Author Topic: Gun purchases on credit  (Read 6396 times)

KingMe

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Gun purchases on credit
« on: April 27, 2013, 07:11:55 PM »
I heard this story the other day on my local NPR station.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/guns-and-dollars/does-gun-you-want-cost-too-much-theres-loan

A gun store owner told the reporter that the average gun is $500, so many people are buying much more expensive firearms on credit. According to the terms and conditions on gunfinancing.com, they they charge a whopping 27.99% APR with a $59 annual fee! I personally could not imagine paying such usurious rates for anything.

I suppose this is just one example of how normal people put themselves into debt for consumer purchases that are usually not necessary. For those who want to buy a gun, I'd be in a position to pay with cash before buying.

Freda

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2013, 07:21:57 PM »
Our local shop has a layaway plan. I paid cash. ;)

Jamesqf

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2013, 09:50:34 PM »
Got to wonder why they just don't use a credit card, especially these days when there are lots of 0% interest for 12 months offers out there.

Or you can always buy something from a guy in a bar for $100 or so :-)

Nords

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2013, 12:09:07 AM »
A gun store owner told the reporter that the average gun is $500, so many people are buying much more expensive firearms on credit. According to the terms and conditions on gunfinancing.com, they they charge a whopping 27.99% APR with a $59 annual fee! I personally could not imagine paying such usurious rates for anything.
I suppose this is just one example of how normal people put themselves into debt for consumer purchases that are usually not necessary. For those who want to buy a gun, I'd be in a position to pay with cash before buying.
I see this as no worse than going to a car dealer, handing them a credit card, and asking "How much can I afford?"

Or going to a mortgage broker and asking "What payment can I make?"

Or going to a college's financial aid office with Mom & Dad's FAFSA & PROFILE and asking how much you can borrow.

Or maybe even no worse than a carpenter buying high-end power tools that will see a lot of heavy use... whether you're a deer hunter or a bank robber.

Left

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2013, 03:37:29 AM »
but there's an expected return on college (job or just personal improvement), and the carpenter puts the tools to use to generate income (IE job)...

not much return on using a gun, unless there's a deer carcass black market that I don't know about, in which case I got lots of them on side of highway. I've heard arguments for buying guns as investments, but taking out a loan to fund something isn't very smart since it isn't the same as investing for the future (IE education)

that said... how do these people afford the ammo? I mean without credit again

mpbaker22

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2013, 08:12:01 AM »
but taking out a loan to fund something isn't very smart since it isn't the same as investing for the future (IE education)

Not sure what you mean by this, but isn't that how most corporations operate?  I'm considering a loan to buy a property as an investment.  Isn't that the same thing?  I understand it's obviously a bad investment in the gun case, given the interest rates.  But I guess I just don't like the wording in your post.

Jamesqf

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2013, 10:26:06 AM »
Not sure what you mean by this, but isn't that how most corporations operate?  I'm considering a loan to buy a property as an investment.  Isn't that the same thing? 

Not at all, since the corporation is presumably borrowing to build plant, which will produce an income stream.  Likewise if you're buying a rental property, you expect to make enough income to cover your costs and service the loan.

This would be more like you buying some vacant land, hoping that later on you'll be able to sell it to someone else for more than you paid.

BlueMR2

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2013, 11:52:53 AM »
I never would have even thought about getting a loan for so little money.  There's always people buying things they can't afford, but for the $500-1000 standard civilian gun, I'd just expect they'd throw it on the ol' credit card with everything else.

brewer12345

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2013, 02:45:11 PM »
As I understand it, a lot of these retail credit deals (for guns, furniture, what have you) often get sold as 0% for 3/6/12/whatever months.  Of course the fine print always says that if you miss a payment or hang on past the zero percent time period you get clobbered with a godawful rate and fee.

There is not a venison market taht I am aware of, but you can sell squirrel tails, believe it or not.

Nords

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2013, 11:21:27 PM »
There is not a venison market taht I am aware of, but you can sell squirrel tails, believe it or not.
Well, as the man said, "I gots to know."  What do squirrel-tail buyers do with their purchases? 

[Insert "re-tail" punchline here.

But seriously, is it like bird's-nest soup or alligator boots or making silk?

Left

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2013, 04:28:43 AM »
hm... so we all pick up road kill squirrel tails, mail them to brewer's contacts to sell then earn some retirement money? Sounds like we got ourselves a money making scheme! Think UPS would send boxes dripping with blood, it would help keep them generating money after all....

brewer12345

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2013, 08:53:27 AM »
The Mepps fishing lure company buys them from hunters all over the US and uses them as a raw material for their lures: http://www.mepps.com/programs/squirrel-tail/  They will pay cash or give you lures in trade (I opted for trout lures).

Somehow DW is happier if I describe myself as a squirrel hunter and not as a tail hunter...

Jamesqf

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2013, 02:29:02 PM »
Pretty limited market, then, so not something we could all turn into side jobs.

acanthurus

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2013, 02:46:04 PM »
Looking forward to the flood of cheap guns in the next few years as these folks need to make rent. My $200 used S&W 12 gauge semi-auto from the 1980s is starting to have some issues. It's amazing how good a S&W can be when it's actually a Howa :)

Nords

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2013, 09:09:48 PM »
The Mepps fishing lure company buys them from hunters all over the US and uses them as a raw material for their lures: http://www.mepps.com/programs/squirrel-tail/  They will pay cash or give you lures in trade (I opted for trout lures).
Amazing.  Thanks.

I wonder if there's something in a trout that could be used for squirrel bait.  Talk about a specialty market.

Somehow DW is happier if I describe myself as a squirrel hunter and not as a tail hunter...
Does she have a firearms license too?  I guess she really only needs the combination to the gun safe...

brewer12345

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Re: Gun purchases on credit
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2013, 09:41:19 PM »
The Mepps fishing lure company buys them from hunters all over the US and uses them as a raw material for their lures: http://www.mepps.com/programs/squirrel-tail/  They will pay cash or give you lures in trade (I opted for trout lures).
Amazing.  Thanks.

I wonder if there's something in a trout that could be used for squirrel bait.  Talk about a specialty market.

Somehow DW is happier if I describe myself as a squirrel hunter and not as a tail hunter...
Does she have a firearms license too?  I guess she really only needs the combination to the gun safe...

Considering that squirrels will eat just about anything (carrion, stolen eggs, bugs, you name it), I am sure pretty much any part of the trout would work.  That assumes that you did not attract other stuff first (coyotes).

No firearms license required in CO unless you want to carry concealed.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!