What kind of mark up on guns
- Thread starter scott_r
- Start date
Simple enough, if yo want a gun, go buy, if you think the price too high, you have the right not to buy. There are many factor involve the mark up. If firearm business made money, then there should be a gunstore at every street corner. Shooting itself is not a cheap hobby.
Trigun
Trigun
Agreed 100%. I don't nickel and dime anymore when it comes to shooting/hunting. If I want it, I buy it, and I don't care if s**tholesports is $30 cheaper and may or may not have one.
FWIW the small shops nearest to me both buy direct from manufacturers...
Many smaller shops are doing well to have a 10-15% markup on lower priced common firearms. (Rem, Ruger, Savage etc.) Some of the larger shops are doing considerably better than that, ie higher markup, buying direct from manufacturer. Some "budget" priced rifles (Stevens 200, Savage packages) are often sold at 5-10% over cost. When your local small store doesn't want to dicker on price, there is usually a reason.
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
American market:
Manufacturer - Wholesaler - Retailer - Consumer
Canadian Market:
Manufacturer - Wholesaler - Exporter - Importer - Distributor - Retailer - (+ curency exchange + duties + brokerage fees) - Consumer
Then you can also consider volume of market:
US gun seller - 1000 guns @ $100 profit/gun = $100,000 profit
Canadian gun seller - 30 guns @ $100 profit/gun = $3,000 profit
The Canadian market being 3% of the U.S. market, you can see that at equal margins, the Canadian seller will starve to death.
There are many more mouths to feed in the Canadian market as opposed to down south.
I have friends trhat are gun dealers in Canada, they do it as a sideline out of passion for firearms. They do not make enough money to make a living from it.
The same goes for Harley-Davidson owners. Why do we pay $7 for a $1 cotter pin? Because Fred Deeley in Vancouver makes a commission on every nut and bolt imported to Canada from Harley in the U.S.
I can cross the border to buy HArley parts, I can't cross the border to buy guns though. So, we pay jacked up prices in Canada.
Ain't free enterprise just great?
Some manufactures dont give any discount on pricing... but they do throw in 1 free rifle.. for example a remington 700 R5 milspec retails for $1250 the dealer may have to buy 5 rifles at $1250 but when the do they get one free one so they dont make any money on the first 5 the sell but they make all the profit on the 6th one... I am just using remington as an example I cant remember what companies do that anymore or even if they still do it.
When it comes to bullet often times wholes sports sells things for less then my cost... so its a hard business to be in regardless. since hardly anything is made in canada shipping is a massive margin killer shipping can take a 30% margin and turn it in to 10% very quickly
When it comes to bullet often times wholes sports sells things for less then my cost... so its a hard business to be in regardless. since hardly anything is made in canada shipping is a massive margin killer shipping can take a 30% margin and turn it in to 10% very quickly
A shop opened up here a while ago. The prices they were offered by the wholesalers were more than retail at some stores. They are now out of busness. Some dealers here have sold gun for a lot less than 25% over. The money in guns or anything is how fast can I roll it over (sell & replace) stock. Some shops also look at cost to replace. Ie; can I sell this gun for $500 when it will cost me 550 to replace. There are reasons new shops have a hard go.
I work for a large retail chain. I suspect the margins are fairly slim for Canadian gun stores (5-10%). You can't pay the staff with that.
Where a successful retailer makes their money is the attachments (accessories). Think about it - we (educated/researched buyers) all know roughly what we should pay for the gun we're after, so a retailer that is out of line on price doesn't sell many. However, a sling, or a cleaning product price can vary by 25% from store to store, and we're not likely to notice or travel to another shop to compare. That's where a good store makes their money, and other than security is usually why the guns are further from the door than the accessories, or why chocolate bars and gum are at the register in a grocery store for the impulse buy. A good salesperson will offer ammo, a case, cleaning kit, trigger lock (I bet the margin on a trigger lock is ~75% - doesn't hurt that they're the law).
Distributors and manufacturers also control prices, by not continuing selling to stores that undercut the acceptable retail prices. If store A sells the product at cost or uses it as a long term loss leader, store B is going to start demanding a lower cost from the manufacturer/distributor, possibly cutting into their profit, and harming the profitability of all the distributors partners.
Comparing to US prices doesn't really work, as others have mentioned distribution/importation issues that the US doesn't have, not to mention market size and the accompanying volume discounts.
Where a successful retailer makes their money is the attachments (accessories). Think about it - we (educated/researched buyers) all know roughly what we should pay for the gun we're after, so a retailer that is out of line on price doesn't sell many. However, a sling, or a cleaning product price can vary by 25% from store to store, and we're not likely to notice or travel to another shop to compare. That's where a good store makes their money, and other than security is usually why the guns are further from the door than the accessories, or why chocolate bars and gum are at the register in a grocery store for the impulse buy. A good salesperson will offer ammo, a case, cleaning kit, trigger lock (I bet the margin on a trigger lock is ~75% - doesn't hurt that they're the law).
