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Bridgeview Sport Sales closes


Capt_Destro

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Well that didn't last long unfortunately.. It's all about the location..

 

I can't believe they moved from Dupage County to Cook County of all places. Honestly staff was friendly and they actually allowed you to use 00 Buck on their range.

 

But it seems like the combination of Crook County taxes, and dealer regulation made it too costly. They used to be Wholesale Guns but moved out to Bridgeview for some odd reason.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Outdoor---Sporting-Goods-Company/Bridgeview-Sport-Sales-994319027389217/

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They moved very close to Midwest I think that had something to do with that. When they were in will county I bought an APX, Diamondback DB9FS with 3 extra new mags, Armscor 38 special and a 12 gauge pump with some other stuff for 1380 with tax. Don't be fooled by what some reviews are out about there about the Diamondback. I put 500 rounds though that and had 2 stove pipes but I used Winchester white box with brand new right out of the package mags.post-3009-0-80341600-1576307597_thumb.jpg
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  • 4 weeks later...
I have to say, gun shops & ranges will not succeed anywhere if nobody buys guns from them. Only 1 person mentioned and bought guns. As a dealer and speaking to other dealers, this is becoming a real issue. I can see if the price is ridiculously high, nothing to talk about, but not buying from a local dealer because he's $8 higher than an online firearms dealer is the reason why many gun shops are closing down.
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I have to say, gun shops & ranges will not succeed anywhere if nobody buys guns from them. Only 1 person mentioned and bought guns. As a dealer and speaking to other dealers, this is becoming a real issue. I can see if the price is ridiculously high, nothing to talk about, but not buying from a local dealer because he's $8 higher than an online firearms dealer is the reason why many gun shops are closing down.

I wish local dealers were only 8 dollars higher, its usually over 100 dollars even after a transfer fee. Sometimes a shop just needs to change their business model, I know a few that stopped doing their own retail sales and now just do transfers and custom work. It reduces overhead and allow them to compete with the big box retailers, who still require a local FFL to transfer through

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I have been turned down for being $4.11 higher on a firearm that Cheaper Than Dirt refused to ship because she has a Chicago address. I am an authorized Palmetto State Armory dealer and my last 2 customers wanted to order directly from PSA even though I matched the price, Cook County taxes included, and offered a cash discount that put me below PSA's price. They eventually ordered through my business because they wanted the PSA product.

Now tell me, do many of you even give your FFL transfer Agent an opportunity to be $8 cheaper or do you order it and call him/her after you ordered it. I only get the opportunity to fight for that business 20%-30% of the time because the buyer already ordered.

I fight for all the business I can get directly if given the opportunity. I don't sell (I try not too but dealers were giving away firearms on Black Friday) any firearms that are higher than $15 than what you can get it for online. Even then, buyers will tell you, "I don't count the transfer fee." Can you "still" match and that's with me eating up the cost of the $25 County Tax.

My viewpoint is think about it.

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It’s not Illinois who is putting the gun stores out of business

It’s the customers

Just as retail is shrinking monthly due to those who shop online

Brick and mortar stores are disappearing each and every year

 

Gone will be the day of walking into a gun store and browsing different makes and models hands on

And once they are gone, the home FFL’s will be left to pick the bones of internet sales

 

Like buying a pair of pants and shirt offline

If it doesn’t fit or you don’t like, it’s into the garages sale

 

Like those guns sold as new here at a loss on a regular basis

You won’t pay up front, but you will pay on the back end.....lol

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Before buying online I look local, if it's a matter of 50.00 or less, then I buy else I order online. After shipping and transfer fees I am not saving a much to make a difference or deal with the hassle of ordering online.

You are the exception to the rule. Most people prefer to buy online and not be "forced" to come into the shop. As a home based FFL I carry; common magazines, self-defense ammo, handgun cases, soft long gun cases, holsters every now & then, handgun safes, and Pearce grip extensions. I don't get no sales with online purchasers. Not enough time to Google, didn't check Amazon, not interested, etc. I'll see some of my customers later or as repeat transferees and they bought exactly what I had in-stock and many paid more. Or, that's when they buy from me, 4 months later. Believe me, I'll put my in-stock prices against anyone's. I don't claim to be the cheapest but I do claim to be extremely competitive with "most" of the products I sell.

I am actually surprised at how many people will order a firearm online and have never walked into a gun shop. That's what its come down to.

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Before buying online I look local, if it's a matter of 50.00 or less, then I buy else I order online. After shipping and transfer fees I am not saving a much to make a difference or deal with the hassle of ordering online.

This is generally my approach as well. More than happy to give LGS (of which there are fewer these days...and Im not talking the Cabelas) my business if its close in price, but when they ask MSRP or higher and wont discount then I have to consider other options. I understand they have property to maintain, staff to pay, etc and I would like them to be around.
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Before buying online I look local, if it's a matter of 50.00 or less, then I buy else I order online. After shipping and transfer fees I am not saving a much to make a difference or deal with the hassle of ordering online.

This is generally my approach as well. More than happy to give LGS (of which there are fewer these days...and Im not talking the Cabelas) my business if its close in price, but when they ask MSRP or higher and wont discount then I have to consider other options.

Guys like you deserve much credit.

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Most of the guns in my collection are from LGS's. Only bought one from a Big Box retailer and probably never will again as they are way too overpriced. I will go to Shoot Point Blank, Range @ 355 to look at and fondle new guns and look at the used ones for a deal but will order from the LGS every chance I can.

Much appreciate it. I worked at Shoot Point Blank in Hodgkins before I got my own FFL.

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As far as I can tell, being able to compete on price is a matter of how much volume the LGS can move. I have three LGS near me, two of which are very new, nice properties with ranges. However, none of them can come anywhere close to the deals elsewhere. We're talking at least 10-15% higher than online for the average gun. I do support all of them with ammo and odds and ends and even the occasional overpriced firearm. But they all tell me the same story - they can't match the online price because they don't do enough volume with the distributors to get the guns that cheap in the first place. So it's a catch-22.

 

Recently I did find a LGS about an hour away that is usually within 2% or so of the best online price. They move a lot of volume - they've usually got 2 or 3 continuous lines of people filling out 4473s when I'm there. Due to the good pricing I buy a lot of guns from them.

 

So if I was going to try to start my own LGS, my business model would be to borrow a huge amount of money to ramp up volume quickly while I sold most of it at a loss and then transition to profitability once I've established a reputation and customer base as well as high volume accounts with the distributors.

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It's hard to compete on higher priced items because taxes heavily out weigh the transfer fee. On an $800 firearm w/a 9.75% sales tax, it comes out to $78 vs a $25-$50 transfer fee, plus my $25 Cook County Tax. I have to stay around $400 or less or the taxes will make me uncompetitive. It's disappointing because I like Glocks and Sig hammer fired guns.

I have to be suspect on some of these LGS who say they can't compete on many common firearms. I'm sure they can all afford many of the Stocking Dealer Firearms and can price their firearms accordingly. There are also buying clubs that deal with the mfgs directly. I have to wonder what they realistically want their margins to be in today's age of online sales. But if many of the commenters and other 2A buyers do have that $50 or less threshold, they shouldn't have any problem whatsoever. My threshold is $10-$25 and I will tell the customer that in advance many times. Many in the Greater Chicago Area Market will call me a thief at $25 above Bud's on a $500+ firearm.

I hope there are more guys like the above commenters in the 2A community. I will be completely honest, many of 2days gun buyers are not 2A supporters. They just want to buy a gun, that's it.

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