Dealer Mark Up

Nobleman

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what the Gun Dealer mark up is on brand new rifles ? Do all shops/dealers buy them in at the same price from the importer or does the price vary depending on who you are or where you are in the country ?
 
I don't know, but here's how I think it works:

The supplier sells them to the dealer at a given price, which will vary a little according to the amount bought. The dealer then looks around at the competition in his immediate area and then sets the price accordingly, ensuring a mark up. As you can't buy mail order or off t'internet, like most things these days, that's a plus for the dealer of course. (well actually I think you can buy off the web from some places, but you still have to travel there and do the deal, so anything you save is likely taken up with travel costs). I don't know how much the mark up is, but I would hazard a guess that it must be in the region of 50% give or take for them to make a living. Incorporated in the mark up will be some "wiggle room". So that if a customer is a regular, or they are buying a pile of stuff, or there's no worn out useless wobbly-faced shotgun part exchange, the dealer has the option to give a discount, which of course will still be in the area that gives the dealer a good profit.

Then of course the dealer will direct you to the cleaning stuff, ammunition, rifle slips, bipods, moderators, mounts, scopes, reloading equipment, sandwich makers, toasters, etc. Some of which will have profit margins in percentages well over three figures.

The dealer then goes out and buys a new full fat Range Rover.
 
50% !!! You must be joking pedro
10% is average on firearms, the only product line that gets anywhere near 50% is clothing.
 
50% !!! You must be joking pedro
10% is average on firearms, the only product line that gets anywhere near 50% is clothing.

I was looking through a trade catalogue at my local RFDs and the trade price compared to the rrp was 50% less in almost everything I looked at. Granted the rrp was way higher than anywhere that actually sells the items by about 25% in most cases.
 
My experience of customers in our industry is that they generally think you're making much higher margins than you actually are!

PS, more than 100% margin isn't possible! Over 100% markup is.
 
A few years ago an owner of a shop in Kent reckoned he only made £50 on new shotguns. With the price he offered for my nearly new Browning I can quite believe it's the second hand market where the money is made!
 
Well I was quoted 15% to put my AyA no3 magnum on local gun dealers rack and for them to sell it on a commissions basis. I reckon that is quite fair.
 
The average mark up is 10% don't forget you have vat in that price witch goes straight to the tax man nothing to do with the rfd clothes is where they make their money but that's only if they have what you want in the size you want. Glass there's maybe 15/20% depending on make and what discount the dealer gets there isn't a across the board discount rate it's all down to amounts ordered
 
I can't see any dealer earning a living off a 10% margin, either with or without VAT, on their average bugger all turnover, it's just a fairytale.
 
Interesting. Obviously my thoughts on mark ups were guess work, so I bow graciously to those on here who have personal knowledge. But to be honest, with a circa 10% difference in the price of a rifle bought in to it being sold, I really can't see how a decent living can be made without real quantities of them being shifted, which I would have thought for most RFD's is perhaps unrealistic.

However, I can see that second hand firearms might offer better returns for the poor beleaguered seller. When I bought my last rifle, I was teetering between a new one and a second hand one. In order to see what the real deal was, I asked if there was any discount to be had on either of them. Significantly more it transpired on the second hand one. Of course this might be just specific to that deal, it's maybe something he wanted shifted and had been sticking a bit.
 
Take your time - find a good RFD (who doesn't try to sell you what you don't need) and stick with them - thats what I've done - they also know that I check across the web to keep them honest.

I don't mind them making a bit of money out of me as they look after a good customer and I'll list the 3 below that I use that I would trust with my wallet:

Emmett & Stone - Marlow
Dauntsey Guns - Dauntsey Lock
Greenfields - Salisbury
 
Take your time - find a good RFD (who doesn't try to sell you what you don't need) and stick with them - thats what I've done - they also know that I check across the web to keep them honest.

I don't mind them making a bit of money out of me as they look after a good customer and I'll list the 3 below that I use that I would trust with my wallet:

Emmett & Stone - Marlow
Dauntsey Guns - Dauntsey Lock
Greenfields - Salisbury

+1 on Greenfields I always feel Matt is fair and honest.

As for mark up my understanding is it's very little on new, the money's made on second hand and accessories, clothing and such.

WH
 
Back
Top