Joe Darnell

Grafton Archery & Outdoors

China Grove, North Carolina 

We keep things simple and sell just one make and model here. In 2020, we became dealers for the $100 Tactacam Reveal cellular trail camera (above). We sold every single unit that we received just as fast as shipments arrived. We probably sold 50 of them. Based on that pattern, I intended to bring in a bunch more during 2021, but that didn’t happen.

Unfortunately, there were some complications and miscommunications in 2021. Despite what I’d been told by a previous sales rep in 2020, in order to get Reveal cameras in 2021, I would’ve had to order a bunch of Tactacam’s regular action cameras. I wasn’t willing to do it. The action cameras are very good products, but I have difficulty with selling them here. I told the company I was interested in only the Reveal trail camera, and that if they could ship me any, I’d take them. It didn’t happen.

Meanwhile, I brought in trail cameras from another company that came highly recommended. Once I received the first shipment, I sold some and we spent time testing them. Ultimately, we determined they didn’t measure up to our customers’ expectations. So, I bought them back from my customers and sent the entire works back to the company. There were some discussions back and forth, but I was refunded and all was good.

For 2022, I bit the bullet and bought in with Tactacam (below). I probably have more of the action cameras than I’ll sell in the next four years, but I had to do that in order to get the Reveal trail cameras in. I think the risk will be worth the reward, but we’ll see.

Drew Nielsen

Anthem Archery

Decorah, Iowa

Our top-selling trail cameras are priced $150 and under. Nearly everyone comes in looking for cell cameras in that price range. As you approach $200, it seems people are less likely to buy them. Tactacam and Covert sell best in my store.

The main trail camera I sell all year is the Tactacam. It’s the camera most customers are looking for, and they’ll often drive here so they don’t have to order it online. Keeping them in stock was challenging, so I ordered a big shipment for 2022 during the offseason. I ordered so big that I initially wondered if it will hurt me, but I truly believe it will pay off.

With Covert trail cams, it hasn’t been an issue getting them. The little MP9, which I think retails around $70, is nice and small. I think public land hunters will love it. I’ll also bring in some of the Covert wireless cameras.

Now, when it comes to conventional cameras, customers usually think the cheaper, the better. Typically, I bring in something small that’s less than $100. Often, these sell to the public land hunters. They want a smaller camera so it hides better, and they want the camera to be relatively inexpensive so they’re out very little if it gets stolen.

We’re fairly fortunate in that we don’t have a lot of competition around our archery shop. The closest competitor within 20 miles apparently doesn’t keep a large stock of trail cameras. All box stores are 45-plus minutes away.

We sell a few different trail camera accessories here, too. We offer two mounts from HME and also the Stic-N-Pic. Having accessories on hand simplifies things for the customer, especially because they can handle it and see how it works right here, where they can’t do that online.

 

Casey Votruba

Votruba Archery

Fairview, Kansas

It had been all around the board until SpyPoint and Tactacam sort of dominated the space at around $100 a camera. We do really well with both lines. With Tactacam, it has been difficult to get them in due to supply and demand, but our customers love them. The only disadvantage to SpyPoint is you have to update firmware yourself fairly often. But, I personally love the SpyPoint app (below).

Everyone buying in our shop goes with wireless cameras. In fact, I don’t think we’ll sell a conventional camera ever again. Not only are wireless cameras convenient in that they save you time and fuel, but many of my customers are also keeping their cell subscriptions and running the cameras during the offseason for security. When you look at it from that perspective, it makes sense. Say you have $500 tied up in five cameras. That investment seems very logical when you can use the cameras for surveillance in addition to scouting and wildlife monitoring.

Even older customers buy wireless cameras. No, they didn’t grow up with all of this technology, but I think it actually has helped them. In the past, you had to make sure to get all of the camera settings right before walking away from the camera. The new cameras have changed that. I have a few older gentlemen who put the cameras out and turn them on. From there, I can help them change settings remotely through the app.

I don’t really have a dedicated space in my store for trail cameras. With my marketing background, I change the store up on a regular basis. I don’t want folks just coming in, grabbing a camera and leaving. I like them to look around a little while.