Are you planning for a new venture into the firearms realm? Yet, it surely comes with laws and the main things you should consider. In this post, we list what you must know before opening a firearms store.
Know the Laws
Firearms store owners must follow local regulations that shall govern the goods they can sell to specific types of customers. For example, in Canada, importing, selling, or purchasing handguns is illegal. When it comes to America, the country has the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 that stipulates that legal residents and citizens are required to be no younger than 18 years old to buy rifles or shotguns. You can only sell handguns and any other firearms to those at least 21 years of age.
Speaking of the applicable laws in the EU, you should keep in mind that the Directive bans gun business operators from owning a loading device whose capacity is over 11 rounds connected with rifles and over 21 rounds with regards to pistols.
Build A Business Plan for Your Firearms Store
Your business plan needs to be clear, strategic, and have enough necessary points. Above all, your plan of action should be something that makes you stand out from the crowd. Several valuable things to consider to devise an effective plan are:
- Your specific sales niche (what sets you apart)
- Your target audience demographic
- Define sales channels
- Any challenges you should think about, for example, zoning concerns
- Costs to run your business vs predicted revenue
- Your marketing plan
- Local rivals
Gear Up for a Firearms Store Business Presence
There are some avenues you can leverage as sales channels. We shall put together a couple of them that may be advantageous to tap into:
- eCommerce store.
- GunCritic
- Armslist
- Gunbroker
Set up Credit Processing
Some merchant services firms and banking companies say no to firearms store businesses. Several providers enable these stores to use their services but categorize them as ‘high risk’ to justify charging them at a higher rate than normal.
Our best advice is you work with a trusted provider with credit processing services friendly to firearms, for instance, Blue Dog. They should not categorize your business as high risk and offer lower starting rates compared to anti-firearms firms.
Work on Marketing / SEO for your Firearms Store
First, you should build relationships with related establishments like gun instructors and gun clubs. Doing so will have you in touch with gun owners that tend to provide helpful related advice.
Also, SEO is another beneficial thing to do for your store. It is tied with researching keywords, link building, and content optimization. Remember to format your website well so that it can get a high ranking on search engines like Google.In conclusion, we hope that after reading through this post, you have a better idea of what to consider before opening a firearms store. Even better, you can simplify the process by using feasible solutions. For such solutions and support, call us.
