Eleven Mike
Member
That's what I don't understand.
Why do gun shops close on Sunday?
- Thread starter .45FMJoe
- Start date
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My family owns a couple of dry cleaning stores. We really don't have a choice being a small, family owned and operated establishment. We HAVE to be open M-F and Saturday; but we, like everyone else, deserve at least 1 day off. So for us it's Sunday. But we are open from 7am to 7pm during the week. We get a lot of business early in the morning and late at night (go figure before and after Mr. and Mrs. America go to and get off of work). Retailers are not open that early and unless they are the big "Mart" stores they are not open that late, either. I am a service business, not a retailer. You are comparing apples to oranges!
evan price
Member
#1. It's called prior planning. Know you will need something, buy it another time.
#2, as a previous business owner, I could have been open 24-7 if I wanted to pay employees to be there all that time. At some point I have to look at my projected revenue VS fixed cost for being open extra hours. Look at it this way, store employees like to have time off just like you do. What if your boss told you they were now going to be open 24 hours a day and you have to work it?
#3, Sunday I go to church. 10 am till 3pm including brunch.
I've worked jobs that were open Sunday, my current job is open 24/7 with only Xmas, Thanksgiving and July 4th off. We are always here.
#2, as a previous business owner, I could have been open 24-7 if I wanted to pay employees to be there all that time. At some point I have to look at my projected revenue VS fixed cost for being open extra hours. Look at it this way, store employees like to have time off just like you do. What if your boss told you they were now going to be open 24 hours a day and you have to work it?
#3, Sunday I go to church. 10 am till 3pm including brunch.
I've worked jobs that were open Sunday, my current job is open 24/7 with only Xmas, Thanksgiving and July 4th off. We are always here.
.45FMJOE
Try Second Amendment Armory in Brandon across the bay on Hwy. 60. They are open Sunday until I think 7pm but closed Monday and Tuesday. I don't know what time they open on Sunday but it may be 12pm like the week days. Their hours seem to be more in tune with the working publics time off.
They are on the south side of the road and in the same building as the pawn shop [Value Pawn I think] before the Pep Boys auto parts store. If you pass Lakewood going east, you went past it.
Try Second Amendment Armory in Brandon across the bay on Hwy. 60. They are open Sunday until I think 7pm but closed Monday and Tuesday. I don't know what time they open on Sunday but it may be 12pm like the week days. Their hours seem to be more in tune with the working publics time off.
They are on the south side of the road and in the same building as the pawn shop [Value Pawn I think] before the Pep Boys auto parts store. If you pass Lakewood going east, you went past it.
Cato the Younger
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2006
- Messages
- 130
Being open on Sunday....
My family is not in the gun business, but we do have a family-owned pizzaria in a suburb of a major metropolitan area. When I was little, I could remember my friends' fathers talking about going to concerts, partying on the weekends, etc. Whenever I asked my father about such things, he told me that he never really went to alot of concerts. He has worked in the restaurant business since he was 14. Once I started working with him, I understood his experiences. In my experience, people want to spend alot of money on Friday and Saturday night (payday/take their families out). The restaurant business is pretty much a seven-day a week affair, b/c people want delivers on Sun. I do not envy the FFLs for the paperwork they have to go through running a store, but at least they can try to close on a wed or monday. evan, I too like to go to church with my parents, sometimes I had to work sundays, but I would go to services in the middle of the week (I had alot of Wed/Thur off). For all of us that have to work to service everyone else's good times, look on the bright side- at least we can go see matinees or have the gunrange to ourselves during the week!
My family is not in the gun business, but we do have a family-owned pizzaria in a suburb of a major metropolitan area. When I was little, I could remember my friends' fathers talking about going to concerts, partying on the weekends, etc. Whenever I asked my father about such things, he told me that he never really went to alot of concerts. He has worked in the restaurant business since he was 14. Once I started working with him, I understood his experiences. In my experience, people want to spend alot of money on Friday and Saturday night (payday/take their families out). The restaurant business is pretty much a seven-day a week affair, b/c people want delivers on Sun. I do not envy the FFLs for the paperwork they have to go through running a store, but at least they can try to close on a wed or monday. evan, I too like to go to church with my parents, sometimes I had to work sundays, but I would go to services in the middle of the week (I had alot of Wed/Thur off). For all of us that have to work to service everyone else's good times, look on the bright side- at least we can go see matinees or have the gunrange to ourselves during the week!
