New FFL holder question...
Excuse my ignorance, but I am 95% of the way through the process of obtaining my FFL (I should be recieving my license in 4-6 weeks, as the ATF has informed me that I have been recommended for approval and that I should have it in the next 4-6 weeks), and I was wondering if anyone could turn me on to a list of wholesalers...and offer any advise in launching this business. My wife and I are completely new to this aspect of the firearms industry and would greatly appreciate any HELPFULL input to get us started. I am trying to get my wife going with a gun store and we really do not know where to begin (other than the FFL, which is almost complete). I am unsure as to whether or not wholesalers are a "closely guarded secret" or not...if so, I appologize for even asking. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.
Eric
Eric
Eric
Eric
0
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are you opening a shop or doing it out of your home? 
SEMPER FI0 -
We are starting out of our home. We plan to open up a shop down the road...hopefully in about a year. I have a construction company, that is our main source of income, and we are going to try to get this business going at the same time. Thanks.
Eric
quote:Originally posted by 0311marine
are you opening a shop or doing it out of your home?
SEMPER FI
Eric0 -
www.grafs.com
www.galleryofguns.com
www.sportssouthinc.com
www.rsrwholesale.com
There are also a couple of smaller distributors that don't have web sites like: Brazas out of MA. and Williams Shooters Supply. You will have to send a copy of your FFL and State and city business license to those you want to deal with.
AlleninAlaska
Delta Firearms & Supplies
http://canadianfirearmsexchange.com
Buy firearms on the installment plan and Play while you Pay.
aglore@gci.net0 -
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SPECIALIZE IN AS FOR FAR AS TYPES OF FIREARMS .
MILITARY-ASSAULT-TARGET-HUNTING-[LONG GUNS-HANDGUNS].
SOME DIST. ARE BETTER SOME AREAS THAN OTHERS.
-JERRYS SPORT CENTER OFFERS 6 DIFFERENT DIST. AT DIFF LOCALS.
-ELLETT BROS.
-ACUSPORT CORP.
-IN THE SOUTHEAST THE FOLLOWING
-LIPSEY"S
-WALTER CRAIG
-HICKS INC.
-FARRIS BRO'S.
-DIXIE SHOOTERS SUPP.
THINMAN0 -
First, let me wish you and your wife the best of luck. The folks have already mentioned many good wholesalers, but I would like to offer at least one more Accusport in Bellefountaine, Ohio. They are fairly large, but have always been accomodating to dealers regardless of size. That will be something for you to consider when starting out. The bigger the wholesaler, usually the more difficult it is to do business with them. Some will want a "complete" financial statement along with a copy of your license regardless of whether you plan to use their credit program. On the positive side, some of the bigger wholesalers have on line access to their inventory. This is extremely helpful, because you will soon learn that just because it's in the catalogue, it's not necessarily available. You may have to call five or six wholesalers to find what your looking for which brings up two other topics: shipping and allocations. Jerry's Sport's is nice to do business with because they have several locations and chances are there is one near you. If it's real close you can save shipping costs by going and picking it up yourself. Other wholesalers will absorbe the shipping cost if your order total is more than a specified amount. The key here is not to place a lot of small orders. To save on shipping one good practice is to keep a small notebook of what every customer wants and the places you have called trying to find it. Then after you have accumulated a week of customers' order, go ahead and call the lowest priced wholesaler and place your order. The other thing to keep in mind, however, is that some items, particularly new or popular items won't be available to you at all. Almost all the wholesalers have "allocation" programs, although they may call it something different. It works this way. When Beretta introduced the Neon, they trickeled into the wholesalers in very, very small lots. So when they arrived in the warehouse, the wholesalers would tell all their sales people. Sometime each sales person had an "allocation" of one or two guns, in other cases the entire shipment was up for grabs to whoever could sell them. The catch was that they went to their biggest customers first and generally required that they buy X-amount of other merchandise in order to "qualify" to purchase a single Neon. There are some wholesalers such as Davidsons, who have access to a lot of new products, but they generally are the most expensive. Well, I've rambled enough. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me here or contact me directly. Once again, best of luck -- Steve
P.S. I almost forgot one of the most important things I wanted to mention. The easiest way to find all the wholesalers is to attend the yearly SHOT Show. SHOT stands for Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show and will be in Las Vegas this year Feb. 12-15. You can learn more about it by going to shotshow.org.0 -
When I was in retail, I used Williams Shooters Supply in Quincy, Ill. I was close enough that I could drive there in about an hour, or they would ship it to me if I needed. I always got excellent service. My sales rep was Bill. Good luck! 0 -
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SOURCES I'VE USED INCLUDING MOST OF THOSE MENTIONED IN MY 20+ YRS. AS AN FFL. ONE I USE FREQUENTLY THAT IS ONLINE WITH A DEALER CATALOG AVAILABLE IS ZANDERS SPORTING GOODS AT www.gzanders.com. ALSO, SUBSCRIBE TO GUN LIST AND/OR SHOTGUN NEWS FOR SOURCES. SOMETIMES A CUSTOMER WANTS AN ITEM I CAN'T PROCURE THROUGH MY USUAL DIST.'S BUT I CAN LOCATE IT FROM AN OBSCURE SOURCE IN ONE OF THESE (USUALLY AT A PREMIUM).
"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING" EDMUND BURKE (1729-1797) "YOU ARE ALREADY LATE FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT TO ACT." MISDAGIN (1950- )0
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