I am planing on opening a paintball store, need suggestions.

[FalconGuy016]

Friendy really does it. We have two basic pro shops over here, one is a full line chain and another is just a kind of dingy (but big though) pro shop. But the dingy one has nice people who like to talk with you, give you honest advice even if its not in their favor, and have GOOD prices on paint.

I think the best thing you can do that is simple is offering low as possible paint prices.

Here's a neat idea my dad told me about. In firestations, to fill their air bottles they line up the bottles in a pool of water. That water is run through a radiator and is cooled while the tanks are getting filled. This eliminates cool off and loss of pressure of the tank after it is filled. It would be a unique advertising point to give actual full fills. You would need just a simple one though that would just partially submerge a bottle, like a sink or something. That would be really nice I think

[Wooosh87]

I speak from experience as an ex-paintball pro shop owner. I would never do it again. For one, there is no money to be truly found in operating a "local" pro shop. Overhead is too high, and markup is a joke. You will not be able to compete with online retail, (you biggest enemy) and suppliers are very unforgiving. Biggest "DON'T" is to open a line of credit with any distributors. Sounds like a great idea at the time, but it will bite you in the butt in the long run. American Paintball Supply is a good example of this. They will screw you over in a heartbeat by holding checks for months and then depositing them all at once well before they were supposed to. That, and they have horrible staff, sales people and service. Stay clear of them.

I invested over $50,000 and still didn't have enough inventory, tools, supplies or reserve funds. I wanted a nicely stocked shop with a broad range of gear. It's almost impossible to accomplish with all the different companies making the exact same item. How many drop forwards are on the market? Too many for you to keep in stock at one time, yet, the one time you don't have it in stock is when it will be requested. When you do have it, it will sit there for months.

Don't feel obligated to open a field either. That is a money sucking investment worse than the shop. Unless you have major money to invest and you have the man power to get it accomplished.

The one thing that is a "MUST DO" is to become incorporated. This has to be done before anything else. This takes the financial burden off of you personally and makes it it's own entity. If the business fails, your personal credit will not be affected, (depends on how you incorporate the business). I went with "S Corp" type. It allowed me to file my taxes and my business taxes together, yet kept them separate in the eye's of the government. "LLC" is another popular choice.
Get a good accountant too.

Also remember that the sport is, for the most part, seasonal, but not like you would expect. Summer was our worst season. Too hot. Winter here was even worse, snow. Spring and fall were the best seasons, but also the shortest.

The biggest problem lately is the economy. People don't want to get off of their money. The small business economy is horrible right now.

Also, you will deal with the stupidest and most arrogant people in the world when it comes to retail business. Everyone wants a deal. They want everything for free, they really think they deserve it too!

My advise is to not do it. It is not as fun as it sounds. Playing paintball is a different world compared to selling paintball. When you sit on the other side of the counter, you are a different person. Paintball is no longer a hobby or a sport for your enjoyment, it is a job. Do you really want to turn your hobby into that? I regret doing it now. I have seen the other side of paintball, the business side, and it is ruthless and cut throat. Unless you are the tall man on the totem pole, you will just be carrying a burden.

If you do decide to go for it, I wish you the best of luck. Just so you know, it takes more than just playing paintball to own a pro shop...

[ShooterJM]

Hey man. Check out this thread. Near the bottom is some stuff that might help you out.

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96757

[Wooosh87]

Originally posted by Tack

Keep several high ends like E-Mags/X-Mags, Angels, Shockers, Impies, Timmies ext on the wall as displays. I have found that most people who are planning on buying this type of gun will be more interested in buying something they personally pick out. Keep them on the wall to show I can get them, then when someone is interested brake out the catalog and show what they can get. That way I can get high end business, without killing myself with a ton of high end stock that isn't moving.

Let's see, you have well over $5,000 listed in guns right there. If you plan on keeping them as decoration, that is money down the toilet. That IS killing yourself with high end stock that will NEVER move. You never, ever buy a product for only display reasons. That is what posters and banners are for! Every dollar must be spent so as to make you another dollar, so to speak. You have to be able to be willing to sell the shirt off your own back if a customer is willing to pay for it. (I actually did this once with a JT shirt that was autographed by Bob Bon.) That $5000 on your wall is better invested in other items. One trick I learned is to stock up and display a lot of cheaper or even disposable items to give a larger impression. I had a complete 6 foot glass cabinet filled with 140 round pods. It looked awesome from the standpoint of the customer. It looked like I had a huge inventory, but in reality it was less than $100 worth of product. It made my shop look bigger and better, and it was cheap to do. I did this with squeegees too. I had a huge selection of these in different colors and styles on the wall. It took up a good amount of space and looked like I had a large inventory. It was cheap to do, and it gave the impression of being overstocked. Looks are very important. You will learn to spend money effectively. Yes, it is nice to have the expensive and cool guns on the wall, but you need to have a good balance between everything.

