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Why gun stores shouldn’t #*%& their customers…or, my parking lot bargain buy…

HansGruber

HansGruber

Ronin
Stopped by a local place that I’m not a big fan of; they’re overpriced, their customer service skills are…lacking, but they occasionally get some really cool stuff in.

Nothing caught my eye, but another customer was trying to trade in a gun they’d bought from the store not long before…and, well, they were getting bent over the counter with no lube, to put it politely.

The gun they wanted to trade back was a Bersa Thunder Plus .380, that they didn’t shoot(so, LNIB), plus 100rds of .380 ammo…wanted to upgrade it to a Shield +. Paid $389 for the Bersa, plus ammo, and tax.

They were told $100 for the trade—including ammo.

This, BTW, is one of the reasons why I don’t care for this store.

Guy didn’t bite. I walked out at the same time.

Figured, why not? And asked what he wanted for it.

He was a bit…ticked…but said he’s take $300 for all of it.

Countered at $250, and, by his request, split the FFL transfer ($25) at another local dealer…where he bought a Shield + for less than the other place was asking.
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Nice little 15rd .380; think it’ll be fun.
 
Nice purchase Han's. It is a win,win for you two guys, and a lose for the LGS. I personally could not/would not end it there. You stated you don't go there often. The next time you go, (if you go) speak to the owner privately and share with him/her what happened. I'm sure he would appreciate it and understand if he continues running the business like that, it won't be long before he's OOB !!

Just saying
 
Equalizer said:
Nice purchase Han's. It is a win,win for you two guys, and a lose for the LGS. I personally could not/would not end it there. You stated you don't go there often. The next time you go, (if you go) speak to the owner privately and share with him/her what happened. I'm sure he would appreciate it and understand if he continues running the business like that, it won't be long before he's OOB !!

Just saying
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, this isn’t a recent development.

This has been going on for a LONG time. Problem is, they’re the biggest gun shop for an hour in any given direction, with a big selection, and they know it…and people just expect that that’s the way it is.
 
HansGruber said:
Stopped by a local place that I’m not a big fan of; they’re overpriced, their customer service skills are…lacking, but they occasionally get some really cool stuff in.

Nothing caught my eye, but another customer was trying to trade in a gun they’d bought from the store not long before…and, well, they were getting bent over the counter with no lube, to put it politely.

The gun they wanted to trade back was a Bersa Thunder Plus .380, that they didn’t shoot(so, LNIB), plus 100rds of .380 ammo…wanted to upgrade it to a Shield +. Paid $389 for the Bersa, plus ammo, and tax.

They were told $100 for the trade—including ammo.

This, BTW, is one of the reasons why I don’t care for this store.

Guy didn’t bite. I walked out at the same time.

Figured, why not? And asked what he wanted for it.

He was a bit…ticked…but said he’s take $300 for all of it.

Countered at $250, and, by his request, split the FFL transfer ($25) at another local dealer…where he bought a Shield + for less than the other place was asking.View attachment 24276
View attachment 24278

Nice little 15rd .380; think it’ll be fun.
Click to expand...
i had to look up that company. as i thought i was looking at a Beretta
 
Equalizer said:
Nice purchase Han's. It is a win,win for you two guys, and a lose for the LGS. I personally could not/would not end it there. You stated you don't go there often. The next time you go, (if you go) speak to the owner privately and share with him/her what happened. I'm sure he would appreciate it and understand if he continues running the business like that, it won't be long before he's OOB !!

Just saying
Click to expand...
HansGruber said:
Unfortunately, this isn’t a recent development.

This has been going on for a LONG time. Problem is, they’re the biggest gun shop for an hour in any given direction, with a big selection, and they know it…and people just expect that that’s the way it is.
Click to expand...
i think it depends on who at the store is pricing the used/trade-ins.

if it's anybody, then they will low ball the price to make themselves look good to the owner for that special brown-nosing point

at the 2 places i go to for buying, selling or trading?

the owner(s) or senior manager does the pricing, not the other employee's

each place looks up the current NEW retail pricing, then looks up a couple of sites for used gun values, and goes off the used pricing. one place, (the range) also gets a 20% commission, the gun dealer/store, does not.

so in this particular situation, the gun store owner could have told his employee's to low ball, and maybe he doesn't know, but then again, money is "leaving" the store, not coming into that store. so who really knows the actual sales floor rules?
 
It’s really to bad stores have to be like that, can you imagine the business they would get with a better reputation?
I would like to say I am not very happy with the store I got my Taurus revolver from, today I received a phone call from the guy who bought the Glock I traded in for the Taurus because he had questions about the issues he was having with the magazines?
Now I was polite to the guy that called but I am not happy at all that my phone number was given out, I find that a bad business practice. 🤬
 
You picked a good time to buy a Thunder Plus. I bought one about a year ago. The gun only came with one magazine, so I started looking for additional mags. The mags were impossible to find because Bersa was in the process of switching distributors, and the entire shipping industry was stalled. The mags finally became available last month.

