Need Input for Staying Open On Sunday

[Eprobertson1]

where are you located? how have you gotten the word out that you are open?

unfortunately big retailers have gotten my $ because they are the ones open on sundays..

All of the store information is on the "Support our Sponsors Page" under Indy Trading Post - https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/indy_trading_post/

 

[Prometheus]

I appreciate the input so far. We will be discussing whether to stay open on Sunday or not over the next few weeks. It is tough trying to figure people out. When I first started the store we were open 12-5 Monday through Friday. WHenever we tried to close at 5 tons of people would show up so we extended that to 6. Opening at 12 I would have people waiting at the door so we listened and are now open at 10 but usually sit around with no customers until around noon. Also closing at 6 when we are leaving there are people pulliing up at 6:30 and I have had the neighbor tell me that people pull in all the way up to about 8 o clock. It is tough trying to figure out when to be open and when to be closed. We want to try and accomadate everyone but I really believe that is impossible no matter how hard you try.

I'm not in your area, but here are some thoughts from a person who buys at least a gun a month, usually two and if wasn't for having a dead beat tenant in my other house my wife and I would be back into a few a month... Over the years I've always tended to associate with people who buy guns.

People who BUY guns work and their weekends are busy enjoying them. "shopping" to shop isn't something we do, between all of our commitments, it's unlikely to find me or my friends killing a Sunday afternoon by tired kicking around a gun shop. Late Afternoon, early evening, Saturday morning or a quick stop in after the range? Absolutely.

Having solid Saturday hours is, IMO a must. The Sunday gun shop visit is a rarity from over a decade of being a serious shooter. I can think of maybe a half dozen times I've gone to a shop on a Sunday, or even wanted to on a Sunday. FYI I went with a friend to Midwest Gun Exchange yesterday (Sunday), they were having a fathers day sale, it was DEAD. It's one of only two times I went in and didn't buy at least one gun. My friend didn't get anything either. We were in from 11-12.

I can tell you there has had to have been 100 times I've wanted to buy something and a shop was closed early on a weekday or Saturday.

You need to have your shop open late on a Friday. It's a must. I'd also suggest being open late on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

If I could make as much selling guns as I do at my current job, my hours would be:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 1100-18:30hrs and if the shop was busy, stay open as long as needed.

Friday: 1100-2000hrs and if the shop is busy, stay open as long as need.

Saturday:
0900-1900hrs and if the shop is busy, stay open as long as profitable. Definitely open no later than 10am on a Saturday and stay open till 7p during the summer to catch the returning from the range crowd. You could modify your winter Saturday hours (specifically January 1 to March 1) to 1100-1800.

Sunday: Closed.

I don't know your schedule or other commitments but of all my instore purchases they were virtually all made in the afternoon or evening on a weekday or on a Saturday. I can probably count on one hand the number of guns I've bought on a Sunday in a shop.

I'd suggest actually tracking the number/gross of sales per hour for the next few weeks while you make your decisions.

Open a simple spreadsheet or grab a notebook style ledger for a buck from Target and every time you or an employee makes a sale they put it under the appropriate category (unless you already have a computerized inventory system that does that for you) and crunch the numbers.

It sounds like you've got a pretty solid idea that being open at 10am during the week is a wasted 1-2 hours and you already know that you lose a significant number of customers by closing at 6pm. Sounds like you just have to change the signage at this point

Good luck to you and next time I'm down in Indy I'll try to stop by... if your open

 

[451_Detonics]

I kept my shop open Sundays during deer season and all of December...rest of the year it was closed Sunday.

 

[Indyvet]

Thanks for all of the input. We are considering taking a day such as Friday or Wednesday and staying open later. SUnday is up in the air. I see several posts where everyone wants a shop open on Sundays and that is why we did it, but it seems that people are wishing a store to be open but not neccessarily looking to stop in and shop.

 

[shooter521]

We are considering taking a day such as Friday or Wednesday and staying open later.

