One Good Merchant Story
Question:
April 15, 1999 Wal-Mart’s Gun Sales Are a Boon To Industry; ‘Creating Opportunity’ By EMILY NELSON and ROBERT TOMSHO Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MISSOULA, Mont. — Some jittery retailers look at guns and see only trouble, but the management of the Wal-Mart store here doesn’t think its sports department would be complete without a tidy glass case full of rifles and shotguns. "A lot of our direct competitors don’t carry guns," says store manager Kelly Barada, 35 years old, whose gun counter is festooned with photos of game shot by his best customers. "But it’s a decision that we made, and I’m glad." Such enthusiasm is rare among mass merchants. With firearms litigation spreading and fear of crime spurring sales restrictions, many have fled the firearms business altogether. But Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose rural and small-town customers are the bedrock of its empire, is one of the few chains bucking the trend. Although Wal-Mart decided in 1993 to stop stocking handguns, customers can still order them from in-store catalogs. And Wal-Mart says it never considered halting the sale of shotguns and rifles. ‘Creating Opportunities’ It’s an unusual competitive arena for the nation’s biggest retailer. While it is feared by mom-and-pop stores in other specialties for its discount prices, Wal-Mart is viewed as something of a savior by many smaller gun sellers because it introduces people to their product. "They are actually creating opportunity for us," says Bill Carter, owner of Carter Country, a Houston gun retailer. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
Why do they treat you like a criminal and take an hour to fill out 20 minutes worth of paper work? I have had different levels of treatment at Wal-Marts. Sometimes they escort you to the door of the store and one time the manager escorted me to my car and watched me lock the rifle I just bought in the trunk. That same trip I tried to purchase ammo of the same calibre so I wouldn’t have to write two checks and they said they wouldn’t sell it to me. Kinda funny since the rifle had no sights on it and was packed in a box anyway. After locking the rifle in the trunk I came back in and bought the ammo from a different clerk. Idiots! The last purchase I made from Wal-Mart was even more hilarious. I plopped down my CHL and they didn’t know what to do with it. The manager insisted that I had to have a NICS check and I told him no way Jose! After three managers and a little help from the cash register repairman, we finally filled out the form 4473. We got to redo some of it since the carbons were not inserted properly. This is still better than my last Wal-Mart ordeal where I filled out the 4473 form 3 times. I was also asked if my permit was a Federal permit, and if I was a police officer. I responded that it should be a Federal permit since I can drive in any state with total reciprocity so why can’t I carry in any state in the U.S. The cash register repair guy thought he really had me and responded, "State laws are all different, You can’t do that!" I responded, "My point exactly! Each state has a hodge-podge of laws and the Constitution already gives me the right." Anyway, after an hour of B.S, I had my high-capacity, super-whamodyne, choice of terrorists worldwide Remington 870. I could now assault that elusive gobbler somewhere in the forest. Now they had to make the announcment to the whole store; "New criminal with a gun needs to be escorted to the front door!. Anybody that wants to come whack him on the head and take his new toy, please follow him to the parking lot." Sorry for the rant. I will not buy from Wal-Mart again and I hope their politically correct stance puts them out of the gun business. I will support my local gun shop where I am treated like a valued customer.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> April 15, 1999 > Wal-Mart’s Gun Sales Are a Boon > To Industry; ‘Creating Opportunity’ > By EMILY NELSON and ROBERT TOMSHO > Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL > MISSOULA, Mont. — Some jittery retailers look at guns and see only trouble, > but the management of the Wal-Mart store here doesn’t think its sports > department would be complete without a tidy glass case full of rifles and > shotguns. > "A lot of our direct competitors don’t carry guns," says store manager Kelly > Barada, 35 years old, whose gun counter is festooned with photos of game > shot by his best customers. "But it’s a decision that we made, and I’m > glad." > Such enthusiasm is rare among mass merchants. With firearms litigation > spreading and fear of crime spurring sales restrictions, many have fled the > firearms business altogether. But Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose rural and > small-town customers are the bedrock of its empire, is one of the few chains > bucking the trend. Although Wal-Mart decided in 1993 to stop stocking > handguns, customers can still order them from in-store catalogs. And > Wal-Mart says it never considered halting the sale of shotguns and rifles. > ‘Creating Opportunities’ > It’s an unusual competitive arena for the nation’s biggest retailer. While > it is feared by mom-and-pop stores in other specialties for its discount > prices, Wal-Mart is viewed as something of a savior by many smaller gun > sellers because it introduces people to their product. "They are actually > creating opportunity for us," says Bill Carter, owner of Carter Country, a > Houston gun retailer. > Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: > http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
