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Old February 13, 2012, 07:10 AM   #26
mykeal
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I did not intend to offend. I apologize; I can see where those words could be offensive and I'm sorry I wrote them that way.

Yes, you, and I, and reenactors, and some others will pay more for 'more authentic' (but still not completely authentic) items. But Pietta isn't in that business - for god's sake, they make .44 cal brass framed 1851 Colt pattern revolvers! And they sell like hotcakes. What does that tell you? They're making the money - face it, they've got it figured out.

Last edited by mykeal; February 13, 2012 at 07:17 AM.
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Old February 13, 2012, 11:00 AM   #27
Willie Sutton
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Lots of Timex watches are sold too... but not to me. I wear a Rolex that I bought in 1978 and have worn since. You pays yer money and you gets what you get. The fact that brass framed farb-fantasy pistols sell like hotcakes says more about bad taste on the consumers end than anything else. Folks will buy just about any crap that's put in front of them, I guess. Some folks anyhow... but not all.

Back to my example though: The difference between Timex and Rolex cannot be changed, but the difference between Pietta and Uberti could be mostly changed by ONE simple change: Stop marking the sides of the barrels and move the stamps to under the loading levers. Take a quick management cappachino meeting at the factory, tell Guseppi to stamp 'em elsewhere, and a week later when the next big-container-o-pistols arrived on our fair shores their market would be larger. How larger? Dunno... 5%? 1%? If I were in business I'd try to capture ANY extra market share. Maybe they don't care and are busy enough.

I peel the dealer sticker off of my cars too... I just hate to advertise. And I don't buy Rugers either: Who needs a paragraph of legal warnings on a pistol? Mebbe it's just me, dunno... no clue. I like simple and elegent, and those markings aren't.


Best wishes, and all's well.


Willie

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Old February 14, 2012, 12:58 AM   #28
arcticap
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I'll add that we live in a very commercialized world where private manufacturers take pride in their products. Some are more than happy to advertise their corporate name and logo. I'm sure that most folks have watched NASCAR racing and have seen all of the logos on the cars. These are part of popular culture and illustrate the role of corporations in our society.
I think that it's great how Beretta/Uberti chooses to design and manufacture their guns and where they place their logo. However, every gun design and manufacturer has it's strong and weak points. People vote with their wallet. That's how the democracy of capitalism works, and there's a silent majority that in part vote for the more affordable guns because that's what they choose to buy. That way they can own more guns for less money in the long run.
Neither brand choice or logo placement is better in absolute terms, they're just simply different from each other.
Most people have their own set of priorities.
One last thing that I will mention is that this all goes back to the day of Colt himself. He was known as a showman, he boasted his products, and also built the blue onion dome on his factory that was topped with the Rampant Colt that became famous. And his name and address was stamped right on the top of the barrel and not hidden on the bottom of it.

http://www.damonmills.com/Items%20fo...ddress%202.jpg

So it seems that stamping a name on a barrel is very original and everyone chooses to do it differently. It's important to some but not to everyone. And everyone votes with their wallet when they select which gun to buy. Even if that gun is a Ruger, there's plenty of Bill Ruger's pride and family name built into it that no one can take away from him or the Ruger owner.
If I founded that company and designed that gun, then hey, I would want my name on it too. And so did Sam Colt.

Last edited by arcticap; February 14, 2012 at 12:12 PM.
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Old February 14, 2012, 11:36 AM   #29
Willie Sutton
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<please activate "Humor Mode ON" for the balance of this post. >


If you are easy to offend, or weigh 300+ pounds and stand at the Cabelas counter drooling over brass framed "not a copy of anything" revolvers that you can't really afford, you might want to skip elsewhere. You've been warned.>


That was a public service announcement from Willie, who stands firmly with tounge in cheek.
Now on to the good stuff:


Funny: If it were a Colt, I'd be happy to have Col S. Colt's name on the top...

Cheap Italian Copies.... well.... they are always going to be lesser. They would be *classier* if they were not stamped "Cheap Italian Copy, Black Powder Only" on the side where even a casual photograph at the reinactment shows it's a farb.

Admit it: They would look better, wouldn't they? Come on! Admit it: It's OK..... really. Say it: "They would look better without those markings". Yes!! You did it! Congratulations!! There, that was not so bad, was it? Don't you feel better now? Now let's all hold hands and sing....

They would look better, and we all know it. And it would cost Pietta zero.


Now:

What would be the downside to Pietta placing those markings under the loading lever? Let's think it thru:

Do you think any of the Camo-Cabelas-Crowd standing cheek to jowl at the gun counter would go "Uhh... wow... it's nice but I'm NOT going to buy it because I WANT that *prestigous* brand "Pietta, Made in Italy" stamped out for all of my fellow yahoos to see?

Or maybe "Wow... I'm such a moron that I REALLY want it to say BLACK POWDER ONLY in HUGE letters on the side of the thing so I don't forget not to use bullseye when I load it?"



No, there's no downside, only upside. They are not going to lose the yahoo-buyer. They might gain the more sophisticated buyer. That's a win-win.



Then again... there are plenty of yahoos standing cheek to jowl at Cabelas who will buy just about anything... and the cheeks and jowls get larger every year, and they stand closer and closer... Ahh... the very thought of unwashed yahoos makes me want to mail order from S$S, where I get a Uberti for about the same price...



<Please revert to "Humor Mode NORMAL" now>


Smile, and enjoy.



Willie


.

Last edited by Willie Sutton; February 14, 2012 at 12:40 PM.
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Old February 14, 2012, 04:25 PM   #30
maillemaker
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Quote:
Have any idea how many people pay good money to have markings removed from replicas? It makes a difference to people who do historical reinactments.. and they pay for accuracy. Uberti has their market sewn up. Pietta could obtain the market with a simple change of location of their stamps.
My advice would be to contact Pietta.

This is the route some of us did with Pedersoli recently with their acquisition of the Euroarms line of BP longarms, and it has made a difference. Rather than continue the perpetuation of the 4th generation P1853 that the Parker Hales were based off of, Pedersoli is re-tooling the arm to (more) correctly follow the 3rd generation P53s that were actually common during the Civil War. All it took were some persistent, friendly emails.

Steve
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Old February 14, 2012, 06:12 PM   #31
Hardy
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I have in my shop a 150 anniversary 3rd gen colt Walker which was a tad more valuable than the other 3rd Walkers.It comes-w/walker flask-colt cap tin-small sack of balls and a generic case If interested contact me at [email protected]. This gun is unfired but does have a very slight turn line. It does not say BP only and has all the colt stampings and NY address. Kit is 820 + shipping and handling
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Old February 17, 2012, 07:47 AM   #32
radom
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Well with the new guns I would tend to think of a Uberti as the Timex but at Rolex price. So what they have ugly stampings that beats the heck out of 100 more bucks for a arbor that is too short or timing issues. As far as I care they can stamp abdul the tent maker in them and it still beats paying more for having to shim a arbor.

But do I know I married a red neck farm gal..she is a bit rough on the edges but after 30 years and the shine is wore off it still works.
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