User Panel
Posted: 10/17/2023 4:46:10 PM EDT
What are some good wholesalers for at home FFLs?
Currently setup with: Allen Arms DSG Arms MGE Lipseys In process with: Zanders Primary Arms Silencer Shop Looks like RSR and Sports South only do brick and mortar. Looking for someone with a good optics/parts/accessories/ammo selection. Really need a good ammo wholesaler. |
|
|
Go to SHOT.
Sign up there. Have a $1700 order w/ Sports South coming now. RSR will sell you accessories. Chattanooga will take you but they ship slow - but faster than PSA. Davidson's will take you, but the highest prices, I hardly ever use them. Lipsey's has good sales, you just have to balance against their shipping charges. MGE & MSR are ok, but rarely have much of what I need. |
|
Death to quislings.
|
Originally Posted By backbencher: Go to SHOT. Sign up there. Have a $1700 order w/ Sports South coming now. RSR will sell you accessories. Chattanooga will take you but they ship slow - but faster than PSA. Davidson's will take you, but the highest prices, I hardly ever use them. Lipsey's has good sales, you just have to balance against their shipping charges. MGE & MSR are ok, but rarely have much of what I need. View Quote Thanks! SHOT is on the list, not sure if it's in the cards for 2024. |
|
|
2nd amendment wholesale
Chattanooga shooting Gun accessory supply Big Tex Outdoor dealer Contact PSA to get setup as a dealer Aero Precision Volquartsen has a decent discount for fflshttps://volquartsen.com/new_dealer CMMG dealer sales https://www.cmmgdealersales.com/ |
|
|
Originally Posted By Pavelow16478: What are some good wholesalers for at home FFLs? Currently setup with: Allen Arms DSG Arms MGE Lipseys In process with: Zanders Primary Arms Silencer Shop Looks like RSR and Sports South only do brick and mortar. Looking for someone with a good optics/parts/accessories/ammo selection. Really need a good ammo wholesaler. View Quote Two of those are retailers. A true distributor or wholesaler won't compete with you for sales. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
Originally Posted By DogtownTom: Two of those are retailers. A true distributor or wholesaler won't compete with you for sales. View Quote I buy on occasion from Primary Arms as they stock some brands that I want smaller quantities of/have high buy ins. |
|
Past State Director of Georgia Students for Concealed Carry, currently fighting for Georgians rights to grow their own food (www.georgiartg.org)
|
Originally Posted By Gentleman4561: They still fit a need for certain things. I buy on occasion from Primary Arms as they stock some brands that I want smaller quantities of/have high buy ins. View Quote Are you registered on their wholesale site? It's not super awesome but I have found some good deals. If they have something on sale on their main site, don't expect to see it on the wholesale site |
|
|
Originally Posted By Mindfull: 2nd amendment wholesale Chattanooga shooting Gun accessory supply Big Tex Outdoor dealer Contact PSA to get setup as a dealer Aero Precision Volquartsen has a decent discount for fflshttps://volquartsen.com/new_dealer CMMG dealer sales https://www.cmmgdealersales.com/ View Quote Thanks! |
|
|
Originally Posted By Mindfull: 2nd amendment wholesale Chattanooga shooting Gun accessory supply Big Tex Outdoor dealer Contact PSA to get setup as a dealer Aero Precision Volquartsen has a decent discount for fflshttps://volquartsen.com/new_dealer CMMG dealer sales https://www.cmmgdealersales.com/ View Quote Do you mean actual dealer pricing/account or just get listed as an FFL with them? |
|
|
|
Here are a few more.
