I was at walmart lastnite and they are selling guns again so I decided to take a look. Had some nice looking Remingtons and Mossbergs 12 gauges. Now the prices I thought were very reasonable..my question is do you think these guns are made a little cheaper so they can get the price where walmart wants it?? I know they do that with tires they sell…cheaper made. Any thoughts?
I have heard before that what Wal Mart will do is scoop up end of year inventories at a whole lot price and sell them cheaper that way then the next guy trying to sell this years product. If there was a problem you would have to send it back to the manufacture at any rate for warranty work.
Fleet Farm is pretty competitive on price for firearms too…
Mossberg 500 is $325
Remington 870 is $350
They have a pretty good sporting goods section too.
Be very specific on the model numbers. Some models are specifically made to a lessor quality point to get the cost down.
There’s been a lot of debate about “if” quality really gets dumbed down to meet Big Box retailer’s low price demands. Anybody remember the debate about “Home Depot John Deere” products?
There hasn’t been much in the way of definitive evidence to suggest that this is a common practice.
Personally, I think you have to ask yourself, “Is this an area where I’m willing to take the chance?” In other words, what is the cost of potential failure and is it worth it? I have guns that it was totally worth overpaying and then I have guns where I went as cheap as possible because the cost of failure isn’t really an issue.
Grouse
I understand the idea but what you have to remember is that even though Wal-Mart squeezes companies on price, they drive so much volume that it makes up for it.
So do you believe these manufacturers engineer an entire assembly line on the cheap and pawn it off on Wal-Mart their biggest customer by far?
Might work in the short term but as a manufacturer I’d hate to risk my biggest customer by giving them cheap stuff. Not a long term strategy.
ET
I understand the idea but what you have to remember is that even though Wal-Mart squeezes companies on price, they drive so much volume that it makes up for it.
So do you believe these manufacturers engineer an entire assembly line on the cheap and pawn it off on Wal-Mart their biggest customer by far?
Might work in the short term but as a manufacturer I’d hate to risk my biggest customer by giving them cheap stuff. Not a long term strategy.
ET
As a gun manufacturer, I’d hate to lose my good reputation by putting out lesser quality items. The only result of that, would be a lower perceived market value for all my products.
I understand the idea but what you have to remember is that even though Wal-Mart squeezes companies on price, they drive so much volume that it makes up for it.
So do you believe these manufacturers engineer an entire assembly line on the cheap and pawn it off on Wal-Mart their biggest customer by far?
Might work in the short term but as a manufacturer I’d hate to risk my biggest customer by giving them cheap stuff. Not a long term strategy.
ET
Its not a Walmart thing…Its an industry/Marketing thing.
Not everyone can afford to by a $4K John Deere, so they manufacture the L series and use the cheapest transmissions and other lessor parts to reduce cost.
Allison transmissions are built to “GM” standards to reduce the cost. Thinner housings…. I know, I’ve been down that road with mine.
Remington had the 770 model out. you could get a stainless for $300. Pressed barrel and other “cheaper” components
Almost every fishing rod you buy is built to a price point. The retail price is determined before the rod is even built.
This list goes on and on. Every major manufacture engineers products to be sold at a predetermined price point. If the cost is too high, find a way to reduce cost. Which often means find cheaper components
If you pull up the guns on the Walmart site, you can look at the model number. For example, there is a 870 Express Remington model # 5098.
That model # stays consistent no matter what store you look at online, so the product is the same no matter where you get it. I agree that Walmart just buys in such bulk that they undercut everyone else.
Cabela’s has the Remington 870 Express for $349.99 plus they are showing a $25.00 mail in Remington rebate. Don’t know if the shown price is with the rebate or in addition. Years ago when I was involved in the business and the express had just come out, we were selling them for $199.95….an Express is just a 870 Premier without the walnut and rough preliminary finish (no gloss finish and I ‘believe’ that they use something other than blueing)
I just wanted to jump in and give you our prices on these guns. Remington 870 Express with Vent rib barrels run $349.99 for synthetic and $369.99 for wood. There is a rebate available from remington on these guns.
Just remember to give your local shop a chance when shopping for a new gun. Here at Banks’ 4 Seasons Sports we made a decision a year go to increase the volume of firearms we sell buy decreasing our margin per gun. This has allowed us to purchase in larger volumes and get our initial cost low enough to compete with, and in most cases, beat the larger box stores.
On top of that we will spend the time to find the perfect gun for you. To us, you really do matter. Not to mention if you ever do have an issue with your firearm we will be more than happy to take care of any warranty claims and make sure you are satisfied with the outcome.
Thank You, Chris Winchester
Before WalMart initially stopped selling firearms, I purchased a 20ga. Charles Daly pump shotgun in realtree camo. It’s a Remington knock off…… no two ways about it. Same receiver, takes the same chokes, on and on…….. but I believe the quality difference between that and an Express is the fact that it’s a Charles Daly and not a WalMart purchase. It’s ultra light and shoots great but the synthetic pump fore grip/assembly seems to be developing a binding issue and isn’t as smooth as it once was when it was new. It’s done what I needed it to do but I’d never buy another.
And do consider the future of the gun. A wingmaster will be smoother and last longer than an Express in theory but I am not sure you could even wear out an Express?
A wingmaster will be smoother and last longer than an Express in theory but I am not sure you could even wear out an Express?
I own both an express and a wingmaster. The express is at least 20 years old and has had thousands of rounds run through it, has been dropped in the swamp more times than I can count, used as a canoe paddle in an emergency, and has never failed me once. My wingmaster kills pheasants when I don’t use my double barrel. Both of my 870s are smooth, but my wingmaster looks a lot nicer. I don’t believe you can wear out an express. I’ve tried.
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