Enthusiast
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Posts posted by Enthusiast
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Kelly removed his glasses between stations because one eye is covered and thus would affect his normal vision. I think it cost him some time.
Exactly. It probably isn't very easy to run up a rugged hill with out any depth perception. Since episode one I felt like those taped up glasses were going to be a problem. Bummer. He's a tough competitor.
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Assuming the person can take a joke, I like to quote the Whole 9 Yards with a straight face. "It's not important how many people I've killed. What's important is how I get along with the people who are still alive." Granted, it's been known to go over poorly on occasion.
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Just finished the episode. It seems to me, that if Bill detested Kelly that much, he should have laid out a "Him or Me" challenge in front of the team and settled it in the elimination round. His "cleverly" concealed selection of Kelly just seems to show that he was afraid to face the kid head to head.
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I'm with G-man on that. My wife got me a Neti Pot a few years ago (she heard about it on Oprah), so of course it sat on a shelf for a while. Flushing out the sinus cavity really helps with the allergies and the ears too. The beauty is it just takes a cup of tap water and a bit of salt, so it's dirt cheap. Try it. You'll like it.
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Toyota joke
in Humor
But if you shift to neutral or turn off the car, how sympathetic are you going to be to a jury?
On the upside, I figure I've got a built in excuse the next time I get pulled over in my corolla...
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My question is who will be playing the role of CMV in the made for TV adaption of the story?
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Keep it. No matter how good the search engine, none come up with the "whatchama-doohickey" I'm looking for. I learn gooder from pictures.
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The guy who's got a storefront (and perhaps employees) is always going to have a higher overhead than the guy who's working out of his house....
Even two guys with stores could have vastly different costs of doing business (i.e. what it costs to keep the doors open, the lights on, etc.) -- and a lot of those costs are fixed from month to month....
15 years ago there were two camera stores in my area that either carried or could get (on a day's or so notice) pro gear. Store one was older by about ten years, located in an expensive suburban, "Main Street" neighborhood of retail shops, charged list price for everything or pretty close to it. Store two was located in a small strip mall, charged dealer cost + some percentage between 3-100, depending on what the item was. Store one was way more expensive, and didn't deliver any better service; as a matter of fact when it came to serving professionals with information, store 1 was seriously inferior....
Yet Store 1 managed to stay in business for a very long time, longer than I would have expected -- even after all the pros in the area shifted to doing business with Store 2....
Clearly both store owners knew what they needed to charge to keep their doors open.....
I guess my point is this: It's not always about greed, sometimes it's just about what it costs to do business and return a profit to the owner. I got to know both owners, and I'd argue based on what I saw that they had pretty similar lifestyles/income brackets, derived from very different ways of doing business.....
I hear what you're saying, but I still have to disagree. Professionally, I manage businesses and set pricing for what we sell, although admittedly not retail. These shops have every right to price the service as they see fit, and like others have said, we have the right to shop around. However, "Cost of doing business" is a phrase I hear thrown around all the time as if it is a blanket cost that each transaction must carry. The marginal effort and cost to provide a given service is the same to all vendors for that specific transaction. The fixed costs that they carry that are higher than their competitors must justify themselves on a stand alone basis or be changed. To your example, Shop 1 had a high traffic location that undoubtedly cost him more to rent. I'm sure the benefit to him was the increased foot traffic, especially of wannabe photo buffs who wouldn't know enough to complain, ensuring him at least enough cash flow to stay afloat.
Back to the original topic, I think that pricing FFL Tx's high is short-sighted because not factoring in the lost sales of all the add-ons and follow up business from those who shop around. I would wager that most of the shmoe's off the street are not going to be asking for a transfer, but will shop from what's on hand or ask the dealer to order it. If a customer is having an FFL tx done, they've probably already done the homework.
Regardless, I've got a couple leads on some local places that should do it on the cheap, so I'm significantly happier about the whole situation than when I'd posted originally. Now, I just have to find a gun I want at a price I can afford (including the transfer cost of course).
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Doh! My excuse is that I always buy from them in person, so I didn't notice. Sorry about that.
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Steve, the point is moot
How can you be sure? It could have been completely silent!
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I use these guys and it looks like they're in stock.
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OK, not sure why anyone would charge that much unless they aren't thinking. We charge $30 friend or foe, stranger or relative, and we are glad to do them. When I was the sales manager at a high-end retail gun store, we charged $25, and were happy to do them. In todays environment I would rather do the transfer on a Glock or M&P than sell it, because the profit is the same as the transfer with no investment. Further, if you have the transferee in your store, and you sell ammo, holsters, accessories, and he just got a new gun, that is an opportunity. It also involves a good deal of goodwill and that never hurt anyone either. SO, if the dealer won't do it for $25-$35, then find one who will.
