Wallmart stops selling guns in 1000 stores, I think it is a good thing

[coyotejoe]

NONYA, I don't know what you do for a living but it is clear that you've never run a retail business. Your attitude reminds me strongly of a fellow who once visited my shop.
  A friend called to say that a friend of his needed a hunting rifle but he couldn't get to my shop during regular business hours. So, to accommodate a friend of a friend I agreed to meet him at 11:00 AM on Sunday, even though it meant I'd have to leave the mountainman rendezvous and drive the half hour of dirt road back to town. Well, of course the guy was nearly an hour late but came in with a Jerrys Sports Center wholesale catalog, saying "that's the gun I want but they won't sell it to me". I patiently explained, no, they can't sell it to you, federal law since before you were born. I went on to explain that I'd order it for him, he'd have to pay shipping plus my regular 10% mark-up and that was 10% before Jerrys charged me an additional 3% for a credit card order. All in all I stood to make $17.00 on the deal. He just spun around and headed for the door saying "well I might be back if I can't find it cheaper somewhere else!". I was so stunned by the man's rudeness and lack of appreciation that I just sat with my mouth hanging open, not even able to reply.  I sure wished he would come back so that I could tell him "I don't need seventeen dollars bad enough to deal with a jerk like you, get out and don't EVER come back".
  But that is the way some people think. They don't understand the expense of running a business, obtaining an FFL, keeping the required books, risking criminal charges for any mistake on the books, ordering things for people who never come back for them or who do come back and pay with a rubber check. That fellow worked as a wrangler leading tourists on horsy back rides and I'm sure he would have expected a twenty dollar tip for just being there but couldn't see where I deserved $17.00 for my time, trouble, investment and risk.
  By all means NONYA, please do shop at WalMart, and don't EVER darken my door, I still don't need seventeen dollars that bad.

[xtratoy]

I was at a Walmart in Vancouver WA. tonight and the sporting goods associate told they didn't carry guns since Jan. 4 because it took 30 minutes of associate time and another 20 minutes of a managers time (50 minutes total) to process the transaction. I just purchased a pistol from another store and I was out in less than 10 minutes with my gun. Maybe its a good thing if they were that slow.

[rlm2007x]

I've had nothing but bad experiences when buying guns from Walmart.  Robert

[1marty]

Walmart came to my town and was selling guns. Within 5 years the guns disappeared and this year the ammunition disappeared. The clerks were idiots. I bought a 22 rifle for my son and after 1 hour they finally completed the sale. The manager was called who escorted me to the door carrying the boxed gun over his head and every so often saying "firearm leaving store". How bizzare!
The Gander by me cut back on their firearms selection by at least 30%. Trying to find a clerk to wait on you at Gander  is impossible and when you call the gun department no one picks up the phone. I brought a pistol in for some repair work and the "wait" to get to it was at least a month.
I shop at a local store. For the few bucks more I get good service, professional advice and courteous service.

[rlm2007x]

The last time I bought a gun from Walmart, they wouldn't even let me handle the gun before purchase.  Robert

[Explorer1]

While I am price sensitive, I am also service aware.  If I pay for the service, I expect it.  WalMart's service extends to the cashier, no further.  Have never bought a gun from them and not much ammo either.  The help are amateurs at the subjects, so I do not miss the small stock the carried.

But then again, what do you expect from a one size fits all story?  We don't want one-size fits all health care do we?  Or be forced to drive a single type of car? Or............

America is about choices, WalMart is about cheap mass marketing.  You get what you pay for!

[NONYA]

Dont worry Coyote I wont,you or any other store owner who thinks I have to pay more because you want to make your end.I live on a small budget and I buy where i can afford to,the last thing on my mind when shopping is helping out a store owner by paying more for my needs just to keep my money local,I cant offord to be that idealistic.Ill bet you never buy from Wm or any other big chain store right?Your just being a hypocrite,im sure you have bought from many chain stores that offer good prices but your shop deserves a different attitude from the people,its the law of buisness,if you cant make a living get out.

