June Update and Walk-Ins

Starting this Saturday, May 30th, the Verona Gun Safe will be open to walk-in customers on Saturday from 11am to 5pm. We still strongly encourage appointments, and priority will be given to customers with appointments. If the store becomes crowded, we may ask customers to wait outside or in their vehicles until they can be accommodated safely. We will still be accepting deliveries on Wednesday and Friday and scheduling evening appointments through the week as required by customer demand.

• Operations through the week will remain by evening appointment only. Packages will still be received on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Starting Saturday, May 30th, Saturday will be walk-in hours from 11 am to 5 pm. We may ask people to remain outside or in their vehicles if the store becomes crowded. We strongly recommend you make appointments. Customers with appointments will be given priority.
• Because of our limited hours, if you see a firearm you like on the website, email us and we will reserve it for you for a reasonable amount of time in order to coordinate your visit.
• Ammo and accessory purchases no longer require appointments and we accept walk-in customers for these purposes Thursday 5-7pm and Saturdays 11 am to 5 pm.
• We have lots of 9mm and 12 gauge and a good amount of .40 S&W, 5.56 and .223, and 7.62x39. Other calibers, including .380 Auto, may be limited or unavailable.
• First time and infrequent purchasers: To purchase a firearm in Pennsylvania, you must have a current driver's license or photo ID with your current address on it. If your address is out of date, you must provide a secondary form of identification issued by the state. This includes the PENNDOT address update card, a vehicle registration card, or a license to carry firearm. If you are not a Pennsylvania resident, we cannot sell you a handgun unless we ship it to a dealer in your home state for you to pick up there.
• We are still buying guns! If you have anything to sell, please shoot us an email with a description of each item and pictures if possible. Our normal policy is not to make offers without seeing the weapons in person, and while we stand by that, we will try to give a ballpark before scheduling an appointment and having you bring your items in.
• We are still accepting transfers. Deliveries may be delayed due to our hours, but expect deliveries to succeed on Wednesdays and Fridays. As always, please DO NOT contact us in advance. Once your package has been delivered, please reach out via email to schedule an appointment to pick it up. We are not scheduling appointments in anticipation of delivery.

posted by Alexander Corn on 05/29/2020

Mid-April Update

Things have been running pretty smoothly since we were able to re-open by appointment. Delivery issues are all sorted out and the couriers know our current delivery window schedule. New inventory is trickling in, and more is expected in the next several weeks. Ammunition is still in short supply, but we currently have plenty of .223 Rem, .40 S&W, and .22 LR. A small amount of 5.56 NATO and some .38 Special is expected in the next few weeks, and a large order of 9mm sometime after that.

We appreciate everyone's patience so far with the appointment system and delivery hiccups. To reiterate and summarize, keep these operational guidelines in mind:

• We are still accepting transfers. Deliveries may be delayed due to our hours, but expect deliveries to succeed on Wednesdays and Fridays. As always, there is NO NEED to contact us in advance.
• Once your package has been delivered, please reach out via email to schedule an appointment to pick it up. We are not scheduling appointments in anticipation of delivery.
• If you are looking to buy a firearm, please check our live inventory first to see if anything stands out. Then reach out over email with questions and to schedule an appointment. You are welcome to look at our inventory during your appointment, but our goal is to streamline the buying process as much as possible to minimize everyone's time spent out in public. If we can narrow your purchase decision down to one or two items over email that will help us achieve this goal.
• First time and infrequent purchasers: To purchase a firearm in Pennsylvania, you must have a current driver's license or photo ID with your current address on it. If your address is out of date, you must provide a secondary form of identification issued by the state. This includes the PENNDOT address update card, a vehicle registration card, or a license to carry firearm. If you are not a Pennsylvania resident, we cannot sell you a handgun unless we ship it to a dealer in your home state for you to pick up there.
• If you are part of an at-risk group for the virus, please stay home. If you're particularly susceptible and you feel you must visit our shop, please mention it and we'll take extra steps to ensure your safety to the best of our ability.
• Ammunition is still in short supply, and we may ration ammo purchases only to those buying a firearm in a matching caliber. This is in an effort to ensure that as many people as possible are able to purchase a complete and functional weapon system.
• These last several weeks have seen an incredible growth in first-time gun purchases. If you already own several guns, please consider holding off on new purchases for the time being. We want to do our best to provide the opportunity for as many people as possible to acquire weapons to defend themselves and their families.
• We are still buying guns! If you have anything to sell, please shoot us an email with a description of each item and pictures if possible. Our normal policy is not to make offers without seeing the weapons in person, and while we stand by that, we will try to give a ballpark before scheduling an appointment and having you bring your items in. As stated before, the goal is to make each interaction as quick as possible to minimize virus exposure risk.
• We sanitize countertops, pens, and other commonly-touched objects between appointments.
• We ask that appointments be for one person at a time. If you're helping a spouse, parent, or child pick out a firearm, please let us know in advance so we can schedule accordingly. Tandem appointments for couples or spouses each buying a firearm are perfectly fine.
• Appointments can run over, especially due to background check delays, so we may ask you to wait in another part of the shop or your car if this happens. We apologize for the inconvenience, but this policy is out of concern for everyone's health and safety.
• If you arrive early to your appointment, we may or may not be able to accommodate you. Please come in and let us know you're here. If we can't accommodate you, we'll ask you to wait in your car.
• We are not enforcing our layaway terms at this time. If you have something on layaway and aren't in a hurry for it, please wait until things return to normal to pick it up.