Distributors and manufacturers also control prices, by not continuing selling to stores that undercut the acceptable retail prices. If store A sells the product at cost or uses it as a long term loss leader, store B is going to start demanding a lower cost from the manufacturer/distributor, possibly cutting into their profit, and harming the profitability of all the distributors partners.
Comparing to US prices doesn't really work, as others have mentioned distribution/importation issues that the US doesn't have, not to mention market size and the accompanying volume discounts.
- Location
- In the Badlands of Alberta
What it all shakes out to is: How much is having a local/fairly close independant supplier to you in the long run? Sure you can buy it cheaper from the big box stupid stores over the internet. But what happens if you want to hold it first or have a problem with your purchase? You now become nothing but a number in a long line of equally mis-treated numbers. Good luck getting satisfaction. Don't believe me............When was the last time you were at a real service station? How many of them are still around out side of small towns?
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
Bought my Stevens 22-250 for $369 from P&D rather then wait for WSS to order one in, $319 at WSS. The service at P&D was worth my $50, and they usually have what I'm looking for.
Hard to begrudge someone trying to make a living.
I mostly support the local gunstore in town here. Some things are slightly cheaper than Wholesale and some things are more.
I've found the same thing at Superstore and Walmart. What a surprise.
I like dealing with the local gunshop more but the reality is any gunshop in Canada can't have everything in stock so sometimes I have to shop elsewhere.
Local gunshop doesn't carry Dewey cleaning rods so I had to buy 3 of them when I was in Saskatoon at Wholesale.
Bought a 700 CDL-SF in 257 Roberts this year. Local gunshop beat Bashaw's price (best I could find online) by $7. Factor in shipping I saved ~ $40.
Plus there's the social aspect of smaller gunshops. Go in and shoot the bull for a while while the wife's shopping for a new pair of shoes.
I mostly support the local gunstore in town here. Some things are slightly cheaper than Wholesale and some things are more.
I've found the same thing at Superstore and Walmart. What a surprise.
I like dealing with the local gunshop more but the reality is any gunshop in Canada can't have everything in stock so sometimes I have to shop elsewhere.
Local gunshop doesn't carry Dewey cleaning rods so I had to buy 3 of them when I was in Saskatoon at Wholesale.
Bought a 700 CDL-SF in 257 Roberts this year. Local gunshop beat Bashaw's price (best I could find online) by $7. Factor in shipping I saved ~ $40.
Plus there's the social aspect of smaller gunshops. Go in and shoot the bull for a while while the wife's shopping for a new pair of shoes.
- Location
- Southern MB
Yes, free enterprise is great.
So how about the car manufacturers? Specifically the ones built in Canada? That little chain of events would be turned around then no?
Canadian market:
Manufacturer - Dealer - Consumer
US Market:
Manufacturer - Exporter - Importer - (+ curency exchange + duties + brokerage fees) - Consumer
Yet the vehicles, snowmobiles, whatever, is still cheaper in the United States.
Even if it is made in our own f**king country.
Its so much f**king cheaper there, that the DEALERS can buy the car/snowmobile/whatever in the US from another DEALER, CHEAPER than the Made in Canada Manufacturer sells it to them here.
Sorry, but you can list all the excuses in the world that you want, but plain and simple, we as Canadians bend over, for everything.
The guy who talked about cell phone plans has it right.
Sorry all, rant over.
Well seeing as you guys have it all figured out, why don't you open your own store and show 'em all how to do it right. If you are correct in your assumptions, you should dominate the market with your low, low prices and great stock levels.. and still have enough profit at the end of the year to pay for your mansions and Ferraris...
and still have enough profit at the end of the year to pay for your mansions and Ferraris...Not to nitpick; but technically, retail margins (or markup, as some may call it) are expressed as a percentage of the selling price, not a percentage above dealer cost. So if a dealer buys an item for $10 and sells it for $20 his margin is 50%, not 100%. I know it really doesn't matter in the context of this discussion, but that one drives me nuts when I see it... 
Well seeing as you guys have it all figured out, why don't you open your own store and show 'em all how to do it right. If you are correct in your assumptions, you should dominate the market with your low, low prices and great stock levels..
Why should we do you the favor when you seem so content to pay the inflated prices so prevalent here? No thanks I'll just continue to source my purchases from U.S retailers who dont patronize me with offers of 10% off accessories, Big deal.
Proof? no problem; Kahles 3-9x42AH $1100@WSS(When they were a current model) paid $549Yankee, Swarovski 4-12x50 AV $1600@WSS paid $899 Yankee, Leupold 4.5-14x50 LR $999@WSS paid 599 well you get the picture.
Saved $25000 on my truck by buying down south. Yea it is kinda mercenary, but I work hard for my money and won't waste it un-neccessarily to support retailers who act like they're giving you the deal of the century because they throw in a free rifle sling or do the sale tax in, Whoopdie $h!t.
Last edited:
gunrunner8
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kamloops, B.C.
X2 You have nothing to be sorry about. Point well taken, we do bent over and that's the fact no matter the domestic dealers excuses. The Canadian made cars pricing in US for instance is self evident and there is no explanation for it.