Zanders RSR Group - request an accessories only account 2nd Amendment Wholesale Crow Shooting Supply |
|
I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum and I'm all out of bubblegum
|
Originally Posted By Mindfull: Originally Posted By SGT-Fish: Do you mean actual dealer pricing/account or just get listed as an FFL with them? Dealer account Keep in mind PSA will undercut dealer pricing w/ retail sales at every opportunity. The recent blowout of complete Dagger frames & slides allowed folks to snap together a pistol well below dealer cost for a complete Dagger. |
|
Death to quislings.
|
bill hicks will give you better prices then most listed above if they have it in stock
|
|
|
|
Originally Posted By JohnDM: OP asked about dealers for at-home FFLs. Bill Hicks requires all dealers to have brick-and-mortar storefronts and submit photos of their store. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By JohnDM: Originally Posted By goatboy_k: bill hicks will give you better prices then most listed above if they have it in stock OP asked about dealers for at-home FFLs. Bill Hicks requires all dealers to have brick-and-mortar storefronts and submit photos of their store. Stupid policy. I lump them in with the "Fudds" that GD talks about: stuck in the past, unwilling to change. It is especially stupid when I get a drop ship for a customer from Bill Hicks, usually at a ridiculous cut-rate price, but I can't order from them directly..... |
|
|
Originally Posted By goatboy_k: bill hicks will give you better prices then most listed above if they have it in stock View Quote And I never bought from them because they never had anything I wanted and/or were more expensive. Fuck Bill Hicks. I remember all the OOB distributors in 2019, and pray Bill Hicks soon joins them. And they are B&M only. Zanders was my #1 until they changed the free shipping from $500 to $1000. Now it's mostly Sports South. And you are judged by your purchases with all these distributors, so you're a lot better off picking one or two and only buying from them. Lipseys is OK, but they play the "allocated" game to the max. Davidsons is OK, but mostly higher prices. Since you don't qualify for Sports South, I'd say Zanders is your #1 choice. They carry more accessories than most of the others, and their prices are usually the best. |
|
“As long as none of us gets hurt, we’re making memories.” - one GA trooper to another after shooting HOSTAGE 9 times
Their SHAME has become their PRIDE |
Originally Posted By DogtownTom: Two of those are retailers. A true distributor or wholesaler won't compete with you for sales. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By DogtownTom: Originally Posted By Pavelow16478: What are some good wholesalers for at home FFLs? Currently setup with: Allen Arms DSG Arms MGE Lipseys In process with: Zanders Primary Arms Silencer Shop Looks like RSR and Sports South only do brick and mortar. Looking for someone with a good optics/parts/accessories/ammo selection. Really need a good ammo wholesaler. Midwest Gun Exchange |
|
“As long as none of us gets hurt, we’re making memories.” - one GA trooper to another after shooting HOSTAGE 9 times
Their SHAME has become their PRIDE |
|
Originally Posted By Jodan1776: And you are judged by your purchases with all these distributors, so you're a lot better off picking one or two and only buying from them. Lipseys is OK, but they play the "allocated" game to the max. Davidsons is OK, but mostly higher prices. ....Zanders is your #1 choice. They carry more accessories than most of the others, and their prices are usually the best. View Quote This |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
Sports South is shipping FAST lately - ordered from em Monday, and had 2 guns in by Ground on Tuesday, and the other 2 from em Wednesday, also ground.
Zanders, Chattanooga, & Lipsey's are my other go tos. Lipsey's always charges for shipping but they run amazing deals sometimes. Chattanooga I'm a little shy of lately b/c there were a couple orders that showed up late - though the FedEx airplane crash might have had something to do w/ one of em. RSR is good for mags & stuff, but I rarely have a $500 order to get free shipping. |
|
Death to quislings.
