Planning on opening a gun shop...

[SirDarksoul]

Holsters...carry decent quality holsters that fit the handguns you sell. It's really annoying to buy a pistol then find the store only offers el cheapo, bulky, nylon, one size fits all holsters that make CC almost impossible. To find a decent holster here I have to go to an LEO shop or drive 20+ miles to Sportsman's Warehouse.

 

[Sam1911]

Since it already has a range there is already a reason for customers to come.

I'm not sure. He said it has a 4-lane pistol range. For one thing, that's pretty limited. Useful for one-on-one instruction and letting a new buyer get a few shots off, but not the kind of thing that's going to draw a lot of folks. Not enough room for a pistol league to meet, and it can't handle the customer volume to really turn much of a profit, IMHO.

And in the bigger picture, unless the OP is setting up shop someplace where there are NO other options, most shooters are going to go almost anywhere BUT a commercial range to shoot. When you stack up hourly range fees, restrictive rules on what and how to shoot, very limited space, restrictions on ammo and targets, very few shooters will make a commercial range visit a regular thing.

Not that having a small facility on site for customer use isn't a great idea, but when you consider that most shooting clubs can provide a year's worth of range time at a full-scale facility for what most commercial ranges charge for a handful of visits, it doesn't make sense for most shooters. (And often private land or State ranges are free...)

Of course the OP should be happy for whomever wants to pay for use of his range, but he needs to be aware that the vast majority of his customers are going to shoot elsewhere. In fact, as I pointed out before, he needs to provide information and advice about places and opportunities to shoot in the area. The more folks are out burning ammo the more sales he'll make.

-Sam

 

[earlthegoat2]

Holsters...carry decent quality holsters that fit the handguns you sell. It's really annoying to buy a pistol then find the store only offers el cheapo, bulky, nylon, one size fits all holsters that make CC almost impossible.

Holsters are an endless quagmire for most shops. I have experience with one that is well stocked and it is still a crapshoot as to whether they will have one or not. They have more Galco holsters than anyone I have seen but the options are so endless it is impossible to cater to everyones desire. That, and you usually need 3 holsters per gun to find the one you like.

They carry the el cheapo stuff because it is a temporary solution that is easy to accomidate. They are semi universal in design so it sates a customer. Special ordering is the only way to go as far as holsters are concerned. Of course then there is a wait period. Unfortunately customers dont understand this and demand instant satisfaction. That is where el cheapo comes in.

Holsters are the one of the biggest PITA that a gunstore will have to contend with. There are too many guns, to many styles, and finishes and too many brands to make anyone happy.

I envision a dedicated holster shop that gets sick of trying to stock items that are hard to find, take a while to get, cost to much, etc. and just start making them themselves. That is the only solution.

 

[Sam1911]

Further comments on giving out advice:

Every gun sale ought to close with a few suggestions to the buyer on where to go get some range time and/or instruction.

"Well, you've made a great purchase with that AR-15. I think you'll really like it. Did you know that Mudville Flats Rifle and Pistol Club just down the road holds Civilian Marksmanship Program matches the first Saturday of every month? That rifle would do really well. If you're interested, Jerry Smith runs those matches and would be really glad to talk to you about shooting with them. I've got his card here..."

"Well, the 642 is a very nice personal protection revolver. I'm sure it will serve you well. You said this is your first gun. Let me give you a card for Larry Brown. He teaches a class once a month that tells new shooters what they need to know about the law and when they can and can't use their guns for self-defense. He's a great guy, and very knowledgable. In fact his next class will be held right here in a couple of weeks. You might want to check it out..."

"Yes, I'm sure Junior is going to do just fine with that .243 youth rifle. Did you know that the next Hunters' Education class is this coming month at the local high school? He'll need that before he gets his hunting license. I have the contact info over here..."

"Well, the xDM is quite a gun! Tell me, have you ever shot IPSC or IDPA? They are great ways to get some experience in really running a gun like that. I know the fellows that run the local matches and they'd love to have you stop by..."

And so on.

If you can help folks move beyond the habit of buying a gun and never shooting it, you'll make more sales. A good shop could do a lot more than just supply the needs of an area's existing cadre of shooters. It could actually help grow and enhance that shooting community. Folks aren't neccessarily just sitting around waiting for someone to give them things they already need. Good, complete, salesmanship shows your customers a whole new world of "needs" they didn't know they had, and then you're there to fill them.

-Sam

 

[CoRoMo]

...the pain of buying one online.

Bwahahahahahaha!

Yeah, it's been real painful, sure!

 

[Rittmeister]

I'd love to find a gunshop that isn't racist, sexist or fuddist. It's a huge let-down to walk into a shop and immediately hear comments that made people cringe in the 50's, nevermind present day.

Maybe it's just Cincinnati, or maybe just 2 of the shops in town, but I can't believe that people still think women are weak, and "blacks" (not the word usually used) can't be trusted...

Highorder, extremely well said. I've often felt the same way around here.

I'd like to add - charge a reasonable fee for doing transfers (say, $25) and don't be a complete jerk about what transfers you'll do. I've had big problems with that here in Cincinnati.

