Another thread about the "new" Cases vs. the "old" Cases got me to wondering how a small Gun Shop would ever survive trying to maintain Inventory for ALL the Cartridges we have available. Inventory that sets on the shelf too long(low turn rate) is not good for the business. And not having the Cases a person needs can mean a lost sale(aka no profit) as well.

Depending on where you have your Gun Shop should/could/might influence your Inventory a bit. For example, I can see where having 458Win Cases in an African Gun Shop would be appropriate. 223Rem & 22-250 Cases in Prairie Dog country would be on the List. Belted Mag Cases where people shoot Bean Fields seems appropriate. And 30-30s for the folks out West.

So, if you owned a small Gun Shop, what Cases for Reloading would you keep in Stock for your customers? Or skip those sales(aka profits) entirely and just tell them to buy from the net?

quote:

o, if you owned a small Gun Shop, what Cases for Reloading would you keep in Stock for your customers?

Here's how it's done......

1. you keep the common cases......30-06, .270, .243, .308, .223, .22-250,

and because you ARE are small gun shop you know your customers quite well and then:

2. you keep what they use......260 Rem, 7 X 57, .257 Roberts, etc

If someone else wants a 8MM Rem Mag you simply lose the sale but offer to have them drop shipped to him at his home.....

.22 lr
.223
22-250
220 swift
.243
25-06
270
7mm08
308
30-30
30-06
270 wsm
300 wsm
7mm mag
300 win mag

410
20 gauge
12 gauge
10 gauge
16 gauge

9mm
38 spl
357
380
40 s&w
.44 mag
45 acp
45 lc

I feel like I'm leaving off a few obvious ones, but for South Louisiana, this is probably a pretty good selection of the most popular rounds. Many of the smaller gun shops I know of are Order Only type places, but you can usually get a great deal through them, since they have no cost associated (essentially) with ordering whatever you want.

on a related note.....the very best thing the firearms industry can do for itself is to put all shooters on notice that in (just say) five years there will be only be XX cartridges made......and only in these calibers.....224, .243, .264, .284, .308, .338, .375, .416, amd .458 and no more than two cartridges per caliber and no more than two bullet weights per cartridge.

Folks with something not on the list will be charged with stocking up and learning reloading.....the bullet companies can produce anything they want to.....but guns will only be sold in the above chamberings and loaded ammo will only be sold the same.....there's just way way too much proliferation of cartridges out there!

Further if XYZ comany wants to produce soimething different then one of the cartridges on the list must be obsoleted!

Harsh I know.....but it would be a good move for the industry!

for stocking inventory?
you keep what MOVES, and have a low profit rate, high turnover rate

for oddball (44 russian, 240 webby, 7x61SH) - you offer them at midway's RETAIL prices, if the customer can wait till your next order from midway is placed

if not, offer them at midway+shipping

or brownells .. or grafs ...

YES, the customer can order it themselves, at the same price. As a store, your job isn't to undercut interpricing, or to give things away at 2% profit... your job is to make a decent return on your money, just like the customer wants a bargin .. these are the same things

vapo -- don't be a gungrabber -- that's requiring people to infringe on their rights ..


223, 243, 270, 3030, 308, 30-06, 300win, 300wsm, 45/70 ,,22LR, 12ga, 16, and 20ga ... 380, 9mm, 38/357, 40sw, 45acp ..

if it doesn't move in 6 months, mark it down to list, sell it on gunbroker, and NEVER stock it again.

quote:

vapo -- don't be a gungrabber -- that's requiring people to infringe on their rights ..

I'm not at all a "grabber".....government does that!!!!

I'm suggesting the firearms industry have a good look at itself....

A large cost of today's ammo is the cost of setting up to make so many different kinds...

It's purely an economic suggestion!

we don't have any 23 calibers nor do we have 29 calibers and no one that I know of is complaining about that!

Actually the better list would be 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm....filling every need in only six calibers!...how's that for radical?

Lack of sales (profit loss) will cull the amount of cartridges out of their line up. They’re not going to keep manufacturing rifles in cartridges that the public for the most part rejects. If a company has orders for 30-06 and 300 Winchester Magnums, it's not going to waste manufacturing time on making a run of 300 SAUM.

