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Ready to get out of the gun business

KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited March 2015 in General Discussion
Going to trim the business down to where its just automated parts sales, get rid of the dirty phone, and take a big step away from the gun industry for sanity's sake.

Will likely be putting a LOT of stuff up for sale here on GB shortly as soon as I figure out a game plan.

Comments

  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry for the rant, its been a long few days thinking about this [B)]
  • bpostbpost Member Posts: 32,669 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    One thing I did when business got to that point; I raised my labor rate from $88.00 an hour to $124.00 and hour. Still had all my good customers, had one complaint about the price increase not being announced, but made a hell of a lot more money when dealing with whiners.

    Money makes putting up with stupidity worthwhile. [:D]
  • chiefrchiefr Member Posts: 14,115 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The people issues you described are the same in EVERY service economy jobs. You learn in different types of people and how to deal with them. Believe me, you get damn good at it over the years.

    My biggest gripe or worry is government. To be involved in business these days between compliance laws, tax accounting, paperwork I find out I must do merely to satisfy some bureaucrat, worrying I might spill something and be sued by OSHA because I missed cleaning up a drop, recertification, inspections, permits, EIN, failed to dot an i or cross a t. Need I mention the taxes.

    Business shouldn't be that way.
  • woodshed87woodshed87 Member Posts: 23,478 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry to Hear Kam
    I Wish you all the Best
    Get Rid of this In Order
    Wife
    A Hole buyers
    Keep the Gun Binus
    Treat them Right Work On Volume
    not per sale Cut Back to Just New Sales [^] Life Goes on there is Life After Divorce.... Believe Me[^]
    Woody
  • OakieOakie Member Posts: 40,565 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Can you just do gun sales on the internet or something??? I don't know exactly what your gun business is. Sad to hear your having trouble. I know the big gun dealers that buy in bulk, put my dad out of business. He was an okay gunsmith, but his main business was gun sales and reloading. Hope you find a solution and I wish you the best of luck in what ever your en devour is. Oak
  • wpagewpage Member Posts: 10,201 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Its is tough today.. . Figure it out and go for it!

    Good luck with your decision![:)]
  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I called it quits ten years ago this year and closed the shop. I didn't look back and have never regretted it. Find yourself some interesting segment of the gun business (just steer clear of M1s[;)]) and stick with it. You'll be amazed at how pleasant business can be once you specialize.
  • misstmisst Member Posts: 707 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by mark christian
    I called it quits ten years ago this year and closed the shop. I didn't look back and have never regretted it. Find yourself some interesting segment of the gun business (just steer clear of M1s[;)]) and stick with it. You'll be amazed at how pleasant business can be once you specialize.


    I agree with you Mark. After 20 years I shut the full time doors. My biggest problem was I could sell new guns at 10% over wholesale but no one wanted to pay the 9% tax. So with tax included I'd have a profit of 1%. Why do people think they don't have to pay sales tax on guns? I've heard this for 20 years that they want me to somehow cheat on the taxes but they don't blink an eye when they ring up a gun or ammo at Walmart.
  • pwilliepwillie Member Posts: 20,253 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've been in business 46 years....and I quit every year....Between the government, banks, non paying customers I've been lucky to keep this side of chapter 7....A new day ,and a new promise had kept me sane and alive...I have changed my business and reinvented my programs many times. Moved from a retail outlet to a wholesale whse..now back to a smaller whse...still going strong...some times you need to look at the real problem ,and it was me!If you think guns and ammo can be a problem, deal with the feds and states and local dummies. USDA is run by absolute future junkies..Labeling is our new demon...Then insurance has become almost unbiable..[:o)]Good luck fellow..
  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by misst
    quote:Originally posted by mark christian
    I called it quits ten years ago this year and closed the shop. I didn't look back and have never regretted it. Find yourself some interesting segment of the gun business (just steer clear of M1s[;)]) and stick with it. You'll be amazed at how pleasant business can be once you specialize.


    I agree with you Mark. After 20 years I shut the full time doors. My biggest problem was I could sell new guns at 10% over wholesale but no one wanted to pay the 9% tax. So with tax included I'd have a profit of 1%. Why do people think they don't have to pay sales tax on guns? I've heard this for 20 years that they want me to somehow cheat on the taxes but they don't blink an eye when they ring up a gun or ammo at Walmart.


    Not to hijack the thread, but very few people actually understand who pays the sales tax. The way sales tax regulations are written, it is the retailer who actually pays the tax every time a sale is made. The retailer simply collects a dollar amount equal to the sales tax at point of sale from the buyer to make up for that payment. This is the reason that so called resale permits exist so that retailers moving product between other retailers don't pay tax each time a transfer of goods is made. The end consumer doesn't have to pay sales taxes at all, they just need to find a retailer willing to pay the sales taxes himself, and those businesses are few and far between. People who come in and say, "Just skip the tax and I'll buy it", don't understand that it is not actually possible to "skip" the tax. The retailer has to pay the tax no matter what, andd if he does not collect the tax from the buyer, the retailer is still liable and must pay the tax himself.
  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Unboxed some shotguns tonight to photograph, this is just the ones that were in storage here, not including the shotguns on the rack or in storage in TN. Forgot how much stuff we had crated up here [:(]

    20150330_212310.jpg
  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Still got boxes of rifles and handguns to open tomorrow
  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by mark christian
    I called it quits ten years ago this year and closed the shop. I didn't look back and have never regretted it. Find yourself some interesting segment of the gun business (just steer clear of M1s[;)]) and stick with it. You'll be amazed at how pleasant business can be once you specialize.


    Yup, want to focus more on engineering/parts and less on retail/smithing. I am not a "people person" so having to deal with people often drives me nuts. Working on a handgun design for an outside company at the moment and that is what I am really happy doing. I have to deal with less people, and they respect my abilities and time more than retail customers do. Might be the thing to focus on
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