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Wanting to chat with an employee that works in the FtW store.

I have dealt with them a few times and have bought guns and equipment.. If you ask someone might be able to help

They also have a newer store in McKinney that is easier to get to if you are ever in the Dallas area.

I work in the corporate office for CTD, Inc. located in Fort Worth.

The retail store "Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures is not owned or operated by us.

We are the catalog/internet company. We have a warehouse pickup window inside CTDOA.

Our brick and mortar store is in McKinney.

If I can help, then ask away.

Edited to correct spelling.

tvone wrote:I work in the corporate office for CTD, Inc. located in Fort Worth.

The retail store "Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures is not owned or oporated by us.

We are the catalog/internet company. We have a warehouse pickup window inside CTDOA.

Our brick and mortar store is in McKinney.

If I can help, then ask away.

Why do the prices often differ between online and store, and the store claims private-non-affiliation with the online store?

It's even worse than that. If you order a firearm from the website it has to go through the, not affiliated, FW store and it cannot be picked up there because they don't do transfers. I live closer to the McKinney store, but work closer to the FW store. When I was considering ordering a rifle from them I asked if I could pick it up in FW during the week instead of waiting until the weekend and getting it from the McKinney store. They said that could not be done. That whole thing sounds very very strange to me.

Here's a brief timeline of cheaper Than Dirt.

1993- Small office is opened in Fort Worth so gun show customers could pick up item that were not available at the gun shows. Catalog is started.

Retail store continues to grow. Catalog grows.

1997- First website is up.

2001- Owner feels that internet is the way of the future, sells the store to the manager. CTD, Inc. and the company that now owns the store are separated. Totally separate staff and inventory. Space is leased from CTD, Inc., and licensing of the name "Cheaper Than Dirt" is granted to the new store owner.

Catalog pickup window for CTD, Inc. is part of the deal.

2010- CTD, Inc. owner of the internet site and catalog business decides to sell firearms online, and needs to have a place to do transfers for the DFW area. By part of thge agreement, any new retail operation has to be outside of a set distance from Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures. Opens Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! in McKinney, TX. As a service, Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! will do free transfers for firearms purchased online at CheaperThanDirt.com. No firearms are inventoried by CTD, Inc. in Fort Worth.


Overhead for a brick and mortar store is much greater than an online store, and pricing has to reflect that need for a greater margin to pay the expenses. Online doesn't need a staff of salesmen working on commission on the floor. A storefront cannot compete on pricing with an online site unless the prices online are higher.

Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures is a very good retail store with plenty of stock, and a large staff. You're paying a bit more to have a person discuss your purchase and actually let you hold the item in your hands. Many people want that one on one experience, need the extra help, or want to know options. A computer monitor cannot do that.

Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures chooses not to do transfers or try to compete with online sites. Judging against the other retail stores in the area is how you should compare pricing and service.

Judge CheaperThanDirt.com against other online sites for pricing and service.

It's not better or worse, just different.

tvone wrote: 2010- CTD, Inc. owner of the internet site and catalog business decides to sell firearms online, and needs to have a place to do transfers for the DFW area. By part of thge agreement, any new retail operation has to be outside of a set distance from Cheaper Than Dirt Outdoor Adventures. Opens Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! in McKinney, TX. As a service, Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! will do free transfers for firearms purchased online at CheaperThanDirt.com. No firearms are inventoried by CTD, Inc. in Fort Worth.

How does that fit with what I was told by a sales person that responds to questions asked from the website? Is it being shipped to CTD, Inc. in FW or CTDOA?

The warehouse is located in Grand Prairie, Texas. We will have to transport it to our warehouse in Fort Worth first so that we may log it out in our bound book. We will then ship it to the McKinney store. Please place your firearm order online and select the Cheaper Than Dirt Guns store in McKinney for shipping.

The website uses a large number of distributors from around the country. When a firearm is purchased online, no matter where that warehouse is located, are sent to the Fort Worth warehouse to be logged in our A&D book, and shipped out the same day to the accepting FFL. Not stock or inventory is kept there, and as part of our agreement with CTDOA, we will not sell or transfer from the Fort Worth area. I am not sure of the exact distance, but since McKinney is about 70 miles, it must be at least 50 miles.

I would call it a shipping hub, similar to Fed Ex using Memphis as there hub. Whatever comes in that day, leaves by the end of the day. Nothing is held in Fort Worth. It's a very efficient system. We can process several pallets a day.

tvone wrote:The website uses a large number of distributors from around the country. When a firearm is purchased online, no matter where that warehouse is located, are sent to the Fort Worth warehouse to be logged in our A&D book, and shipped out the same day to the accepting FFL. Not stock or inventory is kept there, and as part of our agreement with CTDOA, we will not sell or transfer from the Fort Worth area. I am not sure of the exact distance, but since McKinney is about 70 miles, it must be at least 50 miles.

I would call it a shipping hub, similar to Fed Ex using Memphis as there hub. Whatever comes in that day, leaves by the end of the day. Nothing is held in Fort Worth. It's a very efficient system. We can process several pallets a day.

So, it's not going to CTDOA to be logged?

Correct. Firearms purchased online are sent to Fort Worth and are logged in to the CTD, Inc. FFL. Firearms are logged out to whatever FFL is receiving the firearm for the customer. Local firearms are then sent to CTD Guns in McKinney

CTD, Inc. and Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! both have there own FFL.

CTDOA is totally separate entity.

tvone wrote:Correct. Firearms purchased online are sent to Fort Worth and are logged in to the CTD, Inc. FFL. Firearms are logged out to whatever FFL is receiving the firearm for the customer. Local firearms are then sent to CTD Guns in McKinney

CTD, Inc. and Cheaper Than Dirt Guns! both have there own FFL.

CTDOA is totally separate entity.

If the other person I was dealing with a couple months ago would have explained it like that I probably would have bought my rifle through them instead. Oh well, I have a nice Colt for a good price and I'm happy with what I got.

We fully understand how confusing this is on a local level.

Outside of the DFW area does not have this problem.

Interesting and complicated story.

I just bought a gun and a holster today at Cheaper Than Dirt near the intersection of I35W and I820. I take it that was the CTDOA store? I had a good experience, but the way. Good prices and helpful rep.

I always liked the non-gun inventory in the store in Fort Worth. When the one in McKinney opened I went there expecting the same type of inventory. Nope not the same. The folks in the McKinney store then gave me the same info as tvone gave here. I like both stores, but they really are different.