|
be careful with Aero,
quality product, but they wiill sell you some stuff to day for one price, then reduce the price tomorrow and don;t give a shit that they just dropped the price on what you bought, |
|
|
Originally Posted By rlc: be careful with Aero, quality product, but they wiill sell you some stuff to day for one price, then reduce the price tomorrow and don;t give a shit that they just dropped the price on what you bought, View Quote Huh. You mean like every seller of any product? Who knew that sellers have sales. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
I am setup with the following as a home FFL
- MGE Wholesale - Gzanders - Lipseys - Davidson * - RSR Group * - Hicks Inc * - Bill Hicks & Co * - Crow Shooting Supply * - Chattanooga Shooting * Net terms with the ones starred, ACH with the rest. Maybe some of them changed stripes, but they all been decently good to me. Davidsons often has sweet deals on ammo. |
|
|
Originally Posted By rootdet: I am setup with the following as a home FFL - MGE Wholesale - Gzanders - Lipseys - Davidson * - RSR Group * - Hicks Inc * - Bill Hicks & Co * - Crow Shooting Supply * - Chattanooga Shooting * Net terms with the ones starred, ACH with the rest. Maybe some of them changed stripes, but they all been decently good to me. Davidsons often has sweet deals on ammo. View Quote Thanks! |
|
|
Originally Posted By rootdet: I am setup with the following as a home FFL - MGE Wholesale - Gzanders - Lipseys - Davidson * - RSR Group * - Hicks Inc * - Bill Hicks & Co * - Crow Shooting Supply * - Chattanooga Shooting * Net terms with the ones starred, ACH with the rest. Maybe some of them changed stripes, but they all been decently good to me. Davidsons often has sweet deals on ammo. View Quote How did you get in w/ RSR? I have an account but can't buy guns w/ em. |
|
Death to quislings.
|
dunno, just filled out the app, sent my FFL, applied for terms and that was it really.
|
|
|
Death to quislings.
|
Originally Posted By backbencher: When was that? Now you have to send in pics of your storefront. View Quote I signed up with RSR originally in Jan 2021 and was approved for a full account as an at home dealer. I moved in 2022, changed my FFL and tried to sign back up and all they gave me was a accessories account. I loved having them as a distributor because I would generally get firearms in within 2-3 days from order. |
|
|
Originally Posted By backbencher: How did you get in w/ RSR? I have an account but can't buy guns w/ em. View Quote This thread is the first I’ve heard RSR only does accessories for homebased guys. I buy guns from them all the time. Can’t remember what I did to “get in” or I’d gladly share. |
|
|
Originally Posted By smoke14me: I signed up with RSR originally in Jan 2021 and was approved for a full account as an at home dealer. I moved in 2022, changed my FFL and tried to sign back up and all they gave me was a accessories account. I loved having them as a distributor because I would generally get firearms in within 2-3 days from order. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By smoke14me: Originally Posted By backbencher: When was that? Now you have to send in pics of your storefront. I signed up with RSR originally in Jan 2021 and was approved for a full account as an at home dealer. I moved in 2022, changed my FFL and tried to sign back up and all they gave me was a accessories account. I loved having them as a distributor because I would generally get firearms in within 2-3 days from order. Sports South ships FAST. They're keeping me happy. Lipsey's beat them this week on cheap pistols, but didn't ship til yesterday, so I have to hang around waiting on the FedEx man before driving to Longview. |
|
Death to quislings.
|
Past State Director of Georgia Students for Concealed Carry, currently fighting for Georgians rights to grow their own food (www.georgiartg.org)
|
After all that it takes to setup and open an physical 07 FFL focused more on manufacturing/assembly/builds than walk-in retail, or your traditional gun store, then all requirements of setting up a bunch of different accounts with manufacturers and distributors.....can someone help me understand why my prices are higher/same as the going street price or nothing is in stock?
