[tabs]

Here is another one for ya...

Small shop owners can not compete on pricing with the big outlet stores like Cabelas etc...the big boys buy in enough of quantity where they get better pricing. They make deals directly with the mfgs which usually have a minimum purchase that includes slow moving a sundry merch..

The big guys like Cabelas, Bass Pro etc can technically be classified as distributorsand not retailers..as far as pricing goes. The small shop has to buy through a middle man Distributor which drives cost. That is why small shops have a tough go of it and usually do not survive.

There used to be a shop on Rosemead in Pasadena called Fowlers Sporting Center...Run by Mike Fowler and his Mom...her ex Sam Fowler owned the Stockade in Westminster and another shop in Orange.. specializing in collectibles...Anyway a couple of times a year Mike would make a deal with Browning, Colt and Winchester to get lots of product in where he would have blow out pricing sales...the line to get in would be stretched down the block. The used gun section was where he made good money... That is until one day in late 85 that the store blew up killing his mom and him along with their accountant and his daughter. I was on my way there when it happend..and was standing outside while it burned to the ground. Ironically the Trader Joes which was virtually next door burned down a couple of years later.

Going back in the day there was Pony Express ran by Ray Howser out on Ventura Blvd in the Valley, always had good collectibles saw John Milius out there one day. the afore mentioned Stockade..lots of good stuff at high retail pricing.. Martin Rettings ran by the sons Martin and Danny Retting on Washington in Culver City..still in biz...lots of collectible stuff that was pricy and they would not dicker... Red Star which eventually was across the street dealing in Soviet block stuff... I had a friend who has since passed that worked or Retting for about 20 years..forgot more about spoons than I will ever know... Back in the 60's there was Harry Sanford on Colorado Blvd called Colorado Arms...that specialized in military surplus...Then a place in Laguna Nigel called Saddleback Valley Guns..run by George Huneman..where I got some stunning deals over the years..He got a lot of stuff from the Sun City crowd of old folks.

Here in LV there is only one guy that gets good old stuff on a consistent basis..Spurlocks in Henderson...but a local Chiropractor gets first call as he buys about 40K a year from him...the rest mostly just sell new stuff. Local shows mainly sell modern black guns... Except the Beinfield. in January..which used to be at the Riv and now is at the Westgate.. the Big antique dealers and auctioneers all go to that show..where the attendees are well heeled....

The other big show in NV is the Safari Club Convention in Reno in January...there are so many private jets parked at the airport in Reno that there is no more room to park and you have to land at an airport 75 miles away and get bused into the convention in RENO.