Cato the Younger
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2006
- Messages
- 130
Being open on Sunday....
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"The Bible says, "that on the seventh day GOD rested". Here in the Bible
belt, we follow by honoring the LORD on Sunday~!"
But how do you know that Sunday is actually the seventh day? In fact with our calender, Sunday is not even Sunday anymore. We can't even tell what Sunday was in the time of Jesus much less the time when God created the world. My point is, Sunday is just another day and as it is the second half of the weekend, it would be nice if gunshops were open for business.
I would have done a lot of business on Sundays and later Sat afternoons with the gunstores around me if they were open. They close at 3:00pm on Sat and are closed compleatly on Sunday. Sat and Sun are the only two days I have for shopping and shooting so they are eliminating about 60-70% of my business right off the bat.
If I had a gunshop, I think I keep it open on Sat and Sun 9-5 and close on Mon and Tue since they are a waste anyway. I could get a lot more done on Monday and Tuesday than I can on the weekends since there would be little traffice and less people in the stores and at the gun range. It would be prefect!
belt, we follow by honoring the LORD on Sunday~!"
But how do you know that Sunday is actually the seventh day? In fact with our calender, Sunday is not even Sunday anymore. We can't even tell what Sunday was in the time of Jesus much less the time when God created the world. My point is, Sunday is just another day and as it is the second half of the weekend, it would be nice if gunshops were open for business.
I would have done a lot of business on Sundays and later Sat afternoons with the gunstores around me if they were open. They close at 3:00pm on Sat and are closed compleatly on Sunday. Sat and Sun are the only two days I have for shopping and shooting so they are eliminating about 60-70% of my business right off the bat.
If I had a gunshop, I think I keep it open on Sat and Sun 9-5 and close on Mon and Tue since they are a waste anyway. I could get a lot more done on Monday and Tuesday than I can on the weekends since there would be little traffice and less people in the stores and at the gun range. It would be prefect!
Because gun shop owners have lives too?
Since the opening of the "big box" stores opened here in my hometown, people expect me to have my shop open every day of the week.
"What are your hours on Saturday?"
"We're not open Saturday."
"How 'bout Sunday?"
<Throw up arms in disgust.>
Sorry folks, some of the small, one-man or mom & pop stores are owned by humans, who have kids, grandkids, gardens, hobbies, etc.
If we lose a little business because we choose to have lives, so be it. The best we can do is be good enough at what we do that our customers will seek us out or work with our hours.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Greeting's albanian My Friend-
Point well taken, but my owner's are deeply religious and therefore
elect too close the shop on Sunday. You are probably correct in
saying that there is a lot of money too be made on the Sabbath.
I know we sell a lot more than firearms, and people that fish on
the weekends are going too need lures, jigs, rods and reels and
such. Also, we sell a complete line of clothing including but not
limited too Carhartt, Mossy Oak, etc. Also, footwear from Georgia
Boot, Rocky, and other's~! Along with safe's, tree stands, and a
huge assortment of cutlery~!
Point well taken, but my owner's are deeply religious and therefore
elect too close the shop on Sunday. You are probably correct in
saying that there is a lot of money too be made on the Sabbath.
I know we sell a lot more than firearms, and people that fish on
the weekends are going too need lures, jigs, rods and reels and
such. Also, we sell a complete line of clothing including but not
limited too Carhartt, Mossy Oak, etc. Also, footwear from Georgia
Boot, Rocky, and other's~! Along with safe's, tree stands, and a
huge assortment of cutlery~!
Yes I know you have lives too but what I'm asking is why wouldn't you trade off Saturday and Sunday for Monday and Tuesday or Tuesday and Wednesday?
I refuse to believe i'm the only schmuck in the world that works every weekday and thus can only spend my money on the weekends. I believe you are forgoing a LOT more than a "little" business. Like I said, all of my gun and accessory purchases have been online (except for a couple that were at gunshows on the WEEKENDS) for the sole reason that my local blasterías are not open on the weekends. Which brings up another point - if weekend sporting goods sales are so low why are gunshows only on the weekends? And why do I have to stand outside like a dork for 20 minutes just to get in the freakin show because the lines are so long for admission?
