Expect it to become much harder to lay your hands on a LE model Glock even if you are actually LE.
Glock has tightened requirements to get LE Glock models in an effort to prevent them from ending up on the open market. In the past you simply had to show a LE purchase request letter to become a LE dealer.
Now you must become a Glock retail stocking dealer with a minimum purchase of 15+ Glock model handguns (and I’m assuming these won’t be sold at the LE price) and you have to provide Glock with copies of the officers LE ID and the complete 4473 for every sale of a LE model Glock.
As most dealers (myself included) aren’t going to jump through all those hoops for the opportunity to possibly make $10-20 dollars they simply will stop offering Glocks.
Currently LE sales were 95% of the only Glock sales I was doing anyway, making $20 profits on each one. Retails sales of Glocks have been dead for years given that dealer price is about $500 ($440 + 2 day air shipping from most wholesalers) and people thought $525 was a ripoff price for a standard Glock model.
Funny my local LE dealer didn’t mention this today when I went by, however, this particular dealer has been a “stocking” dealer for a very long time so it most likely won’t affect them.
Why wouldn’t you assume that S&W will dominate. They have a wicked easy LE program with dealers like OMB and Bud’s Police stocking and selling everything at the LE discount for LE, Fire, Paramedics and Mil. S&W is the way to go and I would think most people will see that.
I’m guessing this will hurt being able to find GSSF discounted pistols as they have to be blue label?
Another change by Glock I noticed in the Glock Report. The new GSSF rules as of 5/1 stating that you have to be a member for at least a year before being able to purchase a pistol at the membership price seems retarded. Having to wait a year though means you may actually have a chance to get your membership card and info before you can purchase a pistol. I used to recommend GSSF to people getting into Glocks but not really worth it now. New customers are over rated anyway right?
Won’t change anything here. My agency purchases directly from Glock.
We kept getting screwed over by the LE dealer we had always purchased from so dropped them. Evidently a number of agencies felt the same way and complained because that dealer is no longer a Glock dealer.
Do you think this move is because of the problems with the Gen 4s?
I mean if they are not selling enough to LE customers due to performance issues and unwillingness to upgrade to the Gen 4, they need to make up the profits. Loosing sales and they make it harder for people to purchase at LE pricing to offset the loss. Forcing the public and LE to purchase at market prices. Robing Peter to pay Paul?
Not to derail the thread, but I just bought a G19 and had to fill out, initial and sign a form with a Glock company header stating the seller had shown me how to field strip it, clean it, etc. The dealer said Glock required them to have the form filled out and return it to Smyrna. I imagine that form is in response to product liability lawsuits… Has anyone else seen this?
I was told of this recently but had not seen it, but was also told Glock has 3-4 lawsuits filed against them a day, I found that very alarming to say the least.
If regular dealers are paying $440 wholesale on a Glock and the LE price is less than wholesale, could this be Glocks response to some LE dealers who are violating their agreement with Glock and selling blue label guns to the public at retail prices?
Stocking dealers will only be effected in terms of the new procedure for selling to LE buyers. It is only the dealers who are NOT stocking dealers or don’t intend to become stocking dealers who will no longer get LE Glocks.
And that’s a shame. Many dealers would have loved to have your business.
Actually it is more dealers selling LE Glocks are market price and being able to actually make a slight profit. But essentially you have the issue correct. Bottom line is the guys who expect to buy Glocks for about $450 anytime they wish are in for a rude awakening.
A move like this has actually been a long time coming, because of many dealers out there doing unethical things with these “LE” Glock pistols.
I have seen many times where some dealers have taken the third mag out of the package and sold the mag at full retail to others, and also where some dealers have sold these Glock to Joe Schmoe on the street at full retail and made a nice profit.
It’s like being at basic, or the academy, or wherever, if a few misbehave, everyone pays the price.
As has been echoed already in this thread, I would like to see S&W do better in the LE market as well, they’re priced the same this year as Glocks for LE folks, and the regular retail came down on many of their different products to be more competitive.
Maybe it will be harder for them to buy through a dealer, but you can just order direct from glock for much less then I have seen at “stocking” LE dealers.
Dealer shenanigans with LE guns have been going on for a long time, and no one should be surprised at any such changes to their accountability.
The effect on the individual LEO and agency is nil. This will be a minor inconvenience to those dealers already doing healthy LE business. Those who have been well above-board, exceeding minimum standards, and have been following past contractual guidelines will likely require no changes at all.
I suspect FN is going to win the LE market.
FN has some good people and good product, but they’re not any measure of a threat, or even a competitor worth noting, to GI. They don’t publish their numbers, but I suspect their annual handgun orders don’t equal one months of GI. People go to FN for some things, and GI for another.
