Why do airsoft shops over charge for shipping?

[kev.k 26]

Has anyone else noticed that compared to clothes, appliance, game sites etc. Virtually every airsoft shop/site is a rip off when it comes to delivery charges. They don't even offer free shipping if you spend over £200 with them.

 

I can understand for heavier items (rifs etc). But the charges for mags, gloves, consumables and torches etc are ridiculous.

 

I was looking to buy a few accessories from different retailers the other day (as none ever have everything u want in stock). Shipping came to over £40.

 

I wish I had a decent shop near by. If someone opened a decent one in Manchester it would do really well, as there isn't much around.

[M_P 2,354]

Because the majority of UK retailers are useless.

[TPI 165]

and Rip Off Merchant's lookin to make a quick Buck at the Customer's exspense, High Cap Using wannabe Paintball Pro's

[kev.k 26]

Someone should take advantage of a huge gap in the market. The one shop I did visit was poorly stocked, didn't even have basics. Prices for what they did have were extortionate.

 

I get the impression most sites are run from bedrooms and use the local post office for shipping.

[Deva 529]

Shop around, they aren't all terrible. They'll reduce their prices to compete or fail to compete and no longer be around.

[Nickona 374]

The only shop I have ever had postage issues with is UKTactical and thats because they send everything next day recorded by courier who texts you when he's going to get to your house that morning..

 

While its nice, when you just want to buy a couple of Grimlocs its a bit OTT

[Da_sheriff 199]

Opening a shop is alot of work unless you have the cash up front for stock.
I was looking at doing my own business and linkng the shop with a local field (arnt any local fields any more)
But the issue was in the fact that distrobuters left next to no room for profit margin to cover the cost of renting a store and was only really viable for online stores. and using the factories directly would require buying bulk in distrobuster quanties, which I would have trouble shifting in a store. And with no local site it meant a that local intrest died down due to no one being able to drive to the remote locations that the cloest site uses.

 

 

Alot of the sites have a mark up on postage because its how tey make alot of their profits. More so if the site is buying from a distrobuter instead of direct from the factories.

[kev.k 26]

Opening a shop is alot of work unless you have the cash up front for stock.

I was looking at doing my own business and linkng the shop with a local field (arnt any local fields any more)

But the issue was in the fact that distrobuters left next to no room for profit margin to cover the cost of renting a store and was only really viable for online stores. and using the factories directly would require buying bulk in distrobuster quanties, which I would have trouble shifting in a store. And with no local site it meant a that local intrest died down due to no one being able to drive to the remote locations that the cloest site uses.

 

 

Alot of the sites have a mark up on postage because its how tey make alot of their profits. More so if the site is buying from a distrobuter instead of direct from the factories.

I agree mate. It's not cheap setting up a shop of any type really. It seems to me a higher percentage of airsoft sites are amatuer than other retail sites.

 

It's a shame bigger companies don't expand into airsoft. I honestly believe its due to ukuara. Big businesses that expand into different areas would stay away from airsoft due to its restricted market. As well as the fact that they would have to do additional checks on people.

 

Airsoft is more difficult to get into than most hobbies due to the rules and regulations. I think it stops the sport/hobbie from reaching its full potential.

[Sam_G 590]

I'm lucky as there is several retails within 30 mins of me.

 

Z1

UKMCpro

Combat South

 

I was looking at something the other day and the postage was MORE than the item was worth. So needless to say i didnt order it! Postage is a real bug bear of mine as there is not real need for huge charges. But tend to see a flat rate for any item whihc is great for buying a RIF but that morale patch is not worth 7.50 postage!

[Da_sheriff 199]

Id love to be able to set up a shop, But with no real places to set up a field near by, and the cost it would be to actually do both a site and a retail would just be insanly high. Its a shame really. Its the old tale. No one wants to open more field because the local intrest isnt there, and no one wants to buy all the gear because there isnt a local site.

 

Most of the games Ive been to, I've spent more money on travel, than what the day walk on fee's are. Which isnt ideal.

[bigshep 68]

Lots of shops have automated shipping costs in their online shopping cart, so the morale patch and the 100,000BB's will cost the same to ship in the shopping cart. However an e:mail to them asking to check postage and charge something else usually get a response. Z1 and socom tactical airsoft shop both do this off the top of my head.

[AK47frizzle 508]

wonderland models jack up the price of their airsoft guns alot.... It's a shame my parents' won't buy ammo for me on the internet and i have to resort to buying overpriced ammo at wonderland models

[remus 172]

yea to succesfully open a shop, ideally you need to really be a farmer/own a farm, why? A, land to have a feild/enough ground to have a playable airsoft site on, preferably away from other property. B sheds, seriously, for not only possibly playing in, but gun range, stock storage, players changing in, but also to have a room to sell stuff from. also because airsoft probably wont make enough money on its1/2day week game days the farms other fact that it can make crops etc(obv not using the airsoft feild to keep livestock on etc) to support the farmer/airsoft owner. cause i overheard a asite owner talking costs, and insurance alone for a site takes up a huge amount of a sites income, gun sales etc help mitigate that a bit, but by the time they take costs into effect(especially rentals, whch are nessiary to get people interested/ukarad, site improvements, electricity for indoor use) into the game, aswell as they are likely lucky to see a 30% discount from whomever they buy from(sounds great but from a retail perspective its quite poor) and in the midst of those running an online retail unit, competing with everyone out there, specially those whom can sell it for less than you can buy it... yea well if everything dosent work right on time as planned you will go bust. suprising how many actually succed at running sites....

 

and ukara is better than getting the sport banned, which afaik was the alternative...

[TPI 165]

No it wasn't the alternative to having the Hobby banned...

[Da_sheriff 199]

Yeah, what remus said.