The problem is when sales are slow, that’s when they start this new and improved cartridge stuff. Then everyone starts throwing mud on the wall to see what sticks.

vapo -- we are buddies, so part of this is just crackin on you

"sure, that seems reasonable.. reduce the number of choices avauilable, therefore rendering inert a certain percent of guns, as no ammo is avialable"...

"that wasn't so bad.. so NOW we can do without the 14mm right? i mean, sales are slow there, not many people will be impacted"..

"14mm gone.. and now no one is shooting them, rifle or pistol, and have all shifted to the 12mm.. so, lets get rid of the 13mm, too, as its 'good for the industry'"

"wow, there was some backlash at 13mm, and EVERYONE is shooting the 12 now... look, no sales at 5mm .. certainly things will be better of we drop the 5mm"

...
,...
...
"whad do you mean PELLET RIFLES now require a $10,000 permit to own"

get it?

Stock what sells, in your area, be HAPPY to take special orders, pre-paid, and review sales trends twice a year... if you have to special order the 300whizbang more times than you sold 8mm rem.. make a change!

Very Interesting. Und Schmart Also roger

It's why components are readily available or at least used to be , for those ODD BALL calibers !.

I really don't expect my local shop to stock 38.40 .45LC 44.40 or 32-20 .577 Rex or 9.3x74R .

I believe for the most part people who own ,what's now considered obsolete cartridges either

need to reload or purchase from specialty suppliers .Like Vapodog said order for your customer and

drop ship or as Jeffeosso says .

Stock what sells, in your area, be HAPPY to take special orders, pre-paid, and review sales trends twice a year... if you have to special order the 300whizbang more times than you sold 8mm rem.. make a change!

Sound Advise !.

I would be pissed if I was to go too a local shop and find they didn't stock .223 ,270, 7RM .308 30/06

I managed a small shop for a friend a few years back, and I enjoyed it. I always tried to keep as much inventory as possible so the shop always looked full and stocked. You can't determine ahead of time what your customers want or who they will be. You must listen to your customers and your sales reciepts and adjust accordingly. Most people like knowing that certain items will be in stock, obsolete, obscure, weird or not. It's not satisfying enough for people to order most items. Being able to provide that instant gratification will gain a more loyal customer base and eliminate too many small special orders. It will also get people to stop in habitually knowing that the shop always has what they are after, or that the shop stocks oddball items that can't be found at the larger generic stores. The special order service is nice, but everyone knows that they can just look at Midway, Grafs, etc. The key is to find a niche and be the best at that niche. Your customers will let you know what that niche is. Stocking a lot of new guns is not a niche. Having a wall full of used guns constantly certainly is while buying used guns all the time! People love to know what you have picked up since their last visit. Getting customers to handle the merchandise is how you get the impulsiveness to reveal itself.

Avoid catering to the rich guy who wants you to call him when a certain gun comes in. Don't avoid this guy, but give preference to customers who visit the store. People love to "find" things by stoppin in. If you cherry pick all the "good" stuff for the guy who only calls but doesn't come in, customers who stop in regularly will quit doing so. I used to tell these guys that I am going to give it a chance to sell out of the rack to walk-in customers. After a week or so, I would call these guys back and make a deal with one of them. I never had a problem. Of course, there are some exceptions.

I could go on and on, but that's enough for now.

if all you stock is 308 brass then all your sales reciept are gonna show is 308 sales.
you need to keep some of the once a year stuff around.
if i wanted a 30-06 i woulda bought one 30 years ago.
not being able to buy 7-8mm mauser or 25-32-20 off the shelf cheeses me off.
if i have 4 92's in regular cals i am probably looking for a 32-20 or a 38-40.
if a gunshop is paying attention to it's customers they would know that and mention to me that they know where one is.

What about the internet shoppers ?. Large inventory Gun Shops which have warehouse stock

has made it tough on the little shops , to compete price wise when selling popular Guns .

I'm not talking trade in or consignment guns , which is bread and butter for small shops .

Least wise used to be before Gun Broker and such !. Now a large % of business at least I would think

is selling Odds and ends Ammo , components Powders and to a degree Smithing service on Guns .

