I really now think the way to make a few $ in the Firearms Trade is to sell firearms in the lower price bracket but sell more of them.

My kind of partner thinks the top end is the way to go and make a few hun dred with less paperwork.

Baikal et al. Buy cheap, sell cheap and sell heaps of them.

Way to go.


I think.

There is allot to be said for that. The shop I deal with the most sells at a reasonable value and sells the heck out Remingtons, Brownings, Savages, etc. Sure he sells the high end stuff but the percentage of guys buying Remingtons and Rugers far exceeds the guys buying the high end. I know myself - I have a safe full of Remigntons, Rugers, Tikka's and the like and have a hard time justifying the costs of higher end guns as the ones I have shoot terrific and for twice the money I can't buy better accuracy or reliability. In fact the most expensive gun I have ever bought has been the only one I have had to send back to the factory for defects (Kimber)and had to do it twice so far and still not satisfied.

You make better turn-over on lower value , volume sales. And the happy customer buying that lower priced gun will come back for another one , plus ammo , plus a scope , and a knife and on it goes.

Sell what the buyers want and they will look after you .

The rifle/gun get's them hooked in. Selling the components/ammunition to make it go "bang" or accessorise it is where the volume sales and profits are. That's why in my area I'm seeing pistol, shotgun and rimfire competitions booming with good turn-overs, whilst the rifles languish.
Being me , who tends to roll over firearms relatively fast after I've played with them ... imagine the convenience of a dealer who sold you a rifle and then was prepared to buy it back at a value based on condition, as long as I ordered my next toy from them ?
Cheers...
Con

yeah far more people can afford a new remington sps than say a sako 85 s/s or a weatherby mk5 ultralight etc etc. although selling ten $1000 rifles is the same as selling five $2000 rifles...you might even make more off a $1000 one....

Guns are better fer ya than wimmin - or men, if that's your inclination as a feminine man hater. People who shoot are interested in a certain period of history will shoot six-guns, muzzle loaders or whatever. After a long time a particular type of shooting, or several types, will be settled upon as the main interest.

At the moment I am into Ottoman muzzleloaders (originals), so-called tactical bolt action rifles, Whisper family sub-sonics, and doubleguns or older American semi-autos, based on Browning designs.

I bought three Baikals, two 12's and a 20. One 12 receiver was engraved by a Missouri shop. This was rejected by one uppity shop which said, "...please do not send any more emails...we do not work on cheap shotguns". Another place to which I was guided told me about their business and I asked for an email copy of their catalog. I eventually called, reminded the owner who I was and suggested sending in the receiver, now engraved, but needeing a French finish or color case job.

This was like a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. The shop owner stood with his legs spread apart and his hand near the grip of his Colt .45: "I won't do it" he said. "No problem" I said, and that ended it.

I called a third shop which considrered the project but which opted out because of not trusting the Baikal metallurgy. By the time I got my guns the EAA version was well-executed and the Remington version was presumably even better. Eventually the barrels and receiver will go back to the engraver for barrel engraving job and maybe he can find someone to do a receiver coloring job.

I do recommend the current Amerivcan quality Baikals and the Savage rifle with it's barrel versatility. If you want something better you must consider the usual gunsmith's operations many of which you can do your self.

Money will be made on the active use of the weapon: reloading, bullets, primers, casting bullets, and having a place to do target shooting. The money is there but it comes in many bits and pieces which must be properly assembled. For the kiddies a large shop can even sell balsa wood glider and rubberband propellor models. Yo' wimmin should even have a wimmin- critter shop where they can get good outdoor clothing plus a food service place where they can sit down and bitch about how much money their husbands spend on guns.

Ummm... not quite sure where fsp's coming from, I guess the US market is somewhat different from the Aus market...

I spent several years in 'specialty retail' (musical instruments) and there are many similarities to the firearms trade.

First and foremost, do you have a 'Business Plan'...

If you don't, pm me, and I'll send you a template that might help resolve the issue...

As an idea - given your location, how many potential purchasers can actually buy a high end firearm?

It's really easy to be seduced by the idea that 'what we would buy' is what others would buy - the reality can be profoundly different, and you end up with high cost stock that sits on your shelves for months - if not forever - that's a cost you can't afford, unless you have a LOT of money behind you.

Let me put it this way - if a 'high end' firearm costs you (as the retailer) $3000, would you be prepared to put the same amount of cash in a box... on teh off chance that someone wanted it?

Kinda hard to explain in writing, as before, pm me with number, and I'll be happy to provide some insights into 'specialty retail' in Oz...

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by GreybeardBushman:
I really now think the way to make a few $ in the Firearms Trade is to sell firearms in the lower price bracket but sell more of them.

My kind of partner thinks the top end is the way to go and make a few hun dred with less paperwork.

Baikal et al. Buy cheap, sell cheap and sell heaps of them.

Way to go.


I think.

if You think that business is that kind of easy: give it a try and claculated to loose your money faster than You have earned...

The cheap guns still don't sell themselves, you spend as much or more time selling a cheap gun because the budget buyer is looking at everything, the $2000+ buyer knows what sort of quality they will get for their $, and has a better idea of what they want.
You do know that you will probably get a buck or two from the budget buyer when he comes back to get the bedding or trigger job done, unfortunately you also have to spend time getting the cheap and nasties sent back for warranty work because the customer got what he paid for, but it is your time that is wasted spent dealing with that.

I've only been doing this on a part time basis for two months. I teach full time. And I know its a rapid learning curve that I'm on now. I'm selling a few guns but every person is definitely a rule unto themselves. Everyone (nearly) expects what they want straight away, and anything can be bought so easily for resale.

But am getting the definite impression that the main buyers around here are the once a month shooter after a cheaper gun/ rifle. The club members know exactly what they want and what it should cost.

Sounds good, Con