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Best Gunnshop location to consider in MA
- Thread starter mbz4ever
- Start date
I can't agree with you there. I have been to FS once and that was only because we where working in the area. there are at least 9 shops I hit on a semi-regualr basis depending on what I am looking for to where I happen to be. From Rehobeth to Plymouth and New Bedford to Holbrook there are piles of small shops, most with decent prices. I just wish some of them would combine to increase buying power...
3-4 hours from Braintree? From BRP in Braintree I can get to four seasons in under 30 minutes. Are you riding your bike or something..?
Lip
Army Veteran
Try it at 3 pm, on Friday.
You can get to Four Seasons on the #134 bus from Wellington in ~35 minutes. Braintree to Wellington is about 45 minutes on the Red Line switching to the Orange. If it takes less time to take two subway lines to a bus connection than to drive directly you're doing it wrong!
Asaltweapon
NES Member
I drive faster than that in reverse ![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
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Opposite for me. I love FS but I hate waiting in lines and the crowds. I'll gladly pay $25-50 more for a little more elbow room and avoid lines. Not a knock against FS....but just personal preference to how I shop.
Sent from my big ass iPhone 6 using Tapatalk
This isn't meant as an insult to any shops (yet will probably sound like one), but please try to open your shop in somewhere other than "basement" or "lower level," wherever you end up. IMO, gun shops are like liquor stores, the cleaner/brighter/more shoppable they are, the more likely they are to attract a wider range of clientele, especially if you have a good selection and competitive pricing. I know a lot of women who won't shop at certain liquor stores because of how they look or where they are, regardless of their pricing. However, if zoning/municipal laws limit where a store can be, so be it.
With the weight of ammo (cases/pallets), guns and gun safes at some shops, anything without a concrete floor is risky business.
As for basements/lower level being a turn off, I guess that is why Filene's Basement and Jordan Marsh Basement stores were such a flop in their day, right??
I agree about lighting r looking dingy but that isn't unique to lower level stores.
FIFY.
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jbrunel and green cobra nailed it.
Tewksbury's New England Shooters Warehouse.
Why spend money on renovations and building security?
It has already been done for you.
Spend the money on inventory and promotions.
Already has a customer base that knows the location.
Chief of Police/ Board of Selectman ok'd a gun store there already so no zoning issues.
Far enough from Four Seasons.
Tewksbury Rod and Gun Club just down the street.
Many sportsmen in area...
~Matt
Tewksbury's New England Shooters Warehouse.
Why spend money on renovations and building security?
It has already been done for you.
Spend the money on inventory and promotions.
Already has a customer base that knows the location.
Chief of Police/ Board of Selectman ok'd a gun store there already so no zoning issues.
Far enough from Four Seasons.
Tewksbury Rod and Gun Club just down the street.
Many sportsmen in area...
~Matt
No, it wouldn't, it'd be terrible because the highway access sucks and blows chunks. The moment you get off the highway you run into stoplights. Then if the person gets into the wrong lane (wherever) they get punished. That whole area is a huge cluster**** and confusing as hell to anyone that doesn't know the area well. Not a good way to attract new customers. Good luck getting property with a decent parking lot in Somerville.
You want an area that is easy to get in and out of even when the traffic is busy everywhere else. Part of the reason why FS does well is Winn St. really isn't a cluster****, and even if you're in a jam on 95 it's usually at the first third of the turd log of traffic, even when its bad doesn't take me long to get to FS.
-Mike
- - - Updated - - -
Another inaccessible town. Almost as bad as Salem, but not quite. (lynn is only merely annoying, when I used to go to Dave's in Salem back when he was around it was like JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE **** AM I DOING HERE?"
)-Mike
Proximity Proximity to the Cape and, I assume, home, means the South Shore or South Coast. The South Shore is under served IMHO and is the district of one of the few (R) senators (Hedlund.)
Canton was mentioned but has historically been a very red town COP-wise, but it IS a great location as far as road access goes. That said, RT 138 blows dead goats during rush hour.
Fat cat in Bridgewater could be a great opportunity, given the location is already licensed with a retail FFL and indoor range. The building is a lot bigger than the current retail space, with something like a thrift store on the same property???
