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Which is Better? Online Vs. Local Gun Stores

GrabAGun is an online gun shop and a local gun store.

There is a lot of debate as to which is the best place to purchase a firearm. Should you go to one of the many online gun shops or one of your local gun stores?  This seems to be a fairly polarizing argument that should be examined further. Since we started both as a local gun store and are now primarily an online gun shop, we thought we would take a look at this argument.

I think the optimal place to purchase a firearm is not as cut and dry as most people think and everyone should be asking themselves several questions before moving forward with their next purchase.

What To Consider When Buying a Gun

1) Have you ever seen or held this firearm prior to making this purchase? It is a good idea to have seen or shot a firearm prior to buying. This will save you a lot of headache and disappointment from buying guns that you don’t really like. Your best bet for a good deal is to browse the local gun stores and gun shows to try and put your hands on the gun before making a purchase. Then compare the prices online to make sure you are getting a good enough deal.

2) Have you looked at all the costs associated with purchasing the firearm? Whether you are looking local or at online gun shops you need to make sure you take into account sales tax, credit card fees, FFL transfer fees and shipping costs. Many online gun shops have great prices but then have hidden credit card fees. Similarly your local gun store will quote you cash prices that do not take into account sales tax. It’s always good to make sure you see every fee up front before making your decision.

3) How quickly do you want this firearm? In a lot of cases you would think your local gun store is the obvious place to go for this. But if you consider that many online gun shops have a much more comprehensive selection of firearms you might be much better off buying online. You should also look at the shipping times for each of the online gun shops to make sure you have an exact understanding of how long it will take to receive your firearm. Make sure you have them quote your shipping times up front!

Shopping at GrabAGun

Purchasing firearms from GrabAGun is an easy and fun experience. If you take your time and ask plenty of questions up front you should have a much more enjoyable experience. Have a question? Make sure you reach out to our knowledgeable customer service team to ensure you get what you need. Shop all handguns or rifles in various brands such as Ruger, Winchester, Remington, or Glock at GrabAGun today!


Comments
  1. Joshua | July 15, 2012 3:09 pm

    Most of the time, the local stores are pricing themselves out of the market. I look online at prices and compare locally. I take into account FFL transfer fees plus shipping costs. If my out the door price at the local shop can’t at least be the same, then I will buy online. 9 times out of 10, the local shop wants MSRP on the firearm. Don’t even get me started on the local shops “used” gun prices.

  2. Steve | July 15, 2012 3:45 pm

    It is rare that my LGS cannot beat any advertised online gun shop price and he has always treated me fairly including trades. I like to touch and feel my purchase as part of the decision process and I will not use my LGS as a showroom for an online dealer. The big advantage to online gun shops is that my LGS isn’t big enough to carry everything and sometimes can be found online. I do pay extra for sales tax but that isn’t the LGS fault.


    Read 1 Answer
    1. Wafaa | November 4, 2012 3:22 am

      Canadian criminologist Gary Mauser in 2003. Over the past deadce, the rate of violent crime in Canada has increased while in the United States the violent crime rate has plummeted. (Gary A. Mauser, The Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, Public Policy Sources (The Fraser Institute, November 2003), no. 71:4).On top of this, the term assault weapon is the biggest crock ever. How do you define an assault weapon? Fully automatic? You can’t have one to begin with unless you have a Class III license and pay a federal tax on it, and it’s one of the hardest licenses to get. Magazine capacity? Pistol grip? There is no all-encompassing definition of an assault weapon. All it is is a derogatory way of labeling a firearm. Hell, under the original Brady Bill, Ruger 10/22s with more than 10 round magazines were considered assault weapons. This makes me go, huh? Aside from the fact that less than 1% of these murders were done by these supposed types of weapons, it shows sheer ignorance on yours and others parts on the evidence. And trust me, the chicken at the grocery store taste much better than the dove you are hunting! If you knew anything about firearms or hunting in the first place, perhaps you would realize you hunting dove with a regular old shotgun with a magazine choke, limiting you to 3 rounds of birdshot. HURRRRR DURRRR, some assault weapon huh?Any form of gun control is bad, because all your doing is limiting a lawful citizen’s right to defend himself from government oppression, as well as criminal activity.

  3. Kenneth Knox | July 15, 2012 6:05 pm

    I rather buy online for the best prices, but still enjoy going to some local stores to browse.


