I will try to keep this on course, my apologies if I don't. I agree that it sucks to see any place, new or old, with a knowledable staff that takes care of its customers go out of business or change for whatever reason, going public, etc. Those establishments are few and far between for numerous reasons these days, a lot of those have been previously listed.
I have a Kroger and a Walmart in my town. Walmart is just like any other Walmart, not enough checkers, can't find a parking spot, way too crowded inside, etc. I shop at Kroger and pay a little more but these annoyances are lessened. My money is my time and less frustration. I'm sure some people where I live can't afford $5 more a week on groceries and shop at Walmart, which is great for them. Not gonna bash Walmart here, but I think you see my point.
I would love to support my LGS with all of my purchases. But I don't make enough money to keep me and him out of poverty. Allow me to digress a bit, some people can manage, some people have no business managing. A few examples and you will be able to recognize these people, as I'm sure you have met some. My neighbor does headliners, customer interior work, convertible tops and lots of dealer work. When he is actually on his sewing machine he makes several hundred dollars an hour, no kidding. When he is driving all over Houston (and that's a lot of driving) he isn't making a cent. Now, I know that he has to drive to pick the stuff up. Well, actually he doesn't. He could pay either son or someone else a decent wage to pick up an deliver while he sat in his garage sewing. Every time I speak to him he is behind. Probably because he drives half the day then works half the night. A few hundred dollars an hour and this man will never be rich. He is not a manager, plain and simple. His skillset is totally different. That's just one example of how he cannot manage his business. My last example and I will get back on the subject. I own a VW and had a mechanic that I became decent friends with. He can rebuild a carb and charge $130 for it. This takes around and hour start to finish once he is in his shop with it. And there are lots of people in need of her services. However, he spends half his day chasing down people on the internet, looking for shipping boxes and waiting in line at the post office. He is in debt up to his eyeballs. Same story, awesome skills, but cannot manage his business.
My LGS doesn't have a clue in the world how to manage. He has a strong interest in guns, but that isn't a license to make money selling them. I ordered a cheap AR-15 a few years ago from him. He ordered an extra just for the hell of it. He sold it within hours of receiving it. He got 2 more and sold them almost as quickly. Then he stopped ordering and selling them. Nothing changed, he just didn't want to do it. He has thousands of dollars tied up in overpriced guns no one wants to buy hanging up on the walls. I have seen the same collection for several years now. Mark them down a little to sell then use the money to buy new inventory that you can make money off of over and over. He would rather just leave them up there. And not take an initial loss. That's not hard to figure out, but you could never convince him that it is a sound business decision. He doesn't carry any of the other stuff to sell, holsters, cleaning supplies, etc. You know, some of the stuff that you can make money off as well. He has about 40 boxes of old, over priced ammo in a big stack in a showcase. If I can't tell what you have, then how am I going to buy it. Retailers merchandise (verb) their merchandise for a reason. They also vacuum their carpets and clean the glass. And the final straw, I was picking up a gun I ordered from a pawn shop a few months ago and paying the $25 transfer fee and he mentioned that he was going to have to raise his transfer fee. I asked about the circumstances. He said that due to Bud's, CDNN and a few others selling for so cheap he was going to start charging $100 to do transfers for them. I kinda laughed and starting thinking of someone else to do my transfers.
I guess the point I am attempting to make here is that in the competitive market we live in today our LGS must manage their stores. (Can you tell I'm in management.) But seriously, they do. If they do not have the skills to manage their store then they will go under. I'm not saying the store the OP referenced had that problem, but so many others brought up their LGS, I thought I would mention this. Paying someone to manage or consult might be a wise decision.
