1911Forum banner

another gun store closed

5K views 74 replies 49 participants last post by  stevemaury 
#1 ·
I went by a gun store today that has been around for years, only to see they are gone for good. That makes 5 in the last year in the immediate NW Harris County area, in, I think the last year that has closed. Do you think the market is getting saturated, the internet price are killing them on price,or people or buying less guns?
 
#14 ·
This guy pretty much nailed it.

My main problem with local gun stores is the outright refusal to order you something. For example, I went to 4-5 different gun stores trying to get someone to call Springfield Armory to order a Professional. Nobody would do it. The order has to be made through an FFL, so I couldn’t do it myself.

All of my gun purchases are done through Gunbroker these days. Why go to a brick and mortar store that has a limited selection when online auction sites have everything? Pay a $10 transfer fee at your local pawn shop and be done with it.

The days of online brokers tricking someone into buying a pile of garbage are just about over. Bad reviews cost companies a lot more than eating the cost of a return, and they know that.

In my opinion, the only reason to go to a gun store is for something that you need right this minute. Otherwise, waiting for the UPS truck saves you a lot of money.
 
#4 ·
Unless they're in an anti-gun hellhole like Seattle (which ran off two perfectly good and profitable gun stores a number of years ago) gun shops are most likely to fail because of shortsighted management. Anyone in this business should be aware of the huge rollercoaster of supply and demand and apply a business model that keeps the doors open regardless of whether there's a buying panic going on. I think too many gun shops have painted themselves in a corner by only offering tactical guns and gear, which is what is popular and sells briskly in times of crisis. Too few gun shops these days cater to hunting needs or to other groups like Old West buffs and militaria collectors. The shops near me also have a rather pathetic assortment of holsters, gun parts, and cleaning gear. If it's not ammo and high-cap magazines they normally don't bother to carry it. In the current market with people buying Pmags online for $8 each, ARs for under $500 and 5.56 ammo for $.25 cents a round there's no money to be made on that score at the moment.
 
#30 ·
Ding ding. Between the lower price and lack of sales tax, buying online just makes sense.
Especially when dealers offer free shipping these days!
Internet economy is revolutionary and putting a lot of brick and mortar co's out of business across a lot of industries.

Why drive to a store when with a few clicks across various suppliers the internet offers:
Cheaper prices
Better selection/choices
Stuff is more likely to be "in-stock"
No "attitude" from the clerks in the stores
And these days, fast delivery.

We buy just about everything but fresh produce on the internet...Looks like I'll be hosed out of buying ammo O.L. though some time in 2018 in NJ.
My wife has reminded me repeatedly of my prediction 20 years ago when dozens of new bank branches were popping up all around us. It was a no-brainer that Internet banking would turn them into surplus real estate. Nearly impossible for a brick & mortar business to compete with direct marketing. Fixed and variable costs eat profits. Amazon is certainly one of the best examples. Gander Mountain was one of the worst. Warehouse Shelving and concrete floors are always less expensive and produce more revenue per square foot than Glass Display Cases and they don't require pay raises or health insurance. Survivors will have adapted early.
+1 on these.

Brick & mortar is on life support in most every sector except service or a component with service related business. Low pricing, convenience, & a significant tax advantage help drive demand online and punish brick & mortar. Millennials will push it even further. They don't even want to go to a store at all.
I think the only physical location survivors will be large retail chains that maintain a sizable web presence. Distribution will change dramatically and direct manufacturer to consumer via 3rd party mega warehouses (think Amazon) for most goods is the future. The desire to grow market share with slim margins rather than a reasonable operating profit makes it great for consumers in the short term, but will haunt them later when competition and most physical locations get cleaned out. I think it will happen faster than most of us realize and as usual the pendulum will swing too far before it comes back.

Firearms pose a unique regulatory challenge. I think online volume sellers will get bigger, but a few big box retailers with a sizable online presence could still do well with a blend of stores and web orders.
 
#6 ·
I agree w/ DSK. I live in western WA, and most gun shops have limited stock, if any at all and seem to survive only by FFL transfer fees. Only a very few have good selection of guns and accessories.

On a side note, while visiting my grandkids this past week, we stopped by a well stocked gun store in Brainard MN. Was very impressed.
 
