Sportsmans Warehouse monkey business

[BigPimping]

Went to Sportsmans Warehouse this morning for a firearm pick up. Apparently someone who was a new employee was helping me with the check out. It took 50 minutes for him to get all the paperwork together along with the electronic stuff. Seems like there?s always this monkey business with box stores.

I really miss Kevin Smith.

[duckman1]

I know they have to train them, but it is real inconvenient to be on the receiving end of that transaction.

[dave85620]

That's actually a little quicker than normal for Sportsman's. Last time I was there I timed how long it took for each dros/pickup and it was right around 1 hour per transaction. They do have decent prices so I guess you'll pay one way or another.

[rice_man]

I've done three new tracsactions with one being at a newly opened site in San Deigo area. They all went pretty smoothly once I got to the counter ~ 30 max.

The San Diego store took appointments so I was able to walk in at my appointment time and go straight to the front of the line. Surprisingly the counter people had their act together and got the paperwork and review done in a timely manner.

Now I face another issue - I just completed an online order a few days ago for in-store pickup. It hasn't arrived yet and I now find the item has gone on sale for $30 less than what I paid. The wesite doesn't indicate they have a price protection guarantee. I'm gonna call and find out the best course of action. Might have to just re-order and return the on that is on the way.

[dave85620]

Rice man, Sportsman's has good customer service if you call them. I'm sure they will give you the sale price, or maybe a gift card to make up the difference.

[12pewpew]

Time stands still when you're at the gun counter at SW. I do agree with the post above that their customer service when you call in to the corpo office is top notch.

[Sam .223]

I had something similar happen to me at Turners not to long ago, that was most likely the last time I'll buy a firearm from them, it shouldn't take that long to finish up the paper work and release the firearm.

[Doheny]

Last time I bought a gun at Sportsman?s the guy made a mistake on the form and we had to start over. He gave me 5% off the cost for my time (which was only a few minutes.)

Next time talk to the manager. I?ve always had good luck at Sportsman?s.

[Rogerbutthead]

Enjoy them while you can, I miss the one that was in Milpitas.

No other store around here has their selection, which is why they sometimes had long lines. I waited several hours once to get my paperwork done.

Pretty much forget about having help window shopping when they had those huge lines.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

I'm always taken aback by the 'processing' it takes to purchase a firearm in this State today. When I lived in Texas 20-something years ago, provided I had the money in my pocket and knew what I wanted, I could be in and out, with the firearm in 20 - 30 minutes; i.e., the time it took to say "That one," go pay for it, fill out the 4473, and then wait for the background check to be completed, which is what took the most time. A delay on the part of the background check, at worst, cost you a day or two; but, that was rare.

In California, even when you have the money and know what you want, it can take 20 - 30 minutes just to get the 4473 in your hands to fill out. Then, Heaven help you if you forgot to bring in your proof of residence or your Firearms Safety Card has expired. Then you get to listen to the employee grouse about how it then takes time for one of them to enter all that information into the computer once you leave. Then you get to wait a minimum of 10-11 days, depending on where you bought the gun, then you have to name the safe you own and listen to the employee grouse about more paperwork to fill out.

Now... All that is ignoring the interruptions from other customers who want them to stop what they're doing for you so they can buy a box of ammo or get them to hand the customer a firearm to examine without someone watching them or similar.

In short, it's not always the store's fault.

[mossy]

When I was purchasing a gun at bass pro took them 2 hours to figure out my FSC LEO exemption. It's the cost of doing business with big box stores.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

I'm with you. Kevin Smith was the man.

[67Cuda]

I've only bought from LGS. Last purchase was at Glaser Arms. I was out the door in five minutes of arriving.

[jmpeal]

Really we have to blame CA laws and politicians, not SW. I was with my son a few months ago at a SW in Arizona when he bought a pistol. 15 minutes tops and no need to go back to pick up

The SW I usually go to in SAC area, I go early in the morning and usually in and out in 30 minutes max. Yes, a new employee or too much chit chat can add time to the trip.

[mshill]

I've bought a few firearms and done a PPT at Sportsmans. Purchase or pickup was never less than 50 minutes.

[BigPimping]

Sportsmans has good prices and they have the firearms that I need. They also didn?t try to screw you over during the pandemic. That?s the reason they still get my business. Besides the fact I can buy online and then just do the paperwork at the store.


This time I got there when the store opened and I was the very first customer. The guy who helped me told the person in charge that he had never done a gun delivery and wanted to try it. I think that was number one. There is a guy there that?s pretty efficient. But nothing tops Kevin Smith or a local gun store. They just couldn?t get what I wanted.

