looking to open my own airsoft shop/website
- Thread starter pjc71
- Start date
Tariq
Members
- Dec 14, 2011
- 1,154
- 89
RedWolf, Armex are 2 large UK distributors to look at.
RedWolf for most stuff asian and Armex are the KWA guys for the UK.
You'll need to swat up on UKARA and the VCRA
Will have to think about repairs / warranty. Can you fix the guns or will you have to get an external contract to repair faulty goods.
Good location and good advertising is key to a shop.
RedWolf for most stuff asian and Armex are the KWA guys for the UK.
You'll need to swat up on UKARA and the VCRA
Will have to think about repairs / warranty. Can you fix the guns or will you have to get an external contract to repair faulty goods.
Good location and good advertising is key to a shop.
Suzuki Yamamoto
Members
- Jun 4, 2012
- 511
- 41
What would your shop/website do differently to stand out from existing shops and webistes?
Why should people buy from your shop/website when there are already some very well established retailers and webistes?
Thats something you need to think about.
Contacting the manufacturers directly would be a good idea instead of firstly looking for a wholesaler as it may benefit both parties finiancially, better deal for you and the manufacturer.
Why should people buy from your shop/website when there are already some very well established retailers and webistes?
Thats something you need to think about.
Contacting the manufacturers directly would be a good idea instead of firstly looking for a wholesaler as it may benefit both parties finiancially, better deal for you and the manufacturer.
two_zero
Members
- May 9, 2011
- 1,871
- 634
This. As with any business.
It's very unlikely that any manufacturer would sell directly to a newly opened store, or for the quantities that such business would want. Unless OP have a massive budget.
SheriffHD
Members
- May 27, 2011
- 814
- 100
Dealing with wholesalers are better opition when starting out, Why? Because you can get smaller orders to suit the requirement of small business start ups.
Dealing direct from the factorys normally ask for a minimium order of 5-10k depending on who you order from, as well as they ask for a trading refferance, so a wholeseller would be the better choice to start.
Website is normally the best choice to start off with, Site maintance is low and it means you can see about what items are your top sellers.
The advantage to a website is the low cost of start up required, but the downside is that you dont have a local customer base and instead you end up havign to compeate witht he interire internet for best price/offers etc.
letting a shop can be costly, for my local area id be looking at between 5-12k a year in rent, plus business charges (can be foudn out from your local council) The advantage of the shop is that people will always prefer being able to actually pick an item up and see how it feels instead of looking at a picture. And instead of having to battle against every other retailer, you can build a local customer base.
Another idea if you start a shop, is to team up with a local site/sites, to advertise game dates and to get the custyome from the guys playing at the fields to come into your shop.
Nice additions to owning a shop, is if you can get large enough floor space you can think about adding fire ranges, product testing.
Before doing both, research everything,Importing tax, wholesale cost, resel value, expected profits, expected turnover etc. its a headache but you need to get all this in a plan before even thinking about starting up.
look about at retail units and see whats the best price you can get is, and again contact the council and get the business rates for your area so you can calculate your total out going.
Also depending on your area there are additional funds you can get hold of (for the south of Uk we have the http://www.fredericksfoundation.org/)
I was going to do the same, but due to lack of funds was unable to get start up, if you need any help though, just drop me a message i might be able to answer any questions that might arise.
Dealing direct from the factorys normally ask for a minimium order of 5-10k depending on who you order from, as well as they ask for a trading refferance, so a wholeseller would be the better choice to start.
Website is normally the best choice to start off with, Site maintance is low and it means you can see about what items are your top sellers.
The advantage to a website is the low cost of start up required, but the downside is that you dont have a local customer base and instead you end up havign to compeate witht he interire internet for best price/offers etc.
letting a shop can be costly, for my local area id be looking at between 5-12k a year in rent, plus business charges (can be foudn out from your local council) The advantage of the shop is that people will always prefer being able to actually pick an item up and see how it feels instead of looking at a picture. And instead of having to battle against every other retailer, you can build a local customer base.
Another idea if you start a shop, is to team up with a local site/sites, to advertise game dates and to get the custyome from the guys playing at the fields to come into your shop.
Nice additions to owning a shop, is if you can get large enough floor space you can think about adding fire ranges, product testing.
Before doing both, research everything,Importing tax, wholesale cost, resel value, expected profits, expected turnover etc. its a headache but you need to get all this in a plan before even thinking about starting up.
look about at retail units and see whats the best price you can get is, and again contact the council and get the business rates for your area so you can calculate your total out going.
Also depending on your area there are additional funds you can get hold of (for the south of Uk we have the http://www.fredericksfoundation.org/)
I was going to do the same, but due to lack of funds was unable to get start up, if you need any help though, just drop me a message i might be able to answer any questions that might arise.
Sort of an extra topic but also a good question to be asked here:
How do retailers purchase RIF's. The law is on sale of guns but if your importing or buying wholesale technically its still a purchase so do you still need UKARA or a defence to buy them or is there an exemption for retail??
How do retailers purchase RIF's. The law is on sale of guns but if your importing or buying wholesale technically its still a purchase so do you still need UKARA or a defence to buy them or is there an exemption for retail??
two_zero
Members
- May 9, 2011
- 1,871
- 634
UKARA is not a legal requirement. If that you can prove that you buy them for retail, use in skirmish or use in a serious movie production, you'll be fine. Then again, I would not recommend to anyone that does no skirmish, and have done so long enough to require a UKARA to start an airsoft store.
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