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Well ladies and gentlemen I am starting a gunstore apparently. No im not advertising here or anything atm I wont even give the name out yet. This all came about with a off hand remark at a family gathering that owning a gun store seems fun and my uncle overhead and offered me a building and Capitol to start it for 50% of the company. He owns a multinational company and always thought about owning on so off we go. He will hire management and staff all I have to do is pick what I want in it and show up. So on to the questions. Do you guys think 600 guns is enough inventory? Should we do gun shows within our state? We hadn't planned on selling anything but guns and ammo do u guys think we should carry the other crap most lil gunstores carry (ie shirts hats jackets and such)?

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I do not own a business but I would only suggest not to over extend yourself too much on the inventory, at least not right away. That's something you have to work up to, unless your uncle kicked in mega capital and you don 't mind putting it to work. Don't forget advertising either, just as important as your inventory.

 

I wish you well on your endeavor, it's what this country is founded on....hard work and risk = SUCCESS!

Edited by Venia
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He kicked in a lot of capital. He will be footing the bill for everything out of pocket including the ridiculous inventory he has planned. As he put it "its cheaper then some of the cars I have". He normally loses more then this on dumb cars and watches in a year then so hes just looking at it as something to say he owns. That dosent mean it will flop from lack of effort, he has 5 companies he has started from scratch that are now multinational. He even started a successful one in china and thats a feat considering he dosent speak the language. Im in it because I know far more then he does about guns and even went through a hands on gunsmithiing school but to tell you the truth I just want to screw with guns all day. He will make it successful like he always does and I will get to make the guns I want. He will run day to day and I will be free to make custom guns as I feel like to my own taste. Now the next question who are the wholesalers of vepers and saigas now? Edit to add: I will not be doing the whole rednecked saiga thing my passion lies in elephant cartridges like 416 rigby 458 lott and the wetherbys in compact lightweight guns for groundhog exploding or any other thing you decide to decimate. I have a 416 rigby down to 6 pounds and use it for everything from squirrels to bear. I just tune the ammo for it. Kicks like crazy but braked and mercuric recoil reducer tamed her down and makes me grin everytime I use it. Its a bigger hit at the range then anything else.

Edited by kindapointless
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Does your uncle need another "nephew", :) Good luck and stay on top of keeping up with inventory and ordering. Local shop here started out with great inventory, but got slack on ordering and restocking, then got caught with his pants down and nothing to sell, he's now out of business.

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Biggest advice I can give you is learn your market. The chain stores don't know what is popular in individual towns. You may want to spend all your time focusing on the guns you like to build, but if no one in your area likes those guns you are not going to make money. Build those for fun but also focus on your area. Buddy up to your local ranges and give out flyers with discounts to their members to drum up business.

 

Oh yeah and from back when i was selling 25k home theater setups, do not forget about the significant other when a couple comes in. Everyone claims they don't need the wife's approval for anything but it sure makes it a whole lot easier to make a big purchase if she is on board. You can only lose money by not involving her, if she is on board you may get her to get a gun herself as well or not complain about the husband's purchase. If you ignore her and she tells him no you made no money. Just my two cents from my five years stint in sales.

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He kicked in a lot of capital. He will be footing the bill for everything out of pocket including the ridiculous inventory he has planned. As he put it "its cheaper then some of the cars I have". He normally loses more then this on dumb cars and watches in a year then so hes just looking at it as something to say he owns. That dosent mean it will flop from lack of effort, he has 5 companies he has started from scratch that are now multinational. He even started a successful one in china and thats a feat considering he dosent speak the language. Im in it because I know far more then he does about guns and even went through a hands on gunsmithiing school but to tell you the truth I just want to screw with guns all day. He will make it successful like he always does and I will get to make the guns I want. He will run day to day and I will be free to make custom guns as I feel like to my own taste. Now the next question who are the wholesalers of vepers and saigas now? Edit to add: I will not be doing the whole rednecked saiga thing my passion lies in elephant cartridges like 416 rigby 458 lott and the wetherbys in compact lightweight guns for groundhog exploding or any other thing you decide to decimate. I have a 416 rigby down to 6 pounds and use it for everything from squirrels to bear. I just tune the ammo for it. Kicks like crazy but braked and mercuric recoil reducer tamed her down and makes me grin everytime I use it. Its a bigger hit at the range then anything else.

 

I see a lot of "hobby gunstores" where the owner stocks the specialty guns he would buy. They tend not to last.

 

I suggest having a handfull of your specialty guns and a lot of the standards. Have some really cheap blaster ammo in stock at all times, and a little bit of the high end stuff. If you have cheap ammo, people will always be coming in. Even if it is going out the door without profit, you will be keeping people coming in.

 

When someone wants something like your elephant guns they want something exactly like what is in their head, not the slightly different one you have on your shelf. Do those by custom order.

 

Stores I like keep their customers by selling all guns at a fixed percentage over cost. Orders are the same % cost with a third or half down. If it is something obscure, maybe ask for a bit extra to do the hunting around. As long as you are upfront about your costs and are willing to show your invoices, you will have a customer base that trusts you. You beat out the online stores by solving every warranty problem whether it is your job to or not. That gets loyalty.

 

Personally, I have a couple litmus tests that I use to evaluate gun stores. Assuming the prices within reasonable ranges. If I see them give good advice to an ignorant purchaser, that scores well. If they steer an ignorant customer away from a big sale of something poorly suited toward something appropriate, they have my business. (when I have money anyway.)

