New retail store. what to stock?

Second the 'get a job somewhere else first' - you have to know your market and be able to grow it.

Then learn the product that the market wants and find people who genuinely like it to work for you.

Find clerks that don't know everything.

Find clerks that can treat women as customers, not as fools, hangers-on, or little old ladies who only want revolvers.

Find staff that likes to shoot, not just buy new guns and stick them in the safe - their range time will sell things as well as their shop time.

Have good coffee. Regulars and staff will thank you for it. Put in a couple chairs or table if there's room, good customers don't get any younger and disability happens.

Keep non-retarded hours - this isn't 1904, don't close at 4 pm when half your customers with cash want to go shopping after work.

Know your margins, be willing to deal if you handle used things (and make sure your staff is bright enough and trusted enough to do the same - that estate sale or 'pissed off I'm getting divorced' collector purging their collection at twenty-five cents on the dollar happens, not every day - but is enough of a bonus every so often you have to be ready to jump on it).

Don't stock junk. If you're going to carry AR parts and accesories, that doesn't mean nothing but Tapco.

Tell everyone you gleefully handle internet transactions as the receiving/sending FFL - it's more profit in most cases per minute than anything else you can do and fills downtime nicely.

Give potential customers the benefit of the doubt. Three of the most serious, big $$$ collectors in our area look like they're poor as dirt or yokels. Make something up that you don't know once, lose them forever - but if they like you, you're looking at several thousand a month minimum in disposable income per person.

Maybe I did learn something as counter help and management in this industry when I was less of a cripple. Damn. I need a drink.

I agree I see more rifles sitting around than anything at gun stores.

A good selection of shotguns, the popular autos, XDs, glock,S&W,Beretta etc.

Whats hard to find at my local stores...... Kel tecs, either all black, or with hard chromed slides. I always hear people asking for them.
Kahrs...same with them, someones always asking.
Mini 14's.....see a lot of the black guns, but no stainless minis.
Used handguns...dont see many around here. Id love a GS that carried some of the LE trade ins, $229 mod 64's,$279 mod 67's, $289 P226s etc.....

A good holster selection with a nice sign saying we can order what your looking for..... even if you only stock one of each id have 25 different ones there for someone to try or look at. If they see a belt slide you have for a XD and want one like that for a glock you can order it for them.

A good selection of Plinkers....22's and 17's pistol and rifles....Marlins, Savage, Ruger ,Mossberg.

the #1 thing id like to see in a gun store which I have never seen around here is a good display rack for long guns behind the counter.
The vertical racks with them stacked 5 deep dont do me a dang bit of good when i cant tell what it is, or what the price sticker says.
A horizontal racked "wall of guns" with index sized cards with the price visible makes them a lot easier to see. I would also put on the tags if say it was a blued Remington mod 700, (even if I didnt have it in stock) under that price id have stainless model available @ $X amount

P3ATs seem to fly off the shelves of gunstores around me. They all say they can't keep them in stock at all, that they sell immediately. Oh yeah, and of couse, Ruger LCPs, if you can get any in, that is.

There's a severe lack of Beretta in this topic

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+1

For pistols i'd say go with some Colts, Berettas, S&W revolvers, Glocks, Sigs, HKs, and maybe a few SA cowboy guns to start out. For rifles i'd have to say carry more "tactical" guns then hunting rifles.. Walmart/Dick's/Gander Mtn/etc will beat you out on the hunting rifles/shotguns most of the time.

Go around to your local shops and see what they charge for things besides guns. I know the local shop I go to reeled me in just because they carry reloading supplies for cheap prices. Seems like whenever I go there to buy my supplies I end up buying another firearm... good for them and bad for my wallet

Oh and always treat every person who walks in the door like gold, never ignore someone because of age or looks. I can't tell you how many times i've walked into gun stores and the people running them act like buttheads to anyone who dosnt have gray hair or a balding head.

To stock a gun shop.

You need some good quality leather holsters

In handguns... based on holster customers.
1. J-frame sized guns
2. Kel-tecs
3. Kahrs
4. XDs
5. Glocks
6. M&Ps
7. Ruger revolvers and new LCP
8. Taurus revolvers and PT1xx Pros
9. Sigs 229 or 239 if you have any feds in the area
10. Walter PPS, PPK/S and P99s
11. Bretta PX4

Hope this helps.