Set up about 16 accounts so far with another 12 or so to go. I'm on a mission and focused and driven to succeed but I'm concerned. One of the accounts I was excited to get didn't have very good pricing on anything and was very very close to retail and was bummed to see that. |
|
|
Originally Posted By R702: After all that it takes to setup and open an physical 07 FFL focused more on manufacturing/assembly/builds than walk-in retail, or your traditional gun store, then all requirements of setting up a bunch of different accounts with manufacturers and distributors.....can someone help me understand why my prices are higher/same as the going street price or nothing is in stock? Set up about 16 accounts so far with another 12 or so to go. I'm on a mission and focused and driven to succeed but I'm concerned. One of the accounts I was excited to get didn't have very good pricing on anything and was very very close to retail and was bummed to see that. View Quote Good luck doing much retail resale. There are some companies that offer decent pricing on guns and accessories. The margins for this stuff is extremely low. As for doing custom builds for customers, I find that companies doing manufacturer direct dealer accounts have better pricing. No middle man. KAK has good pricing on a lot of AR parts. Anderson does as well, but try to buy when they are having a sale, as often their holiday discounts will apply to dealer prices. I understand your frustration. And it's why I don't recommend people get an FFL if they don't have some really good market research and a business plan that factors in the low margins. The only way to make money is Very high volume sales, or niche products/market. It really sucks when a customer asks you what your price is on something, and they can literally get it for the same price or cheaper from someone else. I understand distributors and the role they play, but there seems to be little enforcement of MAP prices and such, with many using other tactics to sell below MAP, like "add to cart to see price" and such. This is why I focus more on services than sales. Bur at least with some good manufactures accounts, I can sometimes make a little money on a flash hider when doing a pin and weld, or an LPK when assembling a lower for someone. But it's also not my full time job, so it doesn't kill me if I can't |
|
|
Originally Posted By R702: Set up about 16 accounts so far with another 12 or so to go. I'm on a mission and focused and driven to succeed but I'm concerned. View Quote Your business plan is to have accounts at 28 different wholesalers? Wholesalers allocate inventory to FFLs that give them most business. Cut that list down to 2-3. I have 2, and no product overlap. Place large orders. Things will suddenly be in-stock. I get an email once a week from my rep with a list of items I can order that on the web page are "out of stock". |
|
|
Originally Posted By RenegadeX: Your business plan is to have accounts at 28 different wholesalers? Wholesalers allocate inventory to FFLs that give them most business. Cut that list down to 2-3. I have 2, and no product overlap. Place large orders. Things will suddenly be in-stock. I get an email once a week from my rep with a list of items I can order that on the web page are "out of stock". View Quote Yeah, I'm not sure what your game plan is, but you only need a couple. Like Ren said, the more you spend with a distributor, the more you "unlock" per say. I'm not sure your funds, but a single $10k order of a variety of firearms off the bat will usually be enough to get their attention. |
|
|
Originally Posted By R702: .....can someone help me understand why my prices are higher/same as the going street price or nothing is in stock? View Quote Because you assume that "wholesale price" is the same for you as it is for PSA, Primary Arms or Kentucky Gun Co.....it isn't. Distributors will fullfill their orders first, reserve inventory and generally bend over backward for those whales. "Allocations" go to them, not you. Not only are those retailers getting bigger discounts from distributors, they are often buying direct from manufacturers. With that volume comes discounts. Those discounts also apply to shipping costs. If you think opening accounts at twenty odd distributors means your business will be a success you haven't read anything in this subforum. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
Thank you for the replies. I appreciate it.
No, my business plan doesn't hang solely on the success of having 20+ accounts for retail only. But I did want to have options available of where to order something in the event it is not available with one account, pricing or for order volume. Hope that makes sense. The business is split in 3 areas that will have different needs at different times. Thank you again for the replies, I appreciate it. I've gathered all the information I need from the replies here and I'll continue moving forward. |
|
|
Bill Hicks is slow to ship.
Chattanooga is pretty darn quick in our experience. Crow is slow to ship. |
|
jme and I am a NRA Endowment Member
Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. R W Emerson |
K-VAR! RSR will do accessories and sports south of you reach out to them you can negotiate! Also look into B&T!
|
|
|
Originally Posted By StillGonnaSendIt: K-VAR! RSR will do accessories and sports south of you reach out to them you can negotiate! Also look into B&T! View Quote B+T told me they require a 10+ gun order to get added as a dealer and "there is a 0% chance that they would all be delivered at the same time" |
|
|
Don't let the join date fool you... here since '97
VA, USA
|
|
www.HansohnBrothers.com
|
Dealer in my area uses his dad's old gun shop photos. The ole mans place has been closed down for years. Yet on his Facebook there are the pictures from the ole mans shop.
