4 Day Firearms <--- Would you shop there?

[Solomonson]

There has been a lot of talk over the past several years on what it would take to be successful at owning and operating an independent local gun shop.

I remember a regional chain of tire shops called "4 Day Tire." They were open Thursday-Sunday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM, which they advertised as the most productive retail hours of the week with one F/T shift, etc. This was back when a lot of places ran from 9:00-5:00 when everyone was at work or school.

Anyway, would you trade at a gun shop (presuming it was a good gun shop) that was open Thursday-Sunday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM or would those hours seriously impact your dealing with them?

 

[RPRNY]

Good idea. Very sensible hours. Needs to be welcoming. Once a group of curmudgeon take up residence and scowl at every other fellow that walks in, one is running a low to no dues club rather than a gun shop.

 

[ewlyon]

Those would be okay hours for the most part although if i got a gun in on a monday and couldn't pick it up until thursday it might be annoying.

 

[mnrivrat]

Sounds like a smart idea.

The shop I worked for a few years back had also put in a 12 lane inside range. The owner would close the range at 5pm like the rest of the place. I tried to tell him to keep it open more in the evening hours after people got off work. He also charged more than folks in the area wanted to pay. Most of the 12 lanes sat empty most of the time. I told him to lower the price to shoot and once some business was established he could then perhaps creep up the cost a little.

I could write a book on his methods of operation. "How to go out of business in less than 5 years"

 

[Kendal Black]

I'd be okay with it if the odd hours went along with knowledgeable people and willingness to work with me on special-ordering things, person-to-person transfers and ffl-to-ffl shipping, at prices that are at least fair.

Customer service and building repeat business are very important. They are, I think, more important than your hours. I watched a gun shop go out of business during the Obama anxiety years, when guns sold like crazy and it would seem hard not to make money, because the owner didn't want to be bothered with questions of what his customers wanted. He wanted to stock things he thought people ought to buy and tell them what they wanted.

 

[Solomonson]

Sounds like a smart idea.

The shop I worked for a few years back had also put in a 12 lane inside range. The owner would close the range at 5pm like the rest of the place. I tried to tell him to keep it open more in the evening hours after people got off work. He also charged more than folks in the area wanted to pay. Most of the 12 lanes sat empty most of the time. I told him to lower the price to shoot and once some business was established he could then perhaps creep up the cost a little.

I could write a book on his methods of operation. "How to go out of business in less than 5 years"

I remember growing-up in a fairly small college town where everything closed by 5:00 PM (except on Thursday nights) and didn't even open on Sundays. I called a stereo shop one time to see if my turntable was ready. It was right at 5:00 and I figured they would say "it's done, pick it up tomorrow", but instead they said "sure, we're open till 7:00." That made a lasting impression on me...

 

[bannockburn]

I often have to work my days off so Sunday hours are always a big plus for me. Also it would be nice if the time in the evening was extended til 9:00 so I didn't have to rush home by 6:00 and then have to head out the door just to get there before the 7:00 closing time.

 

[armoredman]

I remember growing-up in a fairly small college town where everything closed by 5:00 PM (except on Thursday nights) and didn't even open on Sundays. I called a stereo shop one time to see if my turntable was ready. It was right at 5:00 and I figured they would say "it's done, pick it up tomorrow", but instead they said "sure, we're open till 7:00." That made a lasting impression on me...

Seriously dating yourself there, amigo.
I'd shop a store that was close, open when I was off and had good deals/friendly knowledgeable staff, clean and well lit. If they want to be open only four days a week, and still make money, go for it. I have really weird hours, anyway.

 

[Ryanxia]

It's better than 9a-5p. There was a local gun shop that was only open 9a-5p Mon-Fri so I never went because I'm an adult with a job... Our local place is open 12pm-8pm which is great for me, but I told him he needs to expand to the mornings for the 'early birds' which I think he will when he gets a little more momentum.

 

[AlexanderA]

Keeping the shop open on weekends would make it difficult for it to set up at local gun shows. You'd have to have a "shop crew" and a "gun show crew" of employees to cover both venues, plus splitting the inventory.. Better to be able to close on at least certain weekends so as to attend gun shows. (Gun shows, today, account for a significant percentage of sales.)

 

[Tirod]

The problem is accommodating the public's working hours. Many are still "9-5" workers in offices, more so than in the past as factory production is far less than it used to be. On the other hand, a lot of retail - a whole lot - is early to late, if not 24/7. I can tell you the more you are open to cater to a few people, the less profit per hour and the more expense there is. Auto parts stores get commercial trade catering to shops so they need to be open at 7:30 AM, but stretching it to 9PM for casual DIY means the last two hours don't pay. Neither does Sunday.

All that overhead on the profits with dead time baby sitting an empty store and straightening up the aisles finding what shoplifters have stolen in the last 24 hours isn't keeping the lights on for a good reason. Gun stores need to think about the fact they are dependent entirely on discretionary, disposable income. They need to schedule time when the majority of the public is OFF work but not so much they are a late night sitting duck. Leave that to liquor stores.

 

[Hanzo581]

As long as you have good customer service and competitive prices I'll find a way to make it to you when you're open. So operating hours don't matter much to me.