#7 ·
What dsk said, and I will add that most don’t offer anything for reloaders either. Hell, not a single shop around my area even stocks Ballistol or any quality cleaning items, it’s Hoppes and CLP.........both of which you can get at Walmart for 20% less.
 
#11 ·
When I had my ffl in the early 90's, the "marts" were selling below my costs. I asked one of the wholesalers about that and they said they buy so many guns per month that they get fantastic deals. For the most part now I'll avoid the marts and spend a little more at my LGS.
 
#9 ·
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. A number of shops around here are now linked up with Gallery of Guns or something similar. But a good modern business model is really all that is needed.

A large gun shop here just opened a second location across town. They are well staffed, well stocked, attentive and polite to customers, not opinionated, run a great range and also sell on the internet. The place also has a snack bar, gun gear and clothes.... oh and you will be cheerfully greeted at the door too. Easy to see why the place is booming.

In today's market the old grumpy owner-dude behind the counter who makes you feel like you are bothering him to look at something won't cut it.
 
#10 ·
There have been 8 years of panic buying... it's hard to create big demand now that things have relaxed a bit. The only people buying much are gun guys- because we are always shopping deals. But I suspect we are a small portion of the whole market.
 
#12 ·
I watched a LGS out here that had a small store that had a limited small stock of guns on hand. They also had a warehouse setup where you ordered guns off their website and went to their store to pick them up. Their main business was conducting classes for concealed carry etc.

But they were doing great. Then they decided to move to a larger building and pay higher rents. So they could have a larger stock of guns, etc on hand. They initially were doing great. Then President Trump won the election and suddenly gun sales fell off the cliff. They wound up going out of business.

If they had stayed where they were at originally, they would have still been doing good.
 
#18 · (Edited)
inability to find GOOD employees with work ethics
Regarding this one... if you're an employer you get what you pay for. Offering only minimum wage means you get the dumbest idiots who failed at taking food orders at MacDonalds. If you want someone who knows their stuff and how to handle customers you need to attract them with a living wage or else they'll find a job elsewhere. That also means finding someone who is in their 30s at least and actually NEEDS their job to help pay their mortgage. Hiring a 22yo who still lives with his folks won't go well because he isn't at a stage in his life where he even cares about where he's at, let alone caring about your business.

And for cryin' out loud, bringing in your daughter or nephew won't do either because they'll simply jerk off while bossing around your other employees like they're royalty. I worked as a retail manager for a good many years, and I got fed up with the kids brought in to help me on Saturdays who routinely called in sick whenever it was nice outside or else showed up an hour late without giving a damn. Unfortunately quality employees cost money, and most retail shops simply can't afford low prices and knowledgeable staff at the same time.
 
#21 ·
Internet economy is revolutionary and putting a lot of brick and mortar co's out of business across a lot of industries.

Why drive to a store when with a few clicks across various suppliers the internet offers:
Cheaper prices
Better selection/choices
Stuff is more likely to be "in-stock"
No "attitude" from the clerks in the stores
And these days, fast delivery.

We buy just about everything but fresh produce on the internet...Looks like I'll be hosed out of buying ammo O.L. though some time in 2018 in NJ.
 
#26 ·
I gave the local guy a a couple of tries not to long ago and it just ended up being more frustrating, it would cost me more, and at times he couldn’t even find what I was looking for.

Why would I want to go through somebody else when I can do it myself, I can do it at home, I can do it anytime I wish, I have a much wider choice and selection, and wider choice of terms, and it will usually end up costing me less.
 
#24 ·
My wife has reminded me repeatedly of my prediction 20 years ago when dozens of new bank branches were popping up all around us. It was a no-brainer that Internet banking would turn them into surplus real estate. Nearly impossible for a brick & mortar business to compete with direct marketing. Fixed and variable costs eat profits. Amazon is certainly one of the best examples. Gander Mountain was one of the worst. Warehouse Shelving and concrete floors are always less expensive and produce more revenue per square foot than Glass Display Cases and they don't require pay raises or health insurance. Survivors will have adapted early.
 
#25 ·
I was also sad to see Spectre close its doors. I had bought several things from them over the years. I liked that they carried quality gear and the prices were fair considering they had it in stock. I think the gun scares under Obama were the culprit. Sales were good but then dropped like a rock after the election. I believe supply has exceeded demand not to mention that most bought inventory at higher costs and are now being forced to sell at lower margins. Its gonna be a rough couple years for gun shops.
 
