I live where I can go to a Gander Mountain (Wichita) 2 Cabelas (Wichita and Kansas City) and 3 Bas Pro Shops (Indepndence, Mo, Olathe Kansas and Springfield). One comment made was that Gander's prices were $20 to $30 higher than one could be ordered from a local dealer - if your dealer had it on his shelf and had his hard earned dollars sitting there in the form of inventory, I bet he would want a few more bucks for his too. Not defending these three big stores - usually they are all a little higher than a small shop, but then I would expect to be able to order a gun for less than I would pay for one sitting on their shelf. They do invest huge sums of money in inventory that may sit on their shelves for months or even years - one salesman at the Gander in Wichita said he has hundreds of people who come in look at the Sigs' Springfields, etc. and then walk out with nothing or a Glock. But they all want to see the higher priced guns before they plunk down their money. Most just look. The one small dealer in my are that does stock any guns to speak of, rather than order everything, is a few dollars higher as well. Paying an extra 10% for the priveledge of handling the gun, then taking it home with you right then is worth it sometimes. A person has to remember that the Bass Pro, and Cabelas, and to some degree, Gander are all trying to be Destination stores for tourists, so they invest a lot more in the store itself, as well, which raises overhead and the cost of their goods. I either have purchased or know someone who has purchased guns at all three of these stores - in most cases because they had what I wanted sitting on the shelf. If you want cheap, go to WalMart - If you want to see a lot of different guns, go to one of the Outdoor giants. Oh - I suspect we can expect all guns to go up again, thanks to all the panic buying.
