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John D. · 02-25-2002, 05:46 PM

Let me try to distill some comments MADE IN YOUR SCREAMING (yea, I hate ALL CAPS)...

First of all - most dealers have defined lay away policies. Most are 2 - 3 months. Period. Ralph Shattuck, seeing as how many on this Forum know him - has a stated policy of:

"All time payments, lay aways or purchases made in my shop or from me at shows are final."

"No Refunds after 6 Months on any lay aways. "

"Cancellations of all lay aways up to 6 months forfeit 33% of deposit."

You can view it yourself here: http://www.worldoflugers.com/policies.html - and frankly, after purchasing many Lugers "on lay away, 2 - 3 months is considered the maximum. Six months is more then enough...

Second â?? â??THE BUYERâ?, in your example - appears confused - a "lay away" is NOT a right to reserve an "inspection period". A Luger put on lay away is PURCHASED by you the day that first deposit is received! In short - a dealer is NOT â??THE BUYERâ??Sâ? banker, your financier nor your pawn shop. On that note - I think a lay away for a year is asking the dealer to finance a Luger you can't afford to begin with - sorry to be so blunt.

From a dollar standpoint - Business 101 states that the Dealer has actually starts losing money on a gun starting at the second month of a lay away period. Using "round numbers - look at it this way... Say a high-end Luger is priced at $4,000. That inventory turns about once every 2 months with a Dealer margin at 20% - 30%. Let's use 25% just for arguments sake. So over the course of the YEAR you have had that Luger on lay away - that dealer has sacrificed approximately $24,000 in CASH FLOW and $6,000 in Net Margins!!! On a $4,000 Luger??!!!!... Hmmmm...

Now, what you have stated Tim - is that â??THE BUYERâ? tried to use the dealer to finance a Luger â??THE BUYERâ? couldn't afford in the first place (or it wouldn't have been on lay away for a YEAR?). You also failed to tell us what the "SUBSTIANTIAL AMOUNT" â??THE BUYERâ? had down on that Luger after an entire year? (was it even 25% of the overall purchase price or 50% of the purchase price???).

IMHO - it sounds like â??THE BUYERâ? wanted an excuse to get "out of the deal" to begin with. If â??THE BUYERâ? weren't confused about what a lay away policy is (it is a PURCHASE, and nothing less.) Then â??THE BUYERâ? should have shown up at the show - paid for the Luger in full, then used the 3-day inspection period to return the Luger as "not represented" or ask for a partial refund. Sorry - â??THE BUYERâ? can't have it both ways - asking a dealer to finance him, then reneging on a deal before that deal is transacted.

As an example - â??THE BUYERâ? should try walking into a car dealership - putting a deposit on a factory ordered car - and then DON'T show up at the dealership for a year(???!!!) - and DEMAND their deposit back â?? in full â?? after that year. â??THE BUYERâ? would be laughed off the dealers lot - if they aren't sued for breach of contract in the meantime.

Bottom line - if â??THE BUYERâ? can't afford a Luger - don't put it on lay away and ask a dealer to finance it for them. In the example I used - without even compounding the Gross and the Net â?? â??THE BUYERâ? has cost them $24,000 in cash flow and $6,000 in margin on a $4,000 Luger over the course of a year. Please feel free to post back how much â??THE BUYERâ? put down versus the original cost of the Luger - so we have the story intact in your example.

(And BTW: DOK is the Webmaster, and if you mean, "keep this Forum going" from an operational standpoint, then you are most welcome. To note - I'm the one who gets to pay (out of my own pocket) each and every month the operational costs of this site including the monthly Internet connections, servers, software, server coding, upgrades, maintenance, electrical bills, insurance, etc.).

02-25-2002, 05:46 PM	#4
John D. Administrator & Site Owner LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Little NE of Somewhere... Posts: 2,651 Thanks: 478 Thanked 517 Times in 129 Posts	You Want Feedback? Here goes.... Let me try to distill some comments MADE IN YOUR SCREAMING (yea, I hate ALL CAPS)... First of all - most dealers have defined lay away policies. Most are 2 - 3 months. Period. Ralph Shattuck, seeing as how many on this Forum know him - has a stated policy of: "All time payments, lay aways or purchases made in my shop or from me at shows are final." "No Refunds after 6 Months on any lay aways. " "Cancellations of all lay aways up to 6 months forfeit 33% of deposit." You can view it yourself here: http://www.worldoflugers.com/policies.html - and frankly, after purchasing many Lugers "on lay away, 2 - 3 months is considered the maximum. Six months is more then enough... Second â?? â??THE BUYERâ?, in your example - appears confused - a "lay away" is NOT a right to reserve an "inspection period". A Luger put on lay away is PURCHASED by you the day that first deposit is received! In short - a dealer is NOT â??THE BUYERâ??Sâ? banker, your financier nor your pawn shop. On that note - I think a lay away for a year is asking the dealer to finance a Luger you can't afford to begin with - sorry to be so blunt. From a dollar standpoint - Business 101 states that the Dealer has actually starts losing money on a gun starting at the second month of a lay away period. Using "round numbers - look at it this way... Say a high-end Luger is priced at $4,000. That inventory turns about once every 2 months with a Dealer margin at 20% - 30%. Let's use 25% just for arguments sake. So over the course of the YEAR you have had that Luger on lay away - that dealer has sacrificed approximately $24,000 in CASH FLOW and $6,000 in Net Margins!!! On a $4,000 Luger??!!!!... Hmmmm... Now, what you have stated Tim - is that â??THE BUYERâ? tried to use the dealer to finance a Luger â??THE BUYERâ? couldn't afford in the first place (or it wouldn't have been on lay away for a YEAR?). You also failed to tell us what the "SUBSTIANTIAL AMOUNT" â??THE BUYERâ? had down on that Luger after an entire year? (was it even 25% of the overall purchase price or 50% of the purchase price???). IMHO - it sounds like â??THE BUYERâ? wanted an excuse to get "out of the deal" to begin with. If â??THE BUYERâ? weren't confused about what a lay away policy is (it is a PURCHASE, and nothing less.) Then â??THE BUYERâ? should have shown up at the show - paid for the Luger in full, then used the 3-day inspection period to return the Luger as "not represented" or ask for a partial refund. Sorry - â??THE BUYERâ? can't have it both ways - asking a dealer to finance him, then reneging on a deal before that deal is transacted. As an example - â??THE BUYERâ? should try walking into a car dealership - putting a deposit on a factory ordered car - and then DON'T show up at the dealership for a year(???!!!) - and DEMAND their deposit back â?? in full â?? after that year. â??THE BUYERâ? would be laughed off the dealers lot - if they aren't sued for breach of contract in the meantime. Bottom line - if â??THE BUYERâ? can't afford a Luger - don't put it on lay away and ask a dealer to finance it for them. In the example I used - without even compounding the Gross and the Net â?? â??THE BUYERâ? has cost them $24,000 in cash flow and $6,000 in margin on a $4,000 Luger over the course of a year. Please feel free to post back how much â??THE BUYERâ? put down versus the original cost of the Luger - so we have the story intact in your example. (And BTW: DOK is the Webmaster, and if you mean, "keep this Forum going" from an operational standpoint, then you are most welcome. To note - I'm the one who gets to pay (out of my own pocket) each and every month the operational costs of this site including the monthly Internet connections, servers, software, server coding, upgrades, maintenance, electrical bills, insurance, etc.).