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Guy wants to sell me his gun shop

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The dealer I've been using for transfers wants to sell his shop and retire. Stopped in there before going to England and he pitched the idea to me. I have to say I'm considering it. It is located in our county seat, right on the "square" in the center of downtown. It has a small pre-1984 gun range in the back that is grandfathered in so I don't have to spend huge amounts of money on the fancy air cleaners. The shop is really pretty dumpy, but it is the only one in the area, and only 1 of 2 indoor ranges in the whole county.

I actually like the location as a cigar store. It is surrounded by lawyers offices and not too far from a couple golf courses.

Confused. Advice please.
 

Jim_S

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
I actually like the location as a cigar store. It is surrounded by lawyers offices and not too far from a couple golf courses.

Is he a Class III dealer?

Is there enough floor space for both? or maybe scale both back to fit the available space? Light stock on the smokes because you could easily restock with a delivery from another store? Maybe just cigars and Detonics?

Jim
 

OhioTC18

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
It has a small pre-1984 gun range in the back that is grandfathered in so I don't have to spend huge amounts of money on the fancy air cleaners.
Bob, check on the laws that grandfathered it in. Hopefully the exemption doesn't expire with a new owner.
 

Jim_S

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Bob, how about calling it "The Smoke Pole"? fits both applications :mrgreen:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Bob, how about calling it "The Smoke Pole"? fits both applications :mrgreen:

I was thinking Big Al's Tobacco & Firearms Emporium :mrgreen:

But the more I think about it, the less I like the idea. I think the time commitment would be too great. The cigar shops I have allow me to have a lot of flexible time and time off, I think a gun shop is a much bigger commitment and would require me to be on hand more often.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
The cigar shops I have allow me to have a lot of flexible time and time off, I think a gun shop is a much bigger commitment and would require me to be on hand more often.


I would also tend to think that you would have to be there all the time to make sure your employees are doing the right things "Right" I know you have to watch what goes on with smokes but the guns would be much greater of a thing to watch over.

JMO


murph
 

rback33

Hangin in Tornado Alley
SUPER Site Supporter
I was thinking Big Al's Tobacco & Firearms Emporium :mrgreen:

But the more I think about it, the less I like the idea. I think the time commitment would be too great. The cigar shops I have allow me to have a lot of flexible time and time off, I think a gun shop is a much bigger commitment and would require me to be on hand more often.

Just hire Sushi to manage it... :whistle:


:hide:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well as tempting as it is, the logical portion of my brain is screaming NO. I retired so I could spend time with my family and while I have some retail stores I think I spent a grand total of 20 hours at "work" this week, I beat my wife home every day, cooked dinner a couple nights this week, took my daughter to fencing practice, etc. That was why I sold my business and I think getting into something like a gun shop/gun range would end up reversing my life and would put me back into a full time job.
 

Erik

SelfBane
Site Supporter
It's only a full time job if you can't find a trustworthy employee or 3.
Your cigar shops have managers, why can't a gun shop?
Pawn shop I used to work in was lots of hours for the first few months, then the boss got his "manager trainee" to the point where he could handle the majority of the day to day stuff, and that made a situation that they did well with for 5 or 6 years, until boss got tired of being a pawn shop owner and sold it so he could open a computer store instead.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Well as tempting as it is, the logical portion of my brain is screaming NO. I retired so I could spend time with my family .


Bob,

It won't be long and your daughter will be off to college. Take it from experience of three kids, they will be off to college or something before you know it. And you will say about the same as me, I wished I would have spent more time with them.


murph
 

Spiffy1

Huh?
SUPER Site Supporter
Sounds like the unofficial FF poll is "go for it." But I think that is making assumptions that either Erik or Thcri is right: either you'll have a good manager and employees that don't require your time or soon enough you'll be looking to spend some time somewhere - and that may as well be it.

If you do it and actually incorporate some cigar sales too: Daedong's name is way too catchy [of course,I like to shoot black just as as well as high power] to pass up. :thumb: Vin

Don't think you have a bad choice either way Bob! :mrgreen:

Edit: I believe I read Murph's advice wrong: he was writing of best spending time "here and now" now rather than "empty nest" in a few years
 

Deadly Sushi

The One, The Only, Sushi
SUPER Site Supporter
Just hire Sushi to manage it... :whistle:

Hey! I love guns and I was a retail store manager before. Anyhow, call it Give It A Shot. How about Trigger's?
Barrel of Fun!!!!!!!
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
It's only a full time job if you can't find a trustworthy employee or 3.
Your cigar shops have managers, why can't a gun shop?
Pawn shop I used to work in was lots of hours for the first few months, then the boss got his "manager trainee" to the point where he could handle the majority of the day to day stuff, and that made a situation that they did well with for 5 or 6 years, until boss got tired of being a pawn shop owner and sold it so he could open a computer store instead.

Well I see it a bit differently. I knew the cigar business long before I got into retail and when I got into retail it was as the 'behind the scenes finance' guy not the operating partner. It didn't quite work out as planned, and for a while I ended up doing more of the operations than I planned, but as I said, I knew the tobacco products and had a very clear idea of the customer base, marketing, etc.

