Dick's Sporting Goods will destroy assault-style rifles pulled from shelves

[Arkansas Granny]

When Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would no longer sell modern sporting rifles at its Field & Stream stores following the Valentine’s Day shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school, one question was what would happen to the unsold firearms in its inventory.

Typically a retailer may return unsold merchandise to the manufacturer. But in this case, Dick’s Sporting Goods has decided to destroy them.

“We are in the process of destroying all firearms and accessories that are no longer for sale as a result of our February 28th policy change,” a spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We are destroying the firearms in accordance with federal guidelines and regulations.”

The so-called assault-style rifles will be destroyed at the company’s distribution centers and the parts sent to a salvage company to be recycled, the Findlay-based retailer added. The company did not say how much merchandise would be included.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/money/2018/04/09/Dicks-Sporting-Goods-Pittsburgh-destroy-dispose-assault-rifles-guns-pulled-off-shelves/stories/201804060151

This is from last week, but I don't recall seeing it posted before.

[JI7]

1. good, i will consider them if i ever need to buy something that they sell.

[Loki Liesmith]

10. Ever need sweatpants?

[Blue_true]

22. They run a really good store.

Running and walking gear. Clothing for hot summer days knocking around home. Light jackets for fall. Try doing a walk thru one of their stores. I spend around $300 with them last fall and will spend more this year before it is over.

[Sherman A1]

2. Excellent

I don't buy much sporting goods, but they will most certainly be on my list to do so should the need occur.

[rickford66]

18. I buy lots of foul weather clothes there.

[Blue_true]

23. So did I last fall. Good selection. nt

[malaise]

3. Great news

Rec

[Hoyt]

4. Now we're talking. Think we'll see many gunners do responsible thing & destroy their lethal rifles?

[EX500rider]

43. Which rifles aren't lethal?

[Hoyt]

47. Thanks EX500. You gonna destroy any of your prized weapons?

Or, you looking at another one?

Always good to have useful comments from those who helped create this problem.

[EX500rider]

48. How have my bolt action rifles created any problems?

[EX500rider]

49. Do you destroy your car every time a drunk driver kills someone?

Or do you not feel responsible for strangers actions?

[Mister Ed]

5. I'll make a point of shopping there.

I need new skis next season.

[Cha]

6. That's a strong statement! Good on them.. caring more

about KIDS' lives and everyone else's than the damn blood money.

[Hortensis]

7. Thanks. Good for Dick's! Already shop there.

[machoneman]

8. Wow, great news!

I do hope the gun huggers start a movement (you bet the NRA will) to blockade Dick's and move to avoid their stores. This could then lead to a movement on our side, ala the Parkland massacre protests, to more protests by our side to demand other stores to do the same.

[gademocrat7]

9. Thanks for the update.

I have bought merchandise from them since their gun ban.

[Arkansas Granny]

16. Yes, I have, too. They have some nice camp gear and outdoor cooking equipment.

[IronLionZion]

11. OK, I'll buy some athletic wear from there next

They have stuff for all sorts of sports, and winter coats and gym shorts and whatever too. Some stores have a rock climbing wall and putting green.

[paleotn]

12. I didn't see it either....

I wonder why it didn't get more traction nationally? That is a huge deal and will cost Dick's huge dollars, but they're willing to pay the price to do what's right. They've got my business from now on.

[yankeepants]

13. swords into ploughshares

[lunamagica]

14. That's wonderful. Sadly, I've never been to any of their stores. Not into sports.

[Botany]

15. They have some nice clothing, shoes, boots, and outdoor gear too.

I was going to buy some socks for a neighbor's charity drive
someplace else but I'll go to Dicks today.

[lunamagica]

17. Great. I need to check them out.

[Blue_true]

26. They sell a lot of general wear, good cold and warm weather selections.

If you need knocking around the house wear, I bet you can find it there. Their prices are fair for the level of quality.

[3catwoman3]

19. Bravo!

I buy a lot of my workout clothes there. They carry a brand designed (allegedly) by Carrie Underwood. It is designed with non-runway body women in mind - those of us whose waists are smaller than our derrieres.

When our second son was probably in about 3d grade, we drove by a Dick's store, and he looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and asked, "Why would anyone mane a store THAT?" I realized he did not know that Dick was a nickname for Richard.

[crazycatlady]

33. there's a few memes on the internet about the Dick's name

Especially when it is in the same shopping center as Staples.

[3catwoman3]

35. I'm sure there are.I know all about problematic names.

My family name is Ball.

While I was stationed in Japan with the AF nurse corps, I had a good friend whose last name was Penix. He was a really great guy, but I knew I would never pursue a romantic relationship with him. My last name was bad enough. I wouldn't have wanted to take his name, or, gawd forbid, hyphenate.

We were members of the base amateur theater group, and our fellow thespians used to have a great time joking around about being in stage with Penix and Ball

[hardluck]

37. My sons are the same.

Every time they see a Dick's store, they tell me to drive around the back to see the butt. Ah, 10 year old boy humor....

[GatoGordo]

20. A marketing decision

They won't be able to write it off as a loss, so they must think that the business they gain by destroying the firearms will be more than offset by the loss.

