livingston
20×102mm Vulcan
Are Online Retailers Killing Local Gun Stores? Should We Care?
online vs. local
I can see the merits of both sides. I think we can all agree that the local gun store experience should be theoretically superior to the online experience, even if it is reasonably, slightly more expensive than its online competition. Being able to go to a counter and handle the guns you want to look at – possibly even try them out if your local gun store has a range – is inarguably superior to selecting a gun you think you’re going to like from internet research alone and hoping it works out for you. Plus there’s usually ancillary services like gunsmithing, training, or just a place for gun enthusiasts to gather and talk about our shared passion.
Unfortunately, the LGS doesn’t always work out that way. Local gun stores that became accustomed to being the only show in town have allowed monopolization to cause paralysis. Charging MSRP or more for guns or double the fair price for accessories over the course of years exposed a vulnerability for local shops, and arguably even created the “monster” that is the low-overhead, Internet-based market. Many shops carried on as if they would always have the market cornered, without innovating or acknowledging the storm gathering on the horizon. Have you ever frequented a shop that you had no choice but to deal with, even if it treated customers like shopping there was a privilege? I bet a number of you have – I know I did. There’s a reason why the often-memed stereotype of the “gun counter employee” exists. We’ve all met him once, haven’t we? Clad in his range vest, 1911 on his drop-leg, armed with the experience of working at his brother-in-law’s gun store for 8 months. And boy, is he ready to tell you why the gun you came in for will “get you killed” and “you need one-ah-these” instead. No question, there are former customers dancing in the flames of gun stores that had been overcharging them for years.
More at ...
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/02/15/local-gun-stores/
online vs. local
I can see the merits of both sides. I think we can all agree that the local gun store experience should be theoretically superior to the online experience, even if it is reasonably, slightly more expensive than its online competition. Being able to go to a counter and handle the guns you want to look at – possibly even try them out if your local gun store has a range – is inarguably superior to selecting a gun you think you’re going to like from internet research alone and hoping it works out for you. Plus there’s usually ancillary services like gunsmithing, training, or just a place for gun enthusiasts to gather and talk about our shared passion.
Unfortunately, the LGS doesn’t always work out that way. Local gun stores that became accustomed to being the only show in town have allowed monopolization to cause paralysis. Charging MSRP or more for guns or double the fair price for accessories over the course of years exposed a vulnerability for local shops, and arguably even created the “monster” that is the low-overhead, Internet-based market. Many shops carried on as if they would always have the market cornered, without innovating or acknowledging the storm gathering on the horizon. Have you ever frequented a shop that you had no choice but to deal with, even if it treated customers like shopping there was a privilege? I bet a number of you have – I know I did. There’s a reason why the often-memed stereotype of the “gun counter employee” exists. We’ve all met him once, haven’t we? Clad in his range vest, 1911 on his drop-leg, armed with the experience of working at his brother-in-law’s gun store for 8 months. And boy, is he ready to tell you why the gun you came in for will “get you killed” and “you need one-ah-these” instead. No question, there are former customers dancing in the flames of gun stores that had been overcharging them for years.
More at ...
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/02/15/local-gun-stores/
