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GFA Arms Tech - Natick
- Thread starter crazymikie
- Start date
Went there today. Great shop ! Picked up some .40 for a very reasonable price. Browsed a lot and now might have to save for a compact Glock! Very laid back, no pressure. You can browse whatever you want without it feeling like you are inconveniencing them. It's nice to have a shop one town over. Will be back for sure.
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- Jun 21, 2011
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Made my first trip to this shop last weekend....AWESOME!
Great selection of guns of all types, lots of ammo (including some harder to find stuff) and Greg and Jay were very knowledgeable and helpful. The shop was pretty busy but like others said it's very laid back. Ended up buying my first Glock, a 19. Jay (employee) is a Glock armorer and really explained in detail the inner workings of Glock pistols. Greg (the owner) gave me a couple targets and a box of range ammo on the house to get me started.
Definitely my new favorite shop!
Trench
Great selection of guns of all types, lots of ammo (including some harder to find stuff) and Greg and Jay were very knowledgeable and helpful. The shop was pretty busy but like others said it's very laid back. Ended up buying my first Glock, a 19. Jay (employee) is a Glock armorer and really explained in detail the inner workings of Glock pistols. Greg (the owner) gave me a couple targets and a box of range ammo on the house to get me started.
Definitely my new favorite shop!
Trench
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- Apr 24, 2005
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Nicest selection of HK P7's I've seen in ages ... and theirs didn't have the milled out area (common on police surplus P7's that had a departmental logo)
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
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Ive been to GFA a few times now, and they really are great people. I was on the lookout for a G27 and saw a G26 when I was in one day. I ended up grabbing the 26 ( I know I know impulse buy!). I emailed Greg and asked him the next day about swapping it for a 27 and he had no problem with it. I waited a few days for it to come in and they made it painless. Jay also stuck around late one night to do night sights for me and my buddy (Ya deezul). Ill continue to business with them any day of the week. Nice place to go and just talk guns too.
OK, now, where are they???After you buy your first gun from us we'll show you where we keep the strippers and cuban cigars.![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
I must admit, it's nice to have a great gun shop nearby. I was shopping for WASR this weekend and my first reaction was to check out inventory of another very popular shop (I'm not naming names) first. Well, they were out of WASRs ...
I keep forgetting that GFA has one of the largest inventories around, and when it comes to children of Kalashnikov, these guys got it all, from beginner to high end, awesome selection, excellent quality! I got a Сайга and damn right, it got some workout this weekend at the range! I got more mags, more ammo. Great prices, better than other places. And you actually get some time to talk without rush and without snottiness which is really nice. You can also find elusive Makarov and Tokarev ammo ... I got a whole lot of 45ACP and I'm coming back for more. If you never been to GFA, I'd put them on top of your list to visit. Bring some $, you'll need it
GFA has the best selection of modern and historical firearms period. That, coupled with expert guys who are genuinely interested in firearms as firearms and people as people make this place unequaled. They will not bullshit you. I purchased three more firearms from them (to make a grand total of 6 firearms within two months) in the last month. I selfishly only hope the place doesn't get too busy.
Had my first visit to GFA and its a great shop. Jay and Greg are very honest people and don't try to push their customers to make a purchase (its sad to say that there aren't many places like this left). Ended up staying a while just talking guns, and my brother picked up a nice Romanian WASR for a good price. Will definitely be doing business here again.
BillyBoy
NES Member
Im looking to pick up my very first AK. I'm a total newb when it comes to AKs so I hope you guys don't mind educating me when I come in. I haven't decided which variant to go with yet. WASRs seem to be the cheapest/most common from what it seems but open to others. see you guys soon.
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- Jul 22, 2011
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I was in the Natick area today and stopped in, having heard good things. While I didn't buy anything, I was thanked for my visit and treated with respect and friendliness. A great little shop, I hope I can give them some business in the future.
Well I walked in there today. Met Greg the owner who spent quite some time educating me on AK-47's. Left with this:
Awesome customer service!!!!!
I picked up the exact same rifle from GFA a while ago. I actually had it out today and went through 150 rounds of Wolf ammo without a hitch. You will have a blast with it.
BillyBoy
NES Member
Nice good to know. I'm glad a went with it verses the WASR 10's. No offense to the WASR owners but the quality in the Arsenal (Saiga) is far superior in my opinion. I also picked up some preban mags that I just spent the last hour cleaning. I haven't seen mags that dirty in my whole entire life!!!! They look brand new now i'll tell ya!
USMA-82
NES Member
Stopped by today for the first time on the way to the WWII Vehicle display in Natick. Nice little shop with alot packed into a small room. Prices seemed OK - of course, I've been spoiled by a C&R license.
As usual, I looked at ammo just long enough to be motivated to go home and do some reloading!
As usual, I looked at ammo just long enough to be motivated to go home and do some reloading!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
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Made another purchase at GFA friday, again was very impressed with the selection and prices. Awesome collection of AK's and they had a MINT SKS-M that takes AK mags....man I wanted to leave with that but money is kinda tight right now ![[sad]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/004.gif "Sad [sad]")
This is definitely the coolest shop around and Greg and Jay are awesome to work with. If anyone hasn't been in to GFA I recommend it highly.
Trench
This is definitely the coolest shop around and Greg and Jay are awesome to work with. If anyone hasn't been in to GFA I recommend it highly.