Stay safe and stay healthy!

posted by Alexander Corn on 04/11/2020

Open For Appointments Only

Earlier today, Governor Wolf declared gun dealers to be life-sustaining. This means that the Verona Gun Safe will resume operations on a limited basis.

For the foreseeable future, we will operate under the following guidelines:

• We are available by appointment only. Appointments must be scheduled via email and will be allocated in 30-minute blocks. We will sanitize all workspaces, pens, and other items between customers.
• Appointments are for firearms purchases and transfers only. If you have an appointment, we will also sell ammunition, accessories, and parts. We will not make appointments for parts-only or ammunition-only transactions. The reasoning behind this policy is that such transactions can be conducted online. The governor's updated mandate specifies that the only business we conduct in person is that which must be conducted in person.
• When you email to make an appointment, please provide your name, the desired appointment date and time, and the business you wish to conduct.
• Transfer customers must ensure that their tracking numbers indicate DELIVERED status before making an appointment.
• If a transaction takes longer than 30 minutes (namely, due to background check delays), we will ask the customer to wait in his or her car until a response from PICS is received.
• Given supply shortages, pistol-caliber ammunition is only available with the purchase of a firearm chambered in that caliber.
• Appointments are for a single person only. Please do not bring spouses, family, or friends with you. This is for everyone's health and safety. We will make exceptions for young children who cannot be left unattended.
• Do not make appointments to look at or handle firearms or to ask questions. Ask all questions via email in advance of an appointment. Appointments are for firearms transactions only.
• We respectfully ask that customers who feel unwell, who have compromised immune systems, or who are over 65 years of age refrain from leaving home. If you have property at our shop, please reach out and we will hold it for you without penalty - this goes for transfers, layaways, repairs, or anything else. Your health and safety is more important than anything else.
• Under no circumstances will walk-in customers be served.
• Special orders must be arranged through email and payment must be tendered via check sent through US mail. Once the special order arrives, an appointment can be made.

We will continue to post all inventory to the website. To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we will limit what firearms are on display in the showroom. This will allow us to track and sanitize what has been handled. Please review the website before your appointment if you intend to purchase a firearm in order to limit what must be handled and to expedite the transaction process.

posted by Alexander Corn on 03/25/2020

Government Shutdown

As most people are already aware, Governor Wolf issued a mandatory shutdown notice for most businesses effective 8 p.m. Thursday. Throughout this ordeal, the Verona Gun Safe has been determined to remain open for business until forced to close by official government action. That time has come. On advice from our counsel, Eric Jackson Lurie, Esq., we are suspending retail operations ahead of State enforcement action and in compliance with the governor's notice.

The decision to close has been a difficult one, but supporting factors (aside from government mandate) include customer health and safety, dwindling firearm inventory, depleted ammunition stocks, and supply chain delays.

We will monitor the situation closely to determine how to accept shipments in the coming days and weeks. If we learn that firearm sales and transfers can be lawfully conducted by appointment, we will do so. We will accommodate layaways affected by this closure, and we do not anticipate a need to adjust our one-year pickup policy.

While the physical showroom is closed and all business is temporarily on hold, we will be checking and replying to email on a continuous basis. If first-time buyers have any questions about their new guns, please reach out. If you are in need of assistance of any kind, firearm related or not, please reach out. We will do our best to help our community in any way possible as we navigate this unprecedented state of affairs.

Please watch this space daily for updates.

posted by Alexander Corn on 03/20/2020