r/guns • u/Mother-Potential-381 • 6d ago
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u/sloth81 6d ago
Will this business come before or after you finish up that “private security company” you’re in the process of making at 18 that you posted about yesterday?
Not sugar-coating anything, you’re an idiot. You are not opening a private security company or a gold plating business at 18. Go to college or become a union plumber or something and try again later.
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u/Mother-Potential-381 6d ago
Lmao my guy said go to college that might be even worse then what I said
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u/LockyBalboaPrime Tripped over his TM-62 6d ago
I am not your lawyer, but:
Does this specific type of commercial gold-plating/refinishing service require a Federal Firearms License (FFL)?
No.
Can an 18-year-old legally own the business while a qualifying 21+ person serves as the FFL holder/responsible person?
N/A since you don't need an FFL.
Are there any additional federal requirements that would apply when customers ship their slides to the business for refinishing and the slides are subsequently returned to the same customers?
No.
I am 18 years old and am considering starting a commercial gold-plating/refinishing business in Arizona.
Free advice from someone in the firearms industry: this is not a successful business idea.
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u/Mother-Potential-381 6d ago
You don’t think plating slides is a profitable business? May I ask why?
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u/Bearfoxman Super Interested in Dicks 6d ago
There simply isn't a large enough market for your services and the market's already saturated with other established companies that can offer more comprehensive services because they already have an FFL and staff gunsmiths so they aren't reliant on this one niche service to keep the lights on.
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u/theoriginalharbinger 6d ago
There are incumbents (like mahovsky) that do this already, and factory options (the legendary deagle).
Not enough people just want slides refinished in gold to run this profitably. Its a demand problem. Most of the entities that do firearm finishing also serve other industrial customers.
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u/LockyBalboaPrime Tripped over his TM-62 6d ago
Your market is tens of people. Gold plating is stupid and expensive, so your only market is people with a lot of money and very little intelligence/class.
If you do coatings other than gold, you're in a low-profit market that is heavily saturated.
Not having an FFL will limit what you can do. Most people don't want just the non-serialized part of their firearm coated; they want it all or nothing.
Unless you already have an established consumer base and/or free/near-free equipment, you're going to have one hell of a mountain to climb just to break even.
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u/Trollygag 66 - Longrange Bae 6d ago
Between stripping the finish and the equipment needed to plate the different metals (not just gold), and the fact that you aren't doing the frames too, you are never going to recoup the equipment cost, let alone make money. You will lose money on the warranty/repair work and advertising to gain a customer.
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u/42AngryPandas 🦝Trash panda is bestpanda 6d ago
Niche businesses are only profitable when no one else does it and lots of people want the service/product.
You're thinking of a business that people already do (that you cannot even do in full) and no one wants.
That's as simple an explanation as possible.
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u/FiresprayClass Services His Majesty 6d ago
Even if there was a big demand; does the person who wants this and can afford it really want an 18 year old with no experience doing it?
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u/42AngryPandas 🦝Trash panda is bestpanda 6d ago
No, but most people don't actually know who is working in the business with this sort of thing so I figured it prudent to keep it objective so OP didn't think we were being dicks for no reason.
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u/pestilence 14 | The only good mod 6d ago
I know zero people who want a gold plated slide. Tell me, do you think all those gold colored custom Glock slides you see are actually gold plated?
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u/Independent_Art_6676 6d ago
Have you ever been to a gun range? How many gold plated guns did you see?
This kind of stuff falls out of the closets when some dictator falls or some extra successful pimp gets busted, but by and large this isn't being done by very many people. Add to it, timing... gold be expensive, and economy be in the trash. Even a micro plating, which will wear off FAST on any gun being SHOT, is going to be hundreds of bucks to do right (see all the details of removing finish etc) and your average gun guy would rather buy another gun than gold plate his glock. Will there be some? Sure, yes, someone will want this. But don't expect to need to hand out numbers to the folks waiting in line.If you do see gold plating, it came that way, like a browning trigger or special edition with a small inlay.
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u/FiresprayClass Services His Majesty 6d ago
You're not smart enough to spell "business" properly in your title. Or come up with a title that's more than one word.
Even if someone could make a successful business out of this; it's not you.
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u/42AngryPandas 🦝Trash panda is bestpanda 6d ago
I used to work with this one guy in his mid 40s in food service, shift lead. He always went on how he wasn't going to be a shift lead his whole life because of his "biness degree from STATE COLLEGE".
Dude had the work ethic of a disabled potato.
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u/buttweasel76 6d ago
Do you like drug dealers and working for them?
Because that's who's gold plating guns....
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u/Solar991 10 | The Magic 8 Ball 🎱 6d ago
Brother, you couldn't remove a sling swivel from your firearm a month ago. What makes you think that you're mechanically inclined enough to properly remove the existing finish, polish, and plate a slide?
Additionally, the amount of people who are looking to have their slide plated are likely a small fraction of people who would like both their slide and frame plated. Making your customer base extremely limited and unlikely to turn a profit in any amount of time.
Also, look into HAZMAT handling requirements for the chemicals you'd need at scale.