So, I stopped by the newly refreshed Gander Outdoors in Castleton today after work today. I was just going browse a bit, to kill some time before dinner.
Now, the visit didn't start that great, as no sooner had I walked in the door, I was getting the hard sell of their "Good Sam" club membership. It was a bit off putting. During the sales pitch, the guy mentioned that it was bucket day, where anything you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket gets an extra 5% off (excluding firearms). I figured 5% off old Gander's prices would still be about 25% over normal retail, so I extricated myself and went to browse the firearms section.
There's where the visit got way better. I started looking at the ammo prices and was surprised to see they weren't really that bad, certainly not really higher than I've seen at Walmart. On top of that, there were some additional sales ("Good Sam" member pricing), with a few things that I was a bit surprised to see (like Aguila mini-shell buckshot rounds on sale).
I then moseyed over to the gun counter and started looking. I got to the end with the used guns and stopped. There was a a Beretta 21a .25 ACP for $113.99. I had to look twice, thinking I misread and clearly it was $313.99. But nope, $113.99... for a Beretta 21a. Crazy.
The guy behind the counter saw me looking at it and said they had literally just put in the cabinet a few minutes before. Having learned my lesson about walking away from great deals, I told him I would take it on the spot and gave him my license.
Since they already had me, I went ahead signed up for a 3 year membership (which gave me a $25 gift card and an additional 5% off today) and told them to give me a bucket.
By the time I walked out, I had about 4000 rounds of .22 LR (at just about $.04 a round), 100 rounds of Remington 00 Buckshot (at about $.57 a round), and 4 boxes of the Aguila buckshot mini-shells for about $13.50 a box. And, of course, a Beretta 21a .25 ACP for $113.99 plus tax.
So, will they maintain this level of pricing and service? I guess I'll find out over the next 3 years my membership is valid.
Now, the visit didn't start that great, as no sooner had I walked in the door, I was getting the hard sell of their "Good Sam" club membership. It was a bit off putting. During the sales pitch, the guy mentioned that it was bucket day, where anything you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket gets an extra 5% off (excluding firearms). I figured 5% off old Gander's prices would still be about 25% over normal retail, so I extricated myself and went to browse the firearms section.
There's where the visit got way better. I started looking at the ammo prices and was surprised to see they weren't really that bad, certainly not really higher than I've seen at Walmart. On top of that, there were some additional sales ("Good Sam" member pricing), with a few things that I was a bit surprised to see (like Aguila mini-shell buckshot rounds on sale).
I then moseyed over to the gun counter and started looking. I got to the end with the used guns and stopped. There was a a Beretta 21a .25 ACP for $113.99. I had to look twice, thinking I misread and clearly it was $313.99. But nope, $113.99... for a Beretta 21a. Crazy.
The guy behind the counter saw me looking at it and said they had literally just put in the cabinet a few minutes before. Having learned my lesson about walking away from great deals, I told him I would take it on the spot and gave him my license.
Since they already had me, I went ahead signed up for a 3 year membership (which gave me a $25 gift card and an additional 5% off today) and told them to give me a bucket.
By the time I walked out, I had about 4000 rounds of .22 LR (at just about $.04 a round), 100 rounds of Remington 00 Buckshot (at about $.57 a round), and 4 boxes of the Aguila buckshot mini-shells for about $13.50 a box. And, of course, a Beretta 21a .25 ACP for $113.99 plus tax.
So, will they maintain this level of pricing and service? I guess I'll find out over the next 3 years my membership is valid.