I wish I could have two weekdays off and work Saturday and Sunday like normal days, that would so rock. If I wanted to go shopping or shooting there would be no lines and no traffic during those days!
ETA - I'm not saying that customer service isn't a good thing, don't take me wrong. But if I cannot visit your store during your operating hours because I'm in a service business then it matters not how good you are. You will never have the oppurtunity to show me. That's all I'm saying. I have no choice but to be open M-F in my industry. People work during the week - they have no planning skills, they need me to bail them out so they have clothes to wear to work so they earn money to trade to you. Retail is different especially on something like guns and ammunition. While you may have no choice but to run to Walgreens for tampons and toilet paper, guns and ammo can be put off for the weekend.
ETA² - I also don't mean that you should not have a life. You are retail and I am service, we are two different beasts servicing the same people. Do you really think the people who visit you on Mon and Tues would mind if you were closed then? I don't think you can tell me yes with a straight face. Obviously they are able to visit you during the week and could probably come on Wed or Thursday instead. However the people who would love you to be open Sat and Sun instead would bring forth a whole new oppurtunity for you to sell stuff and make money. At the end of the day owning a business is about putting food on the table for your family would you not agree? I hate having to work over 65 hours a week but I don't have much of a choice, it goes with the business.
FWIW, I don't own a gun shop, I'm in retail awards. What you are asking is "Why aren't you there for me when I need you?"
Sorry, I can't please everyone, unless I want to work seven days a week, which I won't do, for the aforementioned reasons.
Some do while others don't. It's cultural and economic in nature.
.45FMJoe said:
Be very careful there. You're exhibiting strong anti-social tendencies. Thus I am assuming it to likely be the reason for your contrary post. The reason shops aren't open 24/7 is because no one in their right mind wants to work 24/7. As an American consumer, it is assumed that you have enough forethought to plan your purchases in advance. Do you really want the small shops to be more like Wal-Mart? Can you buy a car, motorcycle, building material, or anything else on a Sunday at a place that is not a nationwide corporate chain? As a rule, a corporate chain discards the theological and religious wishes of it's employees in favor of making another dollar.
America was founded on Christian principles, like it or not, and many still honor those principles to this day. One of those principles was a day of rest in observance of the Sabbath. Many believe that working on Sunday is a sin. Should America discard it's religious beliefs to honor your shopping/spending habits?
Yes, you do. You also have lunch breaks, etc that you could use for personal shopping time.
If your business is worthy of operating it that many hours, it's time to start thinking about hiring some assistance to help run it.
Be very careful there. You're exhibiting strong anti-social tendencies. Thus I am assuming it to likely be the reason for your contrary post. The reason shops aren't open 24/7 is because no one in their right mind wants to work 24/7. As an American consumer, it is assumed that you have enough forethought to plan your purchases in advance. Do you really want the small shops to be more like Wal-Mart? Can you buy a car, motorcycle, building material, or anything else on a Sunday at a place that is not a nationwide corporate chain? As a rule, a corporate chain discards the theological and religious wishes of it's employees in favor of making another dollar.
America was founded on Christian principles, like it or not, and many still honor those principles to this day. One of those principles was a day of rest in observance of the Sabbath. Many believe that working on Sunday is a sin. Should America discard it's religious beliefs to honor your shopping/spending habits?
Yes, you do. You also have lunch breaks, etc that you could use for personal shopping time.
If your business is worthy of operating it that many hours, it's time to start thinking about hiring some assistance to help run it.
Well, around here people EXPECT a retail business to be open on Sunday, because most are. If it were me I'd be open late Thurs. Fri.(paydays), open all day Sat. and limited (say 12-5) on Sunday, closed on Mon. Tues. These are "prime" shopping times for most people. Yes, it kinda stinks, but this is when the majority of people shop...And I would guess that alot do "routine" (groceries and other necessities) on Satuday. Sunday is for worship/relaxation/recreation, and for many of use that might include a trip to the range/gunshop.
