Gun store chain

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Why are there no multi-state gun store chains?

It would be awesome to have every state with a "Gun Depot" or "McFirearms".

at least 50 stores in 50 states.

Who wants to open a franchise? [smile]
 
There are a bunch, but they usually morph into larger, more diverse product lines.

Cabella's
Bass Pro Shops
Gander Mountain
Big 5 Sports (out west)
Walmart (for a while, the largest seller of firearms in the country)
 
Apparently, the current model is the most sucessful....as that's what's there, after Darwin-style evolution of the industry.

And....think about all the complaints about the Big Store gun sellers - the employees are morons, etc.
If you have a Big Box store, it's difficult to get passionate (or at least knowledgable) staff, in bulk.
 
My guess is pricing:

1. There isn't room for the big box stores to drive the prices down another 20 plus points below what the independents pay for guns.

2. Big box stores have a standard of margin and are less willing to sell guns at 10% - 20% margin and make the big markup on the smaller non-gun stuff. As a result, big box stores tend to have higher gun prices - to th epoint where Bass Pro had to add "except guns" to the store's price matching policy.

3. Smaller stores are more responsive to local tastes/demands. It's easier to push out regional fashions or TVs to big box stores than pick out the kind of guns people want to buy.

4. Politics. The market demands EBR, self-defense, tacticool stuff. Many of the places are of the fudd mindset and wouldn't carry anything that would look out of place in a duck blind or deer stand. Dicks doesn't carry anything remotely resembling an EBR, and the Sports Authority discontinued handguns years ago.

I did see one large chain outdoor store about 75 miles north of Seattle that had a huge selection of guns, and prices that were on the high side but not quite at the Bass Pro level.
 
I think Rob has excellent points.

Another thing that comes to mind is that big box stores sell boxes that you can easily just carry to the register and pay for. The only human labor involved in the sale is stocking the shelf, scanning a UPC, and collecting the payment. The POS system pretty well minimizes human mistakes by minimum wage employees.

That model doesn't translate well when you add in the complexity of a 4473 and the NICS check. Now each sale takes 30 minutes instead of 1, and there's an awful lot of room for error on the part of the poorly paid employee. The store would either need to accept crappy records (which the ATF certainly won't do), or hire many more employees and at higher wages.
 
hey, at bunch of non-big-chain gunstores i know, emplyees are also morons.

I looked at investing in a small business years ago and the biggest liability is your employees. The hardest part of the job is finding qualified employees that will show up, not steal from you, and foster the customer climate you are looking for. Obviously Four Seasons Firearms knows how to buy guns, what to stock and how to keep costs extraordinary low, but without the owner there day to day to oversee operations, the place would fall apart.

No question a "Four Seasons" could do well in New Hampshire or Connecticut, but it would be hard to manage all 3 places simultaneously. I think a regional chain could do very well, follow the Burger King model and just build a gun shop within spitting distance of every local PD. :)

Chris
 
Academy Sports, down south. A friend of mine in LA has bought a fair number of firearms from them including a Glock, AR15, and MP15-22 (for his daughter).

There are a bunch, but they usually morph into larger, more diverse product lines.

Cabella's
Bass Pro Shops
Gander Mountain
Big 5 Sports (out west)
Walmart (for a while, the largest seller of firearms in the country)
 
Academy Sports, down south. A friend of mine in LA has bought a fair number of firearms from them including a Glock, AR15, and MP15-22 (for his daughter).

You beat me to it, Academy sports ROCKS!! Been down to LA a few times and every time I go in there I need to change my shorts. That place is what a real sporting goods store should be....and it's a chain!!

A few years ago they didn't even have online store, but now you can at least drool over their inventory and low prices over the internet :(.
 
You beat me to it, Academy sports ROCKS!! Been down to LA a few times and every time I go in there I need to change my shorts. That place is what a real sporting goods store should be....and it's a chain!!

A few years ago they didn't even have online store, but now you can at least drool over their inventory and low prices over the internet :(.