Trench
Like most others have said about this place, it's great! I went in last Monday for my very first purchase and was torn between two different guns. Greg told me about the guns I was looking at, and didn't make me feel rushed even though it was almost 5pm when I walked in. A short while later I walked out with a brand new SR9c. I will most certainly be back to this shop again for another gun when the time is right. Just wanted to say thanks to Greg, and this place is really worth checking out!
-Mike
-Mike
I was just there this weekend. Small place. Nice selection. The guys there are nice as well. Not much of an ammo selection though and their prices are not the cheapest around.
What did rub me the wrong way was their trade-in values for firearms: definitely not satisfying. I traded in my almost mint 1995 dated USP 40 (for what I was told "wasn't worth much anymore" because of it being compliant in MA now) for only $400 + $300 cash for a $700 USP 45 they had which was in decent shape. I probably could have went back and forth with the price a bit or even declined trading it in and waited to do a private sale next year, but I wasn't thinking and I wanted that USP 45 bad.
When I searched the updated inventory, they are selling my USP 40 for $735! That didn't leave a good feeling in my stomach. I really dont know what I was thinking letting myself trade it in for that much. Thankfully I only spent 500 bucks on it.
I do not think I will be trading in any firearms with them in the future, but they have some good prices in used inventory though and will probably be checking them out when I am in the range for purchasing an AR.
What did rub me the wrong way was their trade-in values for firearms: definitely not satisfying. I traded in my almost mint 1995 dated USP 40 (for what I was told "wasn't worth much anymore" because of it being compliant in MA now) for only $400 + $300 cash for a $700 USP 45 they had which was in decent shape. I probably could have went back and forth with the price a bit or even declined trading it in and waited to do a private sale next year, but I wasn't thinking and I wanted that USP 45 bad.
When I searched the updated inventory, they are selling my USP 40 for $735! That didn't leave a good feeling in my stomach. I really dont know what I was thinking letting myself trade it in for that much. Thankfully I only spent 500 bucks on it.
I do not think I will be trading in any firearms with them in the future, but they have some good prices in used inventory though and will probably be checking them out when I am in the range for purchasing an AR.
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TBalls
NES Member
This. It doesn't matter if you're talking guns, cars, music gear, etc. -- the dealer is always going to lowball you on a trade-in. It doesn't mean you're getting "screwed".....just set your expectations accordingly.
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When a gun is sold on consignment, with no risk to or investment from the dealer, the fee is in the 15-18% range. Logic being what it is, this means that any outright purchase by a shop needs to represent a greater margin than the consignment percentage. The $735 for the gun being sold is the asking price - if someone offers less, and it is accepted, the margin will be a bit less. The shop's margin at their asking price for that gun is about 45%.
Many shops will be very honest about trade-ins, and tell you that you will get considerably less selling them the gun than you will from a consignment or private sale. Selling to a shop is about the worst way to get money out of a used gun. Consignment can be a good way to go it you use a high visibility shop, plus it does not consume one of your 4 yearly transfers as it's done on the dealer's books.
Some interesting questions to ask when doing a trade:
- Do you do consignment sales and, if so, what would you recommend I price this at?
- What will you be asking for this gun when you put it up for sale? (Consider a refusal to answer as useful information)
Many shops will be very honest about trade-ins, and tell you that you will get considerably less selling them the gun than you will from a consignment or private sale. Selling to a shop is about the worst way to get money out of a used gun. Consignment can be a good way to go it you use a high visibility shop, plus it does not consume one of your 4 yearly transfers as it's done on the dealer's books.
Some interesting questions to ask when doing a trade:
- Do you do consignment sales and, if so, what would you recommend I price this at?
- What will you be asking for this gun when you put it up for sale? (Consider a refusal to answer as useful information)
To Rob's point, it almost never makes sense to trade in anything. It is convenient for you, but gives the dealer the opportunity to make money on both ends of the trade, as well as the new sale. ( this is just how business works )
If you have the time and inclination, whether it's a gun, car, or something else, treat these as separate transactions.
The only possible exception is in trading vehicles, where the trade price is educated from the purchase price for sale tax. Even then, though, you probably more than make that up selling to a private party.
If you have the time and inclination, whether it's a gun, car, or something else, treat these as separate transactions.
The only possible exception is in trading vehicles, where the trade price is educated from the purchase price for sale tax. Even then, though, you probably more than make that up selling to a private party.
I was at ArmsTec thursday night, wanted to trade into a Beretta 92FS and dump my Glock 17. They gave me a very fair trade price and were really nice to deal with. The shop is kind of small but is jammed with really nice stuff. All the used guns looked brand new to me. Next on my list is the Arsenal AK in 5.45x39.
Like everybody else says, this is now one of my favorite shops.
Like everybody else says, this is now one of my favorite shops.
Like most dealers, they buy at wholesale prices and sell at retail prices. If you want to sell at retail prices, you don't want to sell to a dealer. You want to sell direct. That's what the classifieds are for.
Like everyone else, I find these guys to be fair, honest, and honorable. They charge what they must to stay in business, and their prices are not out of line with other dealers. If you look into what it costs to run a business like that, with the salaries, fees, security, insurance, massive gov't requirements, etc., you'll stop wondering about the difference between wholesale and retail, and start wondering how they can stay in business at all. I think they do it because they love it, and they want to help preserve our rights.
How many Class III retail establishments are in your area?
Support your local Class III FFL! (If you have one. If not, make the drive & support these guys!)
