To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Letters Letters to the editor I have made my living in the shooting sports industry since 1981, and agree with Miles Hall’s (H&H Gun Range) article in the March 2009 issue (“Dealers’ Troubles Are The Industry’s Troubles.”) I have often wondered why firearms retailers pay extra insurance to sell firearms, provide the time and effort it takes to comply with the ever-changing state and federal laws to sell firearms, and yet we are still happy when we sell a firearm at a 10- to 15-percent margin. The industry, as a whole, would be much better served if firearms drew, at minimum, a 25-percent margin at retail. This would allow dealers to advertise and attract new shooters to our sport. No one thinks Manufacturers, Distributors, Your Response? twice when selling clothing or knives at a 50-percent margin — and both take much less work than selling firearms — but try selling firearms at a 25-percent margin (at least before the “Obama factor”) and see what your customer response is. Here is a list of some of the things I would like when dealing with firearm manufacturers and distributors. 1. Don’t compete against me. It is very disheartening to have a guest tell me he can buy a hard-to-get 20-round magazine for his rifle from the factory Web site at the same price or less than I pay for it when mine are on backorder from all my distributors. I think that if the manufacturer feels they have to sell accessories on There are many choices in clothing today. What do the experts wear? “If you need clothing to wear daily that looks good and yet at the same time supports and protects the use of your equipment for individual personal protection you would be well served to take a good look at EOTAC clothing.” Clint & Heidi Smith Thunder Ranch their Web site, they should be at MRSP or above, with a healthy shipping cost. 2. And, they should only be offered after the dealer channels are filled. 3. Offer a decent 100-percent co-op program so we can afford to advertise your product and the shooting sports to the public. 4. Don’t give away the products I make money on; we make 40 percent on holsters and some accessories, so don’t package them with a firearm I’m only making 10 to 15 percent on. It is hard to stay in business on the tight margins, so don’t give away my profit. Instead, offer an instant coupon of $20 to $25 good at the time of purchase towards anything in the store (except the firearm). Smith & Wesson did this years back and it really helped boost accessories sales and my bottom line, which allowed me to buy more firearms from the manufacturer. 5. Don’t start your advertising blitz on new products until you actually have product to sell. Ruger did a bang-up job with the SR9 and had guns ready to sell when the buzz was still strong. 6. If your product has a problem, pay the shipping both ways to get it fixed. I can’t afford (with the low margins) to pay $40 to ship a guest’s defective firearm to you. I didn’t make a faulty product, and I already have the labor cost to log it back into my ATF logbook and box it up for you. So, pay both ways and get it back into the guest’s hands fast. If this cost is too great, then you may want to bump up the quality control budget. 7. Do away with the fuel surcharges from last summer; fuel has gone back down, yet the fuel surcharges remain from many companies. 8. Try MAP pricing with a healthy margin; it seems to be working for SIG SAUER. Even with these issues, I am proud to be involved in the greatest industry in the world. Doug VanderWoude Co-owner Silver Bullet Firearms Wyoming, Mich. Well said, Mr. VanderWoude. Manufacturers and distributors, your response? Note: No manufacturer or distributor has responded to Mr. Hall’s March article. To read the article, visit www.shootingindustry.com and click on “Dealer’s Troubles” in“SI Digital Bonus.” 9 E-mail the Editor russ@shootingindustry.com WWW.EOTAC.COM 6 JULY 2009 Read SI DIGITAL www.shootingindustry.com