If the US stops the export of firearms and firearm related material then we will be pretty hosed in Canada.
I think the ACR is an interesting firearm case. They are being sold for about $3000. This is the basic model with no changes required for export as far as I can see. The same rifle is selling at retail for about $1800 in the states. That is one hell of a markup. Given you can buy a savage bolt and scope for $350 that has also been exported from the states, I'm at a loss to explain this. $2500 I could just about get my head around but $3000.
Then you have failed to see the multiple posts making it clear that US State Department export permit restrictions (at least the current one issued to us and the one issued to Bushmaster themselves) BOTH restricted the export of the US models, specifically DENYING the export of firearms with barrels marked 5.56 (which the US versions of the ACR are so marked), threaded barrels and/or barrels with flash hiders/suppressors... at least that's what ours says and that's what I was told by Bushmaster themselves their permit said.
Bushmaster went to the trouble (and added expense) of making a special run of guns and barrels specifically for Gravel for export to Canada (since their other models are NOT exportable)... that costs money and those costs are passed on to the end-user. The "Gravel" version is NOT available for sale to anyone else as far as I know... and only Gravel knows what Bushmaster is charging them for the guns (distributor cost).
In our case we buy the guns as regular US dealers from US Distributors (and frankly we paid OVER $2,000 US for each basic model when we bought ours) and we then had to have custom barrels made ourselves (which adds to the cost). We then had to pay the export and import costs... and cover our selling costs (3% of the gross sale including taxes and shipping is charged to us by the credit card companies, plus the money we outright lose when we give customers flat rate $9.99 shipping on guns that often cost us $40 to $60 to ship)... the selling costs alone add about $150 to our product cost.
We are selling the Non-Restricted ACR with our 18.7" Custom Match Grade SS Barrel for $2,999.99. Figure out what our "profit" is and tell me again how it's such a great markup. I figure we're lucky if we're making 20% gross and if you know anything about running a business in Canada then you know that 20% is NOT enough to run a successful business... certainly not a highly profitable one.
You assume that US dealers pay well below the lowest prices you see listed on Gunbroker, but the reality is that many of those ads you see are at pricing that is BELOW actual dealer costs... those ads are often from a dealer who is stuck with inventory and selling at a loss to get it out the door... or they have a gun they bought as part of a promo package (which many of the US manufacturers will do sometimes at SHOT Show for example... Buy 10 of "this model" gun and we'll give you a "Free" ACR in six months when we have them).
When you see other guys advertising ACR's at $2,099.99 BUY IT NOW or $2,199.99 BUYIT NOW, those ads represent prices where that US dealer is making $50 to $100 over his/her cost... and their costs often don't even include shipping to their door.
You would be surprised at the reality... but hey, if you can get an exportable version in the US and get an export permit approved and import one to Canada and save yourself some money then good for you... but when your gun breaks, say goodbye to whatever savings you thought you got because if you think getting a gun exported from the US was a pain in the ass then wait until you try to send one back to the US for repair and/or replacement.
One of the benefits that most people forget about when they compare US dealer pricing and Canadian dealer pricing is the warranty and service support that most Canadian dealers/distributors give to their clients. The costs of this support are part of our costs (they are seldom paid for by the US manufacturer)... but then no-one ever thinks their gun will break
US dealers don't even talk to their customers about a problem with a gun... the factory deals with that and the customer deals directly with the factory. We may suggest that a customer speak directly with the factory to insure that their issue is correctly described and so the factory can best decide how they wish to resolve the issue, but we work as the go between to insure that any parts get exported via our company and that installation, etc. is done by trained and certified armourers, etc.. Companies like SIG, FN, LMT, RRA, Spikes, etc. won't and can't legally ship parts directly to an end-user in Canada... something to think about when making your comparisons.
Bottom line, we charge more for items than what those items sell for in the US and I make no apologies for doing so. Just like every other dealer in Canada, we're in business to make money... we are the sole source income for a number of employees who rely on the profits we make to pay their wages... my partner and I work long and hard hours to get people the items they want and to do so at as fair a price as we can... in return we hope (no guarantees for us) to earn a decent wage and maybe an additional profit return on the huge financial investment we've made in the business and the inventory.
It very much offends me when people who know nothing about running a business suggest that dealers are charging outrageous prices or making unacceptably high profit margins.
People are free to say what they like and think what they like. Some will ignore what I've said or dismiss my comments without giving them any real thought.... so be it. But for those of you who don't know and are willing to consider, I thank you for your time and hope that maybe I've given you another perspective to the discussion
Mark
