I like to support local, but I buy what is cheaper. I work hard for my money. I do give the option to price match for my sale if they have that item in stock or can get it at a short timeframe. Most local dealers do not have anything I want or any desire to try and get it!!!!!!
New Handgun Rip-Offs
- Thread starter Broker
- Start date
This is a issue I face all the time when shopping for anything.
I own a small property in Washington State and find huge price discrepencies on alot of different items (household,sporting, tools etc),even when it's a store that is prominant in both countries.
I still prefer to buy through canadian retailers when I can and allow for up to 20% difference.But a $160 on a $400 item ? no way.
When it comes to guns? I give our retailers some gimme room knowing its a pain to get all paper work approved and finally see a shipment.There are some guns I just won't think of buying because I just can't justify the price. I've never tried importing
I do find myself reluctant to buy any household items without first doing price comps though.
One good example is a wall cabnet I wanted for my garage workshop at Ikea.The same cabinet was half price at Ikea in Seatle and that was their everyday price.
I own a small property in Washington State and find huge price discrepencies on alot of different items (household,sporting, tools etc),even when it's a store that is prominant in both countries.
I still prefer to buy through canadian retailers when I can and allow for up to 20% difference.But a $160 on a $400 item ? no way.
When it comes to guns? I give our retailers some gimme room knowing its a pain to get all paper work approved and finally see a shipment.There are some guns I just won't think of buying because I just can't justify the price. I've never tried importing
I do find myself reluctant to buy any household items without first doing price comps though.
One good example is a wall cabnet I wanted for my garage workshop at Ikea.The same cabinet was half price at Ikea in Seatle and that was their everyday price.
ginseng503
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- N. Ontario
Ditto. I had no idea Epps is working with margins like 10 to 12%.
I wish the Canadian distributors would give us a break once and a while. Happy customers buy more and spend more. A distributor has the power to be a large conduit, or a choke valve.
In a way, the sales progress almost automatically. Experienced retailers often know what the market will bear. Ellwood bought 5 of those Colts. If they were $500 cheaper, they might of picked up 50. If it was an exceptional deal they might of picked up 500?
ok my story... I bought 2 AR15 frames this summer I wanted something cool, different and also be the only one in Kanada with these frames, which as of right now still am.. I asked many dealers on CGN and got a very high price from all accept for 1 a guy I knew for a long time. For some reason I never asked him untill I was about to give up, He charged me a fare rate compared to others & I was happy to use this cgn member/dealer. The cost would be paid to 2 parties half to CDN dealer & other half to FFL dealer, for the price of $225 cdn it was well worth it. I got 2 frames with consecutive serial ###'s that no one in Kanada owns and for me that is worth every dollar. 
until I deside to part with one.
If you want it bad enought you will pay like I did... But I Do have something rare & different in Canada
I did talk to some other dealers on CGN about importing but the cost was very high.
until I deside to part with one. If you want it bad enought you will pay like I did... But I Do have something rare & different in Canada
I did talk to some other dealers on CGN about importing but the cost was very high.
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Lots of opinions flying around.....
I might as well through one in..... I am a purchaser/warhouse person by trade and I have always said it pays to shop around. Dont get me wrong, I have paid full price for things in a pinch, but as a rule I never pay full price for anything. I have also made purchases from the states but they have all been used Ebay items that I wanted to try before buying new and certain OMG, need to have, X-mas toys that were not available or sold out in Canada, etc.
When I bought my Desert Warrior, I waited until I could get one in Canada, Epps told me months with no garantee but they had the best price, P&D told me that same thing with decent price, and 3 other dealers said they were avialable but for very inflated pricess????? I told one dealer that he was $250.00 higher than anyone else, and he basically told me "OH WELL". Its kind of hard to support local when given that type of attitude, but, I didnt give up and it payed off.
I ended up finding one in stock near Calgary for the best price period, I had to wait a few months before I found it, but hey, I got what I wanted, for a good price, from a Canadian dealer.
If you must have it, and can afford to pay $4000.00 for a $2500.00 rifle etc, power to you, if you can wait and have the means to buy it south of the border and save some bucks, go ahead. The bottom line is, if you have the patience and the ability to ask the right questions, I am sure you can eventually find almost anything you need or want from a Canadian source and for a decent price.