Huge +1
Some small business aren't always good at the business part. Gun stores can be extra weird in that regard.
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I don't know you exact location, but I went to Gun Broker and used their FFL locator service to find transfer shops near Elgin. Seemed like plenty of options ($20).
ETA: http://www.gunbroker.com/FFL/SearchForFFL.aspx?st=Zip%20Code&sv=60031
Thanks. Some good options there. I made the mistake of only looking at Gun Stores. Lesson learned.
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It makes sense that they have to cover their fixed costs and what not, and I can't blame them for trying to make margin on something they sell themselves. I guess it just doesn't seem right to profiteer on something that they choose not to stock when I bring them a free, no trouble sale.
Assuming that they're capable of really thinking things through, you can't fault the guy who tells a customer it'll be $ XX.00 per transfer --- he should know his cost of doing business. That said, if a customer's not willing or able to pay $ XX.00, there's nothing preventing the customer from looking for another FFL. That's how our economy works, right?
Nik, I agree with you that his pricing is his perogative and my willingness to pay is mine. I guess my purpose for starting the thread was directed at trying to understand whether there were other reasons for rising prices other than margin padding. My sense from the posts above is not.
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I feel your pain. I now keep a grip-strength/stress ball in the car so that my time stuck in traffic isn't a complete waste...just nearly so.
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Ok. Note to self: Don't move to California. Thanks for the heads up for those who didn't know!
It makes sense that they have to cover their fixed costs and what not, and I can't blame them for trying to make margin on something they sell themselves. I guess it just doesn't seem right to profiteer on something that they choose not to stock when I bring them a free, no trouble sale.
I guess I better keep on looking or start driving to Elgin!
Thanks for the input all.
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The nearest gun shop to me charges $85. I found a guy in Elgin who does them for $20.
It's a bit of a drive to make twice (thanks to Illinois waiting period), but it may be worth your time to not have to fork over so much money for a transfer.
Well, it is a hike from me (up near Gurnee), but it might be worth it on principle. Thanks for the tip.
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It is not so much the cost incurred as it is that they lost their profit on a sale of one of their guns. They figure if you want to shop on line and find the lowest price, they will make it up in the FFL transfer. The local shop here charges $60 a pop also.
I can understand that logic as well to a degree. I'd be happy to buy locally, but they don't stock anything I want. I did notice that one place has one charge for a transfer on a new gun and a lower fee for a used gun, which makes better sense I suppose.
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The FFL's that I use charge $25.00.
Yeah, that's what I was expecting...and why I was surprised.
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So, over the last few weeks, I've been kicking around the idea of getting a new gun to support the habit. Since I know I'm going to want some custom work on it and I can't find anybody in the area that stocks competition gear, I started calling around to figure out how much a FFL Transfer would cost me. To my chagrin, I'm being quoted costs of $60 or more (which is about 10% of an M&P Pro or a stock CZ SP-01). At first I was peeved, but that faded to confusion. There has to be a reason for this.
So, to all the dealers here or anybody that knows, what is causing this fee to be so high? What costs are incurred to provide the service? It seems like the fee is to just receive the package because there's a separate one for the background check. Is there a ton of paperwork that goes with it? I'm not trying to rant and don't want this to turn into such. I'd just really just like to understand. Thanks.
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That's awesome. My wife's never been much of a shooter (even that is an overstatement). So, I'll never forget sitting in the hospital with her holding our newborn son, she says "I need to learn to shoot. I need to know how to protect him." Done and Done! (I knew she'd come around eventually.)
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For me, I'll keep plugging along with the short term ones. Everytime I make a big investment in a sport, fate intervenes. (I have some lovely once used golf clubs that are just a tad older than my son.)
For what it's worth, it is really a question of how long you intend to compete. If you have the money today, but are getting 2% on it in the bank, it will take about 12.25 years to get the same annual cost of a 5yr (just under 12 for the 3yr rate). This assumes of course that prices don't go up.
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1983 blue Renault Alliance (via AMC)
She was my first, so I still loved her, but Man did she have issues! Mind you, I got her in 1995, so she had 85k and 12 years on her. Stick shift (good), no radio, no right side mirror, no 5th gear (max speed 45mph), no reverse gear (get to school early so you can get a "pull-through" spot", a grey front bumper, and the fabric on the roof sagged onto your head. Good times....good times...
On the upside, every car that I've had since has seemed like a real dream!
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While I'll admit that my Beretta was a direct result of my fascination with Die Hard, I always wanted a Barrett 82A1 after seeing Robocop. Goodbye ED-209!
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It seems like alot of the airsofts come with the rail. Has anybody had issues with that in their holsters (for dry fire practice)? Specifically, I'm thinking of the bladetech.
Free mag promo
in Springfield (XD)
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I don't suppose you could return the gun and buy it again? Probably wishful thinking, I know.