White Horseradish
Member
Are you serious?asknight said:
A typical lunch break is 30-45 minutes. Twin Cites, where I live, is a pretty large metropolitan area. There are all of four gunshops that are not Gander Mountain. Now, I happen to work about a mile from one of them, but if I worked anywhere else I couldn't even make it there and back, let alone spend the time to look at something and do the paperwork, in the time alotted for a typical lunch break.
Guns are a hobby for the vast majority of people interested in them. Hobby time is the weekend. Gunshop owners have the right to work whatever hours they wish, but we (and they) really should not be surprised when they go out of business because they are unwilling to be available during the time that most of their customers are likely to shop.
BTW, how would having your off time on days other than Saturday and Sunday contribute to an early disability?
History Prof
Member
real_name said:
Fundamentalists appreciate your dollars. But their ultimate reward is in Heaven, not on earth, so, no, they "don't *need* the extra money" that you might have spent on Sunday. I hope you don't use that as your criteria for patronizing the shop Monday-Saturday, but if it is, oh well (from their point of view). The Lord still provides. Always.
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Because in order to satisfy all of your customers you'd have to work 7 days a week. That's the way it is, as a dealer it is impossible to be open when everyone wants you to be. Otherwise, if you work Sat-Sun but off Mon-Tues, you lose the Mon-Tues customers. I don't know about where you are, but here payday is typically on a Monday. The companies went to doing that rather than Friday's because all the workers were asking for paycheck advances before the next payday due to them blowing their entire checks during the weekend.
So by being off Monday and Tuesday, you'd give up religion and what comfort that gives you. You also give up your payday customers, at least in this area. You also get all of the tire kickers coming in on the weekend who are bored at home but aren't seriously looking to purchase or don't have the money. So you're balls to the wall on Sat-Sun answering questions and handing out merchandise to be fondled, but the number of actual sales doesn't strike a fair balance with the actual number of customers you assisted. Also to run a shop an extra two days a week, you also have to hire extra help or you can pay your regular guys overtime and overwork them. Mixing the requirement of having to hire extra help of at least two people, and the less efficiency of less sales per customer... it just doesn't make sense to many folks when considering the highly competitive and low margins on firearms.
I'm certain that if the consumers allowed the industry to charge a 30-40% mark up on firearms (like those margins common to other industries) that dealers wouldn't have a problem with their scheduled hours or hiring extra assistance. Until then, us gun buyers will continue to be hard nosed, hard bargaining buyers.
So by being off Monday and Tuesday, you'd give up religion and what comfort that gives you. You also give up your payday customers, at least in this area. You also get all of the tire kickers coming in on the weekend who are bored at home but aren't seriously looking to purchase or don't have the money. So you're balls to the wall on Sat-Sun answering questions and handing out merchandise to be fondled, but the number of actual sales doesn't strike a fair balance with the actual number of customers you assisted. Also to run a shop an extra two days a week, you also have to hire extra help or you can pay your regular guys overtime and overwork them. Mixing the requirement of having to hire extra help of at least two people, and the less efficiency of less sales per customer... it just doesn't make sense to many folks when considering the highly competitive and low margins on firearms.
I'm certain that if the consumers allowed the industry to charge a 30-40% mark up on firearms (like those margins common to other industries) that dealers wouldn't have a problem with their scheduled hours or hiring extra assistance. Until then, us gun buyers will continue to be hard nosed, hard bargaining buyers.
"Should America discard it's religious beliefs to honor your shopping/spending habits?"
If they want to make more money they should and will. Clearly, there is not enough money in doing so or they would have done it already. Money is the true God of America and it always will be for better or worse.
If they want to make more money they should and will. Clearly, there is not enough money in doing so or they would have done it already. Money is the true God of America and it always will be for better or worse.
wheelgunslinger
Member
Hogwash. Most of the founding fathers were deists.
America doesn't have an official religious belief, nor does it have an unofficial one. It gives us all freedom to choose. If you choose to rest on sunday, since it is holy to you, by all means do it. But, don't pretend like everyone is with you on that and that we should roll up the sidewalks because you say so... it's simply unamerican.
America was founded on the ideal of freedom of religion for all. Christians took over and exerted political power to influence lawmaking once the founding fathers were gone. In fact, if your peaceful Christianity hadn't ridden on the pointy end of a roman sword in Europe, it would have died the same death as gnosticism, worship of Baal, and reverence of ancestors.