#27 ·
This is why I love working at my neighbors LGS. 6000 sq ft of shotguns, rifles, handguns, safes, clothing, cleaning supplies and an entire room full of nothing but powder, primers, bullets, wads, hulls, dies, presses.....everything a reloader needs or wants. It is the greatest job in the world.
 
#28 ·
It’s definitely am industry with many micro trends.

Our local LGS that I use does well.

Their revenue is from mostly guns and range use. Every gun purchase comes with free range passes too worth 50 bucks.

They don’t sell reloading supplies because then they would have to compete with places like Fleet Farm.

They also have LOTs of gun courses too which is another revenue stream.
 
#31 ·
With the ability to order from the WEB and with what I buy just supplies for loading, ammo, equipment from the web. Times are changing and the old ways of doing business some of the older folks here are used to are dead and buried.

Thin margins in the gun industry and the ability to order virtually anything from the WEB and have it delivered to that store (I do yes it costs a little more than just a FFL) are gong to be the end to the small "gun stores" unless they are in a VERY rural area.
 
#32 ·
Brick and mortar stores will be losing ground to web stores in new gun and gear sales but they have multiple options to stay competitive.

Those that have not invested in building indoor ranges need to do it now. Yesterday I went to test my new J frame and had to turn around. My store's range, where I am a member ($250 that the store makes on me annually) and have "a right of way ", was so packed that I couldn't wait. Besides simple lane rent, there is a gun rental, on premises gunsmith, state mandated ccw training, pin matches, even indoors action shooting matches that number of local stores offer. Those are the revenue lines that web can't offer and that need to be further developed.
Brick and mortar are better positioned for trade in sales, used gun sales, and first time buyers almost invariably go to a physical store. LGS can do well, they just need to adapt and improve.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Do you think the market is getting saturated, the internet price are killing them on price,or people or buying less guns?
all of the above and more

1.)In general as Combat Auto and others mentioned...
e-commerce has made it difficult/impossible for the small/med size widget vendor to compete on price against Big-Volume buying power widget vendors and sm/med vendors wiling/able to sell at the thinnest profit margins.
No longer is competition confined to a 100 mile radius ...it's WORLD wide comp now at the touch of a button

gun specific now

2.) strong sales for years balloon has burst
Sales (guns/ammo and related) are down sharply in general) ..like someone turned the spigot off overnight

Manufactures, wholesalers and street level (Brick 'n mortar and e-com) vendors offering rebates, reduced and blow out sale prices, free shipping, etc, incentive$ in an effort to boost sagging sales and generate revenue

That lowers profit margins.
The under capitalized and/or marginal biz's get squeezed to the point they can't operate and/or decide the sustainable margins are just too thin for the effort/time involved and move on to greener pastures






This is why I love working at my neighbors LGS. .
I'm sure your neighbor is thrilled to have you too, Steve
You're the ideal employee for any biz
Knowledgeable, mature, healthy, retired and financially secure .
You're working because you "want" to, not "have to"

you're the "dream employee" to ANY employer


..L.T.A.
 
#42 ·
....
I'm sure your neighbor is thrilled to have you too, Steve
You're the ideal employee for any biz
Knowledgeable, mature, healthy, retired and financially secure .
You're working because you "want" to, not "have to"

you're the "dream employee" to ANY employer


..L.T.A.
Cappi.....thank you for the compliments my friend. There's no doubt that my LGS gig is WAAAY more fun than the 32 yr corporate gig!!!!!
 
#40 ·
A lot of good points made here. My favorite dealer used to be run by his dad, mother and himself. Those were the good old days for sure! He has a good selection but he is now part of a co-op and his prices are now where as good as they used to be. I still try to buy from him and always will but some of the internet prices are hard to turn down. I bought a new Glock gen 4 23 shipped for $449.00 and paid a $25.00 transfer fee. The best price offered by the dealer was 539.00 plus tax. I would have gladly paid him $500.00 OTD but he could not do it. The good thing about the local dealers is you get to inspect before you buy which is worth something. Fit and finish on auto's and timing on revolvers are important to me and I am willing to pay more to get to cherry pick my guns. The fantastic plastic stuff doesn't seem to vary much from one example to the next.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top