Glad you were able to pick up a neat gun. I'm also glad that the seller was able to get a fair deal. Enjoy the pistol.
 
HansGruber said:
Stopped by a local place that I’m not a big fan of; they’re overpriced, their customer service skills are…lacking, but they occasionally get some really cool stuff in.

Nothing caught my eye, but another customer was trying to trade in a gun they’d bought from the store not long before…and, well, they were getting bent over the counter with no lube, to put it politely.

The gun they wanted to trade back was a Bersa Thunder Plus .380, that they didn’t shoot(so, LNIB), plus 100rds of .380 ammo…wanted to upgrade it to a Shield +. Paid $389 for the Bersa, plus ammo, and tax.

They were told $100 for the trade—including ammo.

This, BTW, is one of the reasons why I don’t care for this store.

Guy didn’t bite. I walked out at the same time.

Figured, why not? And asked what he wanted for it.

He was a bit…ticked…but said he’s take $300 for all of it.

Countered at $250, and, by his request, split the FFL transfer ($25) at another local dealer…where he bought a Shield + for less than the other place was asking.View attachment 24276
View attachment 24278

Nice little 15rd .380; think it’ll be fun.
Click to expand...
Right out of the box these little guys have one of the sweetest triggers out there. Very smooth, feels a lot like a custom job.
 
HansGruber said:
Stopped by a local place that I’m not a big fan of; they’re overpriced, their customer service skills are…lacking, but they occasionally get some really cool stuff in.

Nothing caught my eye, but another customer was trying to trade in a gun they’d bought from the store not long before…and, well, they were getting bent over the counter with no lube, to put it politely.

The gun they wanted to trade back was a Bersa Thunder Plus .380, that they didn’t shoot(so, LNIB), plus 100rds of .380 ammo…wanted to upgrade it to a Shield +. Paid $389 for the Bersa, plus ammo, and tax.

They were told $100 for the trade—including ammo.

This, BTW, is one of the reasons why I don’t care for this store.

Guy didn’t bite. I walked out at the same time.

Figured, why not? And asked what he wanted for it.

He was a bit…ticked…but said he’s take $300 for all of it.

Countered at $250, and, by his request, split the FFL transfer ($25) at another local dealer…where he bought a Shield + for less than the other place was asking.View attachment 24276
View attachment 24278

Nice little 15rd .380; think it’ll be fun.
Click to expand...
We have a place like that here. Complete jerks.

I had one similar that my wife liked real well before she went all revolver. Hers was the Bersa Combat Plus, biggest difference was the black finish, green grips and a slightly shorter beavertail It was very accurate and very reliable. Easy takedown, very Walther and Makarov in appearance and function. Ate everything we put in it. I believe they are one of the best little pistols most people have never gave a chance. Nice pickup...
 
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wmg1299 said:
You picked a good time to buy a Thunder Plus. I bought one about a year ago. The gun only came with one magazine, so I started looking for additional mags. The mags were impossible to find because Bersa was in the process of switching distributors, and the entire shipping industry was stalled. The mags finally became available last month.

Glad you were able to pick up a neat gun. I'm also glad that the seller was able to get a fair deal. Enjoy the pistol.
Click to expand...
Where have you found the mags?
 
Keystone19250 said:
It’s really to bad stores have to be like that, can you imagine the business they would get with a better reputation?
I would like to say I am not very happy with the store I got my Taurus revolver from, today I received a phone call from the guy who bought the Glock I traded in for the Taurus because he had questions about the issues he was having with the magazines?
Now I was polite to the guy that called but I am not happy at all that my phone number was given out, I find that a bad business practice. 🤬
Click to expand...
that's the trouble with no nearby competition, and they know it all too well to play that game.

best thing to do is, buy online, then ship to them, and hopefully they still don't rake you over the coals with the FFL fee's.

or, get your own FFL number?
 
HansGruber said:
Stopped by a local place that I’m not a big fan of; they’re overpriced, their customer service skills are…lacking, but they occasionally get some really cool stuff in.

Nothing caught my eye, but another customer was trying to trade in a gun they’d bought from the store not long before…and, well, they were getting bent over the counter with no lube, to put it politely.

The gun they wanted to trade back was a Bersa Thunder Plus .380, that they didn’t shoot(so, LNIB), plus 100rds of .380 ammo…wanted to upgrade it to a Shield +. Paid $389 for the Bersa, plus ammo, and tax.

They were told $100 for the trade—including ammo.

This, BTW, is one of the reasons why I don’t care for this store.

Guy didn’t bite. I walked out at the same time.

Figured, why not? And asked what he wanted for it.

He was a bit…ticked…but said he’s take $300 for all of it.

Countered at $250, and, by his request, split the FFL transfer ($25) at another local dealer…where he bought a Shield + for less than the other place was asking.View attachment 24276
View attachment 24278

Nice little 15rd .380; think it’ll be fun.
Click to expand...
I like those a lot they remind of a ppk nice get you always run into the right people you timing is impeccable
 
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