Author Topic: Gun shop! (Read 659 times)

tbull55 · « **on:** January 15, 2005, 11:19:11 AM »

My town is in need of a good gun shop!!! We need a place that has plenty of guns on hand to hold and look at. I also believe that we need a complete stock of holsters, accessories, ammo, knives, lights, and a big selection of concealed carry items (shirts, vests, holsters, handbags, etc.....) for people to look at and try on. I think the shop would have to stay competitve with internet prices, by competitive I mean 10-20 dollars more or right even. Most people would rather go to a local shop and buy a gun for the same price they could order one online. By the time you order a gun online you have to pay shipping and you have to pay the FFL who you have the gun sent to, you have paid at least as much if not more than you could get it at the shop I'm talking about. I think this shop should offer a wide selection of reloading supplies. I also think that the most important part would be having a freindly and helpful staff. We have a shop that is kind of like this about 30 minutes away but they barely have any concealed carry items. They are always full of people buying guns. Many of the shops around my area are not near as busy as these guys. They do stay very competative with the internet. I think people would seek out a shop like I am talking about. A good size appliance building is going to be up for rent in the near future, a perfect location!! I was wondering what you guys thought a great gun shop should have. I was also wondering how in the heck to even get started opening this kind of shop. How do you contact the gun manufactureres about these things, what does it take to get hooked up with the local police dept. for thier trade ins. I believe this is a great idea, I also believe it is a lot of hard work. If anyone can help me please ltet me know!!

I am going to post this in a couple of other places.

Thanks, Tbull55

BamBams · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2005, 11:25:40 AM »

Well watcha waiting for? Open one up yourself! *smiles*

You've got to apply for a federal firearms license.

You've got to start contacting distributors and manufacturers and opening accounts with them.

And there is plenty more also....if you decide to get serious about it. Let me know, and I can try and help more via email.

Nightrain52 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2005, 01:06:23 PM »

Like BamBams said. The first thing is getting your FFL. Then get your store license or tax number as most wholesalers will not sell to you without them. Check local regulations about security issues for gun storage. Better love to do paperwork.

jh45gun · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2005, 01:15:38 PM »

The local gun shop stocks reloading gear and it is a large part of their business. That would be good for you expecially if no one near you does the same and their are trap/skeet/Sportingclays clubs around as their members reload a lot of shells. Plus the reloading gear the pistol/rifle guys use. That would be a big step but worth it if there is no competion near by. In the case of the store I go to it is in a metro area of two cities a large one and a medium one the gun store is in the medium one but has a better selection and price than the Gander Mountain in the larger one and he gets lots of reloading business. Jim

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2005, 01:42:27 PM »

Do you have or can you get your hands on $150,000-$250,000? Can you afford to live for one full year without taking a dime out of the business?

Unless you can answer yes to both questions then I'd strongly advise you to forget the dream. You will not be able to sustain it.

First you get the building lined up. THEN you apply for your FFL. You've got to have the location and business hours to list on the application for your FFL.

Once you have the FFL in hand those folks will be contacting you to sell to you. You won't have to contact them for the most part. At least back when I had my FFL that's the way it worked.

But without the capital to start up the business, to buy inventory and maintain stock and to order the items customers ask for you really cannot stay in business even if you can get it started. Anyone going into a new business of any kind who can't live the first year without taking any money out of the business is most likely doomed to failure. That's why each year about 75% to 90% of newly started businesses fail. Lack of adequate start up capital.

BamBams · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2005, 02:23:16 PM »

GB is right. In fact, the only reason the gun shop I managed in Colorado Springs was able to stay afloat was because we did extremely well in our firearms training classes. If it weren't for those classes - averaging 15 students at month @$120.00 each, we'd have probably had huge problems many times over.

His math is right also - especially with the inventory you'd like to see. We made more money off of buying and selling used firearms than the new ones.

Nevertheless, it is doable if your location is good and, as GB said, you've got enough start up capital.

tbull55 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2005, 01:22:42 AM »

Thank you, everyone!
I appreciate everyones information! I certainly do have a lot more research. You all have given me plenty to think about and look at.

Tbull55

magooch · « **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2005, 04:22:31 AM »

Tbull55, while you are doing your research, check into what insurance costs on a gunstore. A good friend of mine had a very nice gunstore at his residence, but when he decided to move it to an uptown store, it became a magnet for every crook in the area. After his business had been broken into a couple of times, his insurance got so high that it became unaffordable. Bottom line--he had to give it up.

For a gunstore to make it, you have to have location, location, location and security, security, security. Good Luck.

Dali Llama · « **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2005, 08:31:07 AM »

Quote from: magooch

Tbull55, while you are doing your research, check into what insurance costs on a gunstore.

You can bet yer sweet bippy that it cost more for gunstore than for needlework store, say Dali Llama.

BamBams · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2005, 10:17:54 AM »

Our gun shop wasn't even insured! It cost too much. We just had to take our losses like men - OR spend countless nights sleeping on the floor behind the gun safes with a loaded shotgun - which we did each time we perceived that we had been cased out.