Ethics in Firearms Sales?

[glock76]

I have purchased and traded many firearms with McBride's. I have almost always found their prices on used guns to be fair. I have not purchased new. I tend to do a lot of research and have an idea of what things cost. Mr. Mcbride made it clear to me one day. He give more on trade-in than cash and he gives reasonable wholesale pricing on my trade-ins. It is not near what you would get in a private sale.

I have negotiated some great "out the door prices". I know they are not losing money but I am not paying new prices either.

I have always taken anything I hear from salespeople with a grain of salt. The ones I have delt with at McBride's have been professional and treated me with respect and I have been a return customer. I am sorry your friend was misinformed. I suppose if you said that anyone that pays less than fair market value as unethical I would fall in that catagory.

The best defense for you friend would be to become more knowledgable about the products he owns and any he is considering. Do research on gunbroker etc. to see what his particular gun sells for used and look at the time and effort it takes to process the transaction and judge if the extra effort is worth it. I will continue to do business with them.

[The Annoyed Man]

On the other side, if you sell or trade something, not knowing it's value beforehand, then you cannot complain about the outcome.

Agreed, it's like the person who sells a Jackson Pollock painting for $10 at a garage sale, only to find out later it's worth millions.

Yeah, but it's still a Jackson Pollock....



I bought my H&K USP Compact in .40 S&W NIB about 6 months ago from Sportsman's Warehouse for $739.95. That seems to be about the going rate lately, at least in the DFW area. Here's a used one on GunBroker.com that is currently bid at $625.00 and the reserve has not yet been met.

[M9FAN]

The lesson here is....

If you're going to sell something, the only way you're going to get a fair price is to know what it's worth BEFORE you strike a deal. Guns, cars, boats, knives, etc, etc.

On the other side, if you sell or trade something, not knowing it's value beforehand, then you cannot complain about the outcome.

My .02

+1. And yet another that agrees...

[shootthesheet]

It is the salesman and not the fact he bought and sold guns. I have had lies told to my face so many times I set the gun shop guys up to do it so I can smack them down and make them look dumb in front of other customers. Same with used car salesmen or any other liar that I come across. And make no mistake, that is what it is. Immoral and unethical behavior. But, it is not a crime and should not be. That is how we learn not to trust someone just because he/she says that is the way it is. I have a list of gun shops that I warn everyone about. I tell them to stay away. Those are mom and pop shops that I don't care if they close or not. They mess people around and they get what they deserve. It is a shame that they chose to sell guns because it will turn some off that we need to help preserve our rights. If a salesman is dishonest then spread the word and he/she will go out of business. Those that do it lose follow up sales where they can make much more than they did by swindling some ignorant person. That is how it is. Want to succeed then educate and be honest. Otherwise, go sell used cars or something. That is my opinion.

[QB]

Well there's a shop here that I don't purchase much from because their prices are high but to give them credit, once when I took in a gun to trade the guy asked me if I was ready to be insulted (joking about the trade offer he was going to give me) and told me that honestly I should try to sell it myself or even put it on consignment. So then it was up to me to decide....I opted to sell it myself on auction. At least he was upfront and presented me with options. There's been some guns I didn't want to mess with selling myself and was happy to trade them in even at a low price. Sometimes you just have to move forward. I've lost thousands of dollars on selling guns at the wrong time, purchasing them too high to begin with, etc. But I can't let it get to me, just have to try to be smarter in the future.

[Kalrog]

I believe the "Gun Store" is just down the hwy. from you in Cedar Park. I would wager we could find an unsatisfied customer or two that shopped there as well.

It is - and it is my preferred gun store, but you are absolutely correct that there are several folks that I have met who didn't care for the service that they received there. I, on the other hand, have been nothing but pleased.

[mgood]

I worked at a Guitar Center and we bought used gear. There was a formula, I can't remember the exact details. It was something like 60% of what we could buy it for new. Since with Guitar Center's purchasing power, we could get things incredibly cheap from the manufacturers, what we offered on used gear was usually in the neighborhood of 25% to 45% of MSRP (tending towards the lower end of that range), if the gear was in like new condition. Some people were insulted by this. But hey, we often had to give people quite a discount to get them to buy NEW gear that was not in the factory packaging (like if the item had been taken out of the box for display). So a used item would have to be marked down even more. And the store had to make some kind of profit on it or else this was just a waste of time and display space. There was some leeway depending on how easily we thought we could sell it. There was a little room for negotiation, but not much.

[Mike1951]

I learned my lesson about trying to advise someone a long time ago.

I was browsing in Carter's when a lady brought a very nice 870 Wingmaster in to sell. The salesman offered her $150 for it and then went into the back. I took the opportunity to tell her that her gun was worth much more than they were offering and that if she were willing to run an ad, she could get $250-275 for it.

When the salesman returned, she accepted his offer and then soundly rebuked me.

She told the salesman that she certainly didn't want to run an ad and have people coming to her house!

Your friend should have known what his USP was worth. I certainly wouldn't have accepted their initial offer.

The best bargaining chip is to act disinterested and turn around and start to walk out. Then you'll find out if they are interested in making a sale.

Showing too much interest up front is never good.

Gun shops make more profit on used guns than they do new ones. They must buy them cheap. I don't see that McBride's did anything wrong. Your friend made the choice.

On another note, am I the only one who thinks the thread title is misleading? It seems to imply that there are no ethics in firearms sales here in the forum. I resent that. But maybe that's just me.

[dukalmighty]

If i'm looking to sell or trade a firearm in a gun store,I have a good idea what it's worth and what the least i will take for it,if they don't offer enough then i give them the chuckle that says i'm not that desperate and i leave.Besides if i'm "well off" If i don't get enough i'll keep the pistol and just barter the price on the new one.

[Skiprr]

On another note, am I the only one who thinks the thread title is misleading? It seems to imply that there are no ethics in firearms sales here in the forum. I resent that. But maybe that's just me.

No, it's not just you, Mike.

Since it isn't material to the thread, and since casual visitors could make that same interpretation, I wonder if the Moderators could just delete the "Not here" from the title?

[mgood]

I wonder if the Moderators could just delete the "Not here" from the title?

The original poster should also be able to do it.

[McKnife]

Title has been changed to something a bit more specific... Also, changed the disappointment towards the salesman rather then the store itself.

[Mike1951]

Appreciate that!

[dukesean]

Yeah, but it's still a Jackson Pollock....

yea I think his "paintings" are garbage as well, but I used him as an example because that's exactly what happened not too long ago with one of his paintings.