Posted: 2/28/2008 8:09:25 AM EDT
| I absolutely love messing with these guns and building them. I however have no need for more than two ARs. What is the sale of these guns like? If I wanted to buy parts and put them together for sale on the EE would that be feasable? |
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All legalities aside, here are just a few questions......... - What makes you think your experienced enough to build rifles to sell? - Would you be prepared to deal with the customer service required the first time you start having complaints? - Exactly how competitive do you think a one-man show could be, say, compared to ADCO or CMMG or any other fully staffed dealer with experienced employees?? |
At some point you cross a legal line. I'm not qualified to address that, though, so I'll stick to my experience. I've found it's pretty easy to sell parts -- up to and including complete uppers and lowers -- on the EE. I've only tried selling a complete rifle once and didn't have a whole lot of luck. I finally had to part it out. The problem is that the people on AR15.com know what all the parts cost. They know where the best deals are and they're just as capable of building a rifle as you are. Arfcommers are not going to pay you a profit for buying parts and reselling them. If you're selling parts at a loss, you'll have no problem selling stuff on the EE. If you're trying to make money you'll fail. Maybe you could put together a rifle or two and sell them to the FUDDs at a local gun show but the EE crowd is too savvy. |
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The old "hobby to cottage industry" business model. I have seen many guys who do wood working for example, they are very good and their craftsman ship rivals the Amish. All their friends want stuff (usually free or cheap) and these guys get the idea to open a shop. Well now all the joy goes out, because instead of each piece being a labor of love, it is a business and "good enough" becomes the mark. Pegs become staples, finishes become sprayed instead of hand rubbed. Six to 12 months later they wonder what went wrong. From what I have seen this forum has little to no tolerance for poor quality, so first off you need to be at the top of your game as far as manufacturing rifles to sell. We all work hard for our money and want the best for it. Also factor in you may be selling something to someone whose very life may depend on it. Can you assume that burden? Can you compete with the specialty "boutiques" and big box companys advertised here? May I suggest finding a niche that everyone needs, like Tom Sawyer who did custom engravings or AR15Barrels.com? Even BrightFlashlights.com whose reputation is the best, is a model to look at. I am not saying copying these by cutting steel or selling lights, but do some research and find the "next big thing" and offer it up. We all like to "play around" with our hobby guns and loads, but personally my SD weapons, ammo, gear, and training need to be as perfect as possible. My 2 cents.... R/ Mike VA Beach |
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That's how I started. I built a couple rifles for me. I showed them to my cop buddies at work. Then I helped them build up their own stripped lowers. I tracked down all the parts, but they bought their own lowers from an FFL. Word got around and I've built quite a few. 
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There's nothing wrong with building them and deciding later down the road that you don't like it and selling it. You can make up to 50 firearms per year for personal use without a SOT or FFL. Will you make $$ at it? Probably not... depends if there's a new assault weapon ban in our near future. Hardwarz |
Can you provide a reference for the "50 firearms per year" stipulation? Also, if a person builds a firearm is he allowed to sell it? I'm not talking about assembling an AR on a stripped lower that has gone through NICS check. I'm talking about building a gun from scratch. I ran into a guy at a gun show recently who displayed an upper he had for sale on a lower he built himself. He said he could not sell the lower as he machined it himself from a blank. |
The short answer, is yes, you can sell it, give it as a gift, transfer via inheritance, etc. I personally wouldn't sell it for several years. The long answer is that you can not build it with the intent of selling it unless you are an 07 FFL. Also, there's no law prohibiting the sale or transfer of a home-built "sterile" receiver, unless you are an 07 FFL and you manufactured it. Then the recevier has to be stamped with s/n, manufacturer, etc. |
+ about 1,000! I've done 7-8 of those now for friends and guys (And Gals) in my Battalion and am up to "Something" on the order of 140-150 rifles and carbines built now. We limit the builds to a minimum of 10 kits (We did a 30 kit build last year) and I have everyone do their own 4473's on the lowers from the dealers I work with. Then I just walk everyone through the build one step at a time. It's alot of fun and pretty satisfying when we finish up and the folks have a finished AR' in their hands.  EDIT: Here's a pic' from a 15 gun build we did about a year and a half ago after I unpacked the kits in the garage. 
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I tried to find reference to it. I can't find it. The only reason I know it exists is because someone here mentioned it and I asked them for the reference and they provided it. Sorry I can't be more help than that. Hardwarz |