I got my FFL in March and went 14, 20, 5, and 2 firearms thru the store or sold..

Things are super slow.. things need to pick up or I could be closed very soon.. rent and basic survival bills are not cheap..

Most business including mine are racking in money but expenses are going up and up. Right now it's almost impossible to go up on products
because of competition. Prices are fixing to go sky hi if the O admin keeps getting their way!!

Are you listed on gunbroker for dealer transfers?  Unfortunately I think it's going to be real slow for awhile for most shops.  Many people bought firearms over the last two years and are about spent out on gun purchases.        
 

I think money is getting tight especially for the medium to low side of the middle class. It's going to be tough for awhile I'm afraid.

Money IS getting tight. Guns are slowing way down. People bought guns they needed and didn't need during panic. NOW is the time to finds deals from people that cannot afford the c/c bills.

May & June are typically the slowest months for any dealer is what I've always been told.
Manufacturers and distributors are sitting on quite a bit of inventory and prices are dropping. Because of this, April, May and June have been the best A/M/J I've ever had. (90% of my business is transfers)

If it keeps going this direction.. I may need to get my listed RP (the investor) to just buy me out (with a new license)..

I can't live on 3 'sales' a month.. overhead & my food/fuel is like $1400/month

Did you have a business plan?
Any previous experience in retail?
Knowledge of the retail firearms market in your area?

"3 sales a month" seems like something is horribly wrong with your business plan.

Open shop.. sell guns..

5 years in retail 'sales' for appliances/electronics..

My RP has been in this area 25 years and knows everyone and what they shoot.. mostly hunting rifles and such..

We went down from when we got the license (noted in the OP)..

We stock 5-7 pistols (common types) and 5-7 rifles/shotguns.. We have processed a total of 66 into/thru our bound book. We do alot of special orders because people are picky.

We need to stock more items but I think my RP is sketchy on putting up more capital.. I get requests for AR's and AK's yet we don't have any in stock.. (not selling mine).

We sell for approx $60-80 over dealer cost.. so pricing should be a non-issue IMO.

We advertise in the local paper and are scheduled to be in the 'travel guide' which will circulate for approx 3 years after they print it this August..

We also will be in the 'Marfa' magazine which is do out in August as well.

I am a NRA certified instructor.. just waiting to take the next TX CHL instructor class to get that part rolling.. I've had LOTS of requests for the training..

Surviving till then is the trick..  

Sorry, but someone didn't do their homework.
You basically opened a store with little to no inventory in Marfa, Texas with a population of about 2,000?

How many guns do you think those folks are going to buy each year? Certainly not enough to pay your store rent and utilities. And absolutely not enough to have cash available to spend on new inventory.

How many CHL classes do you plan to teach? Remember, there are no "renewal" classes any longer. Once you've taught someone and they have their CHL, you'll never see them back in class again.

I would get out now before you go bankrupt.

What was your projected sales revenue? How many new guns did you plan to sell? How many xfers? I do not see a plan here at all,  I see a wing it attitude.

The RP offered me $3000 to open a shop and since there are 0 jobs in this town I decided to do it.. This was also my plan (anyway) coming to TX from a restrictive state like NJ..

Since then he has pumped in at least another $5k and I have put in like $4k..

I was happily selling AK parts online from 07-2009 then got into AR parts and 'upper' builds which went rather well till the 'scares'.

Opening a gunshop has been my retirement plan for awhile. (I am in my mid-40's)

I'm trying to move a couple of Nighthawks. I've taken them to two of the largest shops in my area (Middle Tennessee) NEITHER of them were buying anything at all, and not really wanting to trade. It's not just you/your area. It seems like the industry as a whole is contracting from the latest political scares

Business is slow because you have no plan, little inventory, and a limited customer base. It sounds like you thought oh hey people have been buying gun releated items like mad for 18 months I want in and failed to understand/learn.

This ^^^^

Pretty much any business is like that. When its good its really GOOD, but when its bad...?People think people who run a business are rolling in cash all the time. It is very difficult even when cash flow is great! Talk to some business owners and see what they say.

The CHL classes would be at $90/head... and yes I know its a one time shot with no renewal course needed.

Can't really go bankrupt as my lease after the last 6 months it month-month. and I pay cash for everything or it gets ACH'd out of the bank from the distributors.

I have people coming in occasionally from 100 miles away to order a gun thru the shop vs the local LGS because they like the personalized service.

Was entertaining opening a range on my property but I am sure you all would have a mirad of negativity on that issue..  

The local shops thinks its great I am here.. there is no other around for 120 miles in any direction.

The RP (investor) has always wanted his own GS.. if things get worse I will just sell out to him and let him play and I'll go back to PA.

You asked for insight, why the attitude?

Its slow here in az too. The shop i work at i got my hours cut down to 6 a week.

With such a small town you need to focus on online sales.

Go back up 6 posts above and look at responses..

I give what I get.. that and this cold isn't helping me play nice..

I guess by looking then its just not me having a slow time..

