NEW YORK–Buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing has expanded to the sale of guns, too, and some buyers are finding their ultimate cost to be far more than the purchase price.
In its report on BNPL financing in gun sales, Bloomberg BusinessWeek profiled Jennifer White, a 44-year-old single mother in Georgia, who bought a Glock G44 for $490. Nothing was due up front, and the payments were about $87 a month. But White has since discovered that after her final payment she will have paid $1,123 —the equivalent of 129% interest, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
In White’s case, the BNPL financing was arranged through Credova Financial LLC, a fintech in Bozeman, Mont., Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported.
“…Credova is different from most other BNPL companies because it not only allows but embraces gun sales, alongside other sporting goods,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek stated. “It’s seemingly frictionless payment option—the Guns.com site says customers can get ‘approvals in seconds’—shows how gunmakers and retailers are using the instant-gratification techniques of internet marketing to satisfy the American appetite for firearms.”
‘Shoot Now, Pay Later’
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported Guns.com says Credova customers can “get protected now, pay later,” while Grabagun.com, which also uses Credova, has trademarked the slogan “Shoot Now Pay Later.”
“We’ve made it extremely easy to go through the checkout process, no different than maybe just using a credit card at checkout to get a loan with us,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek quoted Dusty Wunderlich, Credova’s CEO, as saying during an interview posted on YouTube in January.
‘A Different Matter’
“Paying off the gun may be a different matter, because there’s a potential catch to promises of fast financing,” according to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek analysis. “Some of the deals Credova offers are more complicated and potentially much more expensive than the payment plans BNPL is best known for.”
Bloomberg BusinessWeek said Credova in June announced it was starting to offer “pay-in-four” financing through certain merchants, without saying whether those included gun sellers.
In White’s case, the financing wasn’t a short-term loan but a 12-month “closed-end consumer product lease” on her gun at a total cost of $1,123.
“Credova on its website refers to such excess costs as ‘leasing fees’,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported.
Buyers Urge Caution
Bloomberg BusinessWeek further reported that other gun owners have also taken to social media to caution buyers to read their Credova agreements carefully.