Frankly, for mom and pop gun shops having the big corporate stores with crappy selections and so-so prices merge into bigger crappier stores with even crappier prices is a good thing. Of course the small LGS will get the bubbas with a Big 5 ad expecting to buy a Mossberg 500 or 10/22 for $100 but those morons easily dealt with. Small independent LGS are not going anywhere. The advantage that online sales once enjoyed was the non-collection of sales tax but slowly the states are destroying that too. After closing my shop I said that I could make way more money with way less aggravation and licensing if I just opened a photo hut sized business that didn’t stock a single firearm but instead did transfers for online sales. No out of pocket money for inventory. No stupid gun morons that want to fingerfuck everything without buying. No bullshit stories about how the now 350# guy in front of me used to be a SEAL sniper which is why he wants a 30-30 because that’s what he carried in combat. No multimillion dollar liability insurance policy. No ATF spending days going through your inventory. No worries about theft. No hiring employees and staffing issues. No employee theft, etc
Small, simple, easy...