I have the website up an running as well since before we opened.. Listing like 10-12 guns isn't pulling 'them' in..   LoL

So to sum up:

1) No business plan.
2) Short-term outlook.
3) Jumped in at end of panic.
4) Shop in middle of nowhere.
5) Little to no inventory.
6) Economy entering recession.
7) Does not seem to understand where gun store profit comes from.

 Possibly selling to RP for $6000-$8000 cash

Occassionally, doesn't pay the bills.
If your overhead is $1500 a month you need to sell thirty Glocks a month just to keep your doors open.



For who?
You live in a town with a population of 2000...........in the freaking desert.
How many will want to pay to use your range?
How much will it cost to build and insure your range?
In what century will you begin to show a profit?

You confuse negativity with an understanding of reality. The reality is you and your rp/investor/partner don't know what you are doing.

Building a range is just digging your hole deeper.

Didn't you have a thread about this a few months ago where we told you it would not work?

As you know, all property in TX is owned.. you can't just go shoot off the highway (at least out here).

I have alot of interest in the range.. which would be 4 lanes for upto 125 yards.. which is better than nothing.

And if I get the CHL instructor cert. I can do the classes there and sell them a range membership maybe..

Trying to make 'it' work is all..  heaven forbid I put in sweat equity and 'try'..

You can sweat all you want, but explain to us how you plan to make enough $$$$$ to stay open.
You don't have a business plan, and until you do you shouldn't spend another dollar, sweep the floor or even open the door to your shop.
"trying to make "it" work
"Sweat equity"
"Interest in the range"
"Interest in CHL classes"
All that is a sorry excuse for not having the simplest of business plans. If you want a hobby, fine......you have one. If you want a business begin to act like a businessman. Step one should have been a business plan. Apparently it wasn't done.


While gun shop, CHL classes, shooting range are all great avenues for income............you picked the absolute worst place to do it and make a living.

If the advice you read on here bums you out, sorry. It is not given to denigrate your effort or your dreams.

Guns sales seem slow all around.  The last 4-6 years of panic buying seems to have saturated the market big time.  I have my FFL but have no inventory yet.  I do have some stuff from my personal collection that I have been trying to sell for a long time.  I am getting low balled like you would not believe.  It's scary.  Thankfully, I have FT employment and another side business to live off of for now.

Have you looked at recent online prices OP?

Its going to be this way for a little while at least until we see what happens in Mid term.

Our best day in sales ever not one single 4473 was used. The guns draw the customers the accessories keep your doors open.

You only keep 14 guns in stock???  Im a home based dealer and I keep 100 guns in inventory.  

OP, teach CHL classes,  When I took mine 13 years ago, I took my class from a semi local guy that ran a fun shop.  I don't know exactly what his shop did while he made around $1.5k teaching the CCW Class.

We do carry ammo (and 22lr ) and some accessories like AR mags and such..

We started out by selling just ammo and accessories for 3 months before we got our license.. that was tough..

Its just REALLY slow right now..

I agree that we need more inventory... people prefer to walk in and buy and walk out..

Special orders are fine for the one-offs.. some people don't like 3 days for something though that should be on the 'shelf'..  

Did you read any of this thread?
Who the hell is he going to teach CHL classes to?
OP lives in Marfa, Texas with a population of less than 2,000, the entire county has a population of less than 10,000 and an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

That's 1.9 people per square mile.............not the best place for retail anything.

I get at least 1-2 inquiries per week on the classes.. I figure at least 60 have asked when.. when.. when..

So their is a snow balls chance for that..

Okay, if you teach those 60 people then what?
Since there aren't renewal classes anymore, how will you continue to make $$$$ on teaching CHL classes?
I think you are in for a rude awakening when you get your instructors cert and schedule that first class. You'll soon see that inquiries and interest don't equal an actual sale.

Again, do you have a business plan or are you just going to keep throwing money making ideas at the wall and see what sticks?

Summer is the worst time of year for the firearm sales - the income tax refunds have been spent, the few people with money to spend are putting it toward a vacation, and hunting season purchases don't really start until after Labor Day.  The sales for your first months in business took advantage of this peak time of year.  Unfortunately you treated that as normal, when it's not.

This summer will be worse than past years as last year's banic-buying pulled a lot of demand forward.  Add in the fact that the economy still sucks, places like Bud's are retailing online for lower prices than small FFL's, whether B&M like you or home-based like me, pay for guns from distributors, and you'll see that over the next year a lot of shops are going to go tango-uniform unless their business model is based on more than retail.

My FFL is slow too. Usually there are 2-4 guys in the shop when I go, but no one was there last week. Since there is no immediate need to buy right now, people are holding off. CDNN just sent me an e-mail with some killer deals but I just deleted it. I can wait to buy them in the fall. People are also expecting prices to fall, especially on AR's so they are holding off on buying.

Yup..  

Whats your business plan oh grand po-bah and how much $ did you have to put in to get open and make profit with??

I'm licensed as a manufacturer focusing on custom builds, gunsmithing, and machine gun rentals - all of which provide nice steady revenue streams.  We also did transfers initially but are cutting those off as they take time away from more profitable work.

Initial capital investment was $20,000 for basic shop equipment (mainly used stuff with lots of life left in it), profits have been rolled back into the business (equipment upgrades and rental guns), and I'm home-based so there's minimal overhead.

