Background checks set new records and yet the gun industry is suffering.

[flamin lib]

https://www.thetrace.org/2020/02/gun-wholesalers-are-going-out-of-business-despite-record-sales/

So what's going on? The same thing that happened to the 35mm camera industry in the '80s, self immolation.

35mm camera sales reached their peak in the early '80s, the market was hot and everybody wanted their share. Pricing competition reached the point that cameras were literally being sold at actual dealer cost and store profits maintained with add on sales of accessories. The average entry level camera retailed at $200 but the average sale totaled nearly twice that because of the extra bits that sold for 2-3x cost. For instance a clear glass filter for the lens costing as little as .67 would be marked up to $9.95 (which meant that all that image quality produced by state of the art optics was filtered through a .67 piece of glass, but don't get me started).

It all worked well as long as the sales chain remained intact; manufacturer sells to distributor, distributor to retail outlet and outlet to end user, each taking profit and each creating demand for the product.

Then the manufacturers and distributors began bypassing the retailer through catalog sales, selling at prices even lower than retail cost. Next thing you know the manufacturers did the same thing to the distributors. Cameras, cameras everywhere but dealers and distributors were folding left and right. Without the combined marketing $$ of each level of sales outlet consumers and their consumer $$ were lured to some other shiny object.

This is exactly what is happening to the gun industry except there is now the internet and on line sales. One of the reasons for the popularity of the AR platform was the endless customizing options, but without that sales guy at the counter pushing .67 filters at $10 each the sizzle is gone from the steak.

How ironic that the downfall of the industry, if it continues to follow the 35mm model, will be entirely self inflicted much like the NRA has done to itself.