[Dee]

Hypocrite

[gypsyman]

A friend of mine that works for a Walmart in Kentucky, told me a couple month's ago, very few store's are going to sell guns. Most store's are going to phase out firearm sales. Since they don't pay very well, the people they hire don't understand the consiquences of not doing the proper paper work. Walmart has enough merchandise to keep themselve's going, and it will be a good thing for the small dealer. If it takes an extra month of saving your money, to afford paying the higher price from a local gun dealer, you'll appreciate the gun even more! Good things never come cheap, as the old saying goes. We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember-(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman

[coyotejoe]

Nonya, I tried to explain to you just as I tried to explain to that idiot I mentioned, that my mark-up is actually less than Walmart's, I can't compete with WalMart's price because I can't buy at WalMart's price. You seem to think that if your local dealer charges more than Wallyworld they are "ripping you off".  Ain't so by a long shot. I don't know any gun dealer who makes as much as a plumber, an electrician or an auto mechanic and you don't have a clue as to how much they have invested in inventory.
  Another reason WalMart can undercut your local dealer is that WalMart only stocks what they know they can sell quickly. Only the most common and popular guns, only the most common ammo, only the cheapest and most popular accessories. When WalMart has put your local store out of business where will you find a handgun? Where will you find a Nikon scope? Where will you find 32/20 ammo? A recoil pad for a Stevens shotgun. How about Nosler bullets, real black powder, .350" round balls, the list of items your gun store stocks and Wallyworld doesn't could go on forever. Not to mention that your gun store has people who can mount and boresight your scope, diagnose and solve your gun problems, correctly interpret your local game laws and just "talk guns". Hell, it once took me an hour just to buy a small game license at WalMart because neither the clerk nor the department manager could be convinced that an old fart born in 1942 didn't need a "hunters saftey certificate". Finally, an employee who actually hunts happened by and explained the law to the idiots.
Your local gun shop has many thousands of dollars invested in ammo alone, and much of it he knows will sit on the shelf for years but he has it because someday someone will be looking for it. Sure Wallyworld can beat his price on 30/30, 270, 308 and 30/06 because that is all they stock. Any small business person knows they have to stock some items that don't sell well but are needed to keep people coming to the store. That is how any speciality business operates, it has to be a place where you know you have a good chance of finding what you won't find at WalMart. When WalMart is all you have, then what they offer is all you can get. How big is their rack of used guns? NOT ANY? No because they won't take your gun in trade for a new one.
  You only go to your local gun shop for those items you can't get cheaper at Wallyworld. You know he can't possibly stay in business just to supply your needs on those rare visits. But you still expect him to be there and to have in stock whatever you need, like that one scope mount screw you lost. But you won't do a thing to help him to still be there. Let others surport the local business, not you, you'll go wherever it is cheapest!  Now really, who's the hypocrite?
 

[NONYA]

so ONCE AGAIN i ASK YOU,HAVE YOU EVER SHOPPED AT A BIG CHAIN STORE?Everyone has and they dont do it for the customer service,they do it for the price,regardless of the product,do rifles and ammo deserve some special consideration because thats what you are selling?Do you feel like you are cutting out the little vegtable stands when you go to the big grocery store that buys in bulk?Ill bet you never even give it a thought.When you buy a pair of shoes at the big store do you feel like you are cutting out he little custom shoe cobbler?You can lay your logic to just about any item on the market,there is always someone else selling the item for more somewhere else,just because you deal in guns and ammo you expect special consideration fro everyone thats trying to buy a rifle on a small budget?Im sure this logic makes all kinds of sense in your mind but you have to look at it from my point of view,i can go to wm and buy my semi auto 12 guage for $330,the same exact gun is $365 across town at a smaller store( which is just another chain store with an out-of-state owner) or $369 if i ORDER it at the only small gun store we have,so by your logic I should pay $39 dollars more and wait 1-2 weeks just to do the guy a favor because he lives here?That extra $40 is going to buy me a tank of fuel or a pile of ammo,ill take that over your ideals any day.As for that one smalll shop we have,he never wants to be competative on price,refuses to return faulty items for cash and charges shipping on special orders,I dont give a damn if he goes out of buisness or not,I havnt bought anything from him in years even though i go there every time i make a big purchase to compare his price.We are getting a Sportsmans Warhouse this summer and that will even make walmarts sporting goods section unessasary.