Staying open late may be a good thing initially, but I think you'll find that the novelty will quickly wear off for your customers, and sooner or later, only the undesirables will be coming in, and you won't be making enough money to justify keeping the doors open. A few years ago, Bradis experimented with staying open late (like until 9:00) one day a week, but it didn't last long.

it seems that people are wishing a store to be open but not necessarily looking to stop in and shop.

Ta-daa! IMO, it's the same thing with late evenings.

And I disagree with the poster above who suggested staying open "as long as you're busy". IMO, having set hours and sticking to them is better for both you/your employees, and your customers.

My

 

[Indyvet]

Staying open late may be a good thing initially, but I think you'll find that the novelty will quickly wear off for your customers, and sooner or later, only the undesirables will be coming in, and you won't be making enough money to justify keeping the doors open. A few years ago, Bradis experimented with staying open late (like until 9:00) one day a week, but it didn't last long.



Ta-daa! IMO, it's the same thing with late evenings.

And I disagree with the poster above who suggested staying open "as long as you're busy". IMO, having set hours and sticking to them is better for both you/your employees, and your customers.

My

I would have to agree with you. My biggest problem is trying to please everyone and I constantly learn that you can not.

 

[Prometheus]

Staying open late may be a good thing initially, but I think you'll find that the novelty will quickly wear off for your customers, and sooner or later, only the undesirables will be coming in, and you won't be making enough money to justify keeping the doors open. A few years ago, Bradis experimented with staying open late (like until 9:00) one day a week, but it didn't last long.:

I think 9pm is too late, although Midwest has been open till nine for quite awhile... During the summer espeically, when it's light out till 9, closing at 6 is a silly idea, at best.

And I disagree with the poster above who suggested staying open "as long as you're busy". IMO, having set hours and sticking to them is better for both you/your employees, and your customers.

My

The question is, are you in business to make money or not? If it's busy (maybe I should add making sales, but to me they are one on the same), make the money while you can.

Why turn away money? Staying open an extra 30-60 mins and making a couple hundred in extra profits seems like a no brainer to me.

I once had a guy kick me out at 600pm on the nose and to "come back tomorrow and we'll do the NICS, were closing" as he was ringing me up. Yeah, no thanks. I was handing him 800 in cash when he said it. I pulled back the cash and said forget it. I bought it at another shop the next day for $75 less. Saved me $75 and probably cost him $125-175 in profit. Not to mention all future sales.

Sundays make no sense to me for a shop to be open in most cases. Open late on Fridays (at a minimum), is a must. I've never been in a shop that wasn't making money between 6-8pm. When I was single I made most of my purchases at that time after getting off work. "rewarding" myself for the extra hours. lol.

Gotta justify it sometimes

 

[shooter521]

Why turn away money? Staying open an extra 30-60 mins and making a couple hundred in extra profits seems like a no brainer to me.

I certainly wouldn't kick a store full of customers out at 6:00, but I'm not letting any more in!

 

[Cemetery-man]

Mon-Thur (7:00pm), Fri-Sat (8:00pm during busy months) closed Sun.. Lock the doors at closing but don't hurry shoppers that are already in there with announcements, light flashing/dimming, etc..

 

[Indyvet]

We won't rush anyone out when the show up before we close. We will shut the doors. Most of us have already been here for about 9 hours or more and of course everyone wants to go home. If we had more help and could stagger I would stay open later but where do you draw the line. If we closed at 7 we would have been coming in right at 7 or if we closed at 8 right at 8 etc an so on. I guess I need to figure it out, set some hours and stick to them

 

[Roadie]

If I wasn't such a n00b at guns, and had more knowledge, I would work Sundays for ya!
..but since I don't, lol...

I see nothing wrong with taking a day off. If the sales don't justify it, then it is better that you get a day off, and keep fresh, rather than stress yourselves out.

 

[HollowPoint]

I agree, if sales don't justify staying open on Sunday, then take the day off and enjoy it doing what you want.

