Don't lose the walk-in: In-Stock Alternatives

The customer at the counter wants one specific gun. You look it up, and every distributor is out. You can take a name and number and hope, or you can offer something close that you can have in a few days.

Most dealers would rather offer something. The hard part is thinking of the right something, on the spot, and knowing someone actually has it. In-Stock Alternatives does that part. It's included with Pro+.

When it shows up

Look up a product. If every distributor is out of it, an In-Stock Alternatives section appears above the distributor list. If anyone has it in stock, you won't see the section, because the answer is to order it.

You get the three closest matches first, and Show more opens up to nine. Each card shows the price, the caliber, the barrel length or round count where it applies, and how many distributors have it. Click a card to open that product's full results, with every distributor's price and stock.

Everything in the list is in stock somewhere right now. We drop any product no distributor can ship.

How "close" is decided

For a firearm, two things have to match before a gun is considered at all. It has to be the same caliber, and the same action type, so you won't get a lever gun offered for a striker-fired pistol.

Then we score what's left on how much it has in common with the original:

• Same manufacturer counts the most, then same model line
• Caliber and action
• Barrel length within about an inch
• Capacity within a few rounds
• How many distributors have it in stock
• Color, a little

That order is on purpose. A customer who asked for a specific pistol usually cares about the brand first. If they wanted a compact 9mm from one maker and that one's out, the same maker's other compact 9mm is usually a better offer than someone else's.

We cap it at two per manufacturer, so the list isn't nine versions of the same gun.

Ammo works the same way

For ammo the caliber has to match. After that, we rank on the same manufacturer and product line, then bullet type, then grain within about 5 grains, then box count and case material.

So if the 124-grain JHP they buy every month is out everywhere, you'll see 124-grain JHP from the same maker's other lines before you see anything else.

Suppressors, optics and mounts get their own version of the same idea. A suppressor has to match caliber, an optic has to be the same kind of optic, and a mount has to be the same mount type.

What it doesn't do

It doesn't rank by price. The closest match comes first even if it's $80 more. Each card shows the price, so you can see the spread and decide what to offer.

It also doesn't know your customer. It knows specs. If they asked for that gun because of how it feels in the hand, you're still the one who has to explain the difference.

Try it

In-Stock Alternatives is included with Pro+. Look up something that's out everywhere and check above the distributor list.

Not on Pro+ yet? Try the full Pro+ plan free for 7 days. No credit card needed until your trial ends.