My business is located in the DFW area and roughly 85% of my business is transfers to include NFA items.  I started my business almost 6 years ago with a $1,000...6 years later I owe no one anything, my over head is VERY VERY low, and my bank account is in the low 6 figures. (I do not operate out of my home).

Mistakes you made...

Location
Location
Location
Location
Wrong time of year for a start up
No business plan (or lacking BP)
Did I mention location?
Firearms retail experience (I worked for a gun dealer in IL part time for 2 years for peanuts just to learn the industry).
Lack of inventory

You should probably chalk this up as a learning experience and sellout before you go bankrupt!

No need to call me a "po-bah"..........I've not called you any names, belittled your business, nor have I claimed to know everything there is about being a successful gun dealer.

But since you asked......
I'm a full time teacher. I applied for my FFL when the guy I was using for transfers started dropping the ball.

My business plan was simple:
Offer firearm transfers cheaper than the local gun stores and be more efficient, prompt and courteous to customers than the LGS (that consider transfers a nuisance a best)

Other than business insurance and a few office items (extra computer, phone line, fax machine) my expenses are very low.

I listed myself on GunBrokers  "Find an FFL". When I started in 2008 I thought I would be lucky to run 30 transfers a month. Unfortunately, Mr Obama became my best salesman and I did 30 my first month, and doubled that the next month, and doubled that the third month. Before Obama was sworn in I had 200 transfers under my belt.

Other than "Find an FFL" search engines its word of mouth. I have been in business for six years and have 1900+ customers. Although some have only done one or two transfers, I have about a hundred that average one gun a month.

Since 2008, I've averaged 165 transfers each month......with a high of 327 in January 2013. This year I'm averaging 181 a month.
Understand that I live in Plano, TX with a population of 270,000.............and a population of over a million within a twenty minute drive of my house. That makes my potential customer base more than I could handle. I am not the only home based dealer in Plano......there are at least 12-18 others.
One LGS and two Academy Sports refer people to me when they are asked about transfers. I have a surprising number of customers who work for Cabelas, Academy or one of the LGS.

I only do four gun shows a year, and I'm happy to order firearms that customers want..........actual firearm sales from inventory are limited to new Glocks and a few used firearms: handguns/AR's/AK's/shotguns.

Bottom line? I couldn't be as successful as I am if I was in Marfa, Texas..................there simply isn't enough of a market to make it profitable for a home based dealer, much less renting a storefront and paying that kind of overhead.

I regularly turn down offers from "investors" wanting me to open a brick & mortar store. What they don't realize is my store would be no different than any of the existing gun stores in town....just smaller. A booming business doing transfers does not equal a booming business doing actual sales. I'll never be able to beat Bud's, Kentucky Gun or some of the larger online sellers. Their volume is so high that they get better pricing and deeper discounts than I could. Sometimes I think my transfer fee is more $$$$$ than they make in profit.

My business plan was to do transfers and NFA transfers as a side business from my home, and dabble in specialty (machinegun) gunsmithing.  I live in a city of over 500,000 with several million more people within an hour's drive.  I don't rely on my FFL/SOT as my sole source of income, but I do make a modest profit at it, and being a licensee comes with nice perks.

Doing MG rentals I can bring in over $3k a day, but mg shoots are only a couple days a year and I've got mid-six figures invested in transferrables, pre-samples, post-samples and ammo.

If I were trying to do a gun business in a small rural town, it'd be as an adjunct to my feed/hardware/general store primary business, or a home side business from my day job lawyering or teaching or bank managing - not my sole occupation.

@DogtownTom.. just frustrated and Nyquil doesn't help..

Population is like 2000, though I think most are broke.

I get walkins for AK's and AR's and simply not having that 1-2 staple item makes it hard to sell something I can't show them..  

Wish I was near a bigger city, but that isn't in the cards.

If I was within 30 miles of say ELP or something I may have faired better (again with more inventory to start with)

I will hang in their and hope for the best.

My overhead is $550 for rent/utils..  other than that its mostly food/support/fuel.

Nails it well.
The gun biz is a fickle, seasonal bitch.
I have a good, respected gunsmithing business and the last two months have been slow.

My RP/Investor gave me $5500 cash for myself to stay here and my personal bills paid for 120 days..

Already sold 2 pistols this week.. so maybe in 3 months things will kick back in and I will plan better for next springs drought..

Are you a sole proprietor?  If you're not, walk away cause you're tits up brother.

That's chump change.

You say you don't have ARs or AKs in stock... but you have your own personal ones??
Unless your personal guns are really something special or one-of-a-kind never to be made again sell them and replace them with something else people want and you could live with if you had to!

Sales out the door are better than a collection and going broke! And with always having something you could live with owning in stock, you would never have to be unarmed.

Back ground: I am in the process of getting my FFL and taking over a well established mom and pop store. I have been working there for 3+ years just to learn the trade , have sold off or am in the process of selling my collection of stuff that will one day roll back through the store and I have saved up $30k to start. My goal is $50k before I take over next year, with the regulars knowing me and happy to see me or ask me questions.

ETA: if you are living month to month you have already failed