This store has a pretty face, but is pretty dirty underneath. While their customer service is good, they are misleading. They tried to sell me a gun for $50 OVER MSRP.And, when I had a gun shipped here, they promised same day turnaround. Today they told me it might be a week. Good thing I paid extra for overnight shipping I guess. Anyway - a full review of the centennial gun store from somebody that has actually been there:
http://centennial-gun-store.com
Jeremy, businesses are in it to make money. As someone who is a businessman himself, who is facing closing his own shop (which isn't gun related), I think you're in need of a reality check. Unless you've run a business, you quite frankly have no idea how much of a burden the overhead of running a business is, especially in the economy we're in. It's killer. It's enough to keep you up at night, it's enough to make you go prematurely bald, to scare your wife into the arms of another man, and to give your dog chronic asthma. If I could write songs, I'd have a doosie of a blues song, and so would most other would-be entrepreneurs.
Let me clue you in:
1) Uncle Sam is gets his cut before anyone else gets paid. City / County / State tax. Right off the top, and if it's like my county, as an owner of commercial real estate, you get taxed at a higher rate than a homeowner of similar square footage. Democracy has determined that I should pay more tax on my building than you do your house. Makes me think about that maxim about two wolves and a lamb.
2) Relatively fixed costs such as phone and internet lines, heating, water, sewer. Businesses are nickel and dimed for this necessary stuff, again, they probably pay more for the privilege than you do for equivalent services rendered. That beautiful new store they have? Maybe they're paying off a huge loan for the remodel.
3) Insurance. Frankly, I have no idea how expensive gun shop insurance is, but anything gun related is
expensive. They have a shooting range, yes? That's a huge freaking liability. Their stock is also a huge freaking liability, people will run a truck through the side of a gun store to get to the goods. If it's icy out and a customer falls over and breaks a hip, the store might be liable, and they might get sued. Insurance has to cover this kind of stuff.
4) All of those nice and helpful employees need to be paid, hopefully at a living wage. Employees are the biggest single expense a business can deal with. Businesses have to pay taxes and fees related to employing people, social security taxes, medicare, state taxes, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, maybe the business also gives some insurance benefits to their employees. If you go in and employee spends all sorts of time helping you out as a completely uneducated newbie to the world of firearms, and that person doesn't make the sale, you've cost that store money because that salesperson was busy helping you out, almost certianly to the exclusion of other customers. In addition, a customer who then turns around and use this education to buy from someone else in another state who may have the advantage of not having to maintain a pretty storefront or helpful employees is about the worst kind of customer.
5) Most anything firearm related is notoriously low profit. Some manufacturers have a minimum advertised price (MAP) policy to protect their stocking dealers from dealers who don't have the overhead of running a big retail shop. Many big retail chains won't touch a product unless it will net them 30-100% of their investment in return. I've seen the dealer prices for many guns, and as a dealer if you price at MAP, you're making at best 15-20% in most cases, at worst, less than 10%. Ammo, likewise. Due to Walmart's low low prices and competitive advantage, they may not even be making significant money on ammo.
6) They try to make up for all of the above by trying to sell you on things like holsters, slings, cases, cleaning supplies, whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if a soft-sided rifle case made a store more money than the rifle it houses. Nor would I be surprised if I learned the entire store grossed 1-3% on their huge investment.
I don't know what the deal is with their arrangement on FFL transfer, and I wholeheartedly agree the wait does sound unreasonable. As far as the prices, they're not holding you hostage over them, they're certianly aren't raping you. So you don't like it, vote with your dollars. Personally, I like to support helpful gun stores, even if the prices are higher. It's worth it to keep them around and happy. I've been to too many who are jerks from the moment I walk in the door.
