Starting a gun shop

[drband]

No offense meant to the OP, but they're asking the wrong questions.
Specialty retail shops rank right below restaurants in terms of likelihood of business failure. Specialty products are at the whim of customers' disposable income and the general health of the economy. Guns are even more specialized as a product because of legal considerations, etc. All of those things would make me leery, but to each their own. And for the record, in my former life I owned a service-based business (not guns) that I had decades of prior experience doing and learning from along the way. And even that was exhausting. Anecdotally, "I knew a guy" who had an already successful machine shop who jumped through the hoops to get an FFL, and was selling guns as a sideline because the other business carried the burden of keeping the lights on. Just my two cents....

We still have an auto parts store in town that sells guns on the side. Smart.

 

[Nomes]

See if the distributes will give you some incentive items or items for grad opening gifts for a raffle or even free door prizes just to get people in your store.
Check out other ways to get them in your store it is easier for them to come in your store after the first time that they do.
And just be honest and fair.
Best of luck to you.

 

[Nomes]

By the way you might want to stock some pellet guns.

 

[KY DAN]

I'm curious, OP. A new Glock 19 goes for $500. What price will you sell it for to make 40% and what price will you buy it for? It's like the SATs. Johnny wants to make 40% and the train leaves Cleveland at 6:00 PM and ... Or maybe Calculus 101 if you want to come up with a function.

I can't do this on a new firearm.

A used firearm can be bought in my mind, the used glock 19 would be sold for $400.

I am willing to pay $240 used, where I am in Kentucky is a low income county and the competition to the only 3 gun shops 40-70 miles apart is two pawn shops. Who is beating whose prices?

Will it upset someone, ABSOLUTELY yet I am buying low to sell low.

 

[dogtown tom]

I can't do this on a new firearm.

A used firearm can be bought in my mind, the used glock 19 would be sold for $400.

I am willing to pay $240 used, where I am in Kentucky is a low income county and the competition to the only 3 gun shops 40-70 miles apart is two pawn shops. Who is beating whose prices?

Will it upset someone, ABSOLUTELY yet I am buying low to sell low.

Thinking people will beat a path to your door to sell you their used Glocks for $240 that you resell for $400 isn't a business plan, its a fantasy.

Based on what you've written, I don't see how you'll break even as a business.
-What is your time worth? Sitting in your shop for eight hours a day waiting on a guy to walk in and sell you his used gun is going to get old by the end of week one.
-Are you going to buy or sell at gun shows?
-You live in a "low income county"? That doesn't bode well for business. I'm in the Texas county with the highest per capita income and guess what.......gun shops fail here every year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_locations_by_per_capita_income
-What is the population within a 10 mile radius? 20 mile radius?
-If you are out in the sticks.... what need do you have for a retail store?
-How will people know you'll give them $240 maximum for their used Glock?
-Do those people know you have competitors that will likely give them more? How do you know what they ill pay for a used Glock?
-How many sellers are going to walk through your doors each day/week/month?
-How much is your inventory insurance premium? Your general liability insurance? Alarm system monitoring?
-Are you going to sell on the internet? GunBroker? Do you have a webstore?
-How many transfers do you expect to do?
-What do you think your business will provide that others in the area do not?
-Seriously, the only guy I would expect to take $240 for his Glock is the meth head who stole it.

I'm not in any way trying to dissuade you from getting your FFL and opening a shop. I'm absolutely wanting you to understand how difficult it will be based on your belief that you can have a successful business based on "buy low, to sell low".

 

[GEM]

I had a 1990's Gen 2 Glock 19 that was replaced by some newer generation models. We were moving and given the laws (long story), it would have to go an FFL here for a bit. Thus, I went to sell it. I went to a LGS who shot at our matches and made a big deal on how he would give us a deal! Ha - offered me about $200. Thus, I went to my favorite LGS, a touch of a drive but not much if you are used to TX driving. Got a $150 or so more without a hassle. Did I lose money from the $450, I paid in 1994 - not really IMHO. I had use of the gun for 22 years - thus roughly rented it for $7.00 a year. Thousands of rounds through it.

I would laugh at a $240 offer. That's why I asked.

 

[pzember]

Sounds like you've got a solid base understanding of how the gun shop business functions. I've seen successful shops focus heavily on providing top-notch customer service and fostering a community. Shooting clinics, events, and educational classes tend to attract loyal customers.

 

[vegasbillsliv]

Even if you're offering high value in trades or sales, if people don't know about your shop, that's an issue. You might want to consider doing some targeted online ad campaigns to attract potential customers. And I recommend using this AdSpy tool for online ads. It allows you to see what types of ads your competitors are running and provides insight into the market strategy. It will be easier for you to get a better visibility with this tool.

 

[AlexanderA]

The economics of gun shops aren't favorable, especially for someone just starting out. Opening a gun shop is a good way to lose a lot of money.

Nevertheless, I can see a couple of reasons for going ahead and doing so:
1. You love guns, and this is just another way to take your hobby to the next level.
2. You need losses to offset gains from your other lucrative activities.

 

[KevininPa]

My favorite fun shop happens to be a hardware store. One of the largest dealers in the northeast. Besides being diversified in his business, he opens early. All of us night shift people go to him for firearms because he's the only one open when we clock out. So you may want to consider opening early a few days.