Not a dirty word

Shooting Industry, Nov, 2007 by Joe Bowen

Amen to Gregg Bouslog's letter in the July issue about the advertising practices of many firearm manufacturers. To advertise a product that you never had in stock can get you locked up in the retail business, yet manufacturers do it day in and day out.

Manufacturers and distributors buy full-page ads in shooting magazines six months to a year before production of their new products. Then it's the retailer who must bear the heat of telling the customer the product is not available and won't be available for six months to a year.

This year has been the worst in recent memory of mainstream products being out of stock, and we are not talking about a few weeks. Some guns are simply unavailable for months at a time. Companies trot out 15 new products each year at the SHOT Show, yet cannot supply their mainstream firearms, much less the new items.

Another problem Mr. Bouslog alluded to is the Internet cutthroats who cannot decide if they are going to be a dealer or a distributor. I have already "fired" some of my distributors who were trying to sell to both dealers and private individuals. The industry had better wake up and realize that the small stocking dealer network throughout the United States is the backbone of the industry.

We would all be better off--dealer/manufacturer/distributor--if we could sell fewer products and make a reasonable profit, instead of turning hundreds of items and making pennies. Does the industry really profit from our selling 100 guns this month and making an average of $35-$50 each, then depending upon the add-ons to stay in business? I think not. A decent, reasonable profit is not a dirty word.

As for the Internet shopping customers and customers who get the wholesale publications and catalogs, we finally developed a policy whereby we will refuse the transfer of a firearm from another dealer or distributor if we have the item in stock or can get it. If it's a one-of-a-kind item that we don't stock and can't get, we charge a flat rate that represents the profit we normally get on the item. If customers don't like the policy, they can head down to their local box store and get them to do it.

Joe Bowen

Bayou Bend Gunshop

Cleveland, Texas

E-mail The Editor russ@shootingindustry.com