See him at gun shows with numerous tables full of new inventory. Advertising to order whatever you want. He does NOT have a shop of his own. I asked him about it and he laughed. Said you have to play the game to get ahead. Apparently the wholesalers never check anything. I would suggest photo shopping a picture and send it in. I know how much the wholesalers screw over the HB dealers. Why not try?? What are they going to do not sell to you?? |
|
|
Originally Posted By Chipper44mag: ....What are they going to do not sell to you?? View Quote "They" may become "All". Every distributor has manufacturer "stocking dealer" programs. Some just require a minimum order every year, some are more stringent. For example, Glock has pretty strict requirements like a storefront and almost all that have MAP will cut you off pretty quick for violating that. Glock will put you on a "do not sell to" list at every distributor. Using the premises address of your FFL it takes seconds to see if you're homebased or not. Pictures of your shop or storefront is so 1990. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
Originally Posted By SGT-Fish: B+T told me they require a 10+ gun order to get added as a dealer and "there is a 0% chance that they would all be delivered at the same time" View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By SGT-Fish: Originally Posted By StillGonnaSendIt: K-VAR! RSR will do accessories and sports south of you reach out to them you can negotiate! Also look into B&T! B+T told me they require a 10+ gun order to get added as a dealer and "there is a 0% chance that they would all be delivered at the same time" Damn man. Tarheel State Firearms gets pallets of B&T guns almost monthly and he’s a small guy. I figured it was easier than that. |
|
|
Another one came to mind as I was scrolling through threads...
Rainier Arms. They're hit and miss with good prices as not everything is discounted, but sometimes stock things that other distributors don't. Definitely worth a look. |
|
|
Originally Posted By CuldesacWarlord: Another one came to mind as I was scrolling through threads... Rainier Arms. They're hit and miss with good prices as not everything is discounted, but sometimes stock things that other distributors don't. Definitely worth a look. View Quote They aren't a true distributor, but a retailer. RSR, Sports South, Zanders, Lipseys are true distributors and do not sell at retail to the public. Companies that claim to be distributors, but also sell via retail will fuck you in the ass faster than Joe Biden sniffs kids. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
Originally Posted By DogtownTom: They aren't a true distributor, but a retailer. RSR, Sports South, Zanders, Lipseys are true distributors and do not sell at retail to the public. Companies that claim to be distributors, but also sell via retail will fuck you in the ass faster than Joe Biden sniffs kids. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By DogtownTom: Originally Posted By CuldesacWarlord: Another one came to mind as I was scrolling through threads... Rainier Arms. They're hit and miss with good prices as not everything is discounted, but sometimes stock things that other distributors don't. Definitely worth a look. They aren't a true distributor, but a retailer. RSR, Sports South, Zanders, Lipseys are true distributors and do not sell at retail to the public. Companies that claim to be distributors, but also sell via retail will fuck you in the ass faster than Joe Biden sniffs kids. Looking at you, PSA... |
|
Death to quislings.
|
Originally Posted By backbencher: Looking at you, PSA... View Quote My first purchase from PSA was a dozen S&W M&P15-22's.......$150 less EACH than RSR/Sport South/Lipseys distributor price. I was made aware of the deal by my customers who started bombing me with "can you send your FFL to PSA?". Kinda the same way I found out about the Larue lower deal last fall. |
|
Plano, Texas...........the Gun Nut Capitol of Gun Culture, USA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE |
PSA is hit or miss. Same with Primary Arms Wholesale. But my PSA rep has always attempted to beat the daily deal price if he can. Most of the time he can even if it's just offering the listed price with free shipping.
|
|
|
Originally Posted By romad99: PSA is hit or miss. Same with Primary Arms Wholesale. But my PSA rep has always attempted to beat the daily deal price if he can. Most of the time he can even if it's just offering the listed price with free shipping. View Quote I love the Compact Dagger. I gave my son one. I went to SHOT last year specifically to become a PSA dealer b/c the Compact Dagger is nigh impossible to compete against at that price point. When PSA is blowing out complete slides & frames below my cost... |
|
Death to quislings.
|
Originally Posted By romad99: PSA is hit or miss. Same with Primary Arms Wholesale. But my PSA rep has always attempted to beat the daily deal price if he can. Most of the time he can even if it's just offering the listed price with free shipping. View Quote How did you guys get listed with PSA as a Dealer? I tried that and got nothing but crickets. Do they require a storefront? |
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.