doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Spanish Gun Market. What is your input?

Gests,

the 'list' prices for AyA in the UK can be viewed in total at http://www.a-s-i.co.uk/
I am assuming this will be accessible to those outside the UK.

I just went back and looked at the AyA quotation I got around a year ago to build the No 2 I pictured previously in this thread.
I had bought this 2 barrel cased set out of an estate and was wondering what it would cost to duplicate today.
The quote was $5900(just for the basic gun with one set of barrels) with no extras exclusive of shipping and taxes.
I have to agree with those who have stated that AyA and probably other quality Spanish makers have priced themselves out of the working/middle class market.
Jim

Does the AyA #2 actually sell at the list price (� 5700) in the UK? If so, their selling price is > 50% higher there than here in the USA.

In regards to Arrieta dropping their 557 and 570 models because they couldn't make a profit selling them . . . why couldn't they have simply raised their price on these models to give them an acceptable profit margin? It would seem to me that they would have maintained a greater pool of potential buyers by doing so. Am I wrong?

I can't give a firm answer on that, but this will probably (doesn't state) include VAT (tax) which is 20%. You may also get a discount. I can't say because I would never buy new now. I have a No 1 (made 1977) and a Senior (made 1980) - both bought used and much better value in my eyes that way.

The UK is, however, an expensive place to live.

John,

The guys have given you a great deal to ponder over.
My 2 cents is much the same:
1. I have 2 AYA nr 2s that I got from Cabelas pretty much as Larry Brown noted. New guns for about $4.5k that I thought were a great deal. Not so much at the current prices.
$8 to $10k buys a pretty nice used Brit gun, so why not buy the real thing?
The price increase is/was a real problem for me; it was too large, put new Spanish guns at pretty near the same price point as used second tier Brit guns. There are huge numbers of used Brit guns coming across the pond.
2. Before buying the AYAs from Cabelas I tried to buy a new gun from Grulla.
That was a total joke. Months would go by before I got an answer to the simplest question. And these were in Spanish. A absolute waste of time, they were NOT interested in my business.
3. As several guys noted the current on going Obama economy is a disaster unless you are a 1%er. The Spanish raised gun prices just when the US economy went into the dumper and it has not come out yet. Nor will it until the idiots are out of power. That is at least 2 more years.
4. People who want a twice barrel shootgun are buying Turkish or Russian guns for around $1k that are no where near as nice as a Spanish gun but they work and can shoot steel. I have a friend who has 5 of them. If one should break, he throws it out and gets another. Or they are getting Uggies, which are still a very good deal.

best wishes!

{quote=arrieta2]Fellows, as you know I have been selling Spanish guns for many years, importing direct from the makers. The Spanish makers want to know why they are not selling as many guns in the USA as several years before. The US market was at one time their biggest. Not now. So give me your input so I can forward your concerns and ideas back to them. Helping with this will help them understand what going on in the US to better address concerns about their products and distribution in the US

Thanks a bunch

John Boyd
Quality Arms
Houston, TX [/quote]

Texasquailguy,

It is not just in the US that the Spanish have worked their magic.

Their round bodied boxlock is up there in price with the Italian competitors, like the Ferlib Euro, around 8000 Euro. The difference that they do not seem to pereceive is that the Ialian versions have signed engraving from superstar engravers and finish to match.

Also, while AYA is promoting the round body, FAIR in Italy comes out with a fully CNC machined round bodied boxlock selling for under 2000 Euro.

See the problem? The AYA is not realistically able to either stand next to the top Italians or compete with the entry level ones.

One last detail, a Perazzi MX12 or MX20 can be found in Italian retail stores at around 7000 Euro. I doubt that Spanish makers can mobilise brand loyalty that can resist that kind of alternative.

I believe it's all a matter of price. About 8 years ago I went to Spain,toured the factory's and ordered 2 Grulla's. At the time landed price was about 7K Canadian each. I inquired last year about a 28 gauge built to the same specifications and was quoted almost 14K. The Grulla's have performed well with no problems and were very well finished but at the 14K mark there are a lot of other options.

Perhaps if the Spanish makers got some hot chicks in their ads, like those Three Italian Fausti gals- aany one of whom can "picca mia stromboli" they would boost their sales, plus harden some tools in the cutter grinder area of the shop- que che va, si???

Including me. I think I now have six Turkish made shotguns; four SxS and two self-loaders. I won�t use a Spanish gun for something it was never intended to do.

But, to paraphrase King Juan Carlos,

�When I talk business I speak English. When I talk of love I speak French. But when I talk to God, I use Spanish.�

When I hunted I used a Remington model 31. When it comes time to take care of business I reach for the Police Remington 870. But when I want to feel God Himself smile, I carry a Spanish side lock.

This is very interesting, but the answer is simple. I just got back from Spain, talked to shooters there, watched a tournament, went to gunshops, quizzed the owners.

The reasons are EXACTLY the same for flat sales in the US as they are in Spain.:

1: Jobs
2: Jobs
3: Jobs
4: flat or declining income among the employed.
5: declining small game populations.
6: less access to hunting
7: higher cost for access to hunting
8: bureaucracy
9: cultural, generational change driving demand for OU's, semis.
10: increasing urbanization

The posh SXS is the MG or bugeyed Sprite of today. It may get you there, but its still mainly a curiosity for people with disposable income.

Which is a pity. If things dont change, the workshops of Eibar and Elgoibar are going to go the way of the passenger pigeon, and soon.