And different types of pistol shooters are going to want different things.
One big dynamic for businesses in reloading to recognize is that most serious, high-volume loaders order their powder and primers in big chunks from online retailers. Prices would have to be incredibly aggressive to compete heads-up for this business (which, I suspect, is the
majority of the reloading powder/primer business). Can't be selling 100 count primer trays at $4.95 when 1,000 primers are $20-$30 online. Order enough and the shipping hazmat fees aren't really consequential. And I would conjecture most small retailers probably cannot get the volume discounts to offer competitive pricing and retain
any margin.... they're probably paying pretty close to what I pay.
So if you are punting on the high-volume stuff, what are the remaining market segments?
- New reloaders. This is probably the most common viable market strategy - selling stuff to people who aren't ramped up in volumes and who want to be able to look at gear and labels in person because they're still doing a lot of "shopping"/research at purchase time. Varmint's list isn't bad for that, though I'd add Trail Boss to the list on the pistol side and might skip some of the super slow rifle powders (unless you're out west). Lots of 1lb jugs, very few 4lb or 8lb'ers. Goes well with a large stock of Lee die sets.
- High-end/exotic samplers. If you're in a more populous area, and there are already plenty of places that stock things that new reloaders want, you might focus on people who are established reloaders but who are going beyond "basic" reloading. This might include a willingness to try less common or more expensive components. New-to-U.S. powders like Lovex or Shooter's World lines, or pricier powders like Vihtavuori. "Match" primers. Things people might want to sample (and see if they can detect a beneficial difference) before splashing out for a big order online... or that will be used in small enough quantities that the continued convenience and hazmat-avoidance might keep customers repeating. Would go well with Redding competition seating dies and high-end scales/tricklers.
- Niche users. If you're in an area that has a really high concentration of some particular subset of shooters, you might try to build a reputation as being the "pro shop" for that group. Of course, you have to really understand that niche to make this work. You need one or more employees who can walk the walk and talk the talk, and help set purchasing and marketing decisions - otherwise, it just won't work. For instance, unless you have a USPSA shooter to guide you, you might not know that Unique, H1000, Blue Dot, AA #5, and Trail Boss - a fine set of useful pistol powders for the general reloading populace - will be almost laughably uninteresting to USPSA shooters. (I have cans of 3 of those at home currently, but they'll never get used for USPSA.) Knowing the "right" stuff to stock is the key to making this strategy work, and is totally dependent upon really knowing the community you're selling to.I think you also have to harmonize a lot of the other non-reloading inventory to this, too.