[dave85620]

Originally Posted by BigPimping

Sportsmans has good prices and they have the firearms that I need. They also didn?t try to screw you over during the pandemic. That?s the reason they still get my business. Besides the fact I can buy online and then just do the paperwork at the store.


This time I got there when the store opened and I was the very first customer. The guy who helped me told the person in charge that he had never done a gun delivery and wanted to try it. I think that was number one. There is a guy there that?s pretty efficient. But nothing tops Kevin Smith or a local gun store. They just couldn?t get what I wanted.

The small shops tell me the reason SW takes so long is because they only have 1 person (manager?) who can sign off on gun releases, where with the smaller shops every employee there is trained/certified to do these releases thus cutting time down significantly.

[California_Deplorable]

Their prices aren't worth the hassle of buying a gun from them. They suck. Every shop I've been in that knows what they are doing can complete the pickup in 10-20mins. Sportsman's sells guns to people that hate themselves. Their prices aren't even that great most of the time.

[67Cuda]

Originally Posted by California_Deplorable

Their prices aren't worth the hassle of buying a gun from them. They suck. Every shop I've been in that knows what they are doing can complete the pickup in 10-20mins. Sportsman's sells guns to people that hate themselves. Their prices aren't even that great most of the time.

I was going to buy a KS7 from Sportsman because I was checking it out on their website and they were in town. Got there, and it was going to be a wait to talk to someone. I call Glaser Arms (Zach) while waiting. He said he could get me one for only $10 more. I went there, 10 mins away, and was out the door in 10 mins of arriving.

[Warbonnet]

Originally Posted by BigPimping

Went to Sportsmans Warehouse this morning for a firearm pick up. Apparently someone who was a new employee was helping me with the check out. It took 50 minutes for him to get all the paperwork together along with the electronic stuff. Seems like there?s always this monkey business with box stores.

I really miss Kevin Smith.

50 minutes, you have more patience than I have.

Was the clerk at least trying to hurry up the process? I can tolerate somebody doing their best, but I can't tolerate inattentiveness, or laziness.

[anoblefox]

The tip for doing business at Sportsmans, at least for me at the Fresno store is to go during the week, not Friday or the weekend when the gun dept is very busy. Today in Ca there is simply too many forms and procedures to make it a quick process.

[BigPimping]

I figured 9 AM when they opened on Monday would be pretty slow. But as I said, this guy had never done it before and he said to the lead person at the gun counter, let me do it, This is my first time.


That should?ve been an indication that it was about to get all bad. he wasn?t familiar with their computer and finally somebody who knew what they were doing came over and it was all resolved in about two minutes. I?m definitely going to go to Glaser arms next time.

[Like2fly]

Originally Posted by rice_man

I've done three new tracsactions with one being at a newly opened site in San Deigo area. They all went pretty smoothly once I got to the counter ~ 30 max.

The San Diego store took appointments so I was able to walk in at my appointment time and go straight to the front of the line. Surprisingly the counter people had their act together and got the paperwork and review done in a timely manner.

Now I face another issue - I just completed an online order a few days ago for in-store pickup. It hasn't arrived yet and I now find the item has gone on sale for $30 less than what I paid. The wesite doesn't indicate they have a price protection guarantee. I'm gonna call and find out the best course of action. Might have to just re-order and return the on that is on the way.

My experience with Sportsman?s is that they have always been accommodating on making price adjustments. I have ordered a few guns as well as ammo on their online site, which has no provision for applying their standard 5% veterans discount. They always adjust the price once I make it into the store, by giving me the choice of a refund or store credit. I always say I will take which option is easier/faster for them to process as sometimes (often) the underlying transaction is less than fast. My local ?mom and pop? small LGS are always significantly faster at doing a DROS (for new or ppt) than the box stores, but sometimes a place like Sportsman?s or even Turners will have a great sale price on something or have something in stock that few others have. Was just in Turners earlier this month putting a deposit on a new roster edition gun coming out soon and they had a handful of Henry .357mag lever actions that I have not seen in stock anywhere. Almost bought two

[Dan_Eastvale]

It's taken me 30 minutes here in N Utah at Sportsman's.

And that's without a background check since I have CCW.

Too many salespeople sharing computers and double checking paperwork.

And their ridiculous walk you to the payment register policy.

Regular LGS much quicker.

[Subotai]

Not a fan. Had better luck at Turners and the local gun store.

[BigPimping]

Sports Mart here in Concord used to walk you all the way to the door of the store with the firearm. They said it had something to do with an airport being right next-door. Big box stores are very problematic with firearms. I really prefer the small FFL.