As a business, you have to weigh one against the other.** Firearms are expensive, though I don't know what percentage of their business is with shooters/hunters. I never went to Dicks unless it was for sporting attire (soccer cleats, baseball pants, etc). They closed their one store near me a couple years ago when a Scheels opened.

~~~~~~~~

**I'm a cabinet maker. I doubt I would be able to justify destroying X% of my inventory to score points with people who may/may not have done business with me in the past. It's a tough call.

[GatoGordo]

28. I commented on a marketing decision

[fescuerescue]

31. Well a writeoff for marketing

yields the same tax savings as a writeoff for inventory shrinkage.

Believe me. That inventory is coming straight off the tax statement, whether its shrinkage, marketing or even capital depreciation.

[GatoGordo]

57. I took the liberty of asking my CPA about this very question (its tax time!)

In essence, Dicks is destroying inventory that would otherwise be sold or returned for credit. No IRS auditor would allow it as a "loss", let alone a marketing expense. No CPA would even try it. This is how CPA's end up getting sanctioned or jailed.

Dicks will eat the cost of this.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. Why wouldnt they be able to write it off?

That merchandise is a spoiled as week old bread, in their opinion.

I’m not an accountant but I would think, if the market changes, they would be able to write off the merchandise they are stuck with.

[GatoGordo]

38. I'm no accountant, but the IRS is pretty fussy

at least they have been with my write-offs in the past. No matter what my opinion is, it is the opinion of the IRS that matters.

In my opinion, I don't think that they will be able to write down salable items that they destroyed. As was mentioned in the article, the guns could have been returned to the manufacturer.

I am not familiar with Dicks business structure... is it privately owned or do they have shareholders? If it is publicly held, they might have some explaining to do. But, if gun sales are just a small fraction of what their total sales are, it might not matter. I haven't followed it that closely.

[Blue_true]

21. Good for them. Remove the rifles from existence.

Ground up the wood and plastic and melt the metal down.

[spanone]

24. K&R...

[oasis]

25. Acting responsibly. Showing the way.

[RhodeIslandOne]

29. Must be like burning a porno mag for ammosexuals. N/M

[fescuerescue]

30. Seems like that would help gun manufacturers

If they returned it to the manufacturer, the gun company would sell it to another vendor (1 sale)

But since they destroyed it. The manufacturer keeps the original sale & profit to Dicks, then gets to sell another one to another reseller and profit there too. (2 sales)

Put more simply, then gun manufacturers surely appreciate not having to absorb all that returned millions of inventory.

[Calculating]

34. This

It's completely counterproductive what they're doing. Just more money for the gun industry.

[Arkansas Granny]

39. It seems to me they've eliminated an assault-style weapon.

They are destroying guns that they are not going to replace. The gun manufacturers have lost a nationwide outlet for the type of weapon that has been used in numerous mass shootings. I wonder how many of this style rifle they hAve in stock that will be destroyed.

Yes, those weapons are still available elsewhere, but maybe this will give other retailers a boost to follow Dicks lead.

[NickB79]

42. The US is awash in gun stores

I'd bet money that, in every city Dick's has stopped selling AR's, there are multiple smaller retailers selling them. Hell, most gun ranges also double as firearms dealers, and can order anything you want through the mail (still have to do a background check when paying for it).

Bear in mind that Dick's was only selling assault rifles in a few dozen stores when they made this decision. They stopped being a national seller of these guns years ago.

[Arkansas Granny]

44. It's a statement and it's a start. Every one they destroy

is one that won't be purchased by someone who shouldn't have one.

[hack89]

45. Because those people cant get an identical gun from somewhere else?

Last edited Mon Apr 16, 2018, 10:00 PM - Edit history (1)

It is not like rifles are in short supply.

[Arkansas Granny]

50. Well, if you look at it that way, we might as well give up on getting

any kind of meaningful gun control and just sit back and wait for the next mass murder.

[hack89]

51. Now thats a silly response to a reasonable question

No wonder the NRA keeps winning with opponents like you.

[Arkansas Granny]

53. I didn't think the sarcasm tag was necessary. Silly me.

[lpbk2713]

36. Summer will be here soon. They carry a lot of fishing and boating supplies.

I'll keep them in mind.

[Hekate]

40. Excellent, excellent decision

I've never seen one of their stores in my region, but I will keep them in mind for those odds and ends we non-sports types occasionally need from sporting goods stores. My kids are now 40, but when they were in school I used to get their shoes at Big 5 -- their gear for summer camp -- and so on.

Dick's will win more customers and good will than they lose.

[StarryNite]

41. Excellent!

[hack89]

46. So the gun manufacturers can keep the money?

I am sure they are happy they didn’t have to take back those rifles.

[GatoGordo]

58. Correct

Gun manufacturers are in the business of selling guns*. Dicks bought them, so that's a win for the gun makers, though the destruction of these guns is a symbolic win for those who are anti-gun.

What Dicks does with the rifles after the sale doesn't concern the manufacturers. Though it is one less retailer. I'm not sure what kind of market share Dicks had when it came to guns. I never shopped there except for golf balls, soccer cleats and baseball pants. The local store has since closed.

*I manufacture cabinets. What the buyer does with them after they purchase them is their business. It would be discouraging if they destroyed them, but in the end, I am in business to sell cabinets.

[Snackshack]

52. Bravo!

I have bought merchandise from them before and will do so again.

Thank you Dick’s Sporting Goods!

[Throck]

54. They're good with coupons.

Pretty good for camping gear.

[bullwinkle428]

55. Please share your thoughts and prayers for these poor, destroyed weapons.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

56. Recently, My Son Needed New Baseball Shoes

I bought them at Dick's AND I made sure to tell the manager WHY I was buying them there. He was very pleased to hear about it and said he was getting nothing but positive feedback from people about it.

So I encourage anyone who has a need for sporting goods, don't just buy them at Dick's, but make sure to tell the manager WHY you're buying them there as well. They'll love it.