[coyotejoe]

It is unfortunate that you believe everyone to be as selfcentered as you are, fortunatly, most are not.

[NONYA]

iM SELF CENTERED BECAUSE I BUY THINGS WHERE I CAN AFFORD TO?Only a store owner with your attitute could see things this way,you wont awnser my 1 question and you insist Im doing someone wrong buy spending my money where i choose,you have a very skewed view of reality!

[Redhawk1]

Thank god I don't have to buy my guns at Wal-mart.    The clerks are dumb as a box of rocks. If a person wants information on a gun, the clerk has no idea about the product they sell.  I buy all my gun from local gun shops. I may pay a little more, but I get the service I want and the experience of a knowledgeable person.

Most of the guns sold in Wal-mart are the lower end guns that the gun manufactures sell, sure you can order a gun from Wal-mart, but if you have a problem, see how helpful Wal-Mart will be.

Do I shop at Wal-mart, sure I do, but not for guns. 

[Dee]

Although I don't believe name calling is necessary (the hypocrite remark), nonya has a point. Yes, the small business man is going out of business because of chain stores such as wal mart. Wal Mart probably buys that auto shotgun nonya mentioned by the boxcar load and gets a better rate by buying such volume than any small shop owner could ever do. However, with $3.00+ a gallon gasoline, electric bills, and other items such as vehicles, and clothing also taking a hit due to the escalateing fuel prices, one has to save where one can.
Having been an owner in the trucking business for more than a decade I watched fuel bills go thru the ceiling. Fuel sur-charges were instituted to cover the rise to keep us in business. Who paid these sur-charges? The customers who used us, and face it guys everything comes on a truck.
A household doesn't get a cost of living increase that will even come close to touching the inflation rise of today. People are saving where they can, and you can't blame them. By saving $40.00 by buying at wal mart is really know ones business, and if the small man doesn't make it because of it, no one is really to blame. It IS A CAPITALIST SOCIETY we live in.
While we squabble over who is right on where to buy a shotgun, involving $40.00, congressmen, and senators, makeing $150,000.00 a year in D.C. are becoming MILLIONAIRES while LIVING in D.C. They have chauffered cars, send their children to private schools, and groom them for a future political career, VOTE THEMSELVES RECORD RAISES, INVESTIGATE THEMSELVES, AND US, GIVE THEMSELVES LIFETIME MEDICAL BENIFITS FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILES, and you and I are merrily paying for it in between arguments over a $40.00 savings at wally world.
I know this is off topic, but the TRUTH SHOULD FIT ANYWHERE. 

[gypsyman]

Coyotejoe, I'm pretty much in the same spot you are. I've done gun shows for a living for the last 22 years. I've traveled from Springfield,Mass.,(the Big E gun show), to Tulsa,Dallas,Atlanta,Deluth,Cedar Rapids, and a whole lot of them in between. Most customers are pretty good about what dealers have to go thru. Not sure what your overhead is, mine runs between $15,000 and $20,000 a year doing shows. I've got to sell alot of stuff before I see any profit. If a person has never walked the walk, or as I like to put it, feel the pain, they'll not understand.(I was there to cut the cord, when my boys were born, BUT, I didn't feel pain my wife did, I'll never know what it felt like) People that have never invested tens of thousands of dollars in a small business, or 60 or more hours a week,every week, will never feel the pain.
I use to get my shoe's and boots resoled at a local shop, but he went out of business. If I don't grow it, I buy whatever I can, at a local fruit stand, not a big grocery store. I try and do what I can, to help out the small business owner, because I am one. I do shop at my local Walmart. Dog food,clothing,soda pop. I just bought my fishing liscense last week at Walmart.($19 here in Ohio now, I remember my dad complaining when they went up to $3.50 fourty years ago) I try and walk the walk. Shooting is not a cheap hobby, maybe a better paying job is in order. We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman

