Back when I purchased my very first M1911A1, you couldn’t walk into a gun store without seeing a plethora of parts for that platform. Slide locks, triggers, grip safeties in various configurations, backstraps, more triggers, the list goes on.
However, when I have to purchase a new slide lock for that very same pistol, now over two decades (and thousands of rounds) older, there’s not a single gun store that has one. I have to go online.
This might make me seem an old geezerly grump, but I hate this. I want to buy local. Support local businesses. But it seems I’m one of the few.
A pox on Amazon and the retail apocalypse that it created.
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The 1911 is like a ‘75 Chevy- you can WORK on them. I built a nice little (bowling) pin gun from a trashed Springfield Champion. Local store had parts, & I could do the work on my bench. Amongst a lot of other stuff, I fit in a new trigger & worked it so it was ‘just right’. Not so easy w/the Tupperware pistols. Yeah, I’m an old guy…
You’re not alone. But some of this seems self-inflicted by local businesses. For example, my brother wanted parts for his Yamaha ATV, but the local Yamaha dealer didn’t have them. Not only that, but couldn’t get basic parts (like spark plugs) for 2 weeks. So my brother went to Amazon and had them in 2 days.
When it comes to the poorly manufactured Chines parts, I’m on board with this.
However, a few years ago, we happened to stop by a collectibles store, just as they were opening. The owner was apologetic, but was rushing to make a shipper’s pickup time. After all items were boxed, she had time to help us.
It turned out that a substantial portion of her sales were on Amazon. That platform provided the steady income that kept her going through periods of slow sales.
She is not alone – other merchants have noted that Amazon allows them to clear out unsold goods at a better price, be able to offer niche products, and otherwise make it possible to compete in today’s markets.
A lot of the amateur radio products are only available through Amazon, too many of them from foreign manufacturers. When possible, I buy American, but for couplers, connectors, and other peripherals, Amazon is my best bet.
If you have to go online for parts, Brownell’s and MidWayUSA!