If you do not have an item a customer is looking for in stock, you will have a greater chance of NOT selling the item to them. That holds true to any retail business. When you tell them they can order it and have to wait, they do not like that. Some people understand, but the majority or consumers do not. They want it right now. Paintball is 90% impulse buyers, (not the gun, the method). If you don't have it, they will spend there money somewhere else.

People will tell you to carry the popular items. Well, what is popular? Personal choice is different for everyone. You will learn quickly that you cannot please everyone. You learn quickly to stock the items that have a higher percentage of profit. Remember, you are in BUSINESS.

And a response to someone who said for you not make one item out to be better than the others is completely wrong. That is the reason we have different grades of items. Is that $20 harness really better than the $60 one? You bet it is, and you better tell the customers that. Same goes for guns. You have to sell these items. Are you really going to sell that $1300 Angel if you say it isn't any better than a $200 Spyder? (That may not be the best example, but you get the idea.) That is bad salesmanship if you cannot differentiate two products, especially between two different manufacturers. If an item costs more than another, then there better be a reason for it. One always has to be better than the other, always. By the way, gun sales are the lowest form of income. they net you the least amount of percentage per sale. Pods, macro line, elbows, squeegee's and small stuff has the highest percentage of markup, but you cannot pay your rent by only selling items that retail for under $5. You sell far less guns than you will accessories. It's a catch-22. You have to have the guns to sell, they are the biggest investment, but they move the slowest and yield the least. The fast moving guns are the one's you make the least on, entry level stuff. Then again, markup is nothing for even cheap equipment too. It stinks, but it is the truth. The number one profit maker is C02 fills. I had an average of $120.00 profit from one $14 bulk tank.

Most companies catalog's stink. They are always out of date. Even if they are current, they don't have everything they offer. Most companies pricing guides are just faxed over to you without pictures or details, just prices. Getting catalogs is worse than pulling teeth sometimes, depends on the company. Don't rely on them for sales.

Remember, it is a business. You have to sepperate personal from business otherwise it will never work. Just weigh your positives and negatives an see what you are willing to loose by opening a business around yor hobby/sport. It is not the same as playing.

[845]

Target Lower lvl players mainly. They are the ones that are going to come in with their dad and spend $400 in a weekend. However dont alienate the tourny players. Have tourny markers on the wall to sell like Timmies, angels, emags, etc. As you stated overstocking high end guns is a bad idea b/c they are constantly changing and you will probably end up stuck with the gun forever unless you offer a steep discount.

[Kevmaster]

in a word, my suggestion:
DONT!

now, let me pick at this. I've managed a store/field in NC for over a year. There are prolly 40 fields and 20 stores in NC. HUGE paintball state. Of those 20 stores, I can name 3 who are bringing in good money and doing well. I can name 3 more who are breaking even. I can name 14 who are losing money on the store aspect of the field (aside from paint sales). If you set up shop at a retail outlet (strip mall for example) your rent costs, insurance costs (yes, you'll have to insure your store), electric costs, air costs (even though you may not sell much air, you'll have to have 3000psi to test markers), decorating costs, labor costs will FAR outweigh ANY gross you can pull in a month.

I've seen tons of businesses start and close in NC, which is one of the strongest states for paintball. All the stores that are doing well have been there since the mid 90s.


So, in summation, if you want to have some fun at the expense of your wallet, go for it. If you want a good business and want to turn a profit, dont go into paintball.

[Automaggin2]

Call up National Paintball Supply and tell them you want to open up a astore. They will set you up with a dealer account and help you start out.

[powerofthegospel]

here's my advice...

I cant help ya with all the dealership and sponsor stuff, but my only advice is this...My local pro-shop is pure white trash. 2/3 of the guys who work there have mullets (not tryin to say anything, but i think it helps the point). All the employees are smokin behind the counter, they shoot guns while ur talkin to them and don't really care what you have to say. My only other problem there is that the floor is extremely slippery (the main reason i dont play there). Just a few exapmles of what to try not to be if possible. Sorry if i offended anyone, just my opinions.

Peace,
J.J.

[Grasshopper]

The only advice I can give is being nice to your customers. One of my local stores (Battlefield Adventures) salepeople are most of the time, completely rude. I went in there asking to buy some Steel Hose. They said I should get macroline. I told them I didn't want macro, but they tried to sell it to me anyways.

