Franklin Gun Show changing ownership

[KahrMan]

Anybody heard anything about who is taking over?

 

https://www.franklingunshop.com

[bubbadavis]

Never mind, Bubba can't read too well...

 

The article was about another Franklin shop.

Edited February 1, 2022 by bubbadavis
Bubba can't read

[Alleycat72]

1 hour ago, KahrMan said:

Anybody heard anything about who is taking over?

 

https://www.franklingunshop.com

Figured that was coming. 

[jhc77]

Been years since I’ve stopped by. Went in a month ago and didn’t miss it still. 

[Hozzie]

We can hope it can only get better from a management/arrogance standpoint.  They always had a great selection, but prices and the general attitude have been terrible for years.

[bobsguns]

4 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

We can hope it can only get better from a management/arrogance standpoint.  They always had a great selection, but prices and the general attitude have been terrible for years.

Can't help on the attitude, but as for pricing? Look at where they are, how much property costs, taxes, etc. They'd have to sell 20-25 guns a day in order to not go broke, IMO. 

[Hozzie]

They have been around forever and owned the building.  They aren't hurting.

[KahrMan]

46 minutes ago, bobsguns said:

Can't help on the attitude, but as for pricing? Look at where they are, how much property costs, taxes, etc. They'd have to sell 20-25 guns a day in order to not go broke, IMO. 

They had a big private clientele. They sold a lot of guns that never saw the floor.  Big dollar guns. 
 

I have know Brian since they had the small spot next door to where they are now.  He is a nice guy but is definitely not afraid to price his guns at the top of the market. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by KahrMan

[bobsguns]

7 minutes ago, KahrMan said:

They had a big private clientele. They sold a lot of guns that never saw the floor.  Big dollar guns. 

I have know Brian since they had the small spot next door to where they are now.  He is a nice guy but is definitely not afraid to prove his guns at the top of the market. 

Is he selling his shop & retiring? 

[No_0ne]

39 minutes ago, Hozzie said:

We can hope it can only get better from a management/arrogance standpoint.  They always had a great selection, but prices and the general attitude have been terrible for years.

While I agree on the prices, in my one stop there on a trip through middle Tennessee I found their staff to be courteous and helpful.  They had one of the best selections of C&R guns I've seen in years in a gunshop, but unfortunately they were well ahead of the market in pricing ...

 

27 minutes ago, KahrMan said:

They had a big private clientele. They sold a lot of guns that never saw the floor.  Big dollar guns. 
 

I have know Brian since they had the small spot next door to where they are now.  He is a nice guy but is definitely not afraid to prove his guns at the top of the market. 

In terms of their asking prices on milsurps, they were definitely well over the top of the market.  They had a nice selection overall, but nothing that I saw that was so rare or unusual as to justify their pricing structure, at least during my stop there.  It was a cool place to visit, but I left empty handed ...

[MacGyver]

2 hours ago, KahrMan said:

They had a big private clientele. They sold a lot of guns that never saw the floor.  Big dollar guns. 
 

I have know Brian since they had the small spot next door to where they are now.  He is a nice guy but is definitely not afraid to price his guns at the top of the market. 

I bought my first rifle in Nashville in that old shop.

Green felt everywhere.

To be fair on pricing, they knew the neighborhood they were in.  If someone was going to shop for the lowest prices - they were just going there to showroom anyway. If you ever actually wanted to purchase something - you generally had to wait a minute because they were always busy selling something.

I bought a bunch of stuff from them over the years - and they had a good loyal customer discount that made them competitive enough.

I had a squib one time in a brand new rifle. They traded me the rifle for a new one right then and there - said no one should have to deal with that out of a new rifle. 

[KahrMan]

17 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

I bought a bunch of stuff from them over the years - and they had a good loyal customer discount that made them competitive enough.

I had a squib one time in a brand new rifle. They traded me the rifle for a new one right then and there - said no one should have to deal with that out of a new rifle. 

This is true. Once you had bought from them you could get “normal” prices and good deals from Brian.   I bought a lot from him in the early days. Not so much once he moved into the old Uncle Buds location. 

[tercel89]

I wondered how they stayed in business with their prices so high. I regularly saw prices well over MSRP and as you know in the gun world , most real world prices are around $75-$100 lower than MSRP. BUT NOT AT THIS PLACE. When the building was Uncle Buds in the 90s I enjoyed some good fish there. 

[Alleycat72]

Wondering what made them sell after an extended "closed for inventory"? 

[bobsguns]

1 hour ago, Alleycat72 said:

Wondering what made them sell after an extended "closed for inventory"? 

Most likely the deal was in the works before "inventory". A new owner, coupled with a new FFL & ATF regs/audits, would probably require such an audit. No one in their right mind would buy a large gun shop & not want to ensure everything is in stock as the paperwork says it is. 

I asked earlier if the old owner was retiring & never got an answer. 

[robbieg19]

I've bought several guns there over the last 10 years and I agree the prices they have marked are higher than other stores but, I have never paid the price on the tag. I would always ask if they could do better on the price and every tine they came back with an acceptable price.  Plus I have been able to find out of production guns there at  price as good or better than anywhere else and I don't know of any gun shop within 100 miles (maybe farther) that has the selection that they had.