When a wide selection of said guns is only a click away and prices are warehouse wholesale

it's got to be DAM hard to stay afloat for the small shops . Like wise on ammo or components

especially in bulk Natchez Graff Midway Powder Valley Etc. . Like Bear Kodiak says it's a

niche market that seems to be ever narrowing !. JMO ;

Something the internet guys cannot provide are shooting simulators or indoor ranges. I'd pay for the privilege of trying out a used gun that I otherwise would not purchase(and the consignor should get a cut of the proceeds). And the store not only gets its cut, it also sells the ammo. Fee has to cover overhead, time of assistant, cleaning, +profit.

Offhand, I can think of two different small time operations that will sell me a gun for less than anywhere else I know of. They seem to do fine, and I'd rather do business with a Mom and Pop outfit than a large chain store, where the kid behind the counter hasn't a clue (unknown to himself) and wants to "teach" me why I don't really want that gun. I should buy this new WSM instead, cause it's better, or this 9mm which holds three more rounds, none of which are powerful enough to do more than piss the bad guy off.

If a small shop owner can't come close to the prices of the mail order sites, then that owner is either working on a rediculous margin, or is not ordering from the right distributors. Of course, opening up shop next door to Cabela's is not recommended either. Sportsman's Warehouse on the other hand...

Even with optics of all levels and brands, it was easy to meet the best prices on the net.

Unless you are looking for some rare or odd firearm, after shipping and transfer fees, there are ZERO deals on Gunbroker and such. Besides, who wants to buy a gun that you can't fondle first?

those that haven't run a shop are missing the point.

Inventory TURNS make money - stuff sitting on the shelves is money WASTED

If it's there more than 1/2 a year, mark it down, move it out, and never stock it again, unless the special orders make up for the lack of sales.

If you stock .. aka SLEEPING MONEY, and it sits for 2 years, you have to mark SOMETHING up to make up for the failure to make a return on investment (aka INVENTORY)

A storefront should be more expensive than mail order (only vs only) as they must maintain tons more INSURANCES and fees than an online warehouse.

If it doesn't move, MOVE IT, if it moves, STOCK IT, and if its routinely special ordered, STOCK IT ... if it sits around and gather dust, its not a viaable piece of inventory.

getting "cheesed off" because you can't buy an obscure round sets one on the path for getting used to disappointment.

One stocks what sells, or one goes out of business.

If one is a price shopper, price always wins .. that they can get it for $1 cheaper online, for a $100 item, the price shopper will ALWAYS say thank you and then not buy from you.

Value shoppers - recognize that you have a business to run, and are willing to BE ADULTS as ask if you can get something for them. Frequently the "internet price" is nearly at cost - which costs the price shopper nothing, but the business owner can't make a cent on.

Having stuff sitting on the shelves, for years, is a RAGING business failure. These are the things that one should NOT stock in their shoppe. They should be placed out for fire sale.

What about calling RCBS or any other die mfr. and asking what the top 10 or top 15 sellers are and stock those?

quote:

those that haven't run a shop are missing the point.

Inventory TURNS make money - stuff sitting on the shelves is money WASTED

If it's there more than 1/2 a year, mark it down, move it out, and never stock it again, unless the special orders make up for the lack of sales.
One stocks what sells, or one goes out of business.

Thats a little over simplified, unless you are talking about a really small shop, not in a big city.

Stocking as much as you can afford, in my experience, improves sales. Having a storefront and a website makes things twice as good. Its the 21st century, internet sales are where its at for guys who stock oddball stuff.

Click the link, and then tell me it doesnt pay to stock a ton of shit. People want you to have everything, its just not within reach or scope of mindset for alot of small gunshops.

www.cliffsgunsmithing.com

I would just place a very big sign saying.

"I well custom order any thing you want that I don't have in stock".

Lets talk guns.

Have a Great day.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I would just place a very big sign saying.

"I well custom order any thing you want that I don't have in stock".

Lets talk guns.

Have a Great day.

Perfect!

The only way to make a small fortune from a small gunshop is to start with a large fortune.

quote:

Originally posted by Ratltrap:
The only way to make a small fortune from a small gunshop is to start with a large fortune.

Oh, so true! That's why so many are working on making their second $million, because the first didn't go so well.

What did the gunnut say when he won the lottery?

"I am going to open a gunshop and operate it till its gone!"

There is a fine line between too much oddball stock and not enough.

You want enough fun stuff and variety to keep repeat traffic browsing thru the shop, yet stock cheap and deep what really sells.