If I do the guns & cigar store I start out not knowing the gun business. Heck I don't even know gun values beyond the one brand that I play with so it would be a HUGE learning curve for me to start this up. The first time I talked to the owner his brother was interested, I figured I could buy the real estate and go into partnership on the business side of the set-up. The brother could run the gun side of the store while I learned it and brought in other people too. I could set up the cigar side with my tobacco manager and teach that to the gun shop owner's brother. 2 people are needed to manage the store under its current set up, that would be all that would be required under the 'cigars & tobacco' concept. But it would start out with a guy who is already experienced in the gun store operation, paperwork, FFL procedures, etc. The brother is out of the picture (he took another job while I was in England) so the gun side of the business has no experienced staff. That strikes me a big problem and therefore would require a lot of time from me, more time that I want to devote to the situation. The other problem is the cost of the building, I'm able to easily afford it but I don't know that it would generate a return on investment that I am looking for. I'd rather lease it with an option to buy to see how it goes . . . but again, that would be based on the gun shop operating in addition to the cigars.

Barrels of Fun would be a great name for a gun range :thumb:


FWIW, I'm looking at opening store #4 in the Pit Stop Smoke Shop chain, if we can get the lease worked out, at the end of September. This location will probably focus more on cigarettes than cigars because of the demographics of the area it is located near, and will have a proper drive-thru window in addition to the sales area. "Smokes in the Fast Lane" will be part of the graphic package for the drive-thru. The shop will be, like the others, very small with a nice selection of high grade cigars at reasonable prices. . . we actually got visited by one of our competitors who was upset that we sell cigars at such low prices! He gave my manager hell and demanded to see my partner to complain. :yum: That brought a lot of laughs among my staff, nobody bothers my partner when he is golfing :tongue: Anyway we are slowing building up our premium cigar business and going about our jobs as we think appropriate. The stores have an 8' wide by 7' tall humidified selection of premium cigars with cigars priced between $3.50 and $22.50 each. One nice thing about the new location is that it also located very near my home so it will be easy to keep an eye on this store as I drive past it when I take my daughter to/from school and sports.

Now as for the gun shop, it is also in my normal travel pattern, and is located between 2 of my stores. But the more I think about the gun & cigar concept, the more I think it would take me away from what I want to have by wrapping up my time and putting me back into the 'working world' full time.
 

Erik

SelfBane
Site Supporter
Good reasoning. You don't know that much about the gun business and you don't have a built in source of talent to help you with the learing curve, you don't need the money and you don't want to spend the hours away from the family - who you DO want to spend time with. Sounds like you're making the right decision for you.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
have you thought about a Internet Cafe:thumb:

So many restaurants here, from McDonalds on up now offer free WiFi connections that Internet Cafes are not really in demand here in the US.

I did see a few in London, one was just a couple blocks from my apartment. I did notice that it was fairly difficult to find WiFi anywhere in the UK, and only twice did I find a free WiFi connection . . . the train from London to Scotland offered free WiFi and the Burger King in Edinburgh near North Bridge Street offered free WiFi.
 

brazospete

New member
Maybe you could get a liquor liscence too that way it would be more conveniant for the ATF to come up with an excuse to kick down your door.
 

Alonzo Tubbs

Carpe Diem
SUPER Site Supporter
Bob- There are a lot of pitfalls in the gun business as in any specialty sales. A few points I've seen made on other boards:

Sell only top end guns and don't haggle, barter or price match. You can't out WalMart WalMart but you can go broke trying.

Use special order as much as possible. The customer pays up front so your money isn't tied up in slow moving inventory. Just remember, the sale is final and the manufacturer provides the warranty.

Accept the fact every customer isn't going to be satified no matter how hard you try. If you've done all that is reasonable and he's still complaining, let him go. As far as "he'll tell everyone he knows and my reputation will suffer..." birds of a feather flock together. If he's a PIA, you can bet his friends are too. Let 'em go.

What you want to attract is a reasonably large group of shooters able to afford high priced (high margin) guns. They'll form a customer base who can and will support your shop.

The bottom line rule in retail is:

"The goal is a happy customer and money in the till. Never sacrifice either to insure the other"


Good luck with this. If I can help in any way, let me know.

'Lonzo
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
'Lonzo, thanks for the tips.

I've actually now invested in this shop but I'm the backroom guy, I have a limited role (by choice). Its allowing me to get stuff for me, and I've even been able to pass some stuff on to members here (not the regulated parts but other parts). Its been a fun little foray into things and is making me a little bit of pocket money. Very little, but still.

The shop has the only indoor range in the county, but the building is for sale, and the range is currently closed. If the sale of the building falls then the range will be re-opened. The range has historically been a big draw for the shop so I'm actually hoping the building sale fails (but then again I have no financial interest in the building so I can say that).

So far this has been a fun experience, and I get guns for myself at WHOLESALE!!!
 

Alonzo Tubbs

Carpe Diem
SUPER Site Supporter
Bob- Forgot to check the date posted. Sorry to drag up an old post but I'm glad it's going ok for you.

'Lonzo
 

rback33

Hangin in Tornado Alley
SUPER Site Supporter
Actually, I am glad you did. I had previously read the thread and wondered how it all tuned out. :thumb:
 
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