Gord.
I might as well through one in..... I am a purchaser/warhouse person by trade and I have always said it pays to shop around. Dont get me wrong, I have paid full price for things in a pinch, but as a rule I never pay full price for anything. I have also made purchases from the states but they have all been used Ebay items that I wanted to try before buying new and certain OMG, need to have, X-mas toys that were not available or sold out in Canada, etc.
When I bought my Desert Warrior, I waited until I could get one in Canada, Epps told me months with no garantee but they had the best price, P&D told me that same thing with decent price, and 3 other dealers said they were avialable but for very inflated pricess????? I told one dealer that he was $250.00 higher than anyone else, and he basically told me "OH WELL". Its kind of hard to support local when given that type of attitude, but, I didnt give up and it payed off.
I ended up finding one in stock near Calgary for the best price period, I had to wait a few months before I found it, but hey, I got what I wanted, for a good price, from a Canadian dealer.
If you must have it, and can afford to pay $4000.00 for a $2500.00 rifle etc, power to you, if you can wait and have the means to buy it south of the border and save some bucks, go ahead. The bottom line is, if you have the patience and the ability to ask the right questions, I am sure you can eventually find almost anything you need or want from a Canadian source and for a decent price.
Gord.
- Location
- Edmonton, Alberta
I will shop for the cheapest price, I can't believe anyone would expect you to do different. I always check locally first and will buy here if it's the same price, but I refuse to pay more.
Although I must say I appreciate these stores with wild mark ups, it drives used prices higher than you can purchase them new at some places.
Although I must say I appreciate these stores with wild mark ups, it drives used prices higher than you can purchase them new at some places.
ginseng503
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- N. Ontario
Amen
I have been shopping for a certain type of rifle, for a while now. As long as I am willing to;
1. change brands from what I want
2. get a different model from what I want
3. not be too choosy on caliber
4. accept whatever finish and wood happens to be on it
5. miss a few good deals on used ones
6. wait for what seems like an eternity
I will end up with something I can afford and hopefully want to keep.
Perhaps I am old fashioned..I like to walk into a local dealer and call him/her by name...and if they do not carry what I want I ask them if they can get it.
IF they cannot, then I check other dealers nearby, then provincially, then online.
I buy used if it is what I want, at a fair price.
You do have to shop around a bit....ammo for example, varies in price from place to place and one store may not carry what I am looking for.
But I am not driving an hour to save 0.30 cents a box.
I have bought locally, privately, in other stores in the province, on line, ....it all depends on where I am, who has what, ....and if I have the money on me to do so.
IF they cannot, then I check other dealers nearby, then provincially, then online.
I buy used if it is what I want, at a fair price.
You do have to shop around a bit....ammo for example, varies in price from place to place and one store may not carry what I am looking for.
But I am not driving an hour to save 0.30 cents a box.
I have bought locally, privately, in other stores in the province, on line, ....it all depends on where I am, who has what, ....and if I have the money on me to do so.
Just as a comparison I am in Australia and there was a recent arrival of Norinco M1911A1s which are being sold for $AU685 ($CA660) which compares quite unfavourably to the $CA325 marstar is selling them for over there
.45s are even harder to come by than other handguns here as well. Other than the police and armed security guards anything over .38/9mm is considered high calibre and is even more heavily restricted than other handguns here. You have to shoot either Western Action or Metallic Silhouette to own them and it requires an extra permit which costs another $70 of course.
The selection of firearms is also further constrained by minimum barrel lengths of 120mm for semi autos and 100mm for revolvers. Add in the cost of shipping to the ass end of the world plus all the required paperwork and the costs add up quickly.
Parts are expensive as well due to the export restrictions the US State Department puts in place but unless I want to get something custom made which would be more expensive there is no other option. The fact almost everywhere wants to ship with fedEx or UPS also adds to the cost.
While we would all be happier with lower prices and looser regulations we have to remember there is always some place worse off
Anyway, here's a used Norinco I paid $550 for (that had only fired one box of ammo) and then spent another $550 on parts and a further $550 having them fitted, getting a trigger job and having the pistol reblued. My gunsmith made a front sight as I had truble finding what I was after that could be exported from the US.
