no. Who knows, they might say yes and you can save a few bucks.

Haggling is one of the reasons I like HH Gregg & Lowes. If you get the right person you can usually get a few bucks off your bigger purchases.

+1 Haggling is half the fun.

 

[Vince49]

Price as marked.

I have never purchased a used firearm. At the shops I frequent the price on the new ones are plainly marked and, thus far at least, that is what I have paid.

 

[ralphb72]

"Haggling is half the fun of buying anything big"

I disagree, it is not fun at all!

If I can't afford the price they are asking, I get it somewhere else. That INCLUDES private party sales. I have never offered less then the asking price on INGO or at a gun shop, and I have never been turned down. The few times I have traveled, I have come to Indy or Greenwood, doing most of the driving myself.

As the buyer, my offer will be: I will give you your asking price AND come to you, BUT I need you to be patient with me while I get the cash together, or until I get paid etc. Never been more then a week though, and I have never backed out of a deal. Just too bad for you sellers that I don't have a big disposable income!

 

[Femme Assise]

I don't haggle over prices; it's just not worth the headache and frustration. If there is an item that I really want to buy, I will pay sticker price, otherwise I will move on and look for a deal elsewhere.

 

[malern28us]

I dont haggle on prices. I decide what I want. Check out the prices and find out what the average price is. The first place I go that is within the range that I expect to pay, from my research, gets a sale for the day.

 

[IUprof]

I hate to haggle also. A LGS here is usually willing to meet Interrnet price so I'm willing to pay the sales tax in order to support the local guy. Why order from Bud's when your local shop can order it for the same price? Just my perspective.

 

[Titanium Man]

My shop charges $40 over his cost. That's $10 shipping he pays to get it and $30 profit for him. No room for haggling there and no need when he is that cheap!

Hmm.......I know a couple of places who say this....then I go into the distributors pricing THEY buy from.....and say where did you learn math?????.......INDIANA schools??? It's good to be armed with knowledge also.

 

[WebSnyper]

I don't have a problem either way. If a shop has good prices (compared to the research I have done in advance) on what I want, then I'll buy. If the shop's prices are a little high, I will definitely ask to see if there is any room to move on the price. When I negotiate, I always have a price in mind that I am willing to buy at, and I don't negotiate unless I am ready to buy if we get to that price. I very rarely buy without having done at least some research, and then I will only do it at a shop that I have a good amount of trust in.

What I will not do though is frequently buy at a shop where I need to negotiate just to get close to a reasonable price. If the shop is making you work hard just to get to a realistic price, then I move on.

Some shops have great prices on guns, but their ammo or accessories may be high and some have higher prices on guns, but lower on other things. Some have median prices on most things. It is their call as to how they run their business, and my call regarding where I spend my money. It's the nature of capitalism.

Let's face it, a shop is not going to sell to you at a loss (unless they have some specific motivation to do so to clear an item from their shelves), so no matter "how bad you beat them up on a price" they are generally coming out ahead.

I will however never buy when pressured and will walk quickly if I sense any pressure or gimmick in the negotiation process.

 

[redpitbull44]

In my mind, the mark of a good gun shop is one that prices a gun fairly to begin with. I look at MSRP, I look at Gun Broker, and then I call 5-10 shops to see what prices they are offering. Takes all of 30 minutes to do this.

I think one of the best gun shops I've dealt with from an inventory/knowledge/price standpoint is Plainfield Shooting Supply. The only complaint I have is their ammo prices are higher than I like to pay, but then again, who but Wal-Mart has cheap ammo now-a-days?