And can you have too many guns? Brownells says yes, you can. Well, they can, being a dealer… and they’ve got a clearance running on firearms. (Sorry, overseas readers. Your bad fortune today).
Follow this link to go there: Brownells Firearms Overstock Sale.
All the guns in question are new overstock. The pipeline is jammed with ARs in particular, that were produced in anticipation of an Omigawd-Hillary!-Won run on gun dealers nationwide. That backed-up inventory (and the costs of storage and carrying, especially with manufacturers, jobbers, and dealers who are leveraged and making payments on this inventory) is putting a hell of a downward price pressure on the AR market. For the premium brands, it’s showing up as a sales slowdown or a change from backlog to inventory. For the bargain brands? It’s race to the bottom, pricewise.
What you’ll find are 20 models of overstock firearms, including:
- Quite a few ARs from many vendors’;
- Some under $500, an unheard-of price a couple of years ago;
- One AK;
- Quite a few inexpensive handguns, including S&W (which has a good reputation) and Taurus (which only has a reputation);
- A few expensive handguns, including an H&K VP9, for those who seek a BDSM relationship with their pistol manufacturer.
All at good prices.
It is a very good idea to line up your transfer dealer first. A lot of dealers get very cheesed off when you use them to transfer a gun you bought on a deal like this (or from a cutthroat discounter like Bud’s or KY) and you bought it at a price that they can’t get wholesale. Some dealers don’t mind, and actually pursue transfer business. You want to be doing your transfers with the second guy.
If you’re a dealer, and you’re the first guy, our advice is don’t badmouth Bud’s or KY (or a clearance at Brownells). Just treat the customer right, price transfers reasonably and do ’em quickly enough that you’re not losing on him, and try to take the opportunity to (1) sell accessories, which have a way better margin, and (2) build a relationship with the customer.
Sure, some customers are bottom feeders who will put themselves through anything to save $5 and think customer loyalty is for chumps. But for every one of those, and every one of the guys who wants to spread his business around all the local shops, there’s a whole bunch of people who like to settle in with one gun dealer. In almost every business, your best business is repeat business, and your next best is referral business. That’s 100% certain-sure true for gunshops.
Kevin was a former Special Forces weapons man (MOS 18B, before the 18 series, 11B with Skill Qualification Indicator of S). His focus was on weapons: their history, effects and employment. He started WeaponsMan.com in 2011 and operated it until he passed away in 2017. His work is being preserved here at the request of his family.
25 thoughts on “Can You Help These Guns Find a Forever Home?”
I recently helped a new shooter pick his first AR (and ammo, mags, optics, etc) when Brownell’s was running a sale on Anderson’s basic 16″ flat top. $469 delivered. I went with him to the local FFL to do the paperwork and the guy behind the counter started grumbling about why we didn’t buy anything from him. I pointed to a roughly equivalent DPMS on his rack and asked to take a look at it. $675. I understand the situation they’re in but…not many people can afford to drop an extra $200 in charity to the local gun shop.
The industry is in a perfect position to go back to the kitchen table FFL. No store, no inventory, no overhead. Buy a couple good safes to store stuff from the time it’s received until the time it’s picked up and make a few bucks on the 4473.
BDSM relationship! The cubical neighbors wanted to know what had me chuckling so I sent them Larry Correia’s “you suck and we hate you” link.
DSM
If that “leaked” ATF opinion paper is to be believed the kitchen table and internet only FFL was greatly discussed. What was also interesting was that he also dismissively mentioned the so-called gun show loophole.
Orphans always need a good home.
The VP9 price isn’t that great. $20? Now if it were the “law enforcement” model with night sights and the 3rd magazine at that price, that would be great. Of course, you may have to remove those finger grooves to get a good fit….
Agreed on the price.
Personally, I didn’t find the VP9 finger grooves all that annoying, since they’re a lot more subtle than some others, but that’s just me. Nothing sandpaper/a dremel won’t fix. Also, the grip panels they’ve got on the VP9 make for a really nicely fitting grip.
I recently did a face to face and bought a third generation Glock. I have a second-generation Glock.
What I found out is that I am having a hard time with the finger grooves.
I would guess that Gun Broker is having a large effect as well.
It is a sign of the Apocalypse when an AR-15 costs less than an AK-47
Atlantic Firearms has a Fedarms ( never heard of ’em) AR for $450 and a Yugoslav Npap AK for $600
It is a reversal of the natural order of the universe that an AK is more expensive!