 

[BE Mike]

In my limited experience, Sundays in a gun shop are a bust. You won't make overhead if you check your receipts for Sundays over a long period. Saturdays are good shopping days and might include extended hours in the morning and evening. Hours during the week need to include extended time after 5 p.m. for folks to stop off after work. Weekday opening hours can begin at 10 a.m. and you won't lose many customers. In general, weekday hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. work well. If you are not getting customers after a certain time on a certain day, close your business and save the overhead. Close on all federal holidays and you might consider closing on Mother's Day, etc.

 

[Indyal]

I own a business and at one time, we thought a lot of people were having trouble getting in to see us so we expanded hours in am and pm. After a while we realized we were seeng the same number of people per day on average but our operating costs (employee time) went way up.

I agree with the majority to close on Sunday unless the business justifies it. Of course, if you had Sunday brunch...

 

[JohnP82]

Might be summer, too. I know I like shopping gun stores on the weekends, but my weekends are pretty booked up every summer. I don't have a lot of shopping time.

big
I love to see gun shops open on Sunday, but the summer months probably are pretty slow. I too am usually pretty booked on most summer weekends.

 

[Michiana]

Do what the track record tells you

I appreciate the input so far. We will be discussing whether to stay open on Sunday or not over the next few weeks. It is tough trying to figure people out. When I first started the store we were open 12-5 Monday through Friday. WHenever we tried to close at 5 tons of people would show up so we extended that to 6. Opening at 12 I would have people waiting at the door so we listened and are now open at 10 but usually sit around with no customers until around noon. Also closing at 6 when we are leaving there are people pulliing up at 6:30 and I have had the neighbor tell me that people pull in all the way up to about 8 o clock. It is tough trying to figure out when to be open and when to be closed. We want to try and accomadate everyone but I really believe that is impossible no matter how hard you try.

I am not a storefront dealer but I do know enough about what goes on with people shopping for guns that I would guess a good share of "window shoppers" you get are just looking to get the feel of a gun before they go out and purchase it on Gunbroker or from Buds. I am sure large stores like Gander Mountain get a lot of these types of people which is why serious shoppers notice the lack of enthusium on the part of clerks in these stores.

Indiana dealers work at the 7% disavantage over internet sellers so I believe people who buy from us do so out of loyalty for local businesses. People who want to really buy from you will work with you time wise as long as you give them decent hours to come in your store. I would guess you would be better off staying open later a couple weekday evenings then on Sunday. Thursdays and Fridays seem to be big shopping days with people. If I had a storefront I would probably be open Tues -Thurs 10 to 8, Friday and Saturday 9 to 8 or 9 and closed Sundays and Mondays to give you two days off in a row. If a customer can't connect with you with those hours they are not trying very hard. Just my .

 

[ludlow]

I like the fact that you are open, but honestly I think I've only ever been in once on a Sunday and I didn't buy anything. I think you should do what ever makes the most business sense and the most sense for your family life.

 

[iam1096]

are you going to be open this Sunday? I will be in down town area. I did not know you where open Sunday.

 

[homeless]

Look man, every one knows that all the cool places to hang out and spend money are closed on Sundays; *Tattoo ships, guns shops, strip bars. *Sundays are for Church, your family, and going to the race track. **


As a small business owner myself I know that you do have to take some time off. *That is compounded even more when working with the general public, my client list is small and I don't like it when they call on sunday. *I do sometimes work on what would normally be a day off, but I have quantified when to do that. *I put a dollar amount an what it takes to get me out to the shop or to pick up a wrench on a sunday. *I only work on my days off for my good customers, the ones who are loyal, who promote me, and who spend some coin. *


Customers understand, and if they don't I doubt you really want their business anyway.

 

[tuoder]

Indiana dealers work at the 7% disavantage over internet sellers so I believe people who buy from us do so out of loyalty for local businesses.

If you buy online, you don't pay sales tax, but you do pay an FFL trasfer fee of $25 on the low end. Also, they'll be paying shipping. This means that the difference is nil if the gun costs up to $500.

Also, buying second-hand online is inferior. How can you inspect the gun? FTF is much better.

Also, it is not difficult to get into the game of selling online through GunBroker, or through your own web site, or both, taking into account new tools for making web sites. If you have trouble figuring it out, there's always kids looking for cash.