    Read 1 Answer
    1. Alejandra | October 23, 2012 12:26 pm

      I’ve been predicting for a long time that when the next gun ban comes, it will be on splmie POSSESSION of the banned guns, mags, and ammo no grandfathering, and thus no selling of stockpiled banned items.Those who hoarded for investment purposes will be SOL just that much more stuff to turn in.The next ban will have no sunset, no grandfathering, no loopholes. The Libs learned that lesson from the eventual failure of the 1994 Clinton/Reno ban, and this time they are coming for real political power. Guns and gun owners stand in their way.For those who think they won’t go door-to-door to enforce confiscation, you are correct they will not have to. But you won’t be able to shoot your guns, or take them anywhere, or show them to anyone, or let anyone know you have them, and your neighbors will be encouraged to inform on you, for rewards or special privileges. That is how Socialism works.Obama keeps implementing the outrageously Socialist things that he campaigned on, one after the other, yet when he does, people still act surprised. Obama’s response has consistently been I campaigned on these things, and I won, and now I am doing them. Deal with it. Gun control has always been on that list, and it will come up sooner rather than later. So don’t act surprised when it does!Elections have consequences, and the Socialists are in near-absolute power now. They have all three branches of the federal government, and 90% of the news media, under their control.I don’t think that many of todays Americans quite understand what that means to a nation yet, to have Socialists in near-absolute control of the central government .The individual rights of being an American Citizen are being slowly done away with. Thomas Jefferson would roll over in his grave if he knew how bad the rights and freedoms he and the rest of the Founders placed into the Constitution have been eroded.

  4. Marty Lomasney | July 16, 2012 3:13 pm

    Don’t forget that online purchases will include shipping and a disposition cost at the receiving end. It is rumoured that some states are going to explore sales tax for internet orders as well. Local dealers are the background of the shooting sports. Their taxes support your kids schools, local projects, and maybe even your job if you are a civil servant. Support them!!!!!!!!!!!!


    Read All 2 Answers
    1. Edward | July 17, 2012 12:35 pm

      Buying online you have to pay a small shipping fee, I mean GrabAGun only charges $5.99, and yes you have to pay a transfer fee, where I am it usually ranges from $15-$25 depending on who does the transfer. Where as at local shop, from what I have seen they are charge MSRP on guns, which is a few hundred dollars more.

      I pay my taxes and I support my local gun shop by having them do the transfer for me, I don’t feel like I must spend an extra $100 or $200 or however much to get the exact same item.


      1. Silviu | October 23, 2012 11:08 am

        This is with out a doubt the best way to store a shotgun loeadd for personal defense as is suggested by Eric. I truly think the magazine coil spring will likely last a mans lifetime even in this loeadd condition. Just a simple matter to check it every year or so to be positive it will feed correctly. I have slightly stretched the coil spring on a Winchester model 12 20 ga. that was made about 1950 and it has never failed me yet but it is not kept loeadd today. Be sure to measure it before you stretch it and only lengthen it an inch & a half if appears weak. I use another method on a 12 ga. Win model 1200 that I keep behind my bedroom door in a loeadd position. There are no children in my house & the only teen that does visit is gun savvy & schooled on firearm safety. Since this pump action shotgun is occasionally used in the field or at a clay shoot it is legally plugged for a capacity of three rounds only. Therefore not wanting to put a dummy shell in the chamber I just fully load all three shells in it making sure the safety is on and I push the slide release and pull the slide back until I can see half the shell exposed then I sit it behind the door. If I or my wife were in need to use it quickly simply push the slide closed & push the safety off & fire. Just remember not to rack it before firing or you will only have two rounds in it & it could be you were counting on three rounds. I have used this method several years now & feel it will provide me protection if it is ever called on. I also have a fully loeadd .40 Glock with a laser holstered between the mattress’sunder the valance. My wife has a loeadd air weight S&W .38 spl. in the drawer in her nightstand. This is our safe room you might say since the gun vault is on the other end of the house. In this rural area there are no specific laws on loeadd guns but it is common sense that guns are to be rendered childproof where children are present. Just remember to be aware of the condition and the location of every gun that may be used in an emergency & please use all caution so that you and only qualified family members can get access to any gun loeadd or not. It’s our parental obligation to teach safety & firearm proficiency. A family that hunts shoots & collects guns together and excercises proper safety will be a close happy family with responsible members through adulthood & the rest of their life. I see it every day. JD

    2. Hans | November 4, 2012 3:19 am

      How in the hell is instituting this going to cause crime to go down? It hasn’t done it in Britain, it hasn’t done it in Australia, and it’s not going to do it here. Japan has a low crime rate, but then again, it has hlocsritaily been an unarmed society down to the regular citizenry (and to pretty much everyone after the Meiji Restoration; no swords or anything).Do you honestly think that instituting a weapons ban on drug runners is going to cause them to give up weapons and smuggle them across the border? It’s not, because obviously, they were never following the rules to begin with. If you want to stop the spread of these weapons across the border, then get hard with the Mexican government. Don’t make new laws restricting honorable citizens right to have weapons.In regards to gun crime in America, where is the majority of it taking place, and by who? You can call me a racist if you want, but it’s in urban centers and it’s being done by minorities. If I remember correctly, the last AWB didn’t do a damn thing to reduce crime in urban communities. All you’re doing is disarming a populace that is supposedly the centerpiece of a democracy. Poverty is the main reason for urban crime, and until social programs (THAT WORK) are introduced, it’s not going to decrease.Our founding fathers realized the tyranny of centralized power, and the reason we have the Second Amendment is a right to the defense from it. It’s not about hunting, it’s not about sport shooting, it’s about the mainline defense against excessive governmental control of the people. The quotation absolute power corrupts absolutely has never been adequate for a decision to do such a thing.I could go on and on about the stupidity of this, but I’d end up giving Hanks enough of my curse words to edit. God this pisses me off.

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