I will never buy a gun at a local shop anymore. Prices on the net just can't be beat. If you look around, ask enough questions, and get pictures of what you are going to buy, you will end up with the gun that you expect.

I have tried and tried to barter with the local gun stores over thier prices. I'll even get on the internet and show them what I can get it for. They won't budge much, if any, so I always end up buying it off the net. Same way with reloading supplies.

I agree with you on the reloading supplies. I can buy all my reloading supplies and have them shipped (usually about a 400-500 order at a time), for quite a bit cheaper than I can buy them locally.

I also use the net to research a gun price before I even go to a shop to look at them, 90% of the time I can find a gun for cheaper than advertised at the shop an talk them down to it, if I buy a scope/bases/rings at the same time.

I buy almost 100% of my guns online (auctions or message board classifieds) due to the fact that there are no true "gun stores" in my area.

I use gunbroker, and have had decent luck. You have to be something of a cherrypicker to really save money. The last couple of years have been tough, more people on the site means weapons get bid up faster and most are going for at or near retail. It is great if you are looking for a gun no longer in production or production guns in unpopular calibers. Even if you don't find anything on the site, you can contact some of the dealers and buy directly from them without going thru gunbroker. Sometimes you can get a better deal that way by saving the dealer the listing fee and hassle of the auction.

I was going to buy a rifle online recently because of the low prices, but my local gunshop was able to get me the same gun for only $40 more after tax than the cheapest online dealers. For that price difference, I decided to order local to keep my money in the local economy and eliminate any possibility of getting shafted. I'm glad I did.

In the last 6-8 weeks I have bought one handgun on the classifieds here, and I have bought 4 handguns off of gunbroker. I have had great dealings on all of the deals. I bought the deals on gunbroker, because the handguns were no longer produced, and I got them lower than they were or are now again selling for ( meaning I feel that I got a decent deal ). The gun here was just one I wanted. Every gun has been exactly as advertised. My local ffl was willing to do the deal for 10.00 , but after the 4th gun, he started charging 20.00. I am still saving money though. No tax on out of state online purchases. I have also bought many accessories off of e-bay and gunbroker for my older guns and these new ones also. Have had zero problems.

Now the flip side. The local gun dealer tried to buy a gun off of gunbroker. They did not buy the shipping insurance or anything. They have lost a 580.00 investement. The seller screwed them, and another dealer got screwed for over $22,000.00, according to him, by that same bad seller. The bad dealer has been banned, and I believe they are trying to persue something through the authorities, but it is costly and time consuming.It is worth it to do your research on the dealer. Look at their feedback rating. Call them on the phone and talk to them. Get names, addresses, phone numbers, anything you can, and everything you might, need. Always buy the insurance, or make sure they don't ship without it. Also look for the pics in the auction listing and study them hard. Don't buy sight unseen, and always look or ask for a 3-7 day examination period, before finalizing purchase.

The reason I buy on line is selection, availability, or finding out of manufacture items. I have been buying colt .380's mustangs and governments lately. I can't really match the price on handguns locally, but longguns can be more competitive where I live, so I buy them here. But if done right, you can find some really good deals online, and still not be anymore at risk than buying locally.

Good luck and God Bless