The key to Martin Firearms’ success comes down to an unconventional approach focused on customer service.
There are no glass cases and customers can take pistols, rifles and shotguns off the rack and handle them.
If a customer is interested in a particular gun, owner John Martin grabs some ammo and takes them out back to a 100-yard gun range and lets them shoot at no charge.
“I think that you don’t really know if you like something until you try it yourself. We provide the noise protection and take them out to shoot the gun,” Martin said.
Martin sticks with a pricing formula that keeps the price well below other gun shops. Instead of going with the suggested retail price, Martin sticks to a $50 markup.
“On some guns, we have less than a 5 percent markup ... and we’ll never mark up a gun 20 percent or more,” he said.
Perhaps counter-intuitively, Martin even gives the customer a printout of what the suggested retail price is, compared to the actual price of the gun.
Martin shows that on some items, the markup alone can be anywhere from $200 to $300.
“This is the only place that will tell the customer how much I paid for the gun. Honesty — that’s the most important thing,” he said. “I could make a good deal of money on one deal, but you want customers to come back. You want them to feel that they had a good buying experience and that will usually translate into more sells.”
Martin said he has lost money before by doing the right thing.
“I had a customer one time purchase a shotgun and it turned out there was a defect with the gun. I told him to come back. I grabbed a more expensive gun, actually $250 more and said he could have it,” Martin said. “But before he went home with it, I wanted to make sure he was comfortable with the purchase so we took him to the range and fired off a couple rounds first.
“I lost money on that deal, but the important thing is that I left an impression on the customer. That’s what I want to do.”
Martin also offers free appraisals and trades guns.
Martin said handguns are selling well, and men who want to get their significant other a handgun for protection should bring her into the shop.
“That’s the one mistake guys often make. You wouldn’t feel comfortable buying a dress for your girlfriend, would you? Well, it’s the same thing with a gun. Here, she can touch the gun, feel it, and then shoot it. Every person has a different like,” he said.
The shop has hunting guns for gun enthusiasts of all ages, including a Mossberg Patriot .243 rifle with scope, which allows a user to add length to the stock, extending its size as the young gun owner grows up.
Some guns in the shop make great investments, he said, noting a sleek, Rossi Rio Grande 30-30 rifle with buckhorn sights and a hardwood finish. Near the rifle, there’s a couple of AK-47s and a Tommy Gun.
The background check to acquire a gun is comprehensive but quick, Martin said. Customers simply fill out a questionnaire and Martin or his wife Judy will enter the information into a government database.
Martin’s shop is located downstairs in his home.
“We live here. So, we don’t have any overhead,” he said.
Shop hours are 10 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Since the shop owners quite literally live at home, normal business hours apply but all a customer really needs is an appointment. Just call ahead.
Getting to the Martin’s residence and gun shop may be the only complication. It’s located in a residential neighborhood just outside Magnolia city limits at 1090 Mallette Circle.
Take Highway 48 east, then take a left past the Sunflower grocery store onto Union Church Road. Drive a couple of miles and Mallette Circle is on the left.
Pull into the driveway and walk down the steps located next to the garage.