Also, I went in there with a friend once. It cost $5 for my nitro fill, wich was $4 last week. He said they changed the price. But, he didn't even fill it all the way (Only to about 2.3k). Next week we came back, and the prices were what they were before. We asked the guy that was working (this is a different guy than last week) if the prices were changed, he said no.

Everything about that store makes me angry. EVERY time I go in there, one guy is working on his timmy (or more so, just looking at it), one guy it looking out the window, and there is a kid (probably 9 or 10) who can't count, yet works the cashregister. I've nearly completely stopped going there. Their service is just that bad.

There is another pro shop (Check yourself paintball) who's people are very nice, their prices are just as good (if not better), and they keep all the things that I'd need in stock. The staff seems much nicer, and much much more helpful.

So, to make a long story short: Have good customer service, and good prices! That's the most important thing. Let your customer know what they are getting, how it works, and tell them your personal expereice with things. Don't make them feel stupid. Make them feel happy, and they WILL come back.

[MattG]

Another thing i like to see the newer markers gassed up on the counter just for people to shoot. I mean it may not make sales but you may get a few impulse buys. Also i think a pro shop needs to be a cool place to hang out. I know it sounds like a 13 year but really it does. Maybe a few movies going, some gassed up guns and lots of talking and shareing. Lots of guys like just to go to the pro shop to hang out and inreturn thats sales my friened. Lots of drop fowards. I walk into most pro shops and see almost non. That is one of the biggest upgrades beggener players buy. Also barrels.

[SIGSays]

TackTical Paintball

woohoo i win!

[RPK]

Another suggestion that I can give from my own personal experience with a proshop is treating everyone as if they are going to buy something (INCLUDING THE GIRLS!!) Everytime I go to the proshop here with my fiance, they talk to him and ignore that I'm even there. I'll ask them a question or something and they just look at me like what the heck are you doing here. Girls play paintball to, and will buy stuff too, so treat them that way!!

RPK

Sorry, but I do get a little upset when I think about it!

[Tack]

Thanks again for all the good info guys and gals. Keep it coming,

Wooosh87 = Thank you for a serious look into the other side of things. I appreciate the opinion, and will take as much as I can get from what you have to say about the business. The only thing I would like to counter is your comment about the high end demos. A store needs high end markers, either for sale, or for demo purposes. Just having posters up in the store of Shockers, Angels and X-Mags may look cool, but if a customer comes in and wants to know what that cool looking gun in the poster is, I have to explain it to him without the ability to let him hold and try one out. In my experience. probably 90% of a sale, be it high end or low end comes from being able to see, hold, shoot the gun you are looking at. Also, I am thinking about picking up for the demos, used guns off the internet. If I do sell one, That is cool, but if people want to look at one, and shoot it, then I would rather have something that has been broke in, for one thing. Also if I put a brand new 2k3 Angel Speed on the wall, let some people shoot it as a selling point and don't sell it, well I now have shots on the shot counter. If that counter gets up there in number, that gun could be considered used. If I already have a used one on the wall, then it doesn't matter.

Sigsays = cute.

RPK = I understand your frustration. At the field where I play, the owner and most of the people working there just look at most of the girls/women who come in as eye candy to hang around the staging area and wait for their boyfriends to finish playing. I do not however take that viewpoint. Yes I enjoy looking at good looking girls when they walk in, however, if they are interested in anything, I'll talk to them as well as the guys. Maybe even more: p I shouldn't say that, I'm married

Again, thanks for all the comments, positive and negative. Keep them coming.

[Wooosh87]

Originally posted by Tack
Thanks again for all the good info guys and gals. Keep it coming,

Wooosh87 = Thank you for a serious look into the other side of things. I appreciate the opinion, and will take as much as I can get from what you have to say about the business. The only thing I would like to counter is your comment about the high end demos. A store needs high end markers, either for sale, or for demo purposes. Just having posters up in the store of Shockers, Angels and X-Mags may look cool, but if a customer comes in and wants to know what that cool looking gun in the poster is, I have to explain it to him without the ability to let him hold and try one out. In my experience. probably 90% of a sale, be it high end or low end comes from being able to see, hold, shoot the gun you are looking at. Also, I am thinking about picking up for the demos, used guns off the internet. If I do sell one, That is cool, but if people want to look at one, and shoot it, then I would rather have something that has been broke in, for one thing. Also if I put a brand new 2k3 Angel Speed on the wall, let some people shoot it as a selling point and don't sell it, well I now have shots on the shot counter. If that counter gets up there in number, that gun could be considered used. If I already have a used one on the wall, then it doesn't matter.