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Congrats on your new venture...as far as stocking other stuff. You will probably find better margins in other stuff than the actual guns. Stickers, hats, and t shirts will move if the slogans are popular. Its free advertising and you can probably write it off as a marketing expense when uncle sam comes calling. I know guys that get there instuctor certs and smart a small company just so they write off there ammo expenses every year. There is no law thats says your company has to make a profit. I would advise consulting with a good CPA.

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Im not going to be really stocking my elephant guns. I have a strong suspicion that the 6 or so I build a year will end up coming home with me its just the fact that I will have access to all the equipment and parts. So far we will have ar's, ak's, glocks, rugers, kimbers and such. Where I am you cannot hunt with any semiautomatic rifles so we will have to have a good selection of bolt actions and single shots. Im thinking howa and cz with some rugers and rem thrown in. Im going to put my mrad in a display case cause it wasn't near a cool as I thought it would be. Lots of ammo from cheap to niche and since im a avid reloader a nice reloading section. Sounds like a lot and it is but are building is over double the sq ft of the largest gun store within a 4 hour radius. Training of employees will be the biggest challenge. I was thinking at first to have them go through some classes in each category to help but knowledgeable employees in this area will be rough.

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We had thought about that but epa regs and insurance skyrockets. There is a possibility that in the future if we do well then we could add a firing range. One of his companies owns most of the property around it and is thinking of buying more so even a full range could happen. We figure we are already going just a lil big and dont want to go to far. I wanted to start out a lil simpler but its hard to tell someone no when they are footing the bill.

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I might I really haven't decided yet. We are having the insurance quoted both ways cause I was told it will go up substantially. It all depends on how much time I have once it gets rolling truthfully. I have the sinking feeling that my time will be pretty much chewed up with just checking out trade ins and answering customer questions. If thats the case we will hire someone

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The things I like in a gun store are: lots of guns, and low prices.

 

There are two local gun stores to me. One is a real pole barn, with racks and racks of guns laid out

in the "get the most in here we can" motif. The other is a glitzed up metal building with all sorts of fru fru

stuff and laid out in some designer "how do we connect with this space?" bs. The first one has better prices.

 

You want low overhead. No one is coming in to look at your stuffed deer. Low overhead affects your prices.

Only a fool pays MSRP. You need to be going for gunbroker+shipping+transfer price. Feel free to become

a business member here and advertise. Don't be like a certain business member who puts up his big logo,

then offers prices 50% above gunbroker.

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Start with a smaller inventory and build up to a bigger one. I do have a good list of distributors I use on a daily basis. It's best to sell slightly above your cost and make a little bit of money to start out then try to make the big bucks. I do know what I'm talking about I personally help my buddies gun store get off the ground a year and a half ago.

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Above all else. Keep the business a family atmosphere. Know your products. I hate know it all gunshop morons that really don't know shit, but act like they do. I tend to not do business with them. My wife hates when they speak to her like the little lady. She finds it demeaning, and tells em so point blank.

 

Have a ladies section or selection of firearms. Huge growing segment.

 

Harley sells the shit of T-shirts. Way more than motorcycles. I'd carry a tasteful small selection of Pro 2A shirts. My wife is proud to wear her Smith & Wesson, Walther shirts, and Constitution shirts as much as I am wearing mine.

 

Have an NRA membership prominently displayed in your store and do the NRA round up, and contribute to the NRA. Post the donation your customers have made every month to start and then annually when you have enough time under your belt.

 

Get to know your regulars tastes, and make a point to show them something special you thought they'd be interested in even if they may not but it.

 

Just my 2c.gif

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My friend started small with consignment guns and receiving people's online purchases doing the transfers for a fair price. He still does the above but now has a pretty decent stock of new ones and trade ins.

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What roll is your uncle going to play besides the cash flow? How much of a say are you going to have in matters?

 

If your getting 50% of the (unreinvested) profit, you should throw yourself into the advertising. Make sure EVERYONE hears about your store! Do a huge Grand Opening (for starters).

 

See what's selling like gangbusters (pardon the pun) online (ie. Out of Stock) and stock it locally.

 

Be upfront about your markup (people love honesty).

 

Offer clear targets for customers to point the guns at (near the ceiling)!!!!

 

Quality Mil-Surp gear might be nice to carry. "Lots" of stuff on E-Bay. Jacket liners, etc. I could see alot of room to profit. Include MRE's.

 

Reorder what sells and dump the stuff that doesn't. Don't overbuy.

 

Keep perfect records and backups (off-site).

 

I'm jealous. You just walked into a sweet gig.

Edited by Sim_Player
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Above all else. Keep the business a family atmosphere. Know your products. I hate know it all gunshop morons that really don't know shit, but act like they do. I tend to not do business with them. My wife hates when they speak to her like the little lady. She finds it demeaning, and tells em so point blank.

 

Have a ladies section or selection of firearms. Huge growing segment.

Definitely don't forget about female customers. I think it's safe to say most of your business will be men, but I have noticed a marked increase in women at gun stores, including women not apparently being dragged along by their husbands/boyfriends. Having a ladies' section could be helpful, especially where it comes to carry gear, but I'd eschew demarcating the guns like that. From a business standpoint, you don't want potential customers to feel constrained to one area of the store.

 

Sales staff can do wonders for your business' reputation as well, especially with turning first-time buyers into long-term customers. Knowledge of products and trends, integrity, and ability to gain insight into people's needs are all major factors in good salesmen in any line of work.

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It's about making profit not just you pay. If it it not all yours it is not yours. If you you do not know a debit from a credit you not ready.

You need to be a business man doing guns not a gun man doing business. Most new start ups fail because they do not have a grasp of the real overhead costs in business.

Just shot this out there .I'm sure you know this ! But out of experience I say wait save your money and do it alone .

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