[coyotejoe]

  Certainly the big chains are putting small business under, whether we're talking cabbages, cartridges or clod hoppers. I've been talking about guns  because I thought that is what this forum was about and WalMart because that is what the original post was about. This forum is titled "The Second Amendment and Political Issues" but the Second Amendment is as much threatened by economic forces as by political forces.
  Once we took pride in being American and understood that "the job you save might be your own" but now it seems the California attitude of "me first" has pretty much taken over. If I can get it cheaper from China, well why not? And yes, I am guilty as well.
  What I'm saying here is not about being "idealistic" but about looking out for our own interests by looking down the road and seeing where that road leads. Your local gun shop is one of very few small, independent business left, and even they are forced to sell mostly imported guns. Winchester is dead, Remington is trying to stay afloat by selling Russian guns, Savage moved to Canada and is also selling Russian guns, even Mossberg, long time family owned, is selling imports, as is the once employee owned New England Firearms.
  I totally understand the desire to stretch a dollar as far as can be, I doubt there are many on this forum who live on as little income as I do. I have to pinch a penny till Lincoln's eyes water. But when everything is made in China and sold through discount chains, where will my next penny come from?
  I guess the bright side is that WalMart may finally get some competent help when we are all forced to compete for a job there.

[Crimson Mister]

People continue to be very touchy on the subject. I think that many of you don't feel right about it even when you do shop there. It is to bad that you think the local stores are ripping you off, when Remington offers thier products to Wallmart so much cheaper. It is volume that makes the difference. I would hope that some of you continue to support small stores, the shooting comminity can not survive without them.

The hardware store I buy from routinely beats Walmart in price. So it can be done.

I support local stores if they are competitive, but have any of you not bought something online that was a good deal because you didn't want to hurt Mom & Pop? Be honest, this whole discussion is about hating the evil empire and not about supporting the locals. If you go to Gander, Cabela's, Scheels or order it from Midway or Bass Pro you are not supporting locals. The only difference is that it doesn't say Walmart on the receipt. If I buy a gun on Gunbroker for less than Walmart sells, am I one of those destroying the country or am I a frugal shopper? I browse classifieds on forums looking for good deals on guns too. (Oh yeah, can't do that here anymore)I drive 30 miles to buy lumber at Menard's because they are exactly half of the local lumber yards. Is Menard's evil? What exactly is the gross revenue cutoff for a business that makes it either evil or good?

Someone also made the point that small shop owners really know guns. You mean like the one that said I was FOS when I told him a Tikka had an adjustable trigger? Or the one that told me a BSA was just as good as a Nikon?

If the nations largest volume gun dealer stops selling guns it's gonna hurt us because just as a prior poster stated, there's a lot of guys that buy a new '06 at WalMart just cuz he was walking by the display and got to thinking he needed one.  He wasn't going to the gun store cuz he didn't think he needed it. In my book, more people with guns is a good thing.

[NONYA]

My WM says they have no plans to get rid of their gun dept. quite the opposite,they are going to carry more,probably a result of the other stores removing them.I just bought a Rem Ml from Cabelas,even with shipping it s $34 cheaper than the local yokel who took 20 min trying to look it up in his catalog before he realized he was looking at last years catalog and they weren't out that year.Ive got a 25-06 spotted down at Wm that will be coming home with me soon if someone dont get it first,not even going to compare prices with the smaller stores i already know its 10% cheaper at WM.

