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I'm sorry to say, but your math goes off on a tangent every time. I hypothetically suggested $50K/day sales to demonstrate that a 6.4% margin isn't always bad. I didn't say anything about fifty grand worth of Glocks - that's insane. What if it was two $25K shotguns? You can handle two DROS's per day by yourself, can't you? Still plenty of time for a lunch break 
What if you were selling jewelry, not guns? You could sell a single item worth that much. Once again, I'm not a retard. I perfectly well understand that the margin does not determine net income - you have to figure in various costs associated with sales.
As another example, the good ole' B&B in their days of glory claimed to have sold everything at cost + 5%. I bought my first gun from them (a Glock actually
)for something like $429.00. I still have the tupperware, I should dig it up. I'm sure dealer cost on Glocks was way lower back then then it is today, but I remember prices for every single item in the store were way lower than let's say Turner's. I know that B&B is long gone, but from all the different things I've heard they had to close because of two brothers (owners) fighting with each other plus all the legal trouble that they had from the feds, the state and LA.
As far as retail operations in general, stores that sell higher volume at lower margin always have a much higher chance of success for multiple reasons. A) Their purchasing power goes up because of volume. Hence lower costs and even lower price to the consumers. B) The more customers the business serves, the greater the exposure via word of mouth, etc. C) The overhead to sales ratio drops thus allowing for lower prices yet again. D) Because of much larger and more diverse customer base the business is not affected as much by swings in overall economic health. This is all pretty basic stuff.
It's good to see that you have so many loyal customers that are ready to jump in and defend you even though it's completely unnecessary because no one is attacking your integrity or your business ethics.
What if you were selling jewelry, not guns? You could sell a single item worth that much. Once again, I'm not a retard. I perfectly well understand that the margin does not determine net income - you have to figure in various costs associated with sales.As another example, the good ole' B&B in their days of glory claimed to have sold everything at cost + 5%. I bought my first gun from them (a Glock actually
)for something like $429.00. I still have the tupperware, I should dig it up. I'm sure dealer cost on Glocks was way lower back then then it is today, but I remember prices for every single item in the store were way lower than let's say Turner's. I know that B&B is long gone, but from all the different things I've heard they had to close because of two brothers (owners) fighting with each other plus all the legal trouble that they had from the feds, the state and LA. As far as retail operations in general, stores that sell higher volume at lower margin always have a much higher chance of success for multiple reasons. A) Their purchasing power goes up because of volume. Hence lower costs and even lower price to the consumers. B) The more customers the business serves, the greater the exposure via word of mouth, etc. C) The overhead to sales ratio drops thus allowing for lower prices yet again. D) Because of much larger and more diverse customer base the business is not affected as much by swings in overall economic health. This is all pretty basic stuff.
It's good to see that you have so many loyal customers that are ready to jump in and defend you even though it's completely unnecessary because no one is attacking your integrity or your business ethics.
If I am selling 50K of my stock for only 6%, I still don't see that as being a very smart deal. I could invest for more than that.
Don't compare a gun shop to some other retail business, they aren't the same. As far as B&B goes, I think you are making some big assumptions there as far as what they really charged. Just because they are less than everyone else around, doesn't mean they are making 5%. I tend to have lower prices than everyone else too, but some items I make 15% on, most around 20%, ammo around 30-40%, and some as much as 100% or more. You make money where you can and I am sure that is what B&B did.
However, you again use a bad example of an example by using B&B. You don't talk about a store that went out of business to support your theory of cheap gun shops. Sure you heard it was due to something else, but without proof, it leaves doubt in the reader's mind. Or it was the fact that the brothers fought all the time because they spent so much time at the shop with little to show for it. I bought a M1A from B&B and I don't remember it being that far out of line of most other M1As at the time. I seriously doubt they only made 5%.
Yes in theory it would be nice to have a large amount of capital for start up costs and enter the wholesale crowd. Most gun stores don't. However, you asked why gun shops charge more than some guy operating out of his garage out of state. I gave you an answer, was it sufficient?
And yes I do seem to have guys who like to defend me when it isn't waranted and I do appreciate it. You will notice, I stuck to the topic and am not taking this as an insult to my business, I am just have a good debate.
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