I'm not willing to pay $50 for a transfer. I just don't feel it's reasonable.

On the other issue, some local shops wouldn't transfer new guns, period, unless you bought from them. Then when you told them what you were looking for, they "couldn't get it from their distributor." Bottom line, if customers can't get what they want from you, even if they prefer to support a local business, they'll go elsewhere.

 

[LeonCarr]

Make sure you practice good customer service, and if one of your "hang arounds" is the type to bad mouth every customer on their choice of firearms, kick him out of your store. Nothing is worse for business than an old geezer wannabe sitting at the "BS Table" in the gun shop drinking your coffee and bad mouthing every potential purchaser than comes in the door. Once I was in a local gun shop looking at reloading stuff when a 20 something male comes in and wants to purchase a Remington 700 BDL in 7mm Remington Magnum. The old coot at the BS table makes a comment loud enough for everybody in the store to hear and says, "That 7 mag ain't worth a damn. The Elk I shot through the lungs in 1959 with a 7 Remington Magnum ran off and I never found him". I replied, "How did you do that, when the 7mm Remington Magnum didn't come out until 1962?" He crawfished and shut his mouth after that.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Patriotme]

1) Customer service
2) Keep the range up and in working order. I realize a shooting range takes a lot of abuse from those that throw lead high but keep the carriages and lights working. My local range does a piss poor job of maintenance. It's not unusual to have to try 3 or 4 different lines to find a light that will work at a certain yard line.
3) Have a seperate area for filling out the gun purchase paperwork. I hate trying to see what's in a display case through someone's fat ass.
4) Have the rental guns and ammo where someone can see what's available before getting to the register. This will speed things up. My local range has a huge bottleneck at their one little piddly register.
5) Have tags on the guns clearly marked with the make, caliber and price. Have them the right side up.
6) Allow concealed carry.
7) If you have enough room in the indoor range offer some kind of reactive target. I'd pay extra for this. The one good thing my local range did was make a door sized contraption with 3 arms on each side. The arms would come out 1 or 2 at a time with a target on them. They would disappear after 1-2 seconds and another would appear at a different place.

 

[ultradoc]

Hire polite people. I hate when I walk into a store and they have a look like 'what do you want?' Answer the phone promptly and be nice. A females voice is ALLWAYS nice to hear. Have plenty of accesseries and let people try them. For example. If there is a sling or grips or stock I want to put on my gun to see how it feels then go for it. Have a lounge area..pop-munchie machine. Free coffee. Plenty of gun related reading material. Pro America,pro military sineage. I hate the signs that say 'no loaded guns beyond this point'. Plenty of paved parking. Rifle AND pistol range. Plenty of guns [pistols/rifles/shotguns]. If you don't have it in stock get it promptly. No hidden charges.

 

[MarineOne]

How about a dedicated "Left Handed Section" for those of us that are "right" in the brain?


-K

 

[highorder]

what is left that you CAN'T get online? Usually it's quite the opposite problem. I can get ANYTHING in the world online, but only a very small selection of low-end chocies in my local shop.

Bullseye.

You need to compete with the web. You can't pretend it doesn't exist. I understand you have more overhead, but you can't charge $29.99 for something I can get for $18.41 shipped free from Amazon.

Also, I think it's just a local Cincy problem, but I chuckle when dealers buy ammo at retail prices from AIM and mark it up. Do they think I don't know AIM exists? When I ask about it, they just stammer...

 

[Balog]

You need to compete with the web. You can't pretend it doesn't exist. I understand you have more overhead, but you can't charge $29.99 for something I can get for $18.41 shipped free from Amazon.

So, they need to sell at the same profit margin as online, and somehow magically ignore their significantly higher overhead? Retail has to be higher than online.

I'd like to add - charge a reasonable fee for doing transfers (say, $25) and don't be a complete jerk about what transfers you'll do. I've had big problems with that here in Cincinnati.

I'm not willing to pay $50 for a transfer. I just don't feel it's reasonable.

This. It's what, 5 minutes of paperwork and a phone call and you want $50-100 and %10 of the cost of the gun? ****...

On that note, get listed on www.gunshopfinder.com (ran by THR's own Monkeyleg) and Gunbroker, Auctionarms etc as a transfer dealer. Do them for $20 and note that you have a %10 discount on accessories and ammo bought at the time of transfer.

 

[highorder]

So, they need to sell at the same profit margin as online, and somehow magically ignore their significantly higher overhead? Retail has to be higher than online.

The NEED to?... I think they need to be realistic knowing that items commonly available online will have to sell at reduced margin if they want to sell any. That way they can make money selling high margin items unavailable elsewhere, or selling items that are tough to ship, etc.

Slightly higher margin on common items is one thing, but within reason.

 

[Enachos]

Rittmeister,

You said $50 transfers! Holy @#$%! Here in Rowan County, NC you can come across $15-$20 transfers. What are those gun shop owners thinking charging that much???