After start up costs, It would take a fair few years before you started becoming profitable. Which is a issue. Unless you have prime location, such as an area that has high airsoft interest plus suport form local sites.

Otherwise you find that you end up having to fund both retail and field to insure that either make money.

The best way to go about doing shops these days, is to be come an online retail unit first. then if that is propifitable enough, then you can look at doing a retail unit. or getting a site which you can use as a field/retail.

[kev.k 26]

First and only offer free shipping on any order over £50. Other retailers should follow suit.

 

If people refuse to pay the stupidly over priced postage fees, they will have no choice.

[remus 172]

No it wasn't the alternative to having the Hobby banned...

well not quite what i meant, the alternative that i think iread on ukara was to bann selling realistic imitation firearms and allow us to continue to buy the unrealistic brightly coloured imitation firearms, if ukara wasn't accepted.

problem is for shipping that the system isnt great for sizing etc. a company i used to work for used to find that some sites they sold through had set shipping charges, based on size or weight, which dosent always wok out when you go to the dispatch place, and website templats have quite often the wrong settings for thses prices. i dont quite care about shipping on big /bulky stuff, just when it ends up costing more than the item itself... thats just not right(yes im looking at you silly patches, grrr....)

[M_P 2,354]

No it wasn't. We were allowed to continue to buy them so long as we had a valid defence (a good reason for ownership)

Ukara was made solely as a way for retailers to protect themselves.

UKARA was not brought about to enable us to sell and buy, it just aids retailers.

[kev.k 26]

No it wasn't. We were allowed to continue to buy them so long as we had a valid defence (a good reason for ownership)

Ukara was made solely as a way for retailers to protect themselves.

UKARA was not brought about to enable us to sell and buy, it just aids retailers.

And it puts people off getting into airsoft.

 

When I put wanted rif ads up on different forums, the amount of condescending idiots who posted on my threads asking, "how old are you", "have you got your UKARA", "so what if you've got a site membership" etc, nearly put me off getting into the hobbie. They come across like geeky, self important sad b******s. I didn't respond to any of them.

 

I didn't buy new because of UKARA (the main reason big retailers have no interest in airsoft guns), I didn't want a bright orange gun and I'm more than happy with what I've got second hand.

 

UKARA is a threat to airsoft as it stops the sport growing, which inturn makes it easier to ban if they decide they want too.

[M_P 2,354]

A site membership is more than enough to purchase a gun from a good retailer.

I don't see why it would put people off? If you are getting into a hobby that makes use of extremely realistic looking guns, some regulations are the least you can expect.

If you assumed you can just get a realistic looking gun then it's not the system at fault. People wanting to protect themselves in a transaction for a rif is natural, I don't see the issue in that- no matter how annoying it can be.

[kev.k 26]

A site membership is more than enough to purchase a gun from a good retailer.

I don't see why it would put people off? If you are getting into a hobby that makes use of extremely realistic looking guns, some regulations are the least you can expect.

If you assumed you can just get a realistic looking gun then it's not the system at fault. People wanting to protect themselves in a transaction for a rif is natural, I don't see the issue in that- no matter how annoying it can be.

I think the system is stupid. You should just be able to buy one.

 

If they are such a threat to the public, playing a game with them 3 times in 2 months shouldn't be a defence to owning one, they should be banned. The fact is, they are not a real threat to the public, unlike perfectly legal and lethal cross bows.

 

If people were able to buy them without having to play 3 times in 2 months ( especially for people who have to travel miles to a site), more people would buy, the sport would grow, more sites would start up and then big professional retailers would take an interest. This would benefit everyone and bring prices down.

 

It's easier for criminals to get hold of a real gun than it is a airsoft gun. I wouldn't take a scally seriously if he ran into a bank with a hk416 or a m4, I'd be more worried if he had an axe.

 

If someone was stupid enough to want one for that reason could easily buy a two tone and a tin of black paint.

 

The whole vcra, UKARA etc is pathetic. Just like the dangerous dogs act and all the other crap in this country. It's totally pointless and contridictory.

[M_P 2,354]

We aren't in America, the general public in the UK are much less accepting of firearms than in other countries, so it's hardly surprising.

We can't exactly change it so if people don't like the rules in place (which as far as I can see are far from unreasonable) then they aren't forced to play airsoft, they can always find another hobby or buy a two tone gun.

 

If you aren't scared of someone running into a bank with an assault rifle, fair enough, but you can fairly sure that there will also be a large number of people who will.

[remus 172]

have to disagree. i find ukara is a good system, makes people tink about buying a gun and just carrying it around. (if ya know what i mean. the airsoftguns are not the threat to the public. its that they look real. which again isnt a threat to the public, its that people have and can use them stupidly. ie take a pistol and walk into a shop, and use it to rob them. whats the chances of joe blogg behind the till knowing the difference between a rif and a firearm?this has happened and still does, but this system helps to reduce it. again police would they even know from a glance the difference? specially in a country such as mine where theres so many stories of them being attacked? making people proe to the retailer that they have a potentially genuine reason to have it (which yes can be abused, but ya cant argue that it dosent reduce it)

gotta say we shouldn't attack ukara, just the arses that did the stupid things that made it necessary...

[kev.k 26]

What chance is there that the assualt rifle is real? The fact that a criminal can by a two tone and paint it makes that argument pointless anyway.

 

If someone carries a rif in public with UKARA or not, they will still get hammered by the law. So the UKARA has no effect there either.

 

It's a pointless stupid system, that for some reason makes some people feel important when they have it? (That isn't aimed at anyone who has posted in this thread). We would all be better off without it.

[M_P 2,354]

Ukara isn't meant too...

UKARA is simply for retailers to protect themselves when selling rif's. UKARA was set up by and is run by retailers.