What do YOU want in your local gun store?

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Plenty of quality used guns, kept organized. Be willing to rent them for ...
Range with good ventilation, AC/heat, and have lots of AC on before the range is open, not just a window unit turned on when the first range user shows up.
Our local rental range has crap ventilation, and isn't even cooled down by the time we've shot for an hour ... so MrsBFD and I are sweaty, smoked out, and annoyed. Not a good way to get us buying extra goodies or shooting longer and buying your ammo when we run out
Free CCW class sounds really cool, you may want to make it free class with pistol + case or safe + holster, or some combination, not just the pistol. Or you may want to offer a firearms safety course with purchase rather than CCW.
Keep ammo and accessories in stock! Or at least know when they will arrive if ordered.
If you don't have magazines on hand after I ask once a week for three weeks, I'm ordering online. I'll only accept "probably next week" twice, it seems.
If you are always out of all but one brand of ammo in a particular caliber, I'm going to wal*mart or the competition.

Free soft drinks?
Throw in some snap caps with every gun for dry-fire?
Throw in a cleaning kit or other goodies with purchase?
Have a website with accurate inventory?
 
variety of guns "in stock". if you have to buy the plastic training "blue guns" or "red guns".

Hate "I can get it for you" I want to try the gun before I order one...

Range, check.... ccw capibility, check...

And make it close to here....

Good to go.
 
What do YOU want in your local gun store?
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What I always get. A nice hot cup of coffee and a good BS session with the Jim, the owner. Can't ask for more......;)
 
Atla - The more I think about it, I have to add my voice to the few here already who have suggested nixing the eatery/sandwich counter from your plans.

I say so from a few different angles. One, I've worked in food service for the majority of my working life. Even the smallest little sandwich shop can take a suprising amount of work to keep running and keep profitable. If I were already running a gun shop, the last thing I'd want to deal with was helath department inspections, making sure I ordered enough salami and hoagie rolls from my vendor, fixing the coolers when they go on the fritz, dealing with the customer who got sick because he ordered with his sub with "the works" and got sick because there were peppers on it and he can't eat peppers, didn't you know that? etc, etc.

Also, keeping an eye on customers is going to be an issue. While you and the rest of the gun shop staff are taking care of customers, there is a distinct possibility that a few folks might take advantage of the situation to walk away with some merchandise. And what happens when a gun shop customer walks up to one of the sandwich counter folks and asks to see the minty P7 in the used case because all the other clerks are busy? Are they going to be gun shop employees too? Or will they need to ask the customer to go back to the gun shop side and find a clerk?

I dunno, there are a lot of other reasons, but you get the idea. It seems to me that you might have one too many irons in the fire with that one. (not that it's not an admirable idea!)
 
*Decent selection of arms (everything from pistols to hunting rifles to EBR's and exotics) and accessories (including ammo, holsters, slings, targets, etc).

*Clean, organized, open and well lit layout.

*Friendly atmosphere.

Those are pretty much what I'm looking for in a gun shop.
 
