OK - so I order a gun from a local dealer about 2 weeks ago. I check with them today and they tell me that they are "still looking for a distributor that has one in stock".

 

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? They gave me a price, took the order, took my money and two weeks later the gun isn't on it's way?

 

Is this standard practice with gun dealers? How can they quote me a price without knowing where they will be buying the firearm from? I've got three purchase permits with expiration dates. I expected to be picking up the firearm after two weeks, not being told that they are still trying to locate one!

 

I wanted to give a local business my money, and I paid a bit more than mail order (yes, counting the FFL transfer fee) to do so. But if I had ordered by mail, I would have had the firearm already and a few bucks more in my pocket.

 

Am I over reacting? Is this how it goes?

 

The last gun I bought was back in the early nineties and I bought one that was in stock. Have times changed or what?

Don't tell me brick armory

Nope.

 

I will refrain from telling who the dealer is because I don't know whether this is standard practice or not. It just doesn't really make sense to me. And who knows, maybe they hang out here and I'll tick them off and be put at the bottom of the pile.

 

The fact that they are still looking for a distributor with one in stock tells me that the price they quoted me was high - which guaranteed them a lot of profit. That's fine, as I agreed to the price and knew it would be more than an intarweb dealer. I guess I'm just upset because if I am paying more, I expect to get the item in a timely manner.

Don't tell me brick armory

 

^^^^ This!!

Lmao wouldn't surprise me

I only had that happen once, i was told a couple days paid in advance and it took 3 months..

That was my 1st and last purchase from that dealer..It was B/A

 

I never had a dealer take that long at most 1 week and was told up front i have ordered guns that were not in ware house stock and knew before hand with a couple month wait with only a small deposit down..

 

guns i have ordered that took long to get.

mossberg ultimag 835 when they 1st came out/ then getting ammo was trouble AL found me 4 boxes of federal steel for it.

thompson scout 50 cal black powder 1st came out.

baby eagle 41 action express decocker brushed chrome, had to wait for chroming.

ruger p85 also waiting for production ended up buying a lamma omni 9mm

the local dealers I work with take my money when they're ready to give me my gun.

No. That is not the standard practice. All the dealers I have dealt with, give you a price and check to see if it's in stock before taking any money. The only place I have heard of that takes your money and then tries to locate one is Brick Armory. One of the many reasons I won't step foot in there. If someone else is doing this as well, you really should post their info here so the rest of us can avoid them.

Agree you should post the info, but I would talk to them before you post who it is just to make sure there was not any misunderstanding on your side or the FFL your dealing with.

To be fair, they didn't make me pay in full - but I do have a substantial deposit. That isn't the point. I assumed that that when they quoted me the price that their distributor had the item in stock and ready to ship. If not, they shouldn't have taken a dime and told me up front that they would have to look before even quoting a price.

 

So it looks like my gut instinct (pretty much common sense) was correct.

what is the gun?

what is the gun?

 

Nothing exotic or hard to find in stock online from any number of dealers.

The bottom line is most dealers have the ability to look at their distributors inventory live. They should not have taken any money from you if a distributor didnt have it in stock.

I placed a order for a gun today the distributor had it in but the dealer didnt want any money from me till it comes in. What if the gun comes in and looks like crap or their is a problem, a dealer should not be charging you money until the item is in their store and ready for you to take.

A good dealer should have good enough working relationship with their distributors that they can place orders on guns without having to take your money.

A smaller dealer that cant do such because of their lack in business size should not take orders without the firearm being in stock. Most dealers that take money up front especially on something that isnt in stock they are doing so because they are "stealing from peter to pay paul" they have cash flow issues and they need your money to pay operating costs. Special orders are a different story a course, but you mentioned thats not the issue here.

Here is one more thing to think about, is this a small FFL, say like one run out of their home?? Also is this your first purchase from them??

Here is one more thing to think about, is this a small FFL, say like one run out of their home?? Also is this your first purchase from them??

 

It is not a small FFL, it is a retail store with highway frontage. It is my first purchase with them, but I don't see how that would make a difference. (should it?)

 

My next purchase will be through a mail order dealer to a FFL. Sure I'll pay the FFL transfer fee, but I won't pay sales tax and I'll get my item a lot faster.

 

Looks like I need to find out how to apply for an extension on a purchase permit...........

Well retail store that might be policy to take a deposit. I can see that especially on a gun that they don't normaly stock.

Hmmm smells like them to me.. My first and last purchase from them went with "oh yea we have that in stock" which apparently means the distributor has it in stock.. After numerous calls and my PP expiring, it finally arrived which was 5 weeks later.

I only pay after all my forms are typed up and I am ready to leave. I have never been asked to pay in advance even before I became a regular addicted customer

What gun is this?

 

Is there a shortage of them? M&P's are tough to find in certain calibers.

 

Is it standard practice to take payment to order item? Yes, especially if you have no working relationship with the vendor. Ie... they pay for it out of pocket, then you don't pick up, they are stuck with an item they may or may not be able to sell.

 

How long should it take? A week or so is typical.

 

PM me the name. Cheyenne or Sportsmen's center? What gun?

