MAK has been helping the firearms industry navigate the difficult and unique challenges that come with selling firearms and firearm accessories online since 2011. Here at MAK you’ll find proud Americans that support the right to sell legal products online to legal consumers.
We keep politics out of business, and we encourage others to do the same.
Do you currently sell guns online? Maybe you own a gun shop, ammo and supplies store, pawn shop, store for self-defense, competitive shooting, hunting, outdoors, or some other pro 2nd amendment store. Regardless of what you specifically sell, if you are in the gun industry you likely run into challenges with federal and state restrictions, as well as demonization from 3rd party technology products and services. If this is you, there may be substantial benefits to aligning with a qualified eCommerce agency that understands and supports eCommerce companies in the firearms industry.
Whether you’re in self-defense, hunting, home defense, competitive shooting, law enforcement, security, or just selling to collectors, the online firearms industry is thriving. With a $2.3 billion market in 2022, the gun industry is no exception to the continued shift from shopping in-store to buy products online.
Despite the fact that the guns & ammo industry is thriving with increasing demand from customers who are taking their guns purchases online more than ever before, the gun industry remains under constant attack from the federal government, states, political activists, and even technology providers.
This brings a unique set of challenges to gun shops that sell online, which include the following:
Federal, state and local laws inject a level of complexity that will often deter gun shops from taking their business online. Those that sell actual firearms are burdened with the task of ensuring that the gun is only shipped to legitimate FFLs, and any gun shop that sells online will need to adhere to laws specific to the state their product is being purchased from.
This adds a deep level of complexity to the way an online firearms website will need to function, which results in either a ton of manual process to properly conduct business, or a lot of development customization to accommodate; both burdens which fall to the owner.
This also greatly restricts the choice of eCommerce platform that an online gun merchant has, which is already a very tiny landscape. The only viable choices that remain are typically BigCommerce, Magento, or WordPress with WooCommerce, although the latter option is not really viable for legitimate online gun stores.
The technology industry, particularly as it pertains to online commerce, has been left-leaning since it's dawn. Normally, this would just be an observed characteristic, since business is business; however in today's climate this has translated into the technology industry as a whole adopting particular business strategies to be in-line with the trending political climate. The firearms industry in particular is a casualty of this "holy war", with eCommerce platform providers like Shopify and Salesforce banning companies that sell firearms from using their platforms. Google and Facebook prohibit advertising of anything firearms-related on their platforms, and most eCommerce marketing agencies or development companies are too nervous to openly conduct business with any companies that sell guns, ammo, or anything related to firearms. This dramatically reduces the pool of talent that gun stores can leverage for website design, marketing, website development, SEO, strategy, and other website-related services.
MAK Digital’s client Tactical-Edge Arms offers a unique selection of rifles and AR-pistols. MAK helped Tactical-Edge
overhaul their user experience and move off of an outdated platform that was hindering their growth.
MAK Digital is a full-service marketing, web design and development agency that helps gun merchants sell online, design and develop their store, improve their brand, increase sales and conversions, optimize SEO, and just flat-out grow their online channels.
I have been a client with MAK for 6 years. They have been with me every step of the way throughout this process as I took my business to maturity. Being able to lean on them for development, creative, or even just to strategize has been invaluable. Not to mention, in a business world where my industry is demonized daily, MAK has been a solid reliable partner; helping me make on-the-fly adjustments whenever the next pivot is with laws and regulations. If you are in an industry like mine and stumbled onto MAK, consider yourself lucky.
Most other tech companies are extremely “left-leaning”. The few others that did work with us previously, made it obvious that they did not approve of our industry and it showed in their work and communication. This has never been a concern with MAK Digital. Their work and communication have been above and beyond anything else that we have experienced in the tech world.
With everything detailed above, merchants in the firearms industry need to put in exponential effort to reach even a portion of the customers that merchants in mainstream industries are able to. You have access to less software, less channels of advertising, more regulatory hoops to jump through, and are fighting the state and federal governments with every step you take. Maximize that which you can do with an agency like MAK! Here is a very brief snapshot of some things make can help you achieve:
Right to Bear Arms and Supply has the best selection of AR-15 rifle build kits and gun parts for sale with the most competitive prices available anywhere online. Veteran-owned online gun parts dealer dedicated to providing the highest quality AR parts and accessories for those looking to build or upgrade their ARs with the most reliable, safest parts possible. They sell individual AR parts and accessories as well as full AR15 assembly kits from the highest quality brand names.
MAK is a family-owned, family-operated digital agency headquartered in a rural area of South Jersey. We’ve been in business since 2014, serving clients in a multitude of different verticals with everything from strategy, design, marketing, development, and more. Being located in New Jersey gives us a first-hand view of the issues that arise from overbearing and restrictive gun laws, and all of the problems that brings. MAK takes a libertarian approach to business, which means our personal or political views do not, in any way, influence how we conduct business.
You can be rest assured that as a gun merchant, you will be treated with the same level of care and devotion that we bring to every relationship.
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