RFD

[Dellbert]

Any home trading RFD on here ?

How do you find it , getting supplied ? police visits ?

How did you start up ?

 

 

Cheers

[wildrover77]

I bought an existing business. The hardest part was opening new accounts with suppliers. I Will need to start looking beyond the official importers for a lot of brands. Some distributors were fine others would not even answer the phone to a business that under the previous owner had been trading for 25+ years!

 

The Police were easy, complying with legislation and visits are not a problem.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, an RFD in berkshire goes straight to the factories of china for a month at a time, then buys bulk and a lot cheaper so more profit

[clakk]

Have a look on Allibaba for bulk buying ,some of us at work get tools and equipment this way ,its where ebay shops shop .Some places 1 item some 500/1000 but its all there just allow 2/3 weeks for delivery atb and good luck

[oldypigeonpopper]

Have a look on Allibaba for bulk buying ,some of us at work get tools and equipment this way ,its where ebay shops shop .Some places 1 item some 500/1000 but its all there just allow 2/3 weeks for delivery atb and good luck

hello, i use ALIEXPRESS can buy in 1s or ?

[JJsDad]

Just be aware that some established retailers will not be happy with a `newbie` encroaching on their patch and can play dirty.

A close friend of mine set himself up in a small shop in a large town several years ago & having got all the necessary Police approvals/requirements sorted he tried to open trade accounts with a number of major importers and cartridge suppliers only to find out they turned him down and refused outright to supply and would not give a reason. He tried to make a go of wheeling and dealing in second hand shotguns and rifles etc but found it virtually impossible to make a living out of it, he finally packed it in before the bankruptsy caught up with him.

 

A year or so later in casual conversation at the local clay club he discovered that the well known gun shop in the town where he lived had put the knife in and warned off their suppliers that they didnt want competion on their doorstep and would not be happy teddies if he was given a trade account with the possibility he would undercut them.

 

If you have got an established shop in your area, beware. You cant buy eveything bulk from China !!

[rovercoupe]

I love how some distributors think they can do what they want, if a supplier told me to do one and not let me have a account its not like they are the only company in the world who makes product X there are enough other brands these days that would give a account.

 

If all else fails go direct to the manufacturer and see if they can do anything or if they will direct ship.

 

go for it.

[eddoakley]

I traded a few guns from home as a bit of a hobby for a few years until March last year. I think something like 180 in 1st 3 years.

Was offered a small premises to run another of my businesses from with a good deal on the rent. Decided not to use it for that but to open a shop. 3 weeks later we opened!

Did some basic advertising. Had a few guns and bits and pieces hanging about from my trading over the previous few years but ended up spending a whole lot more than I ever intended. Looking at what we have now and what we had to open makes me realise just how it's grown in a year.

A certificate to trade from home took me well over a year to get and probably 40 hours of ridiculous meetings that seemed to serve no real purpose. I was asked for business plans like they were the bank and I wanted a loan. Asked where I would buy from and who I would sell to? How i would know if they were legit? Having bought and sold enough guns to need to become a dealer it seemed the questions were crazy. I installed the alarm that they asked for. Fitted extra cabinets as asked and a few other security considerations over and above the recommended.

Eventually it was fairly simple. I actually had to ask "what else is there to do? When will I have this cert? Why are we still talking about it?" It turned up a week later.

Had local shop try to cause trouble for me from the outset. I'm not one to hold my tongue when I see things that are clearly wrong so that didn't help.

When I found out that feos were handing out business cards for certain shops and dropping newly granted certs to the shop for people to collect then the way things were became clear!

When I opened the shop most of the big suppliers just refused accounts. I even offered one a large sum (more than the nearest dealer would spend in a year!) On account and promised to spend that and more in the 1St quarter but was still refused.

Some accounts were opened without hesitation.

A few shops that I know were very helpful and allowed me to order anything I wanted through their accounts which helped massively. That was before my shop and still now.

 

Some suppliers have a strict "bricks and mortar" or "shopfront" policy and simply will not deal with home traders. Some might only deal with you based on their other customers within a set radius.

