USA Liberty Arms FT Collins

[JohnnyEgo]

I visited Liberty Arms for the first, and probably last, time today. Nice enough place, decent selection. I saw a new production stainless Delta Elite in their 1911 case, which I have wanted for a while, and a stainless series 70 repro. They were priced attractively enough, so I figured I'd buy. I asked to see the stainless Delta. The counter kid hands it to me and then tells me 'I can't sell it to you because I promised it to someone else'. I asked if he was sure. He wandered to the back, then came out and said he'd called the guy to verify, and the other customer would be there soon to look at it. He told me I could be on the waiting list for the next one, or check to see if the other customer declined. I went about my business, came back an hour later, and sure enough, the Delta was gone. Same kid again offered to put me on a list for the next one, which was a nice enough gesture, but one I was not interested in. As I started to leave, the kid tells me 'Yeah, he was really excited about that gun'.

My better nature barely won out. I just said "Well, good for him" as I left. I am of two minds on the experience. On the one hand, it is admirable that they kept whatever promise they made with the other customer. On the other hand, I thought it was poor practice to present something for sale when it wasn't really available for sale. And while I am sure the kid's comments were well intentioned, they just furthered my irritation. Not a very good first impression. I'm certainly not rich, but I am not particularly price sensitive and I have a pretty decent yearly budget for firearms and NFA stuff. I could have been a pretty good customer. But we will likely never know, as rather than furthering my irritation, I will patronize other places that are better organized and have more customer-savvy staff.

[SouthPaw]

I visited Liberty Arms for the first, and probably last, time today. Nice enough place, decent selection. I saw a new production stainless Delta Elite in their 1911 case, which I have wanted for a while, and a stainless series 70 repro. They were priced attractively enough, so I figured I'd buy. I asked to see the stainless Delta. The counter kid hands it to me and then tells me 'I can't sell it to you because I promised it to someone else'. I asked if he was sure. He wandered to the back, then came out and said he'd called the guy to verify, and the other customer would be there soon to look at it. He told me I could be on the waiting list for the next one, or check to see if the other customer declined. I went about my business, came back an hour later, and sure enough, the Delta was gone. Same kid again offered to put me on a list for the next one, which was a nice enough gesture, but one I was not interested in. As I started to leave, the kid tells me 'Yeah, he was really excited about that gun'.

My better nature barely won out. I just said "Well, good for him" as I left. I am of two minds on the experience. On the one hand, it is admirable that they kept whatever promise they made with the other customer. On the other hand, I thought it was poor practice to present something for sale when it wasn't really available for sale. And while I am sure the kid's comments were well intentioned, they just furthered my irritation. Not a very good first impression. I'm certainly not rich, but I am not particularly price sensitive and I have a pretty decent yearly budget for firearms and NFA stuff. I could have been a pretty good customer. But we will likely never know, as rather than furthering my irritation, I will patronize other places that are better organized and have more customer-savvy staff.

I see both sides of your frustration and I have been on both ends of that rope before. I called ahead to a Liberty Arms to see if they had a Glock 20 Gen4 in OD. They told me that they just got two FDE models in that morning and I asked for them BOTH to put aside as my father and I would be by to pick them up. We got there about an hour later and I asked the counter guy about the glocks we called ahead about. He looked high and low and could not find them. He then said "we probably sold them, we had a lot of people looking at them."

I was a bit disappointed because I called ahead to have them put on hold and we just wasted a trip. The guy that was helping asked around if anyone got a call about some Glock 20's and another guy yelled he had them underneath the counter as we requested they be put on hold. We gladly purchased both. They also did this for me with a S&W Shield 9mm for my girlfriend. I called to see if they had one and they did ($399 NIB cheaper than any other LGS by $30). Again, I asked to put it on hold. I showed up later that day and it was behind the counter with a sticky note with my name on it. My friend wanted a Shield and called Liberty Arms. They said they just sold their last one but they would put him on the list for the next one. He agreed and two days later they called him to let him know they had one reserved for him.

I have been to stores before that will not even go get a price for you and say "it's around $500-$600" and as most of you know $100 off a gun is like $1000 off a car; it makes a big difference. I am not going to judge them until the everything is out on the table. They have always treated me, my girlfriend and my family well. Every time I have asked about a firearm they did not have in stock; they have always been helpful to get me price and availability. They also have the biggest selection on new/used guns and I have yet to see another store beat their prices on firearms.