In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.

FFL bites the dust!.....................

owen219owen219 Member Posts: 3,799
edited April 2014 in General Discussion
My favorite local FFL dealer has closed his business. He was a small dealer but it all finally wore him down. He could not get ammo and guns to sell. He said he was tired of begging his suppliers to no avail. Apparently Obamma won. I did my best to support him. It was sad to see his shelves go bare over time. He is a young vet with family. His wife is a registered nurse so he will survive but not in the gun business. It is so sad here in Ohio. Do you see others closing down in your areas?
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • MG1890MG1890 Member Posts: 4,460 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Most local gunshops here have closed. Cabelas, Gander Mountain, etc. have captured a very large sales volume.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • calrugerfancalrugerfan Member Posts: 18,209 ✭
    edited November -1
    There was one here that had WAY too much square footage for what he had. We are talking a store the size of a grocery store. He had one room about the size of a McDonald's dining area for gun. Another room the same size for some hunting equipment. He could have opened a skating rink in the open space.

    He closed down with no notice. Apparently, he had some guns on consignment and he took those as well.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • westernMDhunterwesternMDhunter Member Posts: 2,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Moores Huntin' shop closed down a few weeks ago in our area. They were in business for many years and other than the fact it was a small shop packed with unnecessary clutter everywhere and personal belongings that were for looks only it was a decent place to do business. One of the guys that worked there is talking about opening his own shop in the near future, hopefully everything works out for him.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ChrisInTempeChrisInTempe Member Posts: 15,562 ✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by owen219
    My favorite local FFL dealer has closed his business. He was a small dealer but it all finally wore him down. He could not get ammo and guns to sell. He said he was tired of begging his suppliers to no avail. Apparently Obamma won. I did my best to support him. It was sad to see his shelves go bare over time. He is a young vet with family. His wife is a registered nurse so he will survive but not in the gun business. It is so sad here in Ohio. Do you see others closing down in your areas?


    Weren't Obama, was gun owners hoarding and gouging and screwing each other over. Shameful behavior, even if it is a normal part of "Capitalism" it sure as hell ain't neighborly.

    Have seen a couple of local shops close, and a couple expand. Had to change the FFL I use for transfers twice now.

    The one I'm most sorry to hear of happened since I left Tucson. Jensen's Custom Ammunition was a great place, I bought my first gun there long ago. Used to drop in just to browse, see what old gun or accessory I could sucker myself into a "Darn I really need one of these" moments. I've heard the original owner passed away and the family tried to run it a while, but made a mess of it.


    Heck of a shame.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • CaptFunCaptFun Member Posts: 16,678 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I prefer to shop local (besides the fact that Bass Pro is over an hour away and we currently have no Cabelas or Gander. Dicks is just that) but I have 2 shops that I go to not 200 yds apart. I like the range much better at one, but their prices are so much higher, I don't think I have bought anything but targets and rangetime there. The other one usually has what I need in reloading components and I pay a little more than what I could get it for online, but no HazMat and no shipping. There are one or 2 shops that I just don't go to because the owners think GunBroker is their competition. I've tried multiple times to explain to them how we are really their best resource, but this is a guy that still has one of this as his credit card machine...
    ab2010.jpg

    How he stays in business I will never know. But when he is gone, I'll go and get the new owners signed up...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jptatumjptatum Member Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The little guys in all retail business seem to be fading.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 14,163 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just before my FFL came up for renewal, my records were inspected. No glaring problems with paperwork BUT the inspector was not happy with my "shop". In the basement with separate access, all the required postings, steel door on the gun storage area, and not especially unpleasant. What I didn't have was handicapped access, a separate restroom, a separate phone #, a sign outside identifying the business, nor could I provide proof that I had "advertised my business". I didn't know advertising was required. When I stated much of my business was internet based and I didn't pursue walk-in sales, that didn't fly at all. In addition, I "was not within city limits and had no access to police coverage". I was told this would eliminate my renewal from consideration. I found later that this was BS intended to dissuade me from renewing(which it did in spades).
    The young guy who sort of "took over" the vacant territory I left, tried to make a go of it in town(where he had "police coverage") but lost his shirt in a year due to the cost of having a store in town.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 11BravoCrunchie11BravoCrunchie Member Posts: 33,423 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by CaptFun
    I prefer to shop local (besides the fact that Bass Pro is over an hour away and we currently have no Cabelas or Gander. Dicks is just that) but I have 2 shops that I go to not 200 yds apart. I like the range much better at one, but their prices are so much higher, I don't think I have bought anything but targets and rangetime there. The other one usually has what I need in reloading components and I pay a little more than what I could get it for online, but no HazMat and no shipping. There are one or 2 shops that I just don't go to because the owners think GunBroker is their competition. I've tried multiple times to explain to them how we are really their best resource, but this is a guy that still has one of this as his credit card machine...
    ab2010.jpg

    How he stays in business I will never know. But when he is gone, I'll go and get the new owners signed up...



    I'm with you there, Capt!

    When I was selling on GB for the gun shop I worked for, I always told people who asked that any gun shop that doesn't use GB, at least for getting rid of used inventory, is doing themselves more harm than good.

    There is generally little local interest in used firearms that are brought in on trade or straight sale, otherwise they wouldn't be in the shop in the first place. If you don't put those used guns on GunBroker, you're asking for a lot of money invested in stagnant inventory collecting dust on the shelves. I'm no expert in running a business, but I know that if you have inventory that sits around long enough to collect dust, you're losing money on it.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    As a retailer I can tell you that Obama has made things extremely difficult. Ammo prices are high, fuel prices are high, and customers with jobs and/or $$$ are low
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sign In or Register to comment.