A Poll - Does Canada need a rimfire specialist store?

Does Canada Need A One-Stop-Shop for Rimfire?

  • yes, I wholeheartedly agree

    Votes: 121 84.0%

  • no, what we have is enough

    Votes: 9 6.3%

  • I don't know...maybe?

    Votes: 14 9.7%
  • Total voters
    144
Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 96.9%
29   1   2
Location
British Canuckistan
it's something my brother and I have bounced around for a couple of years...the desire to open up a shop that focused on everything rimfire. guns, parts, pieces, kits...everything. a rimfire one-stop-shop.

it appears that we could use one...but perhaps I'm off base. what do you, the masses, think?
 
Diversify or die

Unless u can offer everything rimfire at cheaper prices with cheap shipping, your just another gun store with an even more limited consumer base.

You would have to have a large stockpile of EVERYTHING rimfire to ensure your reputation as a rimfire specialist is maintained (big storage cost considering the amount of rimfire guns/accessories/stocks are out there). A better business model might be a store that has a variety of firearms, but known for its wide selection of rimfire guns/parts/etc. Your biggest hurdle would be finding a supplier at low cost for the various rimfire manufacturers and passing on those savings to your customers to ensure competition with everyone else, or offer everything at about the same price with cheap/free shipping to open up your customer base to across canada (rather than local pickup only).

I would love to see a rimfire specialist store, but I imagine that the reason one doesn't exist is because of the cost of storing such a large amount of a specific product. You would need a high volume of customers to keep cost down but to get a high volume you would have to be cheaper than the rest (that's the hard part). Maybe just running a website with a storage unit rented out might be the cheapest way to test drive the idea.

If you can offer everything rimfire at lower costs (to my door) than most other stores, I would gladly buy from you!

What would a rimfire specialist store carry exactly? Aside from the obvious (guns/stocks/parts), optics/risers/scope rings/gun cases/targets? If you carry conversion kits for other firearms would you then carry the accessories for those firearms too? This would expand your inventory selection exponentially.

I feel like such a #### right now because it feels like I just crapped all over your idea. Don't let any nay sayers stand in your way! If you really wanna do it just go for it! You can always start out as a rimfire specialist and diversify later if it doesn't work out. Worst case scenario, you start this rimfire specialist store and I get some great "going out of business" prices for my rimfires! (sorry couldn't resist)
 
Last edited:
There can never have to many, I just wonder were it would be located, Id rather shop locally, but its probably not here on Vancouver Island. If you decide to go forward with your idea, Good Luck.
 
I think it would be great, its getting hard to get little pieces out of the states so an importer that focuses on stocking all the little goodies would be fantastic. There is tons of great rimfire stuff in the US, but the douchebags at ITAR are hell bent on keeping us dangerous Canadians from getting our hands on any of it. Having a good source for everything rimfire would make it so easy to put our builds together. Do it up!
 
gump132 said:
Diversify or die

Unless u can offer everything rimfire at cheaper prices with cheap shipping, your just another gun store with an even more limited consumer base.

You would have to have a large stockpile of EVERYTHING rimfire to ensure your reputation as a rimfire specialist is maintained (big storage cost considering the amount of rimfire guns/accessories/stocks are out there). A better business model might be a store that has a variety of firearms, but known for its wide selection of rimfire guns/parts/etc. Your biggest hurdle would be finding a supplier at low cost for the various rimfire manufacturers and passing on those savings to your customers to ensure competition with everyone else, or offer everything at about the same price with cheap/free shipping to open up your customer base to across canada (rather than local pickup only).

I would love to see a rimfire specialist store, but I imagine that the reason one doesn't exist is because of the cost of storing such a large amount of a specific product. You would need a high volume of customers to keep cost down but to get a high volume you would have to be cheaper than the rest (that's the hard part). Maybe just running a website with a storage unit rented out might be the cheapest way to test drive the idea.

If you can offer everything rimfire at lower costs (to my door) than most other stores, I would gladly buy from you!

What would a rimfire specialist store carry exactly? Aside from the obvious (guns/stocks/parts), optics/risers/scope rings/gun cases/targets? If you carry conversion kits for other firearms would you then carry the accessories for those firearms too? This would expand your inventory selection exponentially.

I feel like such a #### right now because it feels like I just crapped all over your idea. Don't let any nay sayers stand in your way! If you really wanna do it just go for it! You can always start out as a rimfire specialist and diversify later if it doesn't work out.
Click to expand...
you're not being a prick...you're being a realist. we're thinking of starting small and getting parts first, before we branched out into the firearms. I'm in Vancouver, my brother is in Edmonton, and being Alberta is firearm friendly, that's most likely where we'd end up setting up shop.

right now it's an idea. just fishing to see what thoughts come out. perhaps it'll gain traction...perhaps not. only time will tell, so a thank you to everyone providing input! :D
 
Mr. Friendly said:
you're not being a prick...you're being a realist. we're thinking of starting small and getting parts first, before we branched out into the firearms. I'm in Vancouver, my brother is in Edmonton, and being Alberta is firearm friendly, that's most likely where we'd end up setting up shop.

right now it's an idea. just fishing to see what thoughts come out. perhaps it'll gain traction...perhaps not. only time will tell, so a thank you to everyone providing input! :D
Click to expand...

