What is the most profitable business in Paintball?

[Wooosh87]

Originally posted by Meph
My vote goes to National with Gino! That's who I have to label under who I think is most profitable.

I won't even go into detail, or even how much this guy has to piss away. I'll just put it this way. He has an empire. And if right now Gino was instantly gone with National.... it's doubtful that even half of all paintball companies would be able to survive.

Meph, you are correct is saying that Gino is swimming in money. He has gone from simple retailer to worldwide distributor in a few short years. He has a head for business like no one else. But, he has not done it with paintball alone. He has many other business ventures that support him. His father has also helped out. But, yes National has to be one of, if not the most powerful business in paintball today.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

From what I have seen:

manufacturing
field
retail

A field can make decent money. Even small fields can make a profit, though not usually enough to let the owner quit their day job. The irony is that you open a field to have a decent and convenient place to play, but if it is successful, you never get time to play any more.

Retail stores tie up a lot of the money in inventory, which is hard. Paintball stuff doesn't go bad, mostly, but it does go out of fashion. Got a lot of barrel plugs? Vents lenses? Still got a Mega Z, Tippman FA, or VM-68 on your wall? Too bad for you. From what I have seen, retail stores are often connected with fields, and serve more as a way of attracting and keeping players than anything else. They are the in-town/weekday face of a field.

I have seen successful field owners get into manufacturing, but not the other way around. That says enough to me.

[raehl]

There really isn't phenomonal money in manufacturing or distribution anymore, at least not moreso than in any other industry. Obviously if you own a company that moves hundreds of millions in profit every year you're not going to be poor, but the days when paintball business people were making out like mad bandits are over.

Things have become commodities, and competition has pushed margins about as low as they can go and still keep the businesses going. And the manufacturers have been putting some serious investment back into the sport as well.


I think one of the few ways you can get into the industry now and make a decent profit on it is, as others have mentioned, scenario game promotion. You'll need to know what you're doing and deliver quality, but the payoff to investment is pretty good.

Fields don't make much money. Stores make less. In all honesty, most paintball retail stores don't deserve to be in business - paintball players tend to be young and internet savy and there's just no reason for them to pay the added costs of having a store when they can order online. I know retailers ***** and moan about how they pay more for stuff than they could get it on the internet, but it's their own fault they're trying to sell a service (a local point of sale) that no one really wants.


I will say that if you set out to do a field RIGHT from the ground up you could be turning some good profit in a few years. That means you get the land to expand, you set up good processes for handling customers, and you deliver a quality service. If you just grab some land the local farmer isn't using and run out of a shack you'll never really get anywhere.


- Chris

[luke]

I'm in the process of starting a small shop to do some customizing and some "light" manufacturing. But, what really got me thinking about putting in a retail store was that I own (free and clear) a house/property that may be eligible for rezoning do to new roadway the city has underway.

When the city is finished, half the traffic we currently have coming into town will be passing by my house. I thought without a monthly mortgage payment on a peace of commercial property I might be able to survive.

It wouldn't take much to convert the house to a store, and I figured I could do both, manufacturing and retail all under the same roof. But, perhaps that might be spreading myself a little thin.


I don't expect to get rich I just want to quit my day job.
I do appreciate everyone's input, keep it coming.