Sorry, I've been away on business all day today and missed all the posts.
Firstly, thanks to the mods for locking out the threads in my absence. Much appreciated. However, we are not worried about discussion about our pricing here or anywhere. I'll start this thread and leave it open to civil comments.
Secondly, thanks for the kind words made by most posters , we truly appreciate it.
While I'm not certain of the motivation of the OP, its fine to open discussion on pricing. I haven't had time to read through both threads in depth, I've scanned through them. I'll cover a few points tonight and more as discussion evolves.
The OP mentions a consignment Norinco that appears to be over-priced. As a few posters mentioned this is not totally our choice by any means. While we guide our clients in pricing we allow them to make the final decision on what it to be listed. This is a tough call on policy as it can give the appearance that we are 'over -priced' but we feel that most shoppers realize that consignment sales mean items owned by individuals and not Prophet River. We sell several dozen rifles, handguns and shotguns this way each week. Those priced at or below market normally don't last long and those on the high side normally sit for some time. This fact leads to many of the higher priced items remaining while those that were not are sold and no longer on the site. I'm certainly not convinced that our pricing policy is perfect and best for the company, it seems to work and we get over 8000 visitors daily to out consignments online. Arguments could certainly be made that we would be better off refusing items we feel are priced to high, however, most customers are open to offers and many are long term customers that want to test the market and have perhaps overpaid for the item originally.
As for items actually in our inventory that posters feel are priced high. This is a very complex and evolving part of any retailer. We have over 7500 SKUs (different products) in our store currently. Its a big job to track them, make sure we make an acceptable margin and be competitive with other retailers. Are we the lowest price in Canada on each an every one of them? Of course not; shopping around for a product may lead a customer to find a better price or the same price closer to home, reducing shipping, etc. Are we higher than we should be on a handful of product? As a few poster pointed out; absolutely.
Threads such as the ones up today actually help us 'scout' other retailers so we can adjust pricing as we see fit to remain competitive. I'm quite certain there would be other products in the 7500 that are priced noticeably higher than at some other retailers such as the 77/22 one poster pointed out. There are, of course many reasons this can happen; one, is simply that its a mistake. Another common one is that the product was brought in when it was scarce and we paid a dear price just to get them into inventory. Very common also is competing with listings of other retailers when, in fact, its and older listing with them and they no longer have the product at all. (Not suggesting this is the case with the 77/22)
During the last couple of years some product has been difficult to obtain. Occasionally, by paying a premium we could inventory product. This is a tough call; is it better to have inventory at what could be seen as high priced or better to just avoid it. This happened to us a year or so ago when we were offered a few Dan Wessons at quite a premium. We made the call to take them and made no secret to our in store customers that the price may drop when inventory was more readily available. Most customers that wanted one just shrug it off and bought one anyway. Online, its a bit different as we risk the 'over - priced' label but we feel fortunate to deal with a majority of customers who are thankful for the inventory and realize how markets work when inventory in short supply.
To a lesser degree, it happened this past spring with 10/22's. We couldn't get a good deal on them as they were in short supply but we bought anyway and we were glad to get them. Our basic model 10/22's went out at 299.00 this past spring. Higher than normal for sure. Quite a few customers asked if we would match a big box retailer that had then on for 239.00 in a flyer. We refused as we had quite a bit more in them that that. However, most of those customers bought from us anyway as the sale was currently out of stock. We sold over 500 10/22's this spring so we were glad we bought them even though we were not able to get a great deal on them.
As for the Glock that was found cheaper at another retailer, there is a mistake made by us or by them as Glock has quite strict pricing policies and we, essentially, have little choice how we price them. We will ask for an updated pricing from Glock next week and update our price if its our mistake.
Customers of ours and other retailers should be ready for prices to fluctuate greatly soon. With wholesalers now offering at 2015 prices and with the US$ now costing approximately $1.20, new inventory will be much more expensive. It will likely be common to see firearms prices at one retailer for 20% or more above another. The explanation might be as simple as the lower retailer may not have adjusted to the cost of new inventory. Its no secret that, in firearms, margins run 20% on a good day and the Canadian dollar has dropped that much in the relative short term. You may find bargains out there where a firearm is priced at 2014(or earlier) and par dollars. If you do, take advantage