My contributions:
-Cheap FFL transfers.
-An online / telephone customer service department.
-Get a website, and keep it updated. Write a blog. "Just got the new FN SCAR in and man is it sweet! Here's a video of our staff shooting it!"
-Use gunbroker, and put your entire inventory on it. It not only helps you sell guns, it allows locals to see what you have in stock before they come in.
-The sandwich shop sounds cool, but realize that food service is a whole nother can of worms as others have mentioned. If it works out, put a cafe next door later.
-25 yard range, open or covered depending.
-Kid friendly. Free lollipop or other treat for any kid under 13 that walks in the door, and/or a free 10 rounds of .22LR to shoot any of the kid-size rifles.
-Have a separate classroom for CCW classes.
-Have a test for potential employees and have THR write it. "Will a .45 round knock a man down? Yes, No, or I don't know?" Hire the ones that get it right, AND the ones that admit they don't know.
-I like your idea of a TV running constantly showing shooting competitions etc. Also consider Fish and Game TV, and every firearms-oriented episode of Mythbusters. :D Put a couch in front of it with a nice coffee table.
-Have a library/research center. Back issues of Guns, gun blue books, gunsmithing, local gun history, etc.
-Have a gun tool library. Boresighters, left-handed-whatzit tools, AR-15 sight adjusters, etc.
-Good luck if you decide to stock holsters, there are a million options. A few basics should work.
-Work with a couple lawyers in town or nearby and put their cards on the counter if they do self-defense law or estate planning or whatever. Pro-gun lawyers are always in need.
-Sell memberships to the range which include the library and tool checkout. Of course, take out deposits on tools and other things that go out the door.
-Pay your employees well, not a pittance plus commission. It's worth it in the long run - less turnover, better customer service, etc.
-Know all the mfr. reps personally. Manufacturers plus part guys. I would say that if I came in asking for a McMillan stock, and they didn't have it but made a show of calling the McMillan rep instead of handing me the catalog and grunting "we can order that", I'd be mighty impressed and likely place an order on the spot.
 
inexpensive good quality ammo.
ability to get a wide variety of ammo, even rare ones
good gun care products, such as oils and grease, blacksnakes (the only place i can find them is cabelas and walmart and they are sold out all the time at cabelas and walmart only sells a few different sizes), high quality cleaning rods.
wide range of firearm selection, or at least a couple devoted to different thigns that different customers look for.
anyway, just my $.02
its all i can come up with for now....
 
I`d like to know what you`ll do with and where will you put, all the used guns that you buy, or take as trade ins from people buying other guns? mmmmmmmm????
 
For starters, good scope rings for Weaver/P-rails -not junky Millett, not B-square, not Leupold Rifleman. :mad: I want Warne, Burris, Leupold Steel, Talley, etc.
 
Quote:
but charge a large fee for FFL transfers unless its something that you cannot get ahold of......

This is penny wise and pound foolish. Had the small gun store I currently do business with had such a policy, I would not currently be their customer. My first dealing with them was a FFL transfer, which they made only a small amount on. My second was a $1000 special order, business I gave them because they handled the FFL transfer professionally, smoothly, and for a fair price.
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I agree with that... one of the local store here I had bought a few guns from didnt have the model of gun I wanted, the salesman told me that gun was hard to get (XD subcompact) and it would be $50 for a transfer to him :rolleyes:
Needless to say that $50 quote cost him much more in future bussiness with me than he will ever know. I ordered the gun I wanted and had it shipped to a FFL that charges $20 (like most in this area do) for transfers and is happy to do it.
 
Good staff and decent selection/prices are all you really need. If you can figure out how to make enough money selling guns, ammo and basic accessories to pay the bills with a little left over then you are good to go.

Everything else is gravy if you can sell it and lost money if you can't.
 
<<Needless to say that $50 quote cost him much more in future bussiness with me than he will ever know. I ordered the gun I wanted and had it shipped to a FFL that charges $20 (like most in this area do) for transfers and is happy to do it.>>

Yep...Most people have pretty sharp BS meters, and money walks.
 
I find that the three things that will keep me out of a particular gunshop are

1) Lack of manners. I don't know why rudeness is endemic to gunshops, but I have been in far too many where you can expect to be treated badly. This is possibly the stupidest business model ever.

2) Lack of knowledge. If I wanted to to talk to someone who knew nothing about guns, I would go to the sporting goods counter at Wal-Mart.

3) They don't have what I want. And that's the variable you can't really control for: what I want might not be -- and probably isn't -- what most other guys want. Hopefully you have a good idea of the needs and desires of your potential clients in your area.
 
Be realistic with your prices on both new and used guns.

But most of all don't treat your customers like they are idiots and don't let your sales slu... um... I mean staff, act like they know everything. Tell the guys and gals behind the counter that if they don't know, don't BS. It's no crime to say, "You know, I'm not sure. Let me ask the boss / look it up. Just a sec."