I really hope you guys do it and it works for ya! I would love to be able to order all my rimfire supplies from one shop (save on shipping that way). I still think you should start with carrying a diverse inventory and see what sells. Once you get the business goin start bringing in more and more rimfire products and slowly build a wide selection of rimfire products. There are many products out there for rimfire, but you probably shouldn't carry ALL of them just because they are rimfire. I am sure there are rimfire products out there that do not sell very well. It would suck to have a huge stockpile of product you cannot move and then fall behind with the new products because you don't have the capital to purchase a stockpile of the new stuff.
 
gump132 said:
Diversify or die

Unless u can offer everything rimfire at cheaper prices with cheap shipping, your just another gun store with an even more limited consumer base.

You would have to have a large stockpile of EVERYTHING rimfire to ensure your reputation as a rimfire specialist is maintained (big storage cost considering the amount of rimfire guns/accessories/stocks are out there). A better business model might be a store that has a variety of firearms, but known for its wide selection of rimfire guns/parts/etc. Your biggest hurdle would be finding a supplier at low cost for the various rimfire manufacturers and passing on those savings to your customers to ensure competition with everyone else, or offer everything at about the same price with cheap/free shipping to open up your customer base to across canada (rather than local pickup only).

I would love to see a rimfire specialist store, but I imagine that the reason one doesn't exist is because of the cost of storing such a large amount of a specific product. You would need a high volume of customers to keep cost down but to get a high volume you would have to be cheaper than the rest (that's the hard part). Maybe just running a website with a storage unit rented out might be the cheapest way to test drive the idea.

If you can offer everything rimfire at lower costs (to my door) than most other stores, I would gladly buy from you!

What would a rimfire specialist store carry exactly? Aside from the obvious (guns/stocks/parts), optics/risers/scope rings/gun cases/targets? If you carry conversion kits for other firearms would you then carry the accessories for those firearms too? This would expand your inventory selection exponentially.

I feel like such a #### right now because it feels like I just crapped all over your idea. Don't let any nay sayers stand in your way! If you really wanna do it just go for it! You can always start out as a rimfire specialist and diversify later if it doesn't work out. Worst case scenario, you start this rimfire specialist store and I get some great "going out of business" prices for my rimfires! (sorry couldn't resist)
Click to expand...

what he said
 
Diversify or die
:agree:


In business too and it's a 100% right. I would have die long time ago if I had stick to my initial concept.

BUT specialize in what you like and believe in FTW :cool:

I sale crap for people who ask for it a know better. I don't use it and wont let anybody who don't ask for use it, but if you ask for It's my pleasure to offer it to you.
 
Diversification is what the big box stores do. What you need to do is ask yourself what you think you can do better than the existing players in the market instead of trying to take on Wholesale Sports directly. Does this mean that a store specializing in all things rimfire is a good idea? Maybe.

If you define your business model too narrowly, you can miss opportunities, but you can't be all things to all people, either.
 
goods

Do some research to see where you can buy product out of the US. Most US companies don't bother getting the export permits required as we are a very small portion of the market. The issue isn't whether you can sell product, it is getting the product to sell. Most of the products you will be wanting to sell are not illegal here, it is US export laws causing the issues. If you check with Canada customs, most of what you are wishing to sell could be carried across the border legally, but companies cannot send it over. Maybe we need someone to start manufacturing parts so we are not reliant on someone else. Just my .02.
 
My opinion of a specialized store works well as long as you have the client base to support the venture. I have a small business that has very little to do with fire arms and have designed it in such a way that I can reliably save my customers $1000’s off the products they buy. People said it wouldn’t work but has done so just fine.

The thing about specializing in on area is you have to be able to offer everything that might be available or you might lose that customer to your competitor. If I had the opportunity to shop for the parts and ammo I needed and it was available from a specific place all the time I’d be more than happy to support that business even if it cost a few extra bucks and I might have to wait a week to get it.

As a consumer in the world of internet shops you assume that there will be some sort of delay when placing an order and if I’m down to my last brick of ammo I’d better get on my CONFUSER to order more because I might have to wait a couple of days or weeks before it gets here. I’m sure others on this forum harbour the same feelings as I do when I say I’m tired of going to that big box store to buy something that was advertised online or a flyer only to be told that they were out of stock or it’s not available in my area.

Just knowing that there is a reliable source to purchase the what have you’s is big in my books.
 
If you offer every rimfire available, high end to low end for target sports, hunting and plinking, both handguns and rifles, as well as a full line of accessories and can provide great customer service I think it could fly. Most places have a pretty limited range of rimfire products, and the big box stores have such poor service much of the time.
 
A retail rimfire only store would most likely not do well in a large canadian city. Reasons:
Take a look at P and D's rimfire area, most of the store traffic doesn't go there.
Rimfire guns are in the 200-600 range, while handguns rifles, shotgun are in the 300-3000 range. Not much room for profit, unless you do high volumes.
The only way the concept would work is online and then you'd have to create unique deals that no one else is getting, take a look at how the well financed Prophet River is doing online sales. They often bring unique guns that no one else has. They also do plenty of high end stuff.
Good luck with it
 
IF you have product not easily found else where and
IF you have a kick ass web site.

a specialty store could make it, although the web will make or break you. With the right website the world is your market. Know what can be exported where and gett that info to your customers in a clear and readily available manner.

The number of times I have filled a cart at Amazon and found out only at the last step of checkout that some or all of my items can't/won't be shipped to Canada. Grrrr....!:mad:

If you open a rimfire shop in Edmonton I'll shop there.
 
Hey guy, don't forget one thing, these days, you don't even really need the bricks and mortar. Start out with parts and mods online and advertise like crazy. Dang, a full line of VQ mods, techsites, magpul, Timney's, etc, etc, etc. I'd be wiping the drool of my screen while I order.
Your big hurdle is the import license.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom