Interested in getting started in firearm sales?
Some business types are more complicated than others, and many website owners cannot figure out how to get started, or even find a payment system that works because they are considered a prohibited category by the out of the box processing their website builder uses. One of the high-risk industries we often offer advice to is those involved in FFL to FFL on-line firearm sales. An online Federal Firearm Licensee store can certainly be a profitable way to do business these days, but there is also a degree of risk involved.
Newcomers to selling firearms or ammunition start here
First, if online FFL to FFL sales is something you are interested in getting involved in, take a look here at the AFT’s official site. There is a lot of information regarding firearm sales and regulations there. Knowing everything you can when in a touchy industry and getting sound legal advice is always a good idea (we have some great recommendations based on customer feedback if you are looking for an e-commerce attorney, contact us anytime). If you need more info on getting started, here is an excellent article from Garrison Everest on the subject.
We have also written a pretty comprehensive article called online firearms sales 101; please check it out.
Make sure your FFL site and payment processing is FFL friendly
Take the time to determine the best way to sell online. What software should you use? There are a lot of options in this arena right now, one of the most important pieces is to realize that the “out of the box” processing that the web design templates use are almost never FFL friendly. This does not mean you cannot use them. We often recommend Shopify for example, not only because we are an affiliate (we are), but because it looks great, and works even better. But – there is one important thing you need to know, Shopify offers out of the box processing that is not FFL friendly, so sell firearms online using Shopify you need to plug in a high-risk payment gateway like ePN or NMI or get an Authorize.Net FFL friendly processing combo that is tailored to your business. Contact us anytime, we make recommendations and offer advice on this all the time, the process is pretty painless, and integration with Shopify is very easy.
Improve your FFL sales
The work isn’t all over, though, having an online store and having a profitable online store are two different things, we want to give you the best chance for the latter, and found this article which will help you attract some more potential buyers.
Stay on top of your industry with these tips, and feel free to contact us with any FFL friendly payment gateway, e-commerce, or online fraud related questions.