 

There are lots of good points to trading from home, but lots of bad too.

If you work then having people want to turn up in the evening can be tough. Where do you go to show them the gun/guns?

Banish the rest of the family from the living room or kitchen? Do you have an extra/spare room to show them to? That's handy until you realise that storing all of the guns there and everyone knowing what you have and where isn't a great idea. So guns in one place and viewings in another? Then how many guns do you show people? Do you leave 5 or 6 on the kitchen table while you nip out to get something else that might take their fancy?

Lots and lots of considerations.

 

But on the positive side it meant that I met lots of fellow shooters and got lots of invites. Am good mates now with several people I met that way.

I made a few quid and apart form the security etc there was no real outlay. No rent, business rates, advertising etc.

I enjoyed the whole thing but often got grief from the Mrs for sitting in the kitchen talking shooting with strangers for hours, often without making a sale.

 

Have a go. Just be aware of the potential problems. And don't expect too much help from big suppliers. I know a couple of dealers who do really well trading from home so it kind of depends on what you want to sell. Ordering in new guns is pretty much a waste of time anyway, pathetic margins and always someone online with an offer on. Don't be tempted to buy too much stock. If buying new try to get just one or two of things until you know what sells. I did that from home and the shop, bought some things in larger numbers and took forever to sell them. Now I'm happy ordering 10, 20, 50 of certain guns just to keep stocks up as I know they sell quickly.

Be careful to check every possible aspect of a gun before you buy and again before you sell. I got lumbered with some right junk. Sold one or two that I hadn't properly checked and that was a PITA. Not noticing a broken/worn firing pin or a tiny crack in a stock can quickly lose you any profit you made that week/month or even year.

Will be interesting to see how you get on.

 

Atb

 

Edd

[webber]

Just be aware that some established retailers will not be happy with a `newbie` encroaching on their patch and can play dirty.

A close friend of mine set himself up in a small shop in a large town several years ago & having got all the necessary Police approvals/requirements sorted he tried to open trade accounts with a number of major importers and cartridge suppliers only to find out they turned him down and refused outright to supply and would not give a reason. He tried to make a go of wheeling and dealing in second hand shotguns and rifles etc but found it virtually impossible to make a living out of it, he finally packed it in before the bankruptsy caught up with him.

 

A year or so later in casual conversation at the local clay club he discovered that the well known gun shop in the town where he lived had put the knife in and warned off their suppliers that they didnt want competion on their doorstep and would not be happy teddies if he was given a trade account with the possibility he would undercut them.

 

If you have got an established shop in your area, beware. You cant buy eveything bulk from China !!

This is precisely what happened to me.

It's a restrictive trade practice; anti competitive and contrary to article 9 of the Treaty of Rome; but they get away with it.

It spoiled my original business plan, but served to make me more tenacious.

I've got around most of the blocks and can't be bothered with others; however certain brand of guns are hardly worth selling, even on a to order basis.

Over the 4 years that my shop has been open we have expanded to almost 4 times the original area, we have plans to expand even further.

We have new faces in the shop every day, yet foot fall still needs to increase dramatically.

I'm fortunate enough to not need to take any wages out of the gun shop, my cylinder gases business pays me, and covers many of the running costs.

If the gun shop had to stand alone it would close. Fortunately it's my hobby business, one which will grow and eventually stand on its own feet, but it is taking much longer than I anticipated.

The gun shop generates business for the shooting ground, and visa versa. I'm fortunate to have the backing of Norgas both financially and practically with the use of staff, warehousing and equipment.

My advise to the OP would be to try to buy an existing business.

 

webber

www.norgascartridges.co.uk

www.astleygunclub.co.uk

www.norgas.co.uk

Edited June 16, 2017 by webber

[Dellbert]

Thanks for the replies ,would be interested to hear of the supportive suppliers .

The idea is to supply accesories and reloading gear ,secondhand guns .But i have a contact for a small manufacturer who wants a supplier in the UK ,bit of a niche market but the main quality supplierts here dont seem to know what customer service is and their mark up is extreme .