The gun manufacturer says, “I don’t understand why our retailers don’t sell more of our guns. We’re offering consumers a $50 rebate.”

The retailer says, “I wish I had known about that manufacturer’s rebate. I could have sold more guns.”

That’s the type of thing Matt Nicholson heard hundreds of times while he was working as vice president of sales for nationwide gun wholesaler Davidson’s. So he decided to do something about it and now he says, “We can help you both.” Here’s how it works.

Nicholson’s company, gun-rebates.com, constantly checks with manufacturers for customer rebates and other customer incentives and then lists them on a website customized for the retailer so he and his customers can stay knowledgeable about what rebates and incentives are currently available. A cash rebate is often all it takes to get a reluctant buyer to make a gun purchase. And the retailer doesn’t have to do anything but tell the customer that the rebate is available. Additionally, the rebate money comes from the manufacturer, not the retailer. If the manufacturer is offering such a deal, why wouldn’t the retailer take advantage of it and increase sales while helping the customer save money at the same time?

The problem is, retailers are busy running their operations and don’t have the time or resources to stay up to date with all the manufacturer rebates currently offered. And at the time I spoke to Nicholson, he said there were currently 36 rebates available to consumers. But it takes a real effort to find them all.

Nicholson has been in the business of selling guns, ammunition and accessories to retailers for nearly a decade and has gotten to know many people who are highly placed in gun manufacturing companies. Because of this, Nicholson will often know about a rebate before it is announced to the public. When a company tells him of a coming rebate, and he is given permission to do so, he can tell retailers it is on the way in enough time for the retailer to prepare to take advantage of it. The retailer may buy more of a product knowing that he is going to be able to sell more, or he may create a marketing effort that promotes the rebate and thereby increases customer traffic to his store. 

Getting Set Up

To take full advantage of the service offered by gun-rebates.com, Nicholson says it’s best for the retailer to have a website. gun-rebates.com then creates a page that is customized for the store that lists all the rebates available from manufacturers. Not only does it list cash rebates, but it also lists other customer incentives offered by manufacturers. For example, if a manufacturer offers free magazines with the purchase of a gun, the page will list that. And listings are not restricted to gun manufacturers, they also include rebates and incentives offered by accessory and ammunition manufacturers.

To drive more customers to the dealer’s store, the store’s webpage lists current rebates offered by all manufacturers, not just those manufacturers whose merchandise is normally carried by the store. Nicholson’s rationale for doing this is that there are so many distributors carrying the goods of so many manufacturers these days, that it’s easy and fast for a dealer to obtain a gun, ammunition or accessory for a customer who happens to see a rebate and wants to take advantage of it. And going that extra step for a customer can easily create a new repeat customer. It doesn’t cost the retailer any extra to list all manufacturer rebates, so why not do it?

But if a retailer has no website or doesn’t engage in e-commerce, the link to the customized gun-rebates.com webpage can be posted on any social media. Gun-rebates.com has at least one retailer who doesn’t have a website, but has a huge Facebook following. The link is posted on the retailer’s Facebook page and results in many hits and untold sales.

Gun-rebates.com recently entered into a partnership with ammoready.com, which offers a number of internet services to gun retailers, including the creation of an online store for the retailer. So if a retailer is considering getting into the e-commerce business, ammoready.com can help, and part of that assistance is a link to a customized gun-rebates.com webpage.

All rebates listed by gun-rebates.com are constantly updated so the data is current. It’s updated every day, all day long. When a rebate expires, the listing is deleted, and when a new one is announced, it is added. 

Taking Advantage

There is no doubt manufacturer rebates help sell merchandise, but getting the rebate can sometimes be a big challenge. Filling out long forms and mailing them to the right address is more work than some consumers want to deal with, so gun-rebates.com makes the process as easy as possible. If the manufacturer accepts rebate requests online, gun-rebates.com provides a link for the customer. Otherwise, each rebate listing includes information on exactly how the customer is to request the rebate. If the retailer has terminals in his store for use by the customer, the customer may be able to make the rebate claim right there, immediately after the sale.

The size of an individual rebate varies by the price of the merchandise, but can range from $15 or $20 to $100 or more. According to Nicholson, a strong rebate is usually in the neighborhood of 15 percent to 20 percent of the retail price paid by the consumer. With manufacturers willing to give away their own money to spur sales, it just makes sense for the retailer to take advantage of those promotions.

One way to increase sales and profit is to sell items in addition to a gun. All retailers know that guns are low-profit-margin items, but the profit margin on accessories can be much greater. When the customer buys a gun, they are usually going to need other items to go along with it. A handgun may require a holster and a rifle may require a sling. And they all need ammunition. Nicholson suggests that every gun store owner stay abreast of ammunition company rebates and post a sign at the cash register suggesting that customers ask the salesperson about ammunition rebates. He thinks that by doing something as simple as that, the retailer’s sales increase will be more than enough to pay for a yearly subscription to gun-rebates.com.

An annual subscription, including a customized webpage and all of the gun-rebates.com services, is $249.99. That’s just a little less than $21 per month, so it doesn’t take many sales to pay for itself. Nicholson is flexible and if there is any way possible to work with a customer to provide a subscription, even just to try it out, he’ll make a special effort. His message to retail dealers is basically: Try it, you’ll like it.

Retailers do not have to sign up for a whole year of service. Arrangements can be made to buy the gun-rebates.com service on a monthly basis with the option to cancel at any time. But with the low cost and potential for increased sales, that’s not likely to happen. And for retailers still hesitant to buy into Gun-Rebates.com, Nicholson says he periodically runs subscription specials, so check the website often for ways to save money.

Building Momentum

Gun-rebates.com is a new company, so Nicholson is eager to expand his customer base and will work with retailers. The company is small now, with only five employees, but since its beginning just one year ago, about 200 subscribers have joined. Those subscribers include large, multi-location retailers who produce many, many hits on the gun-rebates.com custom webpage down to small, one-store, family-operated gun shops.

“Gun-rebates.com has driven traffic and sales to our store in the first week of subscribing. Their easy-to-implement solution is worth every penny to our shop,” says Chi Baldwin, owner of C&J Firearms in Frankton, Indiana.

Gun-rebates.com is constantly working to enhance the services it offers and to add value for the retailer, which helps increase retailer sales and profits. One effort underway now is to offer manufacturer-to-consumer rebates that are available only to gun-rebates.com subscribers.

To find out more, go to gun-rebates.com, fill out the short form and a representative, maybe even Nicholson himself, will contact you. It’s pretty simple and the potential for additional sales and profit is well worth the effort.