Ok, let's get on the same page here. I can only read what you write, and you wrote that you would keep some high end stuff as displays only. That is what I was commenting on. Maybe I misunderstood were you were coming from here. From my interpretation you were planning to have over $5000.00 tied up in eye candy, stuff that would just be for decoration. I am simply saying that that is not realistic or smart to do. Everything has to be for sale. Oh, and having "test" guns, were you let the customer shoot them with air and such is also a very bad idea. Not only does the guns value go down the tubes (it's now used, and even worse, a "demo model"), you have the cost of a tank, air, paint (if you let them shoot paint through it) and other small items that are now used and worth nothing. Everything in your store that you purchase new must stay that way, NEW. Never air a gun up, or fill a tank until it is paid for. This isn't a car dealership were you can take test drives. If a shop around here let me shoot paint and air through every gun they had on the wall, I would put them out of business in air costs alone! People will take advantage of you at every turn. People are ruthless.
Also, if a person comes in the shop and asks about an IR3 or Shocker, best bet is that they are informed about the product already. I never once sold any gun that was labeled "High end" as an impulse buy. People just don't go into a pro shop and dump thousands of dollars on equipment for a sport they know nothing about. Paintball is a unique industry. People are really tuned into every aspect of the sport. For example, the Smart Parts issue. People are taking this issue personally, when they don't realize that business is just that, business. SP is trying to protect their rights and enforce their patents. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that why you patent something in the first place, to protect your investments and ideas? I don't have an issue with SP, I understand that they are in business and they will do what they feel is right for them.
Paintball players take the sport more seriously than any other sport in my eyes.

Yes, you need to have high end gear. It's called "balance." Yes, high end guns are awesome to have on the wall. It is also intimidating to the new or not so well off player to see lot's of guns priced higher than the car they just pulled up in. Have balance in your inventory. It takes time to find the correct balance for the area you are in. Just don't bury yourself in $5000.00 to $10,000.00 in guns that will take months to sell and only return pennies on the dollar. Believe me, I had at one point $35,000.00 in markers on my wall. Looked good, but that was 35k tied up in inventory that is hard to move. I could have used that money for other items that would net me more profit and sell quicker.

Example: $5,000.00 will get you roughly 45 Tippmann 98 Customs. You will probably sell those 45 guns before you sell one Angel IR3, one Intimidator, one XMag, one Shocker, and one Orracle cocker. You will have more gross profit from those 40 guns than from that IR3, XMag, Timmy, Shocker and Cocker combined. It's all about turn around and profit. I am not saying to not keep high end stuff, just be wise in your purchasing, don't overdue the high end and sacrifice your bread and butter...

Like I said before, paintball is hard to make any profit off of. The turn around is not big enough and the profit margin is way too thin. If you really want to open a paintball shop, I suggest you do many, many, many months of research before you do anything else.

P.S. Don't buy into that NPS "Open a store deal," it is a joke. Yes, NPS is the biggest supplier, but going direct is far better for service and price. NPS is good for something, but not everything.

I still stick to my belief that anyone that isn't a multimillionaire should NOT open a pro shop. I had fun doing it, but it was hard work that was over rated and way under paid. It is a huge risk that doesn't have many rewards. Paintball maybe 20+ years old, seen on TV, and known by millions of people, but it is still not that big of an industry. The few shops that are making money have been around since the early or mid 1990's or have been financed by very wealthy people. Just for your knowledge, it is a huge risk...

Best of luck...

[Wooosh87]

Originally posted by MattG
Another thing i like to see the newer markers gassed up on the counter just for people to shoot. I mean it may not make sales but you may get a few impulse buys. Also i think a pro shop needs to be a cool place to hang out. I know it sounds like a 13 year but really it does. Maybe a few movies going, some gassed up guns and lots of talking and shareing. Lots of guys like just to go to the pro shop to hang out and in return thats sales my friened.

MattG, from a business owners perspective having new guns aired up for you to shoot is money flushed down the toilet. The only guns that I let my customers shoot was my personal stuff and never any of my inventory. Would you personally spend $1600.00 on a whim just because you were able to fool around with a nice gun? Didn't think so. The impulse purchase in a painball shop is usually a pod or piece of macro line. Barrel condom at the tops maybe, but nothing priced more han th spare change they have in there pocket at the time.
Also, one thing that drove me nuts in my shop was all the kids hanging out and taking up my space! Don't get me wrong here, I liked many of them, and knew them by name. But, they only did one thing in my shop, made it hard for me to give the real customers my attention. They were either playing with all the inventory, spilling soda and food on the floor or being a general pain. 99.9% of the time they never spent a dime. It was a hangout, not a shop to them. Yes, they were cool and were worth many hours of entertainment, but in reality they are the ones you loose money one. I really liked it when school was in session!