.45s are even harder to come by than other handguns here as well. Other than the police and armed security guards anything over .38/9mm is considered high calibre and is even more heavily restricted than other handguns here. You have to shoot either Western Action or Metallic Silhouette to own them and it requires an extra permit which costs another $70 of course.
The selection of firearms is also further constrained by minimum barrel lengths of 120mm for semi autos and 100mm for revolvers. Add in the cost of shipping to the ass end of the world plus all the required paperwork and the costs add up quickly.
Parts are expensive as well due to the export restrictions the US State Department puts in place but unless I want to get something custom made which would be more expensive there is no other option. The fact almost everywhere wants to ship with fedEx or UPS also adds to the cost.
While we would all be happier with lower prices and looser regulations we have to remember there is always some place worse off
Anyway, here's a used Norinco I paid $550 for (that had only fired one box of ammo) and then spent another $550 on parts and a further $550 having them fitted, getting a trigger job and having the pistol reblued. My gunsmith made a front sight as I had truble finding what I was after that could be exported from the US.
We all know that, to stay in business, dealers/distributors have to make a profit, which means that we in Canada are going to get charged more than if we lived south of the 49the parallel. Our market here is roughly 33 million people, whereas in the States its something like 330 million (factor x10)
However, given the strength of the loonie in recent years, I do sometimes find it hard to accept that a Canadian distributor/dealer has to charge 50% more on a product than I could buy it for from a US dealer/distributor to make a profit.
All of my US buying experience is from motorcycle parts, in particular motocross items. This is a segment of the buying public that AFAIK is roughly on par with the firearms industry regarding numbers of participants. I know that there are far fewer motocross bikes sold compared to firearms, but there is a huge price difference between the two.
That said, there seems to be much less discrepancy percentage wise for what the same bike sells for in the US vs Canada. Lately, the prices between the two just haven't seemed to be that far apart. IDK if it's the market or business costs here, but it just doesn't seem right to me.
Can the dealers/distributors maybe chime in as to WHY this is?
However, given the strength of the loonie in recent years, I do sometimes find it hard to accept that a Canadian distributor/dealer has to charge 50% more on a product than I could buy it for from a US dealer/distributor to make a profit.
All of my US buying experience is from motorcycle parts, in particular motocross items. This is a segment of the buying public that AFAIK is roughly on par with the firearms industry regarding numbers of participants. I know that there are far fewer motocross bikes sold compared to firearms, but there is a huge price difference between the two.
That said, there seems to be much less discrepancy percentage wise for what the same bike sells for in the US vs Canada. Lately, the prices between the two just haven't seemed to be that far apart. IDK if it's the market or business costs here, but it just doesn't seem right to me.
Can the dealers/distributors maybe chime in as to WHY this is?
It's mot the guns, it's everything. Every single thing in this country is more expensive than in the US! Canadian food is cheaper in the States. Canadian booze is cheaper in the states, Canadian gas is cheaper in the States, Canadian manufactured vehicles are cheaper to buy in the States. Yup, that's the way it is. I'm not ranting, that's the truth. Why is it this way? (the argument with the "small market" is not entirely right)
-Canadian merchants are not used to having sales/discounts
-There is little to no competition in pretty much every single sector of the economy (banking, communications, alcohol, tobacco, guns, supermarkets, housing)
As a consequence, there are no alternatives, you don't like the price, you don't have another place to go to
-Taxes, corporate and personal are huge, to mainly support a failing healthcare, infrastructure and a huge political/governmental aparatus
-Deductions for individuals are slim to none compared to US
In other words, we're doomed to pay through our noses for everything.
-Canadian merchants are not used to having sales/discounts
-There is little to no competition in pretty much every single sector of the economy (banking, communications, alcohol, tobacco, guns, supermarkets, housing)
As a consequence, there are no alternatives, you don't like the price, you don't have another place to go to
-Taxes, corporate and personal are huge, to mainly support a failing healthcare, infrastructure and a huge political/governmental aparatus
-Deductions for individuals are slim to none compared to US
In other words, we're doomed to pay through our noses for everything.
