Gun market in the Philippines – Defense Training International

30 Sept 13

This from a friend in the Philippines on the subject of the fickleness of the civilian gun market there:

“Our national police just ordered 75k G17/Gen4 pistols. In the United States, such an order would affirm the quality of the product and drive the civilian market to follow the direction of LEO preference.

No so here! Our nation’s adoption of the Glock Pistol has actually driven down demand for the brand! The civilian market is fickle, and gun-buyers here don’t want to be seen carrying a cop’s service pistol. Conversely, they want something that says ‘better, more accurate, more refined, more expensive.’ In short, a police sidearm here is considered dreadfully pedestrian, and is to be thus avoided by all who don’t want to be seen as unsophisticated clods!

For example, price of the impossibly clunky Beretta 92, before police adoption in 1993, was 1k, and everyone wanted a copy. The moment our cops were issued Berettas, going price dropped to $600.00. But, now that no Philippine government unit is still officially issuing the 92, prices have gone back up to over 2.5k, and people are buying them as fast as they become available!

The H&K P30, never issued to and governmental unit, is also expensive and popular among civilian buyers. Never mind that recoil springs and spare magazines are all but unobtainable.

For those who wear a pistol in the same manner, and for the same reasons, some wear a luxury Swiss watch, exclusivity apparently trumps functionality. For those of us who actually know what a pistol is for, this foolish elitism might actually be a good thing! For one, I’m thankful for all this brand-snobbery, as it makes the G17/Gen4 pistol I want more affordable!