Business Idea, is it on the good track ?

[Lunatik]

Hello everybody,
I live in Switzerland and I'm a huge airsoft fan, and I noticed that there is a problem with the airsoft market, here in Switzerland. First of all, airsoft guns are considered real guns, therefore the legislation forbids to buy in foreign countries without making a long procedure that can take months. The airsoft shops within Switzerland are very few, and they tend to overprice the items, they also have pretty bad customer service, the website isn't that great and they do close to 0 advertising. Of all the airsoft players I've met, 3 things happen, either they buy out of switzerland, and pass through the borders illegally, or they do the whole procedure or they pay more, to buy directly in Switzerland. I believe there is a lot of room for improvement and as the airsoft community is growing, the need for shops is also growing. My plan is to be the best airsoft shop in the country, this business idea respects the commandment of Need,Entry,Control,Time, the only problem is that the scale is limited to national. Would you consider this to be a problem ? Do you believe my idea can be exploited well if I put in the hours ? Do you believe there is potential ? Let me know
Thanks for reading
George

 

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[Speed112]

Hello everybody,
I live in Switzerland and I'm a huge airsoft fan, and I noticed that there is a problem with the airsoft market, here in Switzerland. First of all, airsoft guns are considered real guns, therefore the legislation forbids to buy in foreign countries without making a long procedure that can take months. The airsoft shops within Switzerland are very few, and they tend to overprice the items, they also have pretty bad customer service, the website isn't that great and they do close to 0 advertising. Of all the airsoft players I've met, 3 things happen, either they buy out of switzerland, and pass through the borders illegally, or they do the whole procedure or they pay more, to buy directly in Switzerland. I believe there is a lot of room for improvement and as the airsoft community is growing, the need for shops is also growing. My plan is to be the best airsoft shop in the country, this business idea respects the commandment of Need,Entry,Control,Time, the only problem is that the scale is limited to national. Would you consider this to be a problem ? Do you believe my idea can be exploited well if I put in the hours ? Do you believe there is potential ? Let me know
Thanks for reading
George

Sure why not?

If you believe the need is real and being better than the competition (jumping through the legal hoops and providing solid customer service) won't make your guns even more expensive... sounds good!

You can get an edge and cut costs by 3d-printing (replacement) parts and even provide custom servicing for people who want to pimp their guns.

I don't know much about airsoft but I'm sure there are opportunities there.

But you should go with this to your airsoft buddies and see if they would be willing to buy from you and what it would take.

Switzerland has more gun-owners per capita than the US and they're not as anti-gun politically, so it's probably the best place to be as a local market. You can totally expand throughout Europe further down the line if the need is serious, so I don't think scale is a problem, unless your margins are low and you have trouble fulfilling.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress!

 

[Lunatik]

Sure why not?

If you believe the need is real and being better than the competition (jumping through the legal hoops and providing solid customer service) won't make your guns even more expensive... sounds good!

You can get an edge and cut costs by 3d-printing (replacement) parts and even provide custom servicing for people who want to pimp their guns.

I don't know much about airsoft but I'm sure there are opportunities there.

But you should go with this to your airsoft buddies and see if they would be willing to buy from you and what it would take.

Switzerland has more gun-owners per capita than the US and they're not as anti-gun politically, so it's probably the best place to be as a local market. You can totally expand throughout Europe further down the line if the need is serious, so I don't think scale is a problem, unless your margins are low and you have trouble fulfilling.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress!

Thanks for you reply, I'm a complete beginner in web development finance and all that, it's all new to me but I'm excited to learn. I'll make this work

 

[Johnny boy]

It completely violates control because at any moment you will be overregulated and dick slapped by some commies just like Europe has already done to real guns.

 

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[Lunatik]

It completely violates control because at any moment you will be overregulated and dick slapped by some commies just like Europe has already done to real guns.

the thing is, Switzerland doesn't obey to European laws on guns, also in Switzerland, 1 in 2 person has a gun in his possession already, which makes the gun culture quite important i believe. Of course, if any heavy regulation was to be forced, I wouldn't have my word to say. But I feel like that's pretty safe isn't it ?

 

[Johnny boy]

Look into reasons why people aren't opening shops in Switzerland. Likely some tough regulations if people are willing to smuggle them in.

I'm half swiss, I believe my great grandparents lived in Gersau, close to Lucerne.