1st question - Where is your shop going to be? That will make all the difference. If you're in a big city, you'll want more handguns than long guns. Out in the country, probably vice versa.

2nd question - What kind of budget? How many brands can you afford to stock?

For a good all-around selection -

Glocks - The most popular handgun of modern times

S&W (revolvers, M&P, 1911) - For those who think it is the only real handgun.

Ruger (revolvers, autos, high-end shotties)- Variety and quality in the lower price points.

Remington - Rifles, shotguns, and ammo

Bushmaster AR15s - Depending on when you open shop. If you're opening more than a few months from now, and Obama wins, forget it.

Winchester ammunition - (at a fair price!) Winchester ammo is a good balance. Price, quality, & performance all in one.

Hoppes - Cleaning supplies & targets

Bianchi - modern holsters

Lee - Reloading equipment

Winchester primers, bullets, powder, cases

Alliant & IMR powder

Ranier bullets

A shooting range, if at all possible! This will be an expensive initial outlay, but will support your business like crazy down the road.

You know what, if you need to go online to ask this question, I do not think you are ready to run a business.

Not trying to flame you , but you aren't going to survive in the firearms business if you don't know what your customers want.

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Jeez. So if he needs to know what customers want, shouldn't he get all the information he can? What's wrong with doing some online research?

Do not stock any new guns that your local big box store does. They will kill you on price. Any used guns that are the same model as what they sell should be discounted deeply.

Here are the brands I would carry in my area.....

-I would be a stocking dealer for either Smith and Wesson or Springfield Armory. This will get you a wide variety of handgun (and some long gun) models and you can take advantage of stocking dealer specials.

-Glocks in 9mm/.40/.45 with Advantage Arms conversion kits for each frame size. Offering a combo deal on the Glocks and .22 kits would be a good way to go.

-CPO Sigs, new CZ's (if there is a fairly gun-savvy population in your area), a few Beretta 92's for the militarily-inspired crowd

-Ruger SA revolvers and .22's with a small sample of centerfire semi-auto pistols and mini-14s

-CZ bolt action .22's, Bushmaster or Armalite AR's, basic HD type shotguns


I would focus in used guns. They are higher profit and the prices are more attractive to most buyers.

W

3" .357 revolver. Might be a niche, but I want one for the nightstand.

Is this just a gun store, just a hunting, or more of combined gun and grocery store?

A good selection of decent used firearms always draws me into a store, especially if the turnover is high.

Reloading is not going to be profitable, and I wouldn't even bother. Part of the problem is extreme price volatility -- lots of guys bought tons of lead when it was $60 a bag and now can't even sell it for $40. (Of course, they had no problems marking that $30 bag of shot up to $60, on the upswing.) The other reason is that most reloaders are cheap by nature -- that's why half of them do it. They don't want to pay a ton of money for components because then there's no benefit in doing it. Most of us buy large amounts of material online, thousands of primers at once, 8 - 40 pounds of powder at a time, etc.

One word of warning... if you mark your stuff up too high, it will just sit on the shelf. If I know a place is ridiculously high, I just won't even bother going in. That creates a downward spiral -- as you lose customers, you need to make even more money from the ones you do have, so you mark the prices up even higher. That causes you to lose more customers, and pretty soon you are just so bitter that the few die-hard friends you have left just can't stand being in your shop any longer.

The gun shops I see that do well are the ones that move inventory and lots of it!

Until you get a large selection of new and used gun in stock, you might want to ask your friends or family if they have any guns they want to put on consignment. Take $20 for yourself out of each sale, and everyone benefits.

Just a thought....

If you want to be successful stick to basics. You will never satisfy the requests of everyone who walks through the door.

I went into a local gun shop the other day and the guy who owns it, who is also a friend, laughed when he saw me walk in and said "What don't I have that you want today?"

My needs and wants are very specific. The only thing a local shop will have that I need or want will be powder and primers. If it tried to stock the parts I need for my guns they'd tie up a fortune in parts they won't sell.

If they stock the guns I want they'll sit on the shelf for a year or two.

Stay away from high-end stuff. Stick to things that turn over quickly. (I'm a business consultant, I guess it shows.)