I've been in a couple, but of course can't buy any firearms, especially handguns. Still, it's nice to see all of the stuff that gun owners in other states get to buy.
 
You guys are also thinking too large. Not the size of Home Depot or WalMart, more like Game Stop or Ritz camera size. (Although that huge of a gun store would be AWESOME)

It would be great to walk into any mall in the USA and know there is a "Gun Stop" store in there.

Makes me think of the gun store from the original Dawn of the Dead....
 
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I've been in a couple, but of course can't buy any firearms, especially handguns. Still, it's nice to see all of the stuff that gun owners in other states get to buy.

I love looking around....kinda makes me wish I lived in LA!! Everything 'evil' in MA is on display there, even on end displays, etc. not just at the firearms counter, it's awesome. ARs and 'scary assault rifles' galore!

On another slightly related note, I recently talked to a friend over the phone that moved to CO due to work. He says 'dude, you won't believe what I just did. I walked into a store, picked out a hand gun (glock 17), paid the man, and walked right out the door with it!!'
 
I love looking around....kinda makes me wish I lived in LA!! Everything 'evil' in MA is on display there, even on end displays, etc. not just at the firearms counter, it's awesome. ARs and 'scary assault rifles' galore!

On another slightly related note, I recently talked to a friend over the phone that moved to CO due to work. He says 'dude, you won't believe what I just did. I walked into a store, picked out a hand gun (glock 17), paid the man, and walked right out the door with it!!'

CO is very gun friendly. I think that they got in some trouble with the federal court because they don't issue non resident permits and don't honor other state's permits. That of course covers CCW and I think that open carry is unrestricted and common in the rural areas.
 
CO is very gun friendly. I think that they got in some trouble with the federal court because they don't issue non resident permits and don't honor other state's permits. That of course covers CCW and I think that open carry is unrestricted and common in the rural areas.

If that is the case, then did NY or South Carolina get in trouble with fed court? (SC only issues nonres if you own land there)
 
If that is the case, then did NY or South Carolina get in trouble with fed court? (SC only issues nonres if you own land there)

I don't know where the case is at this time. If it stays within the Circuit, it won't be precedent in other Circuits, it will only be persuasive. It would only be precedent and binding on all states if it went to SCOTUS and was decided in favor of the plaintiff. Assuming SCOTUS didn't overturn it. Maybe Knuckledragger or Terraformer is familiar with the case and can comment.

It's been a couple of years, so I definitely could have some of this story wrong. If so, hopefully someone will point out the error of my ways.
 
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Chains do their buying at a corporate level, shipped to their own warehouses and then trans-shipped to each store as needed.

With MA screwy laws, most "normal guns" and mags sold in most states can't be sold here. Special SKUs and shelf-space would have to be allocated to MA-only guns and mags and this cost them lots of additional money. They would also have to block out (for those stores only) the standard SKUs (and block MA SKUs for everyone else). Mistakes in ordering/delivery could be costly . . . just ask BassPro (all the SKUs sent to the MA store for the grand opening were "Free America" products with felony mags)!

There is no way that it makes financial sense to open a chain store selling handguns (and evil rifles) and accessories (mags) in MA!!

[NOTE: They may make an exception for CA as the market there is massive for product . . . whereas the market in MA is minuscule!]
 
What Rob said, generally, then for local issues, I don't know if you can get away from having local boutiques who know the law, the local preferences, etc. Dick's isn't going to want the hassle of people picketing because they sell 'assault rifles' or 'Glock semi-automatic machine gun pistols' in states that don't like them, so they focus on shotguns hunting rifles, and ammo. The local guy can make money parsing the legal details and stocking the cool stuff(at least in states like MA), wants to occupy that space, and gains more from having a bunch of Glocks and AR's than he loses when a few people go bonkers when they realize the busiest gun shop in the state is two blocks away.

I'd be curious to know how many handguns Bass Pro sells given that they only sell new, and apparently only at retail price. You'd have to be a bit of a rube to buy from them when you can get almost anything for less through galleryofguns or a local gun shop.
 
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