Trader Jerry's — Local services in Salem

I have been dealing with Trader Jerry's for years, and would not hesitate to recommend a good friend or family member. I have a wide variety of tastes in firearms, and Trader Jerry's has always been able to accommodate my latest craves. Everything from when I started out with mil-surps, to AK's, AR's, to FN, H&K's, and everything in between. My latest interests have been towards semi-custom 1911's. I had a Nighthawk T3 shipped to their new store right down the road from the old one before checking out what they had in-stock. When I picked it up and did the transfer I noticed a used Wilson Combat CQB for a more than reasonable price. They were able to work with me on a trade for another firearm that I had in the truck. That day I left happy as always when dealing with them carrying out two semi-custom 1911's. I change my interests a lot and Trader Jerry's has always been willing to work with me on trades of all kinds. They have given me reasonable offers, and have always had more than decent prices on most all of their merchandise. I would highly recommend them when buying online and shipping to an FFL for transfer. I have done this numerous times and have never had a problem with them. The staff is competent and knowledgeable in completing transfers in a timely fashion. Not to mention the staff tries their best to remember a face and a name. I disappeared to Alaska and Afghanistan for almost three years, however Aaron still remembered me by name. Trader Jerry's is quite a distance from where I live in VA, however the trip is always worth it. I've had nothing but trouble dealing with Roanoke Firearms, which is closer to where I live, and now refuse to do business with those people. I have been coming to Aaron's shop for over ten years now, and have nothing but good to say about their prices and level of service they will provide their customers. Someone mentioned that it's hard to get in contact with them on the phone, they try their best...However I believe they only have one phone line. My experience has taught me to keep calling, they will get to you. Keep in mind that they have a high level of customers calling for numerous reasons like yourself. Have a bit of patience and persistence when trying to reach them...

I didn't feel much like a valued customer, but that was probably because I bought Heritage Rough Rider and not some firearm more than $500. The first gun I ever bought was the best experience I had because the salesperson was patient and really helped me select my first gun to purchase, which was for $500 at the time. The salesperson walk me through the paperwork and made sure I was happy with my purchase. I made sure to even spend another $200 in ammo, because the whole experience was amazing, so I guess I judge all my experiences now in purchasing a firearm to that first experience. Nevertheless, I got the impression at Trader Jerry's that since I wasn't spending a lot of money, I wasn't a real customer. So, now I figure before I purchases my next firearm, I'll will pop by another local gun store, not only to compare prices, but for the gun store that I feel would value my patronage. Where it is guns or clothes, customer service and how you treat customers regardless of how much they spend, should be feel valued, because that is how you can guarantee they come back and make future purchases. The first purchase might not be big, but maybe their next purchase might. I do admit I hot a descent deal, but found online the sales price they listed at Trader Jerry's was actually the same price, not listed as a sales, price online at other gun stores, so I didn't really get a deal, because I could have bought the same gun elsewhere for the same price. Granted they have a larger inventory, that is probably about all they have...

I've been in here a couple times and I can understand why some of the reviews are negative. The first time I walked in they didn't even speak to me. For me personally, that is great. I generally know what I'm doing and I know what I'm looking for. I was there just browsing and pricing out what guns they had. But for a newbie, first time buyer, or just nervous shopper, it might come off as if they are intentionally ignoring you and/or being rude...They are not ignoring you, its a gun shop, they're observing every move you make. However, from what I can tell, they don't want to pressure you or make you feel rushed. These guys will help you if you initiate with them, but you might have to put your big boy pants on and explicitly ask for help. For example, I had never held or used a Ruger takedown, so I picked it up and walked up to the counter and said "can you show me how this works". And by god, they demonstrated how the takedown feature works, put it back together, and let me go on about my business. They don't do pushy sales tactics or attempt to coerce you into buying a gun they've had sitting around for a long time (or at least they didn't do that to me). The best way I can describe it is that they are not there to sell you a gun, but rather they are there to help you buy the...