Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I recently visited a couple gun stores to check out prices for a S&W 637. The cheapest I could find was $536!

I went online and found a shop in Connecticut that had the same new gun for $349. It costs $20 to ship to local gun shop and $25 for transfer fee. So total was $394.00. S&W is offering a $50 mail in rebate for J framed guns, so when I get the MIR the total will be $344.00. Even without the rebate it is over $100 cheaper than any store I have been to.

Does anyone else order their toys online? Also, I wasn't charged tax. Is there no tax on firearms?

I would, but I'm an instant gratification kind of guy. I also prefer to support local businesses, to the greatest extent practical, and if price difference is so great, I'll usually attempt to negotiate with the local seller first. If no luck there, well, it's not for lack of trying. I do this with a lot of things.

Sales tax is something you'd owe regardless of whether or not the seller is able to collect VA sales tax (assuming you're in VA and taking delivery in VA), unless you're able to claim exemption. Whether or not you choose to self assess and pay the tax is completely up to you - I'll leave it at that.

chfaunce wrote:I would, but I'm an instant gratification kind of guy. I also prefer to support local businesses, to the greatest extent practical, and if price difference is so great, I'll usually attempt to negotiate with the local seller first. If no luck there, well, it's not for lack of trying. I do this with a lot of things.

Sales tax is something you'd owe regardless of whether or not the seller is able to collect VA sales tax (assuming you're in VA and taking delivery in VA), unless you're able to claim exemption. Whether or not you choose to self assess and pay the tax is completely up to you - I'll leave it at that.

I thought about trying to negotiate but I thought it would be a lost cause trying to get them anywhere close to what I paid.

You'd be surprised. Though, not every case is the same and while I don't necessarily expect the best outcome (ie, a price match, not including any mfg rebates, of course) I will at least pose the question. There are a number of things which can affect price in general - volume discounts, overhead, G&A (costs to run a business) etc - but I'm not familar enough with the LGS business model to know what specific things are factored in.

I've bought several guns online from various FFLs -- all have been smooth transactions. Regarding taxes, you did pay a 10 or 11 percent federal exercise tax that applies to firearms and ammunition that is embedded in the item's price. State sales tax applies to items sold at retail within the state. Since your local gun shop is only providing a service (the transfer) and you bought the gun out-of-state, no sales tax charged. However, VA still expects you to pay a "use tax" on the purchase.

Gunbroker is my friend.

YEP!

Gary's Guns, and Transfers! Best deals I've gotten! I still occassionally buy a gun from a LGS, but they're getting TOO expensive because they have so much OVERHEAD!

krenn72 wrote:I recently visited a couple gun stores to check out prices for a S&W 637. The cheapest I could find was $536!

I went online and found a shop in Connecticut that had the same new gun for $349. It costs $20 to ship to local gun shop and $25 for transfer fee. So total was $394.00. S&W is offering a $50 mail in rebate for J framed guns, so when I get the MIR the total will be $344.00. Even without the rebate it is over $100 cheaper than any store I have been to.

Does anyone else order their toys online? Also, I wasn't charged tax. Is there no tax on firearms?

$349 for a NEW 637? Tell me where, and I'll buy two. You already have this in hand, and it's exactly what it's supposed to be? $450 is a good price, $350 is ridiculously good.

Another thing to try is gungenie.com
You look up a gun, pay a deposit online, and it gets shipped to a local dealer where you pay the rest. You can get good deals, and the dealer makes more than just the $25 transfer fee, so it's a win win.

Online is a great way to buy. I've done that many of times. I've also bought local.

If it is a used weapon, I will use Gunbroker to find it, for example my Sig P228, I tried to get a refurbished one (Police Trade-in) through local dealers, but they had no idea how to get one from Sig. I picked one up for $400. As for a new weapon, Nuckol's Gun Works in Staunton usually gets the first stop when I am looking for one. he is usually competitively priced, prefers layaways over Credit Cards (saves both you and Chris money) and I prefer to buy locally. It wouldn't do me any good to save money on an internet transaction if I had no one to ship it to...

I got my (lightly used) Super Redhawk through Gunbroker. Came with a 2x Leupold scope. Cost was $550. With FFL and shipping fees, it was $600. BTW, Joe Palisi at Aaron Arms handled the FFL xfer for me, and he is very, very cool to deal with. Just a neat dude.

However, I personally prefer the private FTF sale, for two reasons. First, you can see the gun up close 'n' personal. Second, it's a proactive exercise of a right that we really need to preserve, so it's a political statement as well. If I can't find what I'm looking for in a private sale, then I'll go to the FFL.

My gun can from http://riverviewsales.net/

The gun was new, only took 6 days from time I ordered till it was delivered to local dealer for pickup. I'll bookmark the sites you guys provided above for future reference, thanks.

rromeo...I tried to PM you but not sure if it worked so the site is listed above.

I've purchased one gun online, and one FTF with a fellow Virginian. I really wish VA Guntrader was back up.

Jim

krenn72 wrote: Does anyone else order their toys online? Also, I wasn't charged tax. Is there no tax on firearms?

Very frequently... the local shops don't often stock what I'm interested in, so online is the only reasonable course of action.

I'll ask them for their price and if its within 10% I'll get it from them... but most of the time they are WAY off base.

Just picked one up from an e-dealer for $900, local shop wanted $1350..... Uhhhhh 50% premium, no f-n way.

The 'sale' didn't occur in VA, only the transfer, so the local dealer was not making a sale, therefore they had no tax to collect.

jrswanson1 wrote:I've purchased one gun online, and one FTF with a fellow Virginian. I really wish VA Guntrader was back up.

Jim

It's been back up since the beginning of the month.

I think I have a problem...

at this point I rarely remember where I bought/sold a firearm unless it was recent...just counting them up I often forget one here or there...

I have purchased most of my firearms online through gunbroker or galleryofguns.com. As a consumer, I want to pay the best price possible. Local dealers can charge 100.00 or more for the same firearm! I did purchase a gun from NOVA Armament however. They are a small shop and treat you well. Would never buy from Loudon Guns though for various reasons.

I pretty much only get stuff online. What I want is generally unusual and/or custom, and very often out of production.

gunderwood wrote:I think I have a problem...

at this point I rarely remember where I bought/sold a firearm unless it was recent...just counting them up I often forget one here or there...

Don't worry, it's when you forget ten or twenty that you should perhaps become concerned. And it gets really entertaining when you can't remember whatall's in your stamp collection.

On the other hand, it means Christmas comes many times a year!

I would, but I'm an instant gratification kind of guy. I also prefer to support local businesses, to the greatest extent practical, and if price difference is so great, I'll usually attempt to negotiate with the local seller first. If no luck there, well, it's not for lack of trying. I do this with a lot of things.

Sales tax is something you'd owe regardless of whether or not the seller is able to collect VA sales tax (assuming you're in VA and taking delivery in VA), unless you're able to claim exemption. Whether or not you choose to self assess and pay the tax is completely up to you - I'll leave it at that.

Yep, I'm with this guy. Some same it over a $100s difference or more but you have to factor in shipping and transfer fees.That adds quite to overall cost. I have never seen any screaming deals on Gunbroker but I look mostly at new guns//

It's hard to beat some of the prices on-line. Most of the local gun shops (myself included) can't order in bulk and that's where the discounts are.