I used to be an assistant manager at Wal-Mart, and before that I was the Sporting Goods Dept. Manager. I can tell you without a doubt that Wal-Mart gets their guns from distributors just like the gunshops , specifically Lipseys and Sports South. There are specific guns that are stored in Wal-Mart distribution centers that are every day items in the stores. Anything special that isn't regularly on the rack is ordered direct from Lipseys and Sports South. Managers can and do order a variety of guns that aren't part of the regular retail layout (called a modular at Wal-Mart, called a planogram by every other retailer in the world??). Sometimes the distributors will offer deals to the buyer at Bentonville and then they get sent out to the stores. In the year that I ran the dept., I never ever got a gun that was substandard or a 2nd. And I sold almost 600 guns that year, personally. Not including what was sold when I wasn't there. I did get a few that were damaged in shipping, but I sent them back.
Wal-Mart's buying power is unmatched by any company in the world. If they want an item for a certain price, you can be damn sure that they'll get it. I quit back in 2002, and that year, Wal-Mart's gross sales total was more than all the other big box retailers in the country COMBINED. Almost $370 billion dollars. And that doesn't include Sam's Club or Bud's Warehouse.
Wal-Mart has every company that sells items in their stores by the short hairs. If every Wal-Mart sells one gun a day, that would be almost 4000 guns a day. If only half of them sell one, it's still 2000 a day. In an article about Savage Arms, it was said that they produce around 500 guns a day. Think about that. Wal-Mart sells 4-8 times the daily production of one of our major firearms companies. If Wal-Mart suddenly decided not to sell Savage Arms, that company would be on the verge of bankruptcy, more than likely. In the end, if your local store is getting junk guns, it's because the distributor is sending them out to Wal-Mart instead of returning them to the manufacturer, not because the gun companies cheapen the guns specifically for Wal-Mart. If the store is selling junk, then they have a Dept. Manager that either is clueless, or doesn't care enough to check the guns before they are sold.
I've also noticed in my local store that there is a large notice that they will no longer accept returns on firearms, nor will they send them out for manufacturer repairs. My best advice that is if you are looking for the most gun at the least dollar, and that's all you want, then yeah, Wal-Mart is the place to go. If you want someone who knows what they are selling and how to take care of it, then you need to get to the local shop and spend an extra $30 or $40. Wal-Mart buys in such quantities that a lot of times, their retail price is below the local dealers cost for the gun. I know because I used to have dealer access on a distributor site, and just about everything sold at Wal-Mart has a retail price that is lower than what my dealer cost would have been. I mean, if Wal-Mart has an ADL for $350 and the local shop is asking $450 for it, (just like a local guy is), 99% of the population is going to go with Wal-Mart. But his dealer cost was probably $375 or more. He just can't compete and still feed the family. If you have a local shop with a quality rep, that's where I'd go with my business, regardless of price. I get most of my guns off the net now, either through gunbroker, auctionarms, or gunsamerica, mostly because I am looking for things that just aren't available locally. I've met and worked with more "nice" dealers, and been treated fairly, on the net much better than I ever have locally. I do try to patronize the dealers that do my transfers as well, just a way of saying thanks for what they do. I always give them the first shot before I shop around.
As for Remmy, I think that he's a troll too. Like beemanbeme said, the things that are happening to the CDL can't happen, because it's physically impossible because of the construction of the gun. Blued finishes don't flake, and oil finish stocks don't either. If Remmy has the presence of mind to buy an HS Precision stock and a Timney trigger, he should have done the things everyone has stated before shelling out $300 on a stock and $80 on trigger for a "junk" gun. If the gun was that bad, he's just pissing more money away. I think that he's full of crap.