[eaglemike]

I've only had a couple of experiences at the local SW. They've been better than the closest Turner's. Turner's manager is a good guy and supports Friends of the NRA, but the guys on the floor do their best to hide when it's time to check the paperwork. I've waited more than 1/2 hour just for the secondary check, after waiting an hour and a half to get to the counter. Turner's also get the widest variety of customers, many of the just wasting time window shopping.
Timing is very important at the big box. Get there at opening if possible, and pray there is someone that knows the system.
SW has decent pricing, and sometimes superior pricing when on sale.
FFL's in Ca have a tough life.

[Che762x39]

Originally Posted by BigPimping

Went to Sportsmans Warehouse this morning for a firearm pick up. Apparently someone who was a new employee was helping me with the check out. It took 50 minutes for him to get all the paperwork together along with the electronic stuff. Seems like there?s always this monkey business with box stores.

I really miss Kevin Smith.

I can not stand up for 50 minutes.

[Snoopy47]

If you buy firearms from places that survive on firearm sales revenue they will only survive if they can get product out the door.

Big Box stores that can take it or leave it will invariably leave it.

The pick up process should be the easiest part. You already gave them everything to clear the DROS.

[Tractionavant]

Originally Posted by BigPimping

Went to Sportsmans Warehouse this morning for a firearm pick up. Apparently someone who was a new employee was helping me with the check out. It took 50 minutes for him to get all the paperwork together along with the electronic stuff. Seems like there?s always this monkey business with box stores.

I really miss Kevin Smith.

If you miss Kevin as most of us do try Scott @ DJ Defense in Livermore. Scott is an awesome tabletop...

[P5Ret]

Unfortunately in the not too distant future all we will likely be left with are the big box stores. New laws that are secretly designed to put LGS' out of business or make it so costly they are barely keeping their heads above water, and the costs of just doing business will eventually kill the LGS as we know it. Yeah we can all go to Sportsman's, Turner's or wherever, to stand in line to save a few bucks. When we save that money are we really getting the value with the time we spent just trying to make a purchase.

The next 6 months to a year are going to be very telling for the industry especially the LGS'. What will be lost is invaluable, the local knowledge and expertise in some stores won't be able to be replicated in the big box stores. Places where the employees are hunters, shooters, and can give advise, are going to be lost, the chances of getting that kind of service at a big box store isn't that good.

Sorry for the rant.

[cz74]

Originally Posted by P5Ret

The next 6 months to a year are going to be very telling for the industry especially the LGS'. What will be lost is invaluable, the local knowledge and expertise in some stores won't be able to be replicated in the big box stores. Places where the employees are hunters, shooters, and can give advise, are going to be lost, the chances of getting that kind of service at a big box store isn't that good.

Sorry for the rant.

Exactly! I remember going to Reeds on Alum Rock more than 30 years ago and the people working there were very knowledgeable about educating me when I was new to the hobby.

[BigPimping]

I called Glaser arms yesterday. I think Zach is going to get my business from now on. That dude was really polite. His prices were crazy good and he?s not too far away.

[67Cuda]

Originally Posted by cz74

Exactly! I remember going to Reeds on Alum Rock more than 30 years ago and the people working there were very knowledgeable about educating me when I was new to the hobby.

That's the time frame I bought my first two guns, at there second location.
When to there first location down the street when I was a kid.

[newshooter650]

The real true key to Sportsmans is to order what you want online for in-store pick up. That way the item is already et aside for you. Don't just show up there hoping they have what you want in stock.

The next thing is to pick a time when the store is not busy. Weekdays between 10 and 11 and then 1-3. Outside those time slots you will be waiting awhile, even for ammo.

Whatever you do, don't go to the gun counter after 4 PM weekdays or any time on the weekend. You have to be a real masochist for that!

[omega]

last time I bought a G21 from Sportsmans was pre pandemic and it took around 15 - 20 minutes to pick up

[RustyIron]

Originally Posted by BigPimping

Went to Sportsmans Warehouse this morning for a firearm pick up. Apparently someone who was a new employee was helping me with the check out. It took 50 minutes

Dealing with dummies is a bummer. I can't remember the last time I bought a gun at a store. I buy online, and have a local FFL do the paperwork on her kitchen table. It might take half an hour, but that's because we spend 25 minutes BS'ing.
🐂💩

[newshooter650]

One other thing with Sportsmans nowadays is that if you do purchase a gun on their website you can schedule an appointment for DROS once it arrives rather than just go down there and wait in line. That saves a bunch of time too.