 

[Thunderchicken]

There are a few places I very rarely go to because they're open like 1000-1800 and I have a day job. Being open into the evening means I'll stop in. Or weekends. So, I would vote "yes" on the four-day-into-evening schedule. But, of course, you'd lose some customers who stopped on Friday or the weekend and found you closed and went elsewhere, even though it was their fault for confusing the schedule. I think you could build a clientele that way if the prices and selection and service were good.

 

[Mn Fats]

It's better than 9a-5p. There was a local gun shop that was only open 9a-5p Mon-Fri so I never went because I'm an adult with a job...

These are my thoughts. The local hardware store is only open from 9am-5pm. Mon-fri. That means I'm not allowed to go there. To me a business that runs thur-sun would be a huge plus.

 

[entropy]

As long as you have good customer service and competitive prices I'll find a way to make it to you when you're open. So operating hours don't matter much to me.

Ditto. I'd find a way to get there when they were open. Those would be good hours for almost any shift workers, except the very few that work those same hours. Some 24/7 plants run those shifts.

 

[Choctaw]

With my schedule would certainly frequent such a store.

 

[Captcurt]

Keeping the shop open on weekends would make it difficult for it to set up at local gun shows. You'd have to have a "shop crew" and a "gun show crew" of employees to cover both venues, plus splitting the inventory.. Better to be able to close on at least certain weekends so as to attend gun shows. (Gun shows, today, account for a significant percentage of sales.)

Gun shows do not go well here unless you want to take a loss. I quit them 2 years ago and have several friends who have also. There have been shows where we didn't net enough to pay for our tables. Shows work well for dealer's who want to trade or buy used guns, but there are not many deals locally. We could have a new gun on the table marked up 10% over cost and someone would pull out their phone and check with GB or Bud's Guns for a price comparison. No thanks. I am done.

 

[Rock185]

Those hours would make sense to me.

 

[everydefense]

There has been a lot of talk over the past several years on what it would take to be successful at owning and operating an independent local gun shop.

I remember a regional chain of tire shops called "4 Day Tire." They were open Thursday-Sunday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM, which they advertised as the most productive retail hours of the week with one F/T shift, etc. This was back when a lot of places ran from 9:00-5:00 when everyone was at work or school.

Anyway, would you trade at a gun shop (presuming it was a good gun shop) that was open Thursday-Sunday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM or would those hours seriously impact your dealing with them?

Yep, sounds great to me. I hate businesses in general (not specific to Gun Shops) that close at 5 and are only open M-F, since I'm usually leaving work close to 6 and it takes 10-15 min just to get back into town...

I can't remember what their weekend hours are, but my LGS has weekday hours pretty similar to that- they come in somewhere between 10 and 11 and leave at 7.

 

[v35]

Yes. I'd shop there every day and twice on Sunday

 

[Solomonson]

Seriously dating yourself there, amigo.
I'd shop a store that was close, open when I was off and had good deals/friendly knowledgeable staff, clean and well lit. If they want to be open only four days a week, and still make money, go for it. I have really weird hours, anyway.

Turntables and vinyl have actually been selling strongly for the past decade or so...

 

[Solomonson]

There are a few places I very rarely go to because they're open like 1000-1800 and I have a day job. Being open into the evening means I'll stop in. Or weekends. So, I would vote "yes" on the four-day-into-evening schedule. But, of course, you'd lose some customers who stopped on Friday or the weekend and found you closed and went elsewhere, even though it was their fault for confusing the schedule. I think you could build a clientele that way if the prices and selection and service were good.

The shop would be open on Friday and the weekends...

 

[reddog81]

Those hours make sense to me. I used to work commsioned sales at a SEARS while in high school. I could outsell the 2 full time employees by working Saturday and Sunday along with a couple of nights per week.

The only problem I see is taking delivery of firearms on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays... Customers are going to want to pick up their ordered items if they come in then, and I imagine UPS, Fedex, and USPS aren't going to just sit on boxes of firearms for a couple of extra days.

 

[AlexanderA]

Gun shows do not go well here unless you want to take a loss. I quit them 2 years ago and have several friends who have also. There have been shows where we didn't net enough to pay for our tables. Shows work well for dealer's who want to trade or buy used guns, but there are not many deals locally. We could have a new gun on the table marked up 10% over cost and someone would pull out their phone and check with GB or Bud's Guns for a price comparison. No thanks. I am done.

The biggest gun shops in Virginia, sales-wise (Trader Jerry's and Quantico Tactical, to name but two) make it a point to set up at all the local gun shows. When I arrive at a show, the first thing I notice is the large Trader Jerry's truck parked outside. Inside the show, they have lines of people waiting to buy from them. (Their secret is competitive prices, and wide selection.) I guess Virginia is quite different from Arkansas in this regard.

 

[Solomonson]

Those hours make sense to me. I used to work commsioned sales at a SEARS while in high school. I could outsell the 2 full time employees by working Saturday and Sunday along with a couple of nights per week.

The only problem I see is taking delivery of firearms on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays... Customers are going to want to pick up their ordered items if they come in then, and I imagine UPS, Fedex, and USPS aren't going to just sit on boxes of firearms for a couple of extra days.

That's an extremely important point and it's not as if you can use a substitute address when it comes to firearms. Then again I think all three agencies allow one to pick up their packages rather than have them delivered.