NEWS POSTS

…BELIEVE THE NUMBERS – NOT THE ILLUSION.

For FFL attendance, the SHOT® Show for the last ten years, has been a failure. Out of about 56,000 FFL’s, only around 5,000 go to the SHOT® Show. For 20 years, Reed has sold the SHOT® Show attendee list.  From the Show in 2001 to January of 2008, Reed's own lists reveal there have been only 5,000-7,000 FFL holders per Show. Need proof? If you want a copy of Reed’s official SHOT® Show figures, listing the number of gun retailers, proving what I’ve said above, send us a fax (954-467-9994) and we’ll fax back their ‘gun dealer” numbers on Reed’s own letterhead.

CONCENTRATE ON THE MONEY $$$. Firearms sales at the FFL level are very good. The FFL’s are on track to sell over 12,000,000 guns in 2008. This information comes from the FBI. See the October 2008 issue of American Firearms Industry Magazine (AFI) page 24, for all the monthly sales figures going back to 2002.

IT’S ALL OVER BEFORE THE SHOT® SHOW EVEN STARTS. When you look at the FBI’s official numbers, for the years 2002 to now, you can clearly see that for FFL’s, their biggest sales months are October, November and December. One of the reasons the FFL’s don’t go to SHOT® Shows is because their big season is OVER before the SHOT® Show even opens.

CHANGE WHEN THE WORLD CHANGES. All of the FFL’s, like all Americans, are EXTREMELY apprehensive, and with good reason.  This recession will be very deep and very long. There is every reason to think that attendance at this year’s SHOT® Show in Orlando will be a disaster. Act accordingly.

TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOUR NEW PRODUCTS NOW. You have new 2009 products and programs. AFI’s SUPER Circulation December SHOT® Show Issue will cover the 4,000 FFL’s that will probably be at this year’s SHOT® Show, in addition to all those dealers who will NOT be at the Orlando Show.

“THE INFORMATION AGE”

MAKE MORE THAN A SLOGAN. Information is the life-blood of modern business. AFI Magazine provides its advertisers with he following information on the FFL dealers:

• Annual sales volume

• Specialization of the retail store

• Days of operation per week

• If the dealer’s business is mainly new, used,

  internet or a combination thereof

• If they have a gun range

• Number of employees

• If they provide interstate transfers

In addition, if you have specific questions in regards to marketing, we can customize our monthly questionnaire to search out that valuable information which is so needed to be successful in today’s marketplace.

HOW MANY DISTRIBUTORS WILL GO BANKRUPT OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS? Definitely some will go broke, and possibly many. The smartest thing that manufacturers can do is to keep building a dealer database that YOU control.  The most effective way to prospect for this database is to use AFI Magazine, the ONLY magazine that circulates to the entire FFL list.

100% OF THE DEALERS WHO WILL SELL 12,000,000 GUNS IN 2009. AFI’s December Issue is the SUPER Circulation SHOT® Show Issue.  Closing is November 15^th.  Call or email Kathy at 954-467-9994 (kathy@amfire.com<!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><!--[endif]-->) and we’ll put together an editorial and ad package for your new 2009 products and programs.

Thanks for your time, Andy Molchan

P.S. How are we at AFI doing? Answer – just great. Over the last two years, all of the outstandingly excellent advice that I gave in the pages of AFI, I took my own advice. We’re making money in the stock market, and in all of our investments.