 

[Enachos]

Also, I agree about customer service. If there is one thing I can't stand it's one of those workers who spends all their time chatting with other co-workers as if they don't acknowledge the fact that you obviously need some service. I walked into one place and stood around for about 5 minutes before someone finally came and asked me if I needed anything and so I asked to see a beretta Px4 subcompact and sure enough he told me to "hang on" and he just moved on to help somebody else. It's rediculous

 

[generalstore]

Wow! Ask and you shall receive!

Thank you guys for the great information. I think the key is keep enough of everything to keep everyone happy. Do not over stock too many of one item and make sure that I can compete with the competition. There is only 1 other store in the are and it is out by itself. They do have a shooting range. The store I am looking to take over is on the corner of two major highways, does have a bathrooms; men and women and 4 lane shooting range and plenty of room for a good amount of inventory.

Everyone is welcome there will be fresh coffee, a few places to sit for regulars and a some t.v. demos going on.

What about some music going on through the store? dull back ground noise?

 

[Quoheleth]

If you have TV, you don't want music --- too much background noise, and for those of us with hearing problems already, it'll only make it worse with a crowd.

Since you mentioned restrooms, keep 'em clean and check them several times a day for brown trout that don't swim away. Make sure the ladies' room's "special" trash cans are also tidied up.

Good luck.
Q

 

[Balog]

The NEED to?... I think they need to be realistic knowing that items commonly available online will have to sell at reduced margin if they want to sell any. That way they can make money selling high margin items unavailable elsewhere, or selling items that are tough to ship, etc.

Slightly higher margin on common items is one thing, but within reason.

What items do you think a store can carry that aren't available online?

Also, volume discounts. Online is selling to all 50 states, so they will always have higher volume of sales than a local joint. If they are selling their stuff for less than you pay wholesale, a bit hard to compete... And if you're in a sales tax state, forget it; online automagically has a %7-10 advantage.

 

[hardluk1]

4 shooting lanes is a small indoor range. Can you expand the range down the road to add maybe 4 to 6 more? How much indoor space do you have there not counting the range. Take a weekend and see what other hunting suppy and ranges have to offer and work for a real mix. I always bring my ammo as the range is to costly and they offer nothing for a hunter. Remember too hunting season is winding down and that part of the market will disapair agian. Thats the reason to try to cover all outdoor game and fish suppies too if room allows. Even look at coon hunting suppies if thats a big deal where your at.

 

[rogertc1]

Good you have bathrooms!! Good luck..where are you going to be? Hope you have a cot in the back so i can sleep there over night.

 

[harmonic]

To the OP. I think by now you realize that you can't please even most of the people, and with your competition being as vast as the internet, and with this economy, are you sure you want to gamble on opening a gun store?

Because if you do, an old saying comes to mind.

If you want to make a small fortune w/a gun store, start out with a large fortune.

 

[wishin]

What about some music going on through the store? dull back ground noise?

Yes. "ride of the valkyries".

 

[atomd]

The 2 categories I see a lot of shops unfortunately fall into are these:

1. The shop that's like a private club. Guys sitting around smoking cigars. A stranger walks in and it's almost like he wasn't invited. If you don't know them you might be uncomfortable. When you enter the room, everyone shuts up and stares at you. Stuff is stacked up and not in order. It looks like someone's living room and there's dust all over the "not-so-popular" stuff. You have to ask the price because 1/2 the shop isn't tagged and they seem make the prices up on the spot.

2. The shop that's all business. Everything is clean and in the proper place. The clerks are all about selling you something and getting you out of there. They aren't very friendly and only offer brief advice with yes or no answers. Whatever they have in stock is what they will tell you that you want. Anything they don't have in stock isn't worth ordering for you.

Lots of shops are much better than both of those examples but I do see places like these frequently. The trick is trying to find a balance I guess.

 

[MarkDozier]

nija makes a interesting point, intresting but wrong.
Make itl friendly. Have a counter with 2 or 3 stolls or a small bench, My wife loves the bench at one shop cause I am usually there or an hour or more at a time. Maybe offer r at least a cool drink of water to the gun shop widowss while they wait.
I may not buy today but when I say I need X my wife will say to to the frindly place or I will stopp and get it from them.

 

[TheMeager]

I'm lucky: I have the best local store ever.
I'm 21, and since I'm a city kid, it took me a while (and a lot of shopping around) to figure out all the different complexities of the firearm world.
Luckily, in a little, nondescript building just a few blocks from my house, there's the sweetest little shop I've ever been in. They don't have the biggest selection of firearms, and they're not the cheapest, but they have a lot of holsters, a lot of ammunition (which you can mill through in isles), and most of all, one of the shopkeeps is more than happy to make small talk.
Not only is he happy to talk about different models without giving me a weird eye, like most old, fat, conservative, plaid-garbed walking-cliché gun store owners, but he'll hand you model after model to check out without asking, giving you a little insight into each one.
"See how the Kahr's a little lighter than the Smith? It's a good gun, but it's twenty dollars less expensive than the Smith and Wesson. Most people will go with the Smith and Wesson, 'cause they know the name. Here, feel the weight difference. You can dry-fire it. It won't hurt it. Now, a semi-automatic like this one..."

I've never felt awkward going in there and looking at guns, ammunition, and accessories. Ever. That's what I want from a gun store.