America's religious beliefs have changed as have it's need for more substantial proofs for religion due to a better educated population. The rotting carcasses of blue laws that still remain bear witness to the fact that Christianity had it's arm way too deep in the cookie jar of politics.
Around here, in Western North Carolina, business owners are afraid to open their businesses on Sunday for fear that the religious right will boycott them. This includes gun stores. And, that is really sad. Most of the people who would boycott are the same people with American flags in their yards or on their vehicles.
To miss the point of freedom of religion is to miss a major point of WHY there was a revolution in the colonies in the first place. And, subsequently, it means that you miss the point of the 2nd amendment.
I'm a neo-pagan. I'm American. I vote. I own weapons. And, I will stand and fight for your right to keep your sabbath holy as you see fit. Try doing the same for others when it comes to their beliefs and we'll all be in good shape.
waterhouse
Member
Kids have school on Mondays and Tuesdays. And spouses may work on Mondays and Tuesdays. And your friend who also works during the week may invite you to go spend a weekend day on the lake on his boat. If a person wishes to spend time with their spouse/children/friends, it makes sense to take time off on the weekends. A lot of people (not just the gun industry) value the time they get to spend outside of work more than the money that could be made if they were at work, and thus choose not to work on the weekends.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Anti-social tendencies because I don't like traffic and long lines??:banghead: :banghead: I never said anything about 24/7, please reread my post. I would re-type it but I don't feel like explaining myself again.
Let me see...do I care if I can buy building materials, etc. anyplace other than a retail chain on the weekends? Nope. I work during the week, I work on my house on the weekends. Thus I don't care where I get my materials as long as I can get them on Saturday afternoon for my Saturday afternoon/Sunday project. Last weekend was sod this weekend I'm finishing a psuedo-deck in my backyard. Oh, and enough Triazanine (sp?) to cause birth defects in the State of California. I hate ants, bugs, fleas, etc.
Oh, and I did buy my new truck at Galloway Ford in Ft. Myers, FL. They are not a giant chain, just one location. They are open until 9pm on Saturday so I went when I got off work one Saturday. Neither my salesman Steve, the financing manager nor the girl at the counter who took my down payment seemed to have any problem selling me a $40k truck on Saturday night. *shrug* I apprechiate each of my extremities equally so I don't ride a motorcycle...
But back on topic - No I cannot visit a gun shop on my lunch break. I don't really get a lunch break. My coworker covers the shop solo and I go next door to Albertson's, grab something and eat it while we continue our work. That or I brown bag it or sometimes we splurge for the Taco Bell in plaza or McDonalds across the street. Besides there are no real gun shops in South Tampa, they are all at least 25 mins away in North Tampa. Could be longer depending on I-275 traffic.
I'd love to be able to hire someone to help the problem is I cannot afford it right now and it's almost impossible to find competant help. More or less I need help for an entry level position. I cannot tell you how many idiots we have cycled through. I could train a parapalegic chimpanzee with Tourette's syndrome to do this job adequately. But instead, I'm stuck doing it with my buddy while we are both trying to run the plant too. Wee.
MatthewVanitas
Member
I'd say some of it's just habit for a lot of people.
Religious reasons? Surveys say 20% of Americans go to church regularly. Also, even for those that go to church, most spend an hour or two there on a Sunday, it's highly debatable whether sitting in your Barcalounger watching TV or going boating on the lake for the rest of the day counts as "keeping the Sabbath".
Setting aside entirely the issue of whether the Sabbath falls on our modern Sunday or not.
There are a ton of holdover religious laws on the books that are doing zero good: in Austin, I can buy beer or wine on Sunday, but I can't buy port or sherry. What in the heck is going to go wrong on Sunday if I buy a bottle of port, vice the frat boys next door buying a couple cases of Lone Star?
Religion aside, some of it is just plain inertia. My favorite bad example: military town in Southern California (29 Palms), where the gunshop closed promptly at 5PM weekdays. The gunshop is about 30 minutes' drive from the base, on the way home for a lot of officers and families living out in the Morongo valley. Most folks get off around 16:30. So the store stays open all day for retired folks and desert rats to wander in, then closes promptly just when the military folks (steady jobs, like guns, single guys with 80% disposable income) are driving past the store on the way home. Open limited hours on Saturday, closed Sunday.
