If you owned a gun store, would you cater to Calgunners?

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Treat all your customers good and you will always have plenty. Maybe a 10% discount for calguners.
Anything I sell comes with a money back guarantee. My itrader shows that.



Come on TonyM open the shop. You could turn a large fortune into a small. J/K,

[chickenfried]

Secondly, catering to a certain group is discrimination. .

[GammaRei]

Yeah, but to a degree. I would make it a point to see how active they are with CGN. There are a ton of people out there that think that they can sign up with CGN and then go to shops and request discounts, but are in no way active with Calguns. It gets annoying and I have witnessed it firsthand.

- G

[MiguelS]

Internet Based customers are hard to tend to. I would work with any forum to gain a customer base.

I do get discounts from audi dealers and corvette dealers...it is business they would not have had if it wasnt for Al Gore.

I think the 20/80 rule would apply.

[aplinker]

Let me just be clear that I'm not trying to say anything bad about CG users, but I think we need to consider our actions.

After the 3,000th time of hearing:

"But, I saw it on gunbroker for $xxxx cheaper and it was in "like new condition"" or "My friend bought one used on Calguns for $200 less, hook me up!" or "I heard that if I drive 500 miles from here there's a kitchen table FFL that will do internet transfers for $39. So, you going to hook me up, or do I have to take my business over there?"

I'd have to put a sign on the door that said something like "If you're from the internet, your comments aren't wanted. Go buy it at blah.com and have a good day."

I was actually going to open a shop this summer, I had been working on it since last year. When I saw some of the threads with people crying about what some people consider gouging, I decided to invest in other avenues. I can't sell a gun at $1 over cost to keep people happy and keep the doors open. Can't sell ammo at a loss and pay the rent.

Quit hammering my nail on its head.

I think my favorite, recent gem was, "If you can match Wal Mart's price on ammo you'll have earned my business." The audacity. The sheer need for the FFL to compete with a loss leader to "earn" their business. !!! I still am in awe of that one.

ETA2: There are people in this world who are never satisfied. The trick is identifying and avoiding them. It takes many years to learn how.

Let me try making it extreme with this question, posed to you and others: do you think being a member of CG indicates that the customer is more likely to be of that type?

I dont think it takes any more to deal with calgunners, as long as your being square about it. The problem it seems most run into is that either A) they dont know what they are talking about (dealer) and blow off/provide misinformation to a calgunner that has already done the research, and the calgunner gets P.O'd and comes on here to blast the dealer, or B) There is a miscommunication and neither side is willing to give an inch.

Also, you have the problem of the underinformed customer that doesnt really know what he is talking about, thinks the dealer is lying, comes on here to blast them, and gets blasted for not knowing what they are talking about.

You are always going to have a hard time with a percentage of customers, regardless of the base from which they are drawn. Calgunners tend to come here and research their purchases before they go into a store, and tend to know exactly what they want. As long as the dealer provides that, I dont see where there would be a problem.

And, I also suspect that this question is drawn from the recent JandJ thread, and I agree with tcrpe, JandJ screwed up.

Also, (sorry for dragging this out), you have to admit that for every bad customer, there is probably a FUD spreading clerk or misinformed owner with bad customer service. Get the two of those people together, and it could turn into world war III.

ETA: I have never gotten a calguns discount that I can remember, and have never asked for one. I shop based on the service I get, and the prices. I just happen to research the hell out of what I want before I buy it, and when I go to the store, I ask for specifically what I want and nothing else. If that can happen, I dont see the problem.

This really isn't about J&J. It came out of some things I've been perceiving for a while and a conversation with a friend.

How many threads do you see saying something along the lines of, "Where can I get a lower for cheaper? My local shop charges $200 OTD."

The extent to which people will go to save $10 and cut out their local guy is astonishing.

[technique]

I got the "walmart" thing once.

They guy asked "how much for you 45ACP?"
Me: $XXXXX ( I don't remember what it was)
The Guy: Well I got news for you, Walmart sells it for $XXXXX.
Me:


Like I give a rats arse....this douche goes out of his way to attempt to make an arse outta a guy (me) that just works for an FFL...I don't make the prices!!!

I felt like putting his face through the glass display case and yelling WHO's LAUGHING NOW P***Y?!

[MiguelS]

only 5 X's....it cost me an arm and leg last time.

[Sunwolf]

I would have a 6 ft. tall sign in front of the store with"No CG`ers allowed" and armed guards at the door checking!

[truthseeker]

I am a shopper that does research and KNOWS what I want to buy. I also know how much that item costs at other places both local and internet.

I will buy locally if I MUST have it right now or if it is CLOSE in price to what I would pay using the internet plus shipping.

I will NOT buy anything that I MUST have that day if the price is 20% higher than what I can pay on the internet.

Hope that helps!

[aplinker]

I would have a 6 ft. tall sign in front of the store with"No CG`ers allowed" and armed guards at the door checking!

Is it written on your underpants, like Techniques mom told me she does for him?

[technique]

[chickenfried]

The people complaining about buyers going where they can get the best deal are just as ridiculous as those that cry gouging at every turn. Two sides of the same coin.

I expect a retailer to price an item as high as they're able. They should expect me to try and get the most for my dollar.

[compsoftstation]

Difficult or not a store should be out of business if they can't take the heat.

[M47_Dragon]

The people complaining about buyers going where they can get the best deal are just as ridiculous as those that cry gouging at every turn. Two sides of the same coin.

I expect a retailer to price an item as high as they're able. They should expect me to try and get the most for my dollar.

Ah, wisdom.

[Sunwolf]

A conversation way back when I was in retail."How much are the ice cream cones?"My reply.."x cents" Customer..."They are only y cents at Safeway" me..."Why don`t you buy them there then"?.."They are out of them"...My reply........"When we are out,they are free"!
Just like people to whine and moan about a nickle difference.