Gallery of Guns (dumb question)

ReluctantDecoy

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I've seen this site before (Gallery of Guns), but not sure how it works. If I use the item search function and select "In Stock" and my appropriate zip code, it lists guns available. If I then select one and press "Instant Quote", it lists stores/FFL's in my general area. Does that mean those FFL's actually have the item physically in stock, or does that mean said item is in stock somewhere and these are my closest FFL's in this network where I can get it transferred to?

Only reason I ask is because I wanted to see the gun before buying it. This would be a very helpful tool if this is actually listing store stock, but I have doubts about this being how it works.
 
It is dropped shipped to them if you order it from the website. I would just call around to some of the larger shops and see if the gun is in stock.

Got it. That's kind of what I thought, but wanted to confirm. It's just a bitch to have to call around instead of having an online listing. Wish more places would embrace online inventory.
 
You'll need to make a down payment on the firearm,20% I believe. I ordered my Howa mini action from them closest shop to me was 4 Seasons. Problem was when the rifle arrived Chicken Charlie shut everything down waited 3 maybe 4 months to get the rifle.
 
You'll need to make a down payment on the firearm,20% I believe. I ordered my Howa mini action from them closest shop to me was 4 Seasons. Problem was when the rifle arrived Chicken Charlie shut everything down waited 3 maybe 4 months to get the rifle.

Thanks for the info. That must have sucked. If you do order online and put the 20% down, do you have to contact the receiving FFL or is that just part of the system?
 
Apart from the courtesy of asking/alerting the local FFL that a gun was purchased and en route to them, is there any reason to call the local FFL? If, hypothetically you got really slammed with work/life, would the LGS have all the info from GoG and just call you when it arrives? I’ve seen a couple things on that site over the years, but never made a purchase because of one reason or another.
 
Apart from the courtesy of asking/alerting the local FFL that a gun was purchased and en route to them, is there any reason to call the local FFL? If, hypothetically you got really slammed with work/life, would the LGS have all the info from GoG and just call you when it arrives? I’ve seen a couple things on that site over the years, but never made a purchase because of one reason or another.

That's actually one of my questions that I was going to ask. Didn't know if I was suppose to tell the FFL it was coming, or if the order alone was enough (like they know the deal). All prior transfers I've done, I kind of had to ask first before blind siding someone with a transfer. And that's kind of double important for MA, where we're handcuffed on what can be brought in and the FFL needs to be onboard.
 
That's actually one of my questions that I was going to ask. Didn't know if I was suppose to tell the FFL it was coming, or if the order alone was enough (like they know the deal). All prior transfers I've done, I kind of had to ask first before blind siding someone with a transfer. And that's kind of double important for MA, where we're handcuffed on what can be brought in and the FFL needs to be onboard.

My first instinct would be to reach out to the FFL or multiple FFLs to make sure the transaction could actually go through. I respect that everyone has their own risk tolerance and wouldn’t want to blindside anyone.

I’m glad you asked the question. I’d love to hear someone’s personal experience using the site. Preferably multiple people that have used GoG.
 
My first instinct would be to reach out to the FFL or multiple FFLs to make sure the transaction could actually go through. I respect that everyone has their own risk tolerance and wouldn’t want to blindside anyone.

I’m glad you asked the question. I’d love to hear someone’s personal experience using the site. Preferably multiple people that have used GoG.

Ok. Glad I'm not alone in confusion on what is seemingly a simple thing. lol. I just don't want to step on toes and seem arrogant in just assuming an FFL is onboard unless someone says "just order it and the FFL will know the deal".

GoG seems to have a compliance feature. However, it seems to suck and flag things that should be MA OK. So I'm not going to rely on just that.
 
When/if you buy a firearm from GoG they have a list of FFLs to chose from,now IDK what GoG does on thier end they may contact the FFL that a firearm is coming. 4 Seasons has a portal where you can register and fill ot the 4473 form before you go to the shop. I think once you've filled out the paper work it's valid for 24 hrs. You can let the FFL know that a new firearm is coming I see no problem with that,a transfer from another shop locally or out of state I'd call and give the shop a heads up. BTW don't know if other shops do 4473s as 4 Seasons does the last few firearms I did the paper 4473 forms
 
Gallery of Guns is the distributor Davidsons. They are truly terrible. They charge $15 shipping on EVERY order regardless of amount purchased. They have two warehouses, one in AZ and one in NC. If you order 2 guns and they only have one in NC and one in AZ, you pay $30 shipping.

Their prices (to dealers) are almost always higher than other distributors. The truly truly commodity items like glock 19s they charge the same amount (except that damn shipping), but anything remotely interesting they are typically about 6% higher cost than any other distributor. They market like fiends. They bombard every email they know of with mail every day including weekends. They are pushy and obnoxious. Ignoring ECR (election, covid & riots) they will be the last distributor in the country to have something in stock because of their pricing and shipping policy. They are the distributor of last resort. If the customer is willing to pay more because they just have to have it...

Gallery of Guns allows any dealer that has an account with Davidsons to opt in. You can set rules for how you price guns (fixed $$$ add or % add) and then when someone goes to GoG they will see the inventory and that you "have it" and what your price is. Then you can just order, it gets shipped to the FFL and you complete the transaction with them.

No rules for dealing with MA compliance so opting in from MA has risks/challenges. I will never opt in because Davidsons is a shit show.


There are some other services out there like Gearfire that give a better online experience for dealers. Gearfire is setup with multiple distributors and allows a dealer to setup their website to get realtime stocking info from the supported distributors. It to has the problem of working better in "free" states and does not fully account for certain realities, but it is a better solution than GoG. One of the dealers at the mill uses this Custom Defense Solutions USA This will give you a better sense of what is available out in the world in distribution than going to GoG

In the end, unless you are looking for the absolute cheapest price on the absolute worst or most common guns, your best bet is always having a relationship with your local gun shop and working with them to get what you want. Anything that is not truly commodity and common is more about the relationship of the dealer with their distributors than anything else. That is why your relationship with your dealer matters. If one of my customers wants something hard to get, I have to "work" my distributors (again ignoring ECR) to get it. Good stuff is "allocated" by distributors and the account reps get to decide who they give it to. A dealer with a good relationship gets more good stuff than a random schmuck dealer. The good stuff NEVER hits open inventory so will never be seen on GoG or Gearfire driven websites. Online is not how you get the cool stuff.

Now ECR has made things crazy. NOTHING is open inventory and everything is allocated. Even that boring M&P9 M2.0 Shield is only going to the dealer that has a great relationship with the account rep. They never hit open inventory. If you dont have a strong relationship with a dealer, then good luck.
 
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