Lastly, there's a store in Holbrooke for sale (or it has been offered for sale in the past, on Craigslist of all places.) This location is right neat a commuter rail station, off of rt139, but is a little far from any major interchange.
Canton was mentioned but has historically been a very red town COP-wise, but it IS a great location as far as road access goes. That said, RT 138 blows dead goats during rush hour.
Fat cat in Bridgewater could be a great opportunity, given the location is already licensed with a retail FFL and indoor range. The building is a lot bigger than the current retail space, with something like a thrift store on the same property???
Lastly, there's a store in Holbrooke for sale (or it has been offered for sale in the past, on Craigslist of all places.) This location is right neat a commuter rail station, off of rt139, but is a little far from any major interchange.
There's a parcel of land in front of the Home Depot in Danvers that's been for lease for years now. Right on Route 1. I always thought this would be a great place for a Shooters Outpost style building. Of course this would be a MAJOR investment. My guess is you are looking for a smaller storefront. Many, many locations in the Peabody/Danvers area of the North Shore with easy access to 95/1 and reasonably close (15 minutes) to 93/495.
Good luck and +1 for starting your research right at the source of your customer base.
Chris
Good luck and +1 for starting your research right at the source of your customer base.
Chris
SpencerT
NES Member
Middlesex county along the NH boarder cause I'm lazy and don't want to drive 
.
As others have said though I think the 95/90 or 495/90 intersections would be a really good area, lots of traffic through there and if your close to the highways with commute hours I bet a lot of people would stop in.
. As others have said though I think the 95/90 or 495/90 intersections would be a really good area, lots of traffic through there and if your close to the highways with commute hours I bet a lot of people would stop in.
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EJFudd
NES Member
I heard the rumor that Don was possibly leaving but that the shop would remain open. Anyone have an update?
Are you referring to 'outer limits'? Last time I stopped in it seemed to be a going concern. Maybe it was sold to the current guys recently? Nice store and they run give-a-ways on a regualr basis (check out their FB page).
Varmint
NES Member
I don't see that - FS has a crappy, cramped layout and no store front, and they do the most business.
Baystate Arms has a really nice shop, bright, spacious etc.
Len, good point on the weight thing. I hadn't taken that into consideration. Sure those stores did well, but they were known as remaindered/clearance stores, so by nature they were going to attract a particular customer only looking for bargains.
Having recently been in the new Baystate Arms shop in Peabody, that's what I would like to see more consistently in an LGS. Even though it's technically on a lower level (and at rear of building) it is spacious, well lit and has bright colored walls and floor. Conversely, I visited one recently that had black painted walls.
For established stores it may be cost prohibitive to make those kind of changes, but for one looking to move, I think that's something to be taken into account when scouting locations.
I would look into an area near Waltham / Newton / Needham - a fair amount of liberals... but Newton has the most households filing for the million dollar annual income tax by over 5X any other MA town if your looking for close proximity to people with disposable income.
North of Boston is set with Four Seasons, Precision Point and Coin Collectors Gallery - not much of a chance that you could compete with FS on sales volume or price just because of their HUGE and loyal customer base.
You always have the best group buys - so I would totally come and spend my money if you were closer to me!
North of Boston is set with Four Seasons, Precision Point and Coin Collectors Gallery - not much of a chance that you could compete with FS on sales volume or price just because of their HUGE and loyal customer base.
You always have the best group buys - so I would totally come and spend my money if you were closer to me!
True. For some, price trumps all, and FS generally has the best prices in the area. With that comes the biggest crowds, however, and I've walked out a few times because I couldn't even get to the counter. The current firearm enthusiasts are conditioned to expect a certain look and feel of a store because that's what they have always known. But the people just getting into it are every bit as likely to go to Dick's, Bass Pro or Cabela's because of the appearance of the store. That's all I'm trying to convey, poorly as it may be done.
Danb3387
NES Member
3-4 hours may be a stretch, but right now at 1022 on a Thursday its 43 minutes from my house to FS. Figure the same time back. 30-45 minutes in store and 3 hours isn't out of the picture. Not worth my gas to save $20.
