Sounds like a guy who just does not like the brand. I don't understand their thinking. They could be making money on selling them, yet they choose to be ignorant. I wouldn't give that shop the time of day.
I agree, he does not like the brand. I would guess that the "making money" is the issue to these guys. They just can't mark them up as much as they can the other more expensive makes.
The troubles are partially gun snobbery, but also simple economics.
To make a bunch of money off Hi Points, a dealer would have to sell a higher volume, compared to more expensive guns that they can put a higher mark up on. They carry a smaller inventory, with less overhead per brand. All shops have investment capitol tied up in inventory. The key to any shop, whether it is an auto dealership, boat sales, or a gun shop, etc., is turning over product at a fast enough rate to keep the latest models/versions on the shelf, and maintain a steady cash flow. More selection means more potential sales, but must be juggled with projected sales volume/ ie cash flow.
Let's be honest here, business is all about making money.
I know, sell more volume, right?
Well a lot of those shops have a pretty fair idea of the volume they can sell. So they have concluded that at their current level of volume, they likely can't sell enough of them, to make what they want to earn on mark ups. They want to push those hi mark up guns, so they won't stock the HP, figuring it may cost them a sale on the higher priced guns. If they mark the Hi Points up too much, making them more profitable for their shop, they won't sell, because they start approaching the
cost of the more expensive guns that they can mark up more, and smart shoppers will buy the Hi Point elsewhere, where they can get the good price. Didn't you shop around for the best price?
When you look at cumulative sales volume figures, you always have to take into account that those numbers are derived from sales over a broad area, and are not representative of the sales of an individual shop.
I am not trying to defend the piss poor behavior of these snob shops, just trying to explain why some dealers likely don't carry or sell our HP's.
I support telling others about poor service, and poor customer treatment when you ask for the HP. I wouldn't frequent those shops either.
By spreading the word, you are doing your small part to inform these shops of the consequences of such unacceptable practices.
But I don't demonize a shop that doesn't carry the Hi Point; if they don't treat me like crap for asking about them. I think the smart dealer would be the guy who steps into the back room, calls his suppliers, and orders you one; even if he doesn't stock them; because that is still a sale, and brings the potential sales of ammo, holsters, and accessories.
That my friends, is a smart businessman.