At least AK ammo is still cheaper
Before Christmas, Kittery Trading Post had factory demo DPMS ARs for $469. So generic AR prices are dropping. I am wondering if the high end (Noveske, Daniel, etc.) is seeing a similar drop-off. I am not seeing any price pressure on uncommon retro parts, although the demand for finished retro builds is soft.
The rising prices of AKs were baked in when ATF decided that barrels must be destroyed and were unimportable. Nice windfall for Green Mountain and other domestic barrel makers.
Well, yeah, but then you own an AR assembled by Doesn’t Pass Mil Spec. I’ll pay the extra $150 for a WASR, thank you very much, now that they have straight sights.
You can find a less priced VP9 at other online gun shops than Brownells. I like mine, it’s in my EDC rotation, particularly in Fall/Winter.
If you have any Glock experience, what is your opinion regarding the VP9 as opposed to say a 17 or 19?
Prices are dropping! I think this year will offer some amazing deals in the guns and ammuntion realm. I’m looking forward to it. Very much.
I am very much in favor of trying to settle down and deal with one business, no matter what type of product or service they are selling. I have dealt with businesses that focus on the sale and businesses that focus on the customer. The businesses that focus on the customer generally win my loyalty and repeat business.
When it comes to people of the gun, I try to encourage them to pick a dealer and deal with them. I knew a guy who wasted his business on a larger gun store. This gun store pulls radio ads, billboards, and print ads across multiple states. I warned my friend that he wasn’t going to gain anything with such a large store. He didn’t listen and ended up being quite disappointed.
I have two great gun shops that I prefer to work with. One is only ten minutes away from home and rather small. It’s the kind of place you go to meet the neighbors, get the local scuttlebut and buy guns. The other place has a much larger selection, easily a thousand guns, and a fantastic atmosphere. Their about 40 minutes away, but “almost” on the way home from work. The smaller place is great for trading. The larger place handles transfers briskly. I couldn’t be more pleased with either place.
fwiw, Brownells doesn’t want your business unless you accept their cookies, even to browse their site. Personally I wont shop with folks that do that to me.
Its a great time to be a buyer, that’s for sure.
Cookies are used by most businesses that provide a shopping cart, to preserve the state of the cart.
I could go with the cookies for a final sale but not on just browsing,gotta agree with Winston on this.I understand me computer is being read as I type by fusion centers ect. but not going to make there or any one elses life including marketers life easier in that sense.Running linux and ad blocks and other operations cannot get some websites to work at all for me,tis fine,plenty of good sites(like this)that play well with linux.
Always looking to give a gun a new home.
There was a time when Taurus made some OK/Good guns back in the late 80’s why did they let it drop.
Was there, though?
The gun magazines have been printing articles lavishing fulsome praise upon assorted ghastly Taurus attempts at firearms manufacture since the 70s, and every article starts out “Taurus has kind of a shitty reputation, and they USED to have quality control problems, but they’ve gotten their ducks in a row this time, we really mean it.” The frequency of these articles has risen in direct proportion to the number of full-color ads on glossy paper Taurus buys in each issue. And it’s been bullshit since the Carter Administration, if not longer.
Friends don’t let friends buy firearms made in a country that hasn’t figured out sanitary drinking water yet. A gun store half an hour from me has a pretty nice looking S&W 10-4, an old cop gun, for $349 currently. That’s a far better choice for the homeowner on a budget than anything that ever came out of the Taurus plant.
Car magazines have written the same articles about Jaguar since the XK120. At least Jags are beautiful; Tauri are hit or miss on that score.
My best buds Taurus .44 special revolver is from the early 1990’s and it is a great firearm.
I’d take part but no money available. My typical story when ever there is a sale.
Keep your powder dry and your faith in God.
How do I act if KYgunco actually *IS* my transfer dealer? I had them receive an HK P9s for me a while back. If I ordered from Buds and had it delivered to KYgunco would the space time continum rip from the strain?
” ….for those who seek a BDSM relationship with their pistol manufacturer.” Come on man, thank God I wasn’t taking a sip of adult beverage, or any liquid refreshment, or it would have been spewed on my screen. How frickin’ funny AND a totally appropriate assessment of H&K.
A couple years ago for Valentines day, my wife bought me a VP9 to replace the USP Compact .40 that she swiped for her EDC. Never had problems with either gun. There is a website with plenty of extra mags and recoil springs and other extras for H&K. Both are high quality firearms with excellent accuracy using a variety of ammo. I don’t know why people have issues with H&K products.