Ruger, Taurus, Glock and Springfield are the pistols people who are either new or relatively entry level want. In rifles they trust Remington, Savage, Marlin and Winchester (bear in mind rifles will sit on the shelf longer than pistols and have a much broader spectrum of calibers). In shotguns Remington and Mossberg are very saleable.

Stay away from the advice of self-anointed gun experts. If you want to sell me a gun you need to stock a Tanfoglio Elite Limited in .45 ACP. You'll net 20 percent after it sits on the shelf for a year. The gun after that will probably be Fusion that I'll order built to specs.

Stick to what turns over quickly. Talk guns with your friends and your customers, but sell what is easy to sell.

No store within 40 miles. One prison, 3 police stations, major navy base within 10 miles.

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You have gotten a ton of good suggestions but I have 1 more. If you give a 10% discount for the military you will get a lot of their business. The Sailors don't make a lot of money but they will spend in your store if you show them you care.

Good luck with your new store!!

Don't forget the Glock 19, one of the best CCW weapons made.

You need to contact your local law enforcement agencies in both your county and surrounding areas and see what they authorize as backup weapons. You need to have those guns in stock and mags/nightsights that fit them. Do the Departments where you live provide guns for new officers or do they have to purchase it themselves? If its purchased by the officer you should have those primary sidearms in stock as well.

People are always interested for whatever reason with police issued guns. If your city PD has Glock 21's, and you write "anytown PD Authorized" on the sticker people will buy that gun just because the local police carry it. I do not know why, but it happens. That's double the reason to have department authorized guns in stock.

Glocks are the number one gun in my area, I would add the 19, 36, and 23 to that list. Keep the .357s, 45Gap, and 10mm to special orders.

Pick a 1911 brand known for very high quality but a good value. Also, S&W is a good selling brand, and you can find good used all-steel 3rd generation Smith autos for a great price; this allows a good sized profit margin and Smith will follow through on any warranty issues.

I'm not a fan of Glock, but the Springfield XDs seem to be very popular and sell very well.

good luck to you!

I understood your store was a gun store and not a sporting good store.

It wouldn't hurt to have a Springfield 1911A1 in stock either. They don't cost as much as many of the more current 1911's and they are popular.

Stocking some Military Surplus guns and "Police Turn-ins" would be a good idea too. You can get them for a song and turn a good profit on them. They seem to be very popular to many buyers.

Also, "Opie" makes some very good points in his post which I agree with.

Glock, Springfield Armory, Ruger, S&W, CZ, Kimber, HK and Sig... EAA Witness

That should be enough to have something of interest for everyone and then you can special order the higher end and lower end stuff.

more CZ's and the very hi-capacity version of the thunder 9 should sell well too. Look into Rock Island for really really cheap 1911's that are reliable and a great value. ($350-450 new for 1911's). List looks good. Being able to order any Sig, Springfield, Glock, or CZ that they want will make you invaluable to them.

accessories are where the $$$$ are at

Whatever you carry, make sure that you carry accessories for them. Holsters, slings,
scopes ammo etc.

Try to offer discounts on case purchases, and "add on sales".
Pay BIG attention to female customers. Offer gift cards. Also remember there is more money in used guns, than in new ones.

If possible visit the competition, and do the following:
1) offer things they don't
2) find out what services they offer, and do them better.
3) remember, making the customer happy is paramount. If you don't have something right there, call the competition to see if they do.

These little items, can make a big difference.
Good Luck

If you can manage to become an STI dealer I know their spartans fly off the shelves.

Find out what isn't stocked in your area. There are plenty of towns that are missing a niche or segment and whole areas or states that don't stock a particular brand.

Another thing I find very important is to have a visually appealing place of business. There are plenty of stores that are just thrown together and often they are no fun to shop at.

Pretty 1911s make people gawk, and some will buy. Fancy black rifles are the same way. Meat and potatoes around here though are glocks and shotguns. Reloading supplies. More reloading supplies. My favorite gunshop/range has a whole wall of powders in small and very large containers. Its pretty cool. Lets you get a few different powders in 1 lb cans to try and then come back and buy in bulk.

Also, dont discredit the el cheapo guns. One of the guys here in town that I frequent bad mouths hi points all the time, even though he sells them. Some people cant afford much more, and really have a need or want to get a handgun. Sometimes its a first handgun. A sale is a sale, it all means money in the till.