If I've got to keep a store open, sitting there myself or paying employees to sit there, I want that sucker open when there's traffic coming through. You still get Friday and Saturday night off to go see a movie or go dancing, and going to the range or boating at the lake is way more fun when you're not elbow-to-elbow with the weekend crowd.
-MV
Religious reasons? Surveys say 20% of Americans go to church regularly. Also, even for those that go to church, most spend an hour or two there on a Sunday, it's highly debatable whether sitting in your Barcalounger watching TV or going boating on the lake for the rest of the day counts as "keeping the Sabbath".
Setting aside entirely the issue of whether the Sabbath falls on our modern Sunday or not.
There are a ton of holdover religious laws on the books that are doing zero good: in Austin, I can buy beer or wine on Sunday, but I can't buy port or sherry. What in the heck is going to go wrong on Sunday if I buy a bottle of port, vice the frat boys next door buying a couple cases of Lone Star?
Religion aside, some of it is just plain inertia. My favorite bad example: military town in Southern California (29 Palms), where the gunshop closed promptly at 5PM weekdays. The gunshop is about 30 minutes' drive from the base, on the way home for a lot of officers and families living out in the Morongo valley. Most folks get off around 16:30. So the store stays open all day for retired folks and desert rats to wander in, then closes promptly just when the military folks (steady jobs, like guns, single guys with 80% disposable income) are driving past the store on the way home. Open limited hours on Saturday, closed Sunday.
If I've got to keep a store open, sitting there myself or paying employees to sit there, I want that sucker open when there's traffic coming through. You still get Friday and Saturday night off to go see a movie or go dancing, and going to the range or boating at the lake is way more fun when you're not elbow-to-elbow with the weekend crowd.
-MV
"If I've got to keep a store open, sitting there myself or paying employees to sit there, I want that sucker open when there's traffic coming through. You still get Friday and Saturday night off to go see a movie or go dancing, and going to the range or boating at the lake is way more fun when you're not elbow-to-elbow with the weekend crowd."
Good point. I think that was the real question that started this thread that got off topic. Why aren't gunshops open during the hours that would have the most traffic? I have to believe that there would be more traffic on Sunday 9-5 than on Monday 9-5. I have been to gunshops during every part of the week and I see that there are clearly times that can't be worth being open. Monday and Tuesday almost all day are dead and Wed and Thrusday in the mornings are pretty slow as well. I used to have a route that took me through several towns and I was often able to stop in at the gunshops in each town during the slow periods. It is nice because you can walk right in and see everything they have and make a deal if you want to buy and get out in a few minuits. They are nicer when you are the only one in the store most of the time since they can't really afford to ignore you since you are the only sorce of cash at the time. I have made some good buys that way. I walk in, I see something I like, I either pay the price if it is a good one or I offer what I think is a good price and more often than not, they work with me. The gunshops that won't deal or come down on a price that is clearly too high, start to lose my bussiness and if they keep it up, I stop going there compleatly. Why waste my time when they have the same guns and no turnover?
Good point. I think that was the real question that started this thread that got off topic. Why aren't gunshops open during the hours that would have the most traffic? I have to believe that there would be more traffic on Sunday 9-5 than on Monday 9-5. I have been to gunshops during every part of the week and I see that there are clearly times that can't be worth being open. Monday and Tuesday almost all day are dead and Wed and Thrusday in the mornings are pretty slow as well. I used to have a route that took me through several towns and I was often able to stop in at the gunshops in each town during the slow periods. It is nice because you can walk right in and see everything they have and make a deal if you want to buy and get out in a few minuits. They are nicer when you are the only one in the store most of the time since they can't really afford to ignore you since you are the only sorce of cash at the time. I have made some good buys that way. I walk in, I see something I like, I either pay the price if it is a good one or I offer what I think is a good price and more often than not, they work with me. The gunshops that won't deal or come down on a price that is clearly too high, start to lose my bussiness and if they keep it up, I stop going there compleatly. Why waste my time when they have the same guns and no turnover?
- Status