I once had a similar experiance like that back in 2009. I went into a store and ordered an H&R Topper as they did not have one in stock, so they would have to get it from a distributor. They wanted a down payment for it (I think 10% but can not remember for sure) but I decided to pay in full as it's a cheep gun and I would not have worry about it later. I was told they would give me a call when it came in. I left under the assumption that thier distributor just had to send one out to them. After a week went by I called them up they just told me it was not in yet. After two weeks I called back and was told that the gun was on back order with all their distributors and it was going to be at least 4-5 months before it came in(this was during the large surge in gun buying after Obama was elected) At the four month mark I called back and was just told no it was not in yet. At the five month mark I went into the store to check and was told it was not in yet, though they did give me the option to cancel my order and get a refund. I decided that I waited this long probably would not be a much longer wait. They assured me they would give me once it got in. I made a fw more occational phone calls with the answer always bing the same that the gun was not in yet (big part of the problem for me was that the people that worked the gun section finnished at 5 so I only was talking to the people from other sections as that worked until store closing. The could not really check on any thing other than see if the gun was in the back). I pretty much got to the point where I'd forgotten I even ordered the shotgun. It was about the 8 month mark that I finaly went back into the store. That time when I went in the sales rep that had originally put in the order was there. He remembered me putting in the order and was shocked that it had not come in yet. He went and checked on the order and it turns out the order apparently was lost as there was no record of it. He called the distributor right there in front of me (Accaurding to him his boss was the only person that was suppose to put in the order with the distributor, but he was not there that day and that I had waited far to long already) they had some in stock, and had it shipped the next day. Got the call two days later it was in, and finally took possession. Never did buy another gun from them, and I learned a few valuable lessons for the future.

I'm 100 % sure it's Ramsey Paramus. I once walked up to the firearms department asked if they didn't have a gun in stock what would the avg turn around be from order to delivery. The salesman told me "it depends where u order from sometimes they can search a computer and tell you where the inventory is".

 

WTF? Wasn't I asking u about your store? What an a** backward way to do business. They don't even try to sell or transfer anything there.

What gun is this?

 

Is there a shortage of them? M&P's are tough to find in certain calibers.

 

Is it standard practice to take payment to order item? Yes, especially if you have no working relationship with the vendor. Ie... they pay for it out of pocket, then you don't pick up, they are stuck with an item they may or may not be able to sell.

 

How long should it take? A week or so is typical.

 

PM me the name. Cheyenne or Sportsmen's center? What gun?

 

PM -sent!

 

I want to make clear that I do not have a problem with the deposit, or even if their policy were 100% down. My gripe is that they did not fully disclose that they had no source for the item at the time they took my money.

 

I think they should have called me up a few days later saying that all their distributors were out of stock and given me the option to get my deposit back and procure the gun elsewhere.

 

I just wanted to see if this was SOP for gun dealers, and clearly it is not. As much as I want to support local business it might be internet and FFL in the future for me.

Why not use the price request feature here and do business with a reputable FFL that will gladly order your pistola for you with an honest timeframe and price? I'm going out on a limb here but 99% of the time the vendors that support this forum will give you a better price and much better service than most retail stores can/will. You can get your deposit back since they havent ordered anything for you yet.

 

Not implying that the store your dealing with is ripping you off or that they are not reputable, unless it was BA of course.. :-)

 

I've only used 3 FFL's from here, however I was treated like a long time friend rather than a customer by each one. Pm me for details if you need.

I don't think the store is trying to rip me off, I just think they could have been more honest about how long it was going to take to procure the item before taking any deposit money. I doubt there would be a problem if I asked for my deposit back and canceled the order.

 

Lesson learned. I will now always ask if their distributor has the item in stock before I put a deposit on an item. When they said two weeks I figured that they may place their orders every Friday and I ordered on a Monday - then give it a few days for shipping. Two weeks and the gun isn't in transit and I didn't get a phone call? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............................

 

I've got three permits to use, so maybe I'll try the "price request" feature here for one of the purchases and see how that goes.

Just wondering why you are avoiding saying what gun you are purchasing, maybe it's me but that just seems odd.

 

Also if we knew what you were getting we might have a better idea if it's a high demand gun or one thats not as easy to get as some others.

I'm purchasing a Ruger SR9, nothing special. The "Nazi NJ compliant" 10 rd. version is in stock in any number of places.

 

I was hesitant to mention it because, like I said, I didn't want to take the chance that someone from the store frequents the forum and will figure out who I am and put me on their chit list. I guess I don't really care as much about that anymore because even when not on the chit list I am getting chitty service.

Maybe if thy see their name they will act faster so it looks like they are a better company

Looks like I need to find out how to apply for an extension on a purchase permit...........

 

Ewing is pretty good, permit wise. Not sure if they want the permits to extend a couple days in advance, or after the fact. Call them, or possibly vjf915 or AndyB will know (both Ewing residents).

just post all the info; no need to hide it!

My guess it's Sportsman's Center since he ordered something else from there, probably at same time:

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/31632-suggestions-for-an-inexpensive-scope-for-a-marlin-60/