opening new gun shop

[packsaddle]

please advise on things you like to see in a gun shop.

thanks, in advance.

[Sig Guy]

please advise on things you like to see in a gun shop.

thanks, in advance.

low prices

i bought 1 gun in a gunshop and 6 over the internet

unless the store can match the internet price,the net gets my business

with online gun retailers with cheap prices and a much larger selection,guns stores have it bad

[jason]

I agree. Most shops are over priced. You can almost always find what you're looking for at a lower price online from other gun enthusiasts.

I just purchased my first gun from a gun shop (though over the internet). I only did so because it was a limited run of a pistol that I couldn't talk myself out of buying.

Besides low prices, I think it would be great to have a shop that carried a wide range of the most popular holster models. I might consider paying a little extra if a shop carried a holster for me to try on at the shop before having to pay for it. Anything to eliminate the collection in the drawer from getting larger.

[mr surveyor]

a "lounge area" for the regulars that hang out. The place will look busy to newcomers, have a wealth of experience available, extra "eyes", etc. Keep the coffee pot on, cold drinks available, good honest advice (or answer "I don't know" and don't bull your customers).

.....but then it depends on what kind of neighborhood you're considering opening shop in.....

[srothstein]

I like a large selection of both guns and supplies. While I like low prices, I also know that service costs money, so I don't mind paying a little more for good service. Maybe I am weird that way, but I support local independent gun shops and have never bought a firearm over the net and rarely buy at gun shows.

I like the idea of a lounge area too. A few good regulars can go a long way towards building a base for your business. I miss this in motorcycle dealers where I used to be able to go hang out and just talk bikes with the sales guys. I still can do it in most hobby shops.

Probably the best advice I can give on the whole thing is to run it like you always wanted someone else to run one for you. You were a shooter first, and you remember what you wanted then, so give it to all of us.

[phddan]

Service.
I don't mind paying a little more for good service, and would much rather buy locally than on line. Speaking of which, where are you located?
Selection.
If you have to order everything I want, I might as well order on line.
PRIMERS!!!!!!

Dan

ETA: Please keep your aisle clear enough for a wheel chair to get through. My wife won't buy anything, if she can't get around.

[Crossfire]

I fully agree with Stephan. I will pay more for good service.

And good service means that you treat everyone like they are a customer. Even if they happen to be female.

You have some good suggestions here. Where are you planning to open the ultimate gun shop?

[propellerhead]

How about a consignment sales counter?

Maybe some incentives for repeat customers. Most of us have a tendency to keep buying guns.

[jbirds1210]

No mall ninjas at the sales counter. They really irritate me and have caused me to walk out of more than one store.


I just can't handle a 19 year old talking down to me about a purchase I decide to make. I have been told on about eight separate occasions at Academy how horrible Blazer ammunition is and how it will not function in my gun

A friendly face to offer advice only when I have a question is a big plus in my opinion.

Jason

[KBCraig]

The lounge is a good idea. Have it right next to the Kids Korner.

[Venus Pax]

Keep your store clean and don't smoke (or allow smoking) inside.

I've been to some gun stores that are nasty, and it doesn't make me want to stick around in the place long if it smells of smoke and hasn't been cleaned and mopped in ten years.

Also, the lady at the counter may just be a customer and not a lady waiting on her husband.

[Jungle Work]

Reasonalbe Prices and a Reasonable Selection of Guns, Holsters and Ammo.

I say "Reasonable" because I want you to stay in Business and make a Good Living while doing so. If you plan on getting rich off of me, I will walk out the door. I have several friends who own gunshops. The most successful is the ones who are constantly moving merchandice out the door. Their prices are reasonable and they have a good attitude with the customers, ie helpful and don't laugh in the face of X-Purts.

If you have an area big enough for some chairs, the lounge area is a real winner. Good Luck if you open a Gun Shp, remember, Location, Location,
Location.

Jungle Work

[longtooth]

Keep your store clean and don't smoke (or allow smoking) inside.

I've been to some gun stores that are nasty, and it doesn't make me want to stick around in the place long if it smells of smoke and hasn't been cleaned and mopped in ten years.

Also, the lady at the counter may just be a customer and not a lady waiting on her husband.

Especially if the lady at the counter is VP.

[Piney]

Greetings--

I"d have to agree with several other folks' postings-- polite, friendly staff. Remind the counter staff there are there to sell-- not to tell me my choices aren't any good-- or even worse-- ignore me when I come in. That's a pet peeve of mine--a bunch of regulars standing around yacking and me-- a potentially paying customer being ignored.

A couple of indoor ranges I've been to have lounges-- tables, free coffee, soda machines-- that's the place to go and yack-- not the counter.

Oh-- and a decent selection of holsters !

[ELB]

OK, my dream gunstore,

*** Ideally, it would be co-located with a range that has a wide selection of rental guns, so you could try stuff out
- Ditto on polite friendly knowledgable but not overbearing staff, of course
- Wide selection of firearms is always good!
- Ditto on ammo - I have been surprised/annoyed that I seldom see Cor-Bon ammo in my area, and when I do, it's only a couple calibers. Maybe it doesn't sell in retail stores well enough, but grrr.
*** Some kind of holster/belt rental/tryout plan, whereby there's a big stack of somewhat used holsters, you plunk down some bucks or a credit card number, and head out with your holster for a week. If you like it and don't mind it being used, you just keep it and the store keeps your money or charges the card. If you like it, but want a new one, bring the old one back, apply the deposit to a new one, and pay the diff. If you don't like it, bring it back and swap it for another "rental" holster. Wash, rinse, repeat.

There's a bunch of other stuff I could dream up, but this is probably enough. I would imagine starting up a gunstore with any kind of decent selection takes an enormous amount of cash in order to have enough inventory, and is a driver in pricing firearms and such. Plus you have various sorts of federal, state, and city bureaucracies coming up with all kinds of ways to make it harder for you to do business. Good luck you you and best wishes.

elb