[Cement Man]

I live in a farm town (4500 people) with a dying Main Street business district about 3 blocks long that used to be self-sufficient with a variety of Mom & Pop dry goods, grocerys, butchers, mens shops, hardware, etc.  Very few survive anymore.  We sit in between two WalMarts - one 15 miles east of here and one 15 miles west of here.
A lot of the locals who have lived here all their lives blame WalMart.  A pity that they delude themselves like that - because they fail to realize that they have no idea how to identify what needs that businesses could serve well in this town (called finding their niche), customer service here is rare as they feel "tradition" owes them a living and repeat business, and they generally have no business plan, or even know what one is.  It isn't WalMart's fault folks.
Funny, one of the businesses that does thrive is our local gun shop.  The owner is a good friend of mine.  I am a good customer of his and I also - when I feel like it, buy guns at WalMart if I like the deal.  My friend prospers because he takes trade-ins, gives great service, works hard to market his stock, and doesn't try to compete with WalMart in the areas that he can't.  He knows his niche and runs his business well.  He's created his own success by being smart, helpful, and working hard instead of whining about WalMart.
I have not had a bad expereince at WalMart in their gun department.  The few guns I bought there, the clerks were polite and treated me right.  I have to take issue with people who whine about the WalMart clerks not being knowledgeable and call them dumb.  First, I would take no pleasure in shooting off my mouth like that about somebody trying to make a living at a pretty meager salary and ridiculing them for not being knowledgeable about firearms.  Some are, some aren't.  BUT the same people who call these people "dumb" can sit on this website and bloviate about their gun knowledge and everything to do about reloading, muzzleloading, rifles, shotguns, etc.  So - what did they not know before they walked in the door at WalMart, that they needed to be explained by some clerk?  WalMart is a discount house.  I know what I want when I walk in there and I don't need help finding it or figuring out how a Ruger 10/22 works, or what kind of shells I ought to buy for my 870 for duck hunting.  The manufacturers warranty and support their guns - and I would rather send one back to the factory if needed than expect local service from many of the gun shops I have been in.  If someone doesn't want to shop at WalMart, it's simple - don't.  
I don't expect expert advice at WalMart and I don't feel the need to make any blanket statements about the people who work there being dumb. I don't respect that.
I also have been going in and out of gun shops for almost 50 years.  Some are well run, good people, who know their business and they appear to prosper - even around WalMart towns.  Others have poor service, poor variety, and employees who really don't know their business or products well either.  I have experienced plenty of aggravation at gun shops - some just downright dishonesty as well.  I also have had great business dealings at some gunshops.  Just made a nice trade and purchase tonight at my friend's gunshop.  Like I say, he does very well, right there between two WalMarts.  I've never heard him whine about them or call anybody names either.

[gunpilot]

As much as I hate to see any business not sell guns as their policy, I would like to see Wallymart stop selling ALL products and go out of business. The 5 billianaires Waltons are so unfair to their employees and the quality is so poor, I refuse to shop there. I was a Pharmacist for Wally mart for 1 year and you would not believe the lack of benefits they showed for their employees. - No prescription insurance for pharmacists for the first YEAR,: the health insurance was just like  NO health insurance - every claim was rejeted, etc, etc, etc. For a company "made in America", they are a false claim. Wally mart drove 2 hardware stores out of business in my town. I went to the hardware store and said my water heater pilot light would not stay on. The hardware man said it was probably a thermocouple and sold me one for a couple bucks and told me how to install it for free. Now they are gone. I saaved a hundred dollar bill on a furnace repairman. Do you think you could get that kind of service at Walmart?  No wonder it is estaimated at an enormous figure what it costs americans to shop at Wallycrap. but peo;le would rather ssve 50 cents today than 100 dollars in the long run, and wallycrap's parking lot is full.

[shotgunner]

Gunpiolot

Good to hear from someone who was on the inside. I don't think we will ever get to the rabid Wallmart shoppers, but maybe we will open some eyes. It is not a place to shop for anyone who is thinking about the future. Hope you got a better deal where ever you moved to. Thanks for the post, Shotgunner