Don’t treat ladies like they are idiots. Ask questions before assuming a woman is a novice. And if they are, don’t direct them straight away to the pretty pink guns or the small ones that kick like mules.

Keep the shop CLEAN. Keep the posters of scantily clad “babes” with bandoleers off the walls. Make it respectable for a Mom to take her kid in there.
 
What I want.

How about reloading equipment. I would love the old fridge of off name drinks for people that my old dive shop had. Gunsmithing that isn't an arm and a leg.
 
Don't be afraid to stock cheap guns, or *gasp* junk guns. I have trouble finding cheap range beaters to tinker with. I can understand wanting to avoid the image, but a low-traffic corner makes a perfect saturday night special area. These complement the ultra high-end ones nicely. I find some days I want caviar, other days I want the fast food dollar menu.
 
Lots of good ideas, so far. About all I can do is reiterate CUSTOMER SERVICE. Acknowledge everyone who walks in the door, even if you are currently working with another customer. Lets the new guy know he has been seen and is not being ignored. Most people can see your with another customer at this point and are willing to be patient. I'll agree with the posters who recommend against the food shop. A cooler with some soft drinks or a vending machine on the sales floor will be simple and profitable. If your local soft drink distributor has a good rep for servicing machines at small accounts, go for it- that takes a lot of the headache out your day.
Others have mentioned selection- try to hit every price point with the best quality available. A friend of mine owns a local shop and usually keeps new guns from about $250.00 on up. He had a lot of headaches with Hi-Point a few years ago and refuses to stock them, so he doesn't go for the extreme low end market. Find a NICHE. If no one else in the area stocks something, like CZ rifles around here, you stand a good chance of developing a market for it and making a decent margin since no one else carries it- until they notice your success with it. My friends shop has earned a rep for stocking the best ammo selection in town- odd ball calibers to premium match ammo like Black Hills. It brings in a lot of customers.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
 
I want a long row of used and milsurp rifles, glass cabinets full of pistols and revolvers, lots of ammo, cheap transfers and a guy behind the counter that I can say to "Find me ______ at a decent price" and he does. Currently I have to spread my wants out to several gun shops in town. As long a I'm getting what I want and he's making a living I am content to shop around at several stores that fulfill my niche need.
 
I'd visit a couple of gunshops that carry a significant inventory and enumalte them. Add a lot of used firearms and good customer service, you have the makings of a good business.
 
Lack of manners. I don't know why rudeness is endemic to gunshops, but I have been in far too many where you can expect to be treated badly. This is possibly the stupidest business model ever.
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There is a very similar issue in comic book stores. Comic book geeks tend to apply for comic book shops because their habit is getting to expensive or because they love comics. Very rarely do they have personal skills.
Here is a stories from my comic book buddy (one of the few good clerks).
One guy found out a writer from "the OC" did comics, and went and attempted to buy all the current books. When the customer told the clerk he was buying them because of the writer and cause he wrote for TV, the clerk took the books and refused to sell them. The clerk then insulted him.
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This is rampant in the comics arena. Here is another one.
A young lady went to ask for Japanese style comic books. The clerk, with a large amount of disgust, said "you mean a-nuh-me!?!" (This particular clerk did not care for anime, and stressed the word like the customer was retarded). The young lady did not even have time to respond before the clerk asked her to leave.
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The point of all of this is that people can learn guns on the job. If they are a pompous jerk, they likely will not unlearn it. Hire real people and you will have regular, well paying customers. Hire "comic book guy", and I'll never visit your store again. [cough]specialty sports- I had a new gunny with me! Of course he didn't know the ARs weren't automatic![/cough]
 
Oh and have things like 7.62, 5.56 and GP11 in battlepacks and boxes at a price comparable to what I can get them online for. They are likely small profit margin wise, but guys like me that like to shoot will do volume for you anyways.
 
I'd visit a couple of gunshops that carry a significant inventory and enumalte them.
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I don't know what that means, but it sounds immoral and possibly illegal.
 
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