Gun shop etiquette

[battleship]

Today this guy walks into a the gun shop, he wants to see how much he can get for his gun i am next to him at the counter and over hear the conversation with the store owner, not a clerk. He shows his gun and the gun shop owner says how much you looking to get for it. Dude says at least $600. Gun shop owner takes the gun apart looks at the barrel and says nah i couldn't sell it for much more than that. Then the seller says ok give me $500 for it. To which the gun shop owner says the best i can do is $450 take it or leave it. The seller pauses for a minute and then says ok i need the cash so yer ill take $450 for it.

In my mind i am thinking he just got ripped off and if i had met the guy outside the store and knew he was selling his gun i would of made an offer, i guess my question is how bad would of it been for me to interrupt them and make it known to the seller i would be willing to buy the gun on the spot for more than was being offered. I mean is that a capital offense in a gun shop.

I felt bad for the guy as i could tell he wasn't happy with the deal and me going up to him later wouldn't of helped the situation. Especially when i had just seen two very similar guns in the used section going for around $750 and $800.

So what would of you guys done, you see a guy selling a gun to the owner of the store who offers him way less than the gun is worth and you want that gun yourself, do you say something.

Ill go in there next week and i bet that gun is for sale for around $800 + tax.

[michaelthetrojan]

Depends on the gun, and its not ripped off, the customer can walk away if he wants, also, LGS need to make money to.
Ever been to a pawn shop? Same thing if you sell anything to a business, you are not going to get what you think you are.
You get more by selling it to a private party but you then deal with the headache of doing it yourself.

[bodger]

Did you get as close a look at it as the store owner? He might have seen something you didn't in terms of condition. In any case, I don't think I would make an offer in a gun store that superseded what the owner was offering. But that's me.

[battleship]

I got a good enough look at it to know it was worth more than $450 more than $550 and so on.

[bodger]

I got a good enough look at it to know it was worth more than $450 more than $550 and so on.

If you go back, it will be interesting to see what price they have put on it.

[CSACANNONEER]

If you didn't like an agreement between two people you don't know, feel free to invest considerable time and money to open and maintain your own gun shop.

[Ponderosa2]

I don't think I'd do anything like that in front of an employee. Now, if the guy says let me think about it and steps away from the counter and walks outside, then that would be okay I think. But to do that in someone's place of business seems a little out of line.

One thing is for sure, if you had done something like that, I don't think I'd show my face in that place again!

[dc2allday]

Its a business, they are there to make money, so they typically offer you around 60-70 percent of the value, and they make a small percentage. Different shops have different percentages, unfortunately maybe the guy really needed some cash. By the way the shop wont be able to sell the firearm for 30 days, so you may not see it until then. Some shops put the firearm out on display after its been processed, and people interested can sign up on a list, then when its available the shop contacts those individuals.

[Rosereader]

Is it possible with the shops overhead the owner was being honest? Sometimes, yeah the selling price may be way higher than the purchase price. Does not mean that there is a huge profit being made.

[toby]

I have done it many times but with the consent of the store I was in. It's nice to know people.

[michaelthetrojan]

Its a business, they are there to make money, so they typically offer you around 60-70 percent of the value, and they make a small percentage. Different shops have different percentages, unfortunately maybe the guy really needed some cash. By the way the shop wont be able to sell the firearm for 30 days, so you may not see it until then. Some shops put the firearm out on display after its been processed, and people interested can sign up on a list, then when its available the shop contacts those individuals.

I don't about that, I have worked at a shop where several times some one came in and sold his piece and left. Not 10 minutes later someone else will come and buy and dros it on the spot.

[dc2allday]

I don't about that, I have worked at a shop where several times some one came in and sold his piece and left. Not 10 minutes later someone else will come and buy and dros it on the spot.

Feel free to give any of my local shops a call, rivercity gun exchange (916) 428-0377, Shootin Shack (916) 684-4867. I can give you more if you like.

[michaelthetrojan]

Feel free to give any of my local shops a call, rivercity gun exchange (916) 428-0377, Shootin Shack (916) 684-4867. I can give you more if you like.

Its probably just their store policy to hold on to the firearm.
And yes I would like more, what do you have to offer?

[jeffyhog]

To make an unsolicited offer in the midst of negotiations would be incredibly bad form, and the store owner would let you know it. As someone else mentioned, if the man stepped away to think about it, or they couldn't come to an agreement on price, then I think it would be ok to discreetly make an offer to the seller.
Anybody who sells a gun to a store or puts it on consignment is not going to get full value when they sell. Too bad for them if they don't want to put the effort in to maximize their sale. And that goes for anything you might sell. Shops are in business to make money.

[40calibre]

I feel like this exact same topic with exact same title was brought up a couple months ago?