Walmart Sells "Seconds"?

[Crash]

Is there anything to the rumors I've heard recently that Walmart sells "seconds," i.e., guns that are made to a lower standard of quality by the manufacturers than the ones they sell to gun shops?

Crash

[Abraham]

News to me.

I've not heard this particular rumor.

My guess: There's an anti-Walmart faction working at hurting Walmart.

I'm a Walmart fan.

If I can buy a widget at Walmart for substantially less than the same widget at a Mom & Pop store, I'm buying it from Walmart.

For years, I've heard the line: Support local business.

I'd love to, but if that means I'm going to spend a lot more for that widget, I'm not going to essentially subsidize Mom & Pop store.

[nightmare69]

I've heard this also from gun shops who cannot compete with Walmarts prices. I doubt it's true.

[viking1000]

This rumor goes back to when Kmart sold guns, Not true, Walmart buys in volume that gives them a better price. Same with Academy Sports, and others.

[mayor]

News to me.

I've not heard this particular rumor.

My guess: There's an anti-Walmart faction working at hurting Walmart.

I'm a Walmart fan.

If I can buy a widget at Walmart for substantially less than the same widget at a Mom & Pop store, I'm buying it from Walmart.

For years, I've heard the line: Support local business.

I'd love to, but if that means I'm going to spend a lot more for that widget, I'm not going to essentially subsidize Mom & Pop store.

If i could buy American from Mom & Pop, I'd spend the money locally - and I've told them so. But, if I'm buying plastic chinese junk, I'll buy from the cheapest source.

[WildBill]

Is there anything to the rumors I've heard recently that Walmart sells "seconds," i.e., guns that are made to a lower standard of quality by the manufacturers than the ones they sell to gun shops?

Crash

For many years I have heard this not only about guns, but other merchandise.
I have not seen or heard any evidence that it is true.
What I do know is that the profit margin of gun shops is very small.
I know that many times gun shops can buy guns, ammo and other items cheaper at Walmart than they can from their wholesaler/distributor.

[Abraham]

mayor,

The Chinese junk complaint while not entirely without merit, is mostly untrue.

Is Mobil 1 synthetic oil Chinese? No!

Are Colt AR LE6920's Chinese? No!

Is the beef/chicken/turkey from China? No!

Is there hard salami from China? No!

Is there produce from China? No!

I could go on. You get my point.

If you don't care to give them your business, by all means go elsewhere, but they don't sell anymore Chinese junk then you'll find at Mom & Pop....or Sams or many, many other businesses.

[mrvmax]

Not sure if it is true but I have read this way back when: video link removed

[Moderator's note: We can't allow links to LiveLeak, sorry. app.php/page/rules Rule #17.]
Sorry, forgot about that - here is another link:http://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know

[K.Mooneyham]

Think about this in a completely different way, from the manufacturers' perspective. Do they really want to make "cheaper" guns that will undoubtedly sell considering the outlet, and risk their reputations because of that? Second thing, are they really going to take the time and effort to change things on some firearms just to sell to Wal-Mart? Easier to make whichever model of gun the same so as to streamline production which saves money for the manufacturer. To sum it up, I just don't think the manufacturers would do that, certainly not big names like Mossberg, Remington, and definitely not Henry when they're just really building up a good catalog and following, and those companies all sell through Wal-Mart.

[Jusme]

I seriously doubt that Walmart is selling seconds on guns but I do know that walmart puts pressure on manufacturers to lower their normal wholesale prices by promising more volume, but then when they get the price they want they will then come back repeatedly asking for discounts threatening to go to foreign manufacturers and as a result walmart has been directly responsible for the manufacturing market moving overseas to compete. Some manufacturers have refused to cave and have survived without walmart. While I fully support supply and demand I don't shop at Walmart and check labels for country of origin. I admit I may pay a little more for made in USA but those jobs stay here. While the amount of money I spend probably won't change the gross national product index, I still believe in supporting the workers here rather than a corporation exploiting underpaid third world workers.

[puma guy]

I worked as a Sporting Goods manager in a discount chain that predated Wal-Mart by several years. We had similar rumors swirling all the time, had many customers who thought we sold seconds and would complain about it. Trying to convince them other wise was mostly an exercise in futility. I always wanted to ask them why they were shopping with us if we sold seconds. Our firearms were ordered from the same jobbers, dealers and wholesalers other retailers used. We ordered Marlin and Glenfield firearms directly from the factory. WalMart does have special model firearms made by some manufacturers to price them lower. Mostly just not as fancy and plain non-premium wood (read birch) stocks. Sears, Wards, Western Auto JC Penney and even some smaller regional chains did the same thing in years past. There have been some changes in that WalMart dictates what they will pay and will demand a supplier meet the demands. Academy does the same thing. I knew a rep for a fishing rod company that was probably the number one supplier of quality rods for Academy and they kept demanding lower prices with threats to discontinue business if the price point was not met. Academy lost that brand. The new owners of Academy are now selling many proprietary branded products made in China. For example the deer feeders they sell are almost all Chinese.

[DevilDawg]

mayor,

The Chinese junk complaint while not entirely without merit, is mostly untrue.

Is Mobil 1 synthetic oil Chinese? No!

Are Colt AR LE6920's Chinese? No!

Is the beef/chicken/turkey from China? No!

Is there hard salami from China? No!

Is there produce from China? No!

I could go on. You get my point.

If you don't care to give them your business, by all means go elsewhere, but they don't sell anymore Chinese junk then you'll find at Mom & Pop....or Sams or many, many other businesses.

Not to start a he said/he said arguement, but aside from the Colt you are not totally correct. All the other stuff can and is shipped from China and about 100 other places. All before being sourced in the US.

If it is cheaper to ship something here from the other side of the planet than it is to get local sourced wouldn't you question the quality? Ever wonder why those apples have a shine? Wax to prevent spoilage in transit. It's 10-15 days from China to Los Angeles in a reefer container, then another week or so before clears customs and then heads through distribution and ultimately to the store.

It's totally up to the individual and which battles you want to fight. We chose to support local when able, and then close allies after that as able.

[mojo84]

It appears to me the guns they sell have lower quality wood than others I've seen at gun shops. I do not think they sell blemished or lesser built guns but I wouldn't be surprised if they sell the lowest grade the manufacturers make.

[puma guy]

It appears to me the guns they sell have lower quality wood than others I've seen at gun shops. I do not think they sell blemished or lesser built guns but I wouldn't be surprised if they sell the lowest grade the manufacturers make.

As stated in my post Walmart has special models made by manufacturers for their price point, have fewer features and utility wood stocks such as birch wood or even laminated. I know for sure Marlin made a model 336 for Wal Mart that was specifically marketed by them. It had a non-walnut stock and was minus a few features found on their other 336's. I bought a Marlin Model 60 (made before Remington/Freedom Arms took over Marlin) that had a unique Model number not listed in the regular Marlin catalog. The Model 60 really wasn't missing any features but had a different front sight, other wise looked like any other stainless Model 60. I purchased a Browning Buckmark Camper from Academy that wasn't listed in Browning's catalog as well. It had different grips.

[cyphertext]

It appears to me the guns they sell have lower quality wood than others I've seen at gun shops. I do not think they sell blemished or lesser built guns but I wouldn't be surprised if they sell the lowest grade the manufacturers make.

This is the correct answer... Also, Walmart will sometimes have some exclusives, where the wood on the stock will be different, or a different configuration... but the actions are in no way "seconds".

Academy, Bass Pro